As I search for my next ministry position I wonder about denominational ties and their potential, long term, consequences.
What do you do if you're attached to a denomination but they can't serve you as well as another church?
For example, if you're ordained into a denomination, are you compelled to attend a church of that denomination for the rest of your days?
If so, does this also apply for those who work for a denomination (like a chaplain or a in a regional position) but aren't connected to a congregation?
What if there's another local church which will better serve the needs of your family, especially children, than your denomination's options within a realistic geographical area? Do you need to tell anyone you're "jumping to the opposition on Sunday's?"
Chances are, these scenarios would only happen in regional centres where there's only a few churches (perhaps just one per denomination).
But surely no group would want the spiritual health of your family diminished just because one member of the clan is attached with a specific denomination. Worse still, they couldn't demand that you worship separately from them if they go elsewhere.
Can they???
Only in regional centres? Not at all. Within a 5-10 drive of my home in suburban Sydney, there are seven Uniting Churches. Not one of them offers a regular youth ministry program. If we are open to other denominations, there are quite a few options...
ReplyDeleteAnnon,
ReplyDeleteI can also think of quite a few "black spots" across every denominations.
Frankly, I think this is one of the contributing factors to gen y and younger being quite post-denominational.