Odysseus
Legend
Trump = Disaster
Posts: 41,101
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Post by Odysseus on Jul 13, 2023 5:38:08 GMT
In the Congregational Church. I was baptised there, or so I'm told.
This is despite my grandparents being traditional Catholic or some other Christian denomination.
When I got to college I attended a few other churches, but eventually stopped.
What I liked about the Congregational Church was that it was so much less domineering and dictatorial than some other denominations. Or, at least that was my impression. The Congregational Church also placed great importance on fellowship.
From Google:
The Guiding Principles of the Congregational Church
Christ alone is the head of the church. All church members are spiritually equal and called to the work of ministry. Every local church is autonomous and complete. Each local church is called into wider associations of fellowship.
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Post by Mercy for All on Jul 18, 2023 12:22:59 GMT
In the Congregational Church. I was baptised there, or so I'm told.
This is despite my grandparents being traditional Catholic or some other Christian denomination.
When I got to college I attended a few other churches, but eventually stopped.
What I liked about the Congregational Church was that it was so much less domineering and dictatorial than some other denominations. Or, at least that was my impression. The Congregational Church also placed great importance on fellowship.
From Google:
The Guiding Principles of the Congregational Church
Christ alone is the head of the church. All church members are spiritually equal and called to the work of ministry. Every local church is autonomous and complete. Each local church is called into wider associations of fellowship.
That was your experience at that church (or churches). There are congregational churches that can be just as dictatorial and domineering as others. And other government structures that are not. |
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Odysseus
Legend
Trump = Disaster
Posts: 41,101
|
Post by Odysseus on Jul 18, 2023 17:13:43 GMT
In the Congregational Church. I was baptised there, or so I'm told.
This is despite my grandparents being traditional Catholic or some other Christian denomination.
When I got to college I attended a few other churches, but eventually stopped.
What I liked about the Congregational Church was that it was so much less domineering and dictatorial than some other denominations. Or, at least that was my impression. The Congregational Church also placed great importance on fellowship.
From Google:
The Guiding Principles of the Congregational Church
Christ alone is the head of the church. All church members are spiritually equal and called to the work of ministry. Every local church is autonomous and complete. Each local church is called into wider associations of fellowship.
That was your experience at that church (or churches). There are congregational churches that can be just as dictatorial and domineering as others. And other government structures that are not.
AFAIK, a church is not a government structure, at least not in the USA.
That said, yes, any faith org can be domineering, but I think that has more to do with the psyche of the congregation that anything else. I do recall my mom abandoning the church after some time because of such efforts at domination.
What has been your experience?
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Post by Mercy for All on Jul 18, 2023 18:57:48 GMT
That was your experience at that church (or churches). There are congregational churches that can be just as dictatorial and domineering as others. And other government structures that are not.
AFAIK, a church is not a government structure, at least not in the USA.
That said, yes, any faith org can be domineering, but I think that has more to do with the psyche of the congregation that anything else. I do recall my mom abandoning the church after some time because of such efforts at domination.
What has been your experience?
Churches have government structures. Any organization does. There are "top-down" government structures (e.g., the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican/Episcopalian, etc.,), government "by committee" (e.g., Presbyterian), more democratic (Congregational models), and hybrids (e.g., something called "presbygational," a hybrid of congregational and presbyterian). I prefer freedom within a church context regardless of the government structure. But I've also seen pretty concentrated leadership structures that eschew coercion while allowing participation and belonging. In any case, in any church that doesn't hold "access to heaven" over people's heads, everybody still has a vote—they vote with their attendance and their money. In today's culture, if people are really dissatisfied, they move on and find another church (or no church). I don't agree with straight-up democracy as a church leadership style (I've seen some really dysfunctional democratic type congregations that can be domineering). I also think that "cult of personality" churches where all the decisions are concentrated on one person (whether through church structure or willpower/charisma) easily become destructive, dysfunctional, and abusive. So I prefer a small concentration of leaders but with access and accountability. |
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Odysseus
Legend
Trump = Disaster
Posts: 41,101
|
Post by Odysseus on Jul 19, 2023 2:19:35 GMT
AFAIK, a church is not a government structure, at least not in the USA.
That said, yes, any faith org can be domineering, but I think that has more to do with the psyche of the congregation that anything else. I do recall my mom abandoning the church after some time because of such efforts at domination.
What has been your experience?
Churches have government structures. Any organization does. There are "top-down" government structures (e.g., the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican/Episcopalian, etc.,), government "by committee" (e.g., Presbyterian), more democratic (Congregational models), and hybrids (e.g., something called "presbygational," a hybrid of congregational and presbyterian). I prefer freedom within a church context regardless of the government structure. But I've also seen pretty concentrated leadership structures that eschew coercion while allowing participation and belonging. In any case, in any church that doesn't hold "access to heaven" over people's heads, everybody still has a vote—they vote with their attendance and their money. In today's culture, if people are really dissatisfied, they move on and find another church (or no church). I don't agree with straight-up democracy as a church leadership style (I've seen some really dysfunctional democratic type congregations that can be domineering). I also think that "cult of personality" churches where all the decisions are concentrated on one person (whether through church structure or willpower/charisma) easily become destructive, dysfunctional, and abusive. So I prefer a small concentration of leaders but with access and accountability.
I was thinking of "government structure" in the traditional sense, where the government has say over the behavior of all citizens, not just church members. Yes, there is a structure to most chuches but that usually is quite different from the civilian government outside the church.
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