Are denominations bad?

The answer to this question is yes and no and maybe.

Yes, denominations are bad. They are a visible sign of division within the body of Christ. They violate the spirit of Jesus’ prayer for his followers in John 17:21 (NRSV), “that they all may be one.” These divisions, infighting, and historical bloodshed between denominations have been a scandal to Christians and an obstacle to some becoming Christian over the centuries.  

No, denominations are not always bad. They reflect a diversity of cultures and historical developments related to the Christian faith in different times and places. While lamentable in many ways, denominations have allowed Christianity to take on particular shapes, sizes, and colors that have contributed to the richness of Christianity overall.

The variety of denominations has also allowed a greater diversity of forms in Christian practice, worship, organization, and custom which likely allows a greater number of persons to become Christian and live out the Christian way of life. Without this diversity it’s possible to imagine that certain groups or types of people would not be reached with the Gospel message.

There is also a maybe component to this question. The maybe depends on how individual Christians and churches and denominations understand themselves in regard to other denominations. To have “team” pride is perfectly acceptable and some gentle ribbing among varied Christians can be a genuine sign of family. However, without respect this turns sour.

Sadly, Christians of different stripes, particularly denominations which differ greatly on social teachings or certain theological convictions can view other Christian Churches as “less than” or “second class” or “not up to par.” This manifests equally (albeit with its own version of smugness) among conservative, liberal, mainline, evangelical, and Roman Catholic groups.

Sometimes, even worse than above, are the infighting within denominations and individual churches, especially regarding social teaching (“!!!!!!!***!!!!!!****”), worship styles (“I refuse to worship with a projection screen!”) or furniture rearrangement (“This rug has been red since my grandfather founded this church!”)

So yes, denominations are bad. No, they aren’t bad in every way. Sometimes, maybe, they can be worse than they have to be when Christians of different denominations fail to recognize their oneness in Christ and are less than charitable toward one another. Respect and cooperation around the Lordship of Jesus doesn’t require uniformity, but it does require love.