Congregationalist polity, often known as
congregationalism, is a system of
church governance in which every
local church congregation is independent,
ecclesiastically sovereign, or "
autonomous."
Among those major Protestant Christian traditions that employ
congregationalism are those Congregational Churches known by the
"Congregationalist" name that descended from the Anglo-American
Puritan movement of the 17th century, the
Baptist churches, and most of the groups
brought about by the Anabaptist movement
in Germany
that
immigrated to the U.S. in the late 18th century. More recent
generations have witnessed also a growing number of
non-denominational churches,
which are most often congregationalist in their governance. In
Christianity, congregationalism is
distinguished most clearly from
episcopal polity, which is governance by a
hierarchy of
bishops. But it is also distinct
from
presbyterian polity, in
which higher assemblies of congregational representatives can
exercise considerable authority over individual
congregations.
Congregationalism is not limited only to organization of Christian
congregations; the principles of congregationalism have been
inherited by the
Unitarian Universalist
Association.
Jewish synagogues and most
Islamic
mosques in the U.S. operate under
congregational government as well, with no hierarchies.
Theological foundations of congregationalism
Before embarking on the theological foundations of
congregationalism, it is also noteworthy that the earmarks of
Congregationalism can be traced back to the Pilgrim societies of
the United States in the early 1600s. Congregationalism expressed
the viewpoint that (1) every local church is a full realization in
miniature of the
entire Church of
Jesus Christ; and (2) the Church, while
on earth, besides the local church, can
only be
invisible and ideal. While other theories may insist on the truth
of the former, the latter precept of congregationalism gives the
entire theory a unique character among plans of church government.
There is no other reference than the local congregation for the
"visible church" in Congregationalism. And yet, the connection of
all Christians is also asserted, albeit in a way that defenders of
this view usually decline, often intentionally, to elaborate more
clearly or consistently. This first, foundational principle by
which congregationalism is guided results in confining it to
operate with the consent of each gathering of believers.
Although "congregational rule" may seem to suggest that
pure democracy reigns in congregational
churches, this is seldom the case. It is granted, with few
exceptions (namely in some Anabaptist churches), that
God has given the government of the Church into the
hands of an
ordained ministry. What makes
congregationalism unique is its system of checks and balances,
which constrains the authority of the minister, the lay officers,
and the members.
Most importantly, the boundaries of the powers of the ministers and
church officers are set by clear and constant reminders of the
freedoms guaranteed by the
Gospel to the
laity, collectively and individually. With that freedom comes the
responsibility upon each member to govern himself or herself under
Christ. This requires lay people to exercise great charity and
patience in debating issues with one another and to seek the glory
and service of God as the foremost consideration in all of their
decisions.
The authority of all of the people, including the officers, is
limited in the local congregation by a definition of union, or a
covenant, by which the terms of their
cooperation together are spelled out and agreed to. This might be
something as minimal as a charter specifying a handful of
doctrines and behavioral expectations, or even a
statement only guaranteeing specific freedoms. Or, it may be a
constitution describing a comprehensive
doctrinal system and specifying terms under which the local church
is connected to other local churches, to which participating
congregations give their assent. In congregationalism, rather
uniquely, the church is understood to be a truly voluntary
association.
Finally, the congregational theory strictly forbids ministers from
ruling their local churches by themselves. Not only does the
minister serve by the approval of the congregation, but committees
further constrain the pastor from exercising power without consent
by either the particular committee, or the entire congregation. It
is a contradiction of the congregational principle if a minister
makes decisions concerning the congregation without the vote of
these other officers.
The other officers may be called "deacons", "elders" or "session"
(borrowing
Presbyterian
terminology), or even "
vestry" (borrowing the
Anglican term) — it is not their label
that is important to the theory, but rather their lay status and
their equal vote, together with the pastor, in deciding the issues
of the church. While other forms of church government are more
likely to define "tyranny" as "the imposition of unjust rule", a
congregationally-governed church would more likely define tyranny
as "transgression of liberty" or equivalently, "rule by one man".
To a congregationalist, no abuse of authority is worse than the
concentration of all decisive power in the hands of one ruling
body, or one person.
Following this sentiment, congregationalism has evolved over time
to include even more participation of the congregation, more kinds
of lay committees to whom various tasks are apportioned, and more
decisions subject to the vote of the entire membership.
Congregational Christian Churches in Canada
The Congregational Christian Churches in Canada (or 4Cs) is an
evangelical, Protestant, Christian denomination, headquartered in
Brantford, Ontario, and a member of the World Evangelical
Congregational Fellowship. The name "congregational" generally
describes its preferred organizational style, which promotes local
church autonomy and ownership, while fostering fellowship and
accountability between churches at the National level.
Currently, the 4Cs is led by a National Board of Directors,
representing different areas of the country and coordinated by the
present Chairman, George Wilson, and by the National Pastor, David
Schrader, who gives spiritual oversight to the broader Church. The
denomination meets annually at a National Conference, which
confirms a new location (West, Maritimes or Central Canada) for the
following year.
The roots of Congregational Christianity can be traced back to the
Protestant Reformation in England. Congregational Churches were
established in the New World by non-Conformist Christians, some of
these arriving (in what would become Canada) out of roots in New
England. The revivals of the Great Awakening also contributed to
the spread of congregational style and ministry.
As a name, the movement was probably better known (and understood)
in the 19th Century in Canada, but many Congregational churches
voted to join with Methodists and Presbyterians to form the United
Church of Canada in 1925, and the term "congregational" fell into
disuse. The remnant of churches still congregational in polity were
concentrated in Southern Ontario, and were known as the "Ontario
Christian Churches". Officially, these churches affiliated with the
Conservative Congregational Christian Conference in the United
States in 1965, but retained their independence as a separate
Conference.
In 1988, with the advance of theological liberalism within the
United Church of Canada, a group of conscientious objectors who had
left that denomination, began looking for ways in which to
cultivate their evangelical Christian faith, and to affiliate with
others of like mind. This group became aware of the Ontario
Christian Churches, and began the process of joining with them. Out
of these discussions, a new organization was formed: The
Congregational Christian Churches in Canada.
Today, the 4Cs represent a family of about 75 churches across
Canada committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ— both its Great
Commands and Great Commission. The 4Cs is a member of the
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. Its congregations have a strong
desire to work hand-in-hand with committed Christians of other
denominations, and have a growing interest in evangelism, church
planting, and both global and local mission projects. They are
varied in worship style, and in local focus, but are united in a
common Biblical creed, and in fellowship with one another.
Their national website is: www.cccc.ca
Ministry and ordination in the Congregational Christian
Churches/UCC
The understanding of
ministry in
the
Congregational
Christian Churches (pre-1957) generally followed a "
priesthood of all believers"
model in the sense that all Christians have ministry roles within
the church, but that God calls certain people to be
ordained ministers. The process of calling and
ordaining ministers was managed by the congregation through an
established system of process, but the ordination ceremony usually
involved more than just the congregation calling the pastor.
Typically, neighboring Congregational churches within, originally,
a
vicinage council or, since the
early 20th century, an association were invited to
lay hands on the confirmed candidate, in
a ceremony of ordination.
Since the formation of the
United Church of Christ in 1957,
most of the former CC churches largely follow a more centralized
system coordinated by their associations and conferences to help
them procure pastors or send candidates into the ministry from
their churches, one largely designed to ensure a professional,
credentialed pool of clergy. Meanwhile, the
National
Association of Congregational Christian Churches and the
Conservative
Congregational Christian Conference, two bodies formed in
reaction to the dominant liberalism (in the first instance,
political; the second, theological) of the majority of
Congregationalists, have retained something closer to the older,
more autonomous practices where associations do not supervise
clergy.
Some other
mainline groups
governed by congregational polity, such as the
American Baptist Churches USA,
the
Alliance of Baptists, and
the
Christian
Church , employ a system of clergy placement and supervision
similar to that of the UCC.
Congregationalism as a theory of union
It may seem ironic given its adamant emphasis on independence, but
one of the most notable characteristics of New England (or
British)-heritage Congregationalism has been its consistent
leadership role in the formation of "unions" with other churches.
Such sentiments especially grew strong in the late 19th and early
20th centuries, when ecumenism evolved out of a liberal,
non-sectarian perspective on relations to other Christian groups
that accompanied the relaxation of
Calvinist stringencies held by earlier
generations. The congregationalist theory of independence within a
union has been a cornerstone of most ecumenical movements since the
18th century.
An older, competing, but somewhat related theory, is sometimes
called
nationalism (in the
Reformed churches tradition), or
autocephaly (in the
Eastern Orthodox Church tradition).
Between these latter two there are further differences. In both
nationalism and autocephaly, one unifying doctrine is given local
expression, according to differences in language and customs.
Autocephaly is strictly
episcopal,
and assures the self-government of distinct
patriarchates within a structure of common
doctrine, comparable practices, with some degree of mutual
accountability through which they remain in communion with one
another. In nationalism (in recent times, more accurately called
"culturalism") , there is no institutional accountability to
churches with separate general assemblies, although churches with
separate histories typically form voluntary confederations with one
another. Congregationalism, in contrast, guarantees a completely
independent government for all of the uniting parties, down to the
level of every local congregation.
The congregationalist principles of complete autonomy and strictly
voluntary union produces a practically indescribable diversity of
beliefs within the congregational unions. The UCC is the result of
a union constructed according to congregationalist theory between
the
Evangelical and
Reformed Church and the
Congregational Christian
Churches. These uniting congregations were themselves the
result of several previous unions. The General Council of
Congregational Christian Churches was formed from a merger between
the National Council of Congregational Churches and the General
Convention of the Christian Church, also known as
Christian Churches or Christian
Connection (not to be confused with, although partially related
to, the Disciples of Christ). The Evangelical and Reformed Church
was the result of a partial union of the Reformed Church in the
United States and the Evangelical Synod of North America (a union
of
Lutherans and Reformed). The UCC is
by far the most diverse of the Reformed churches in the U.S.
In the
United
Kingdom
, the United
Reformed Church was formed in 1972 by the merger of the
Presbyterian and the Congregational churches, on presbyterian
principles of union but within a continuing congregational regard
for local diversity.
Diversity and theology
Churches such as the Unitarian Universalists and the United Church of Christ are often reported by the press as being politically liberal . However, conservatives and more orthodox believers can also be found in large numbers in other congregations (in the UCC; seldom in the UUA). In short, while the idea of congregationalism itself is tolerant of differences between congregations, this liberal theory in principle assures a place for both conservatives and liberals, as far as their uniting covenants allow. At least in principle, this kind of diversity may be regarded as both inevitable and tolerable under a congregational theory of union.
In theory, the UCC is tolerant of all types of theology. Paragraph
18 of the UCC constitution is a provision that was specifically
requested by the Congregational Christian Churches, and it
declares,
- "The autonomy of the Local Church is inherent and
modifiable only by its own action. Nothing in this
Constitution and the Bylaws of the United Church of Christ shall
destroy or limit the right of each Local Church to continue to
operate in the way customary to it; nor shall be construed as
giving to the General Synod, or to any Conference or Association
now, or at any future time, the power to abridge or impair the
autonomy of any Local Church in the management of its own affairs,
which affairs include, but are not limited to, the right to retain
or adopt its own methods of organization, worship and education; to
retain or secure its own charter and name; to adopt its own
constitution and bylaws; to formulate its own covenants and
confessions of faith; to admit members in its own way and to
provide for their discipline or dismissal; to call or dismiss its
pastor or pastors by such procedure as it shall determine; to
acquire, own, manage and dispose of property and funds; to control
its own benevolences; and to withdraw by its own decision from the
United Church of Christ at any time without forfeiture of ownership
or control of any real or personal property owned by it.
In practice, some UCC ministers and congregations embracing
conservative and/or evangelical theology have criticized the
denominational leaders for representing a more "
progressive" national identity through the
Justice and Witness
Ministries, the
Open and
Affirming program of the UCC Coalition for Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual and Transgender Concerns (a lobbying group), and the
"
God is still Speaking"
denominational advertising/identity campaign. As a result of their
perceptions of the UCC, some congregations have sought refuge in
other Congregationalist denominations such as the NACCC, the CCCC,
the
Evangelical Association of Reformed and Congregational Christian
Churches, or have opted to simply operate independently.
Baptist churches/Churches of Christ
Contrary to the congregationalism to which the above-mentioned
churches adhere, congregationalism obtains in two large
fundamentalist groups mainly found in the
Southern U.S. A large number of
Baptist churches and the
Churches of
Christ are two traditions whose churches stand autonomously
from each other.
These churches have developed ideas about independence of
congregational authority that are quite different from the UCC and
its New England-heritage predecessors, usually deriving from
intense convictions about supposed patterns of government among the
early churches described in the New Testament. Both traditions were
also shaped culturally by the
agrarian
traditions in the rural South from the late 19th through the middle
20th centuries, the poverty of which largely did not permit much of
the population to acquire significant formal education. These
conditions enabled preachers to disseminate highly sectarian
viewpoints such as the
Landmarkist
Baptist movement and doctrinare
Restorationism without significant
opposition on the part of potential converts.
Independent Baptist churches and Churches of Christ typically do
not condone the theories of unity and "merger" outlined above, as
such consolidation constitutes a threat to the sovereignty of
individual congregations. Interdenominational unity is generally
eschewed; calls for tolerance are almost invariably viewed as
attempts to weaken their distinctive doctrines and separatist
ecclesiologies. Church government beyond the level of the
congregation does not exist. Even in small towns or in rural areas,
most independent Baptist and Churches of Christ preachers do not
meet on a regular basis. Preachers are not formally ordained in the
Churches of Christ, because of the belief that performance of such
a rite would constitute a transcongregational authority. Practices
likely vary on this point among independent Baptists, according to
local customs.
The CoC base these convictions upon their general consensus that
the
New Testament practice of
epistle-writing had some practical, doctrinal, or
interpretational authority because the letters were written by
apostles and/or those directly inspired by God, but do not retain
similar authority in modern times. The practice of writing rather
than meeting is what gave rise to a colloquial maxim that "Churches
of Christ don't have
Bishops; they have
editors instead." These editors (usually elders) publish such
magazines as the
Gospel
Advocate and the
Herald of Truth. Other than
these editors and the occasional lectureship or fellowship
gathering (in which preachers from many churches come together to
speak publicly on pressing issues), the only ways in which Churches
of Christ generally coordinate is in
disaster relief.
Such rigorous independence even extends to some CoC-founded
colleges, such as
Florida College,
which does not accept donations from churches for fear of undue
influence and because the college's leaders hold to a policy that
strict adherence to certain Biblical passages does not permit
churches to donate money to education .
However, most
mainstream universities
and colleges affiliated with the Church of Christ, such as
Pepperdine
, Harding
University, and Lipscomb University
, do accept money from churches; the schools, in
turn, generally reflect the peculiar doctrinal platforms of those
contributing churches. The Churches of Christ have
steadfastly refused to organize along national or regional
lines.
As for Baptists, a variety of parachurch agencies and evangelical
educational institutions may be supported generously or not at all,
depending entirely upon the local congregation's customs and
predilections. Usually doctrinal conformity is held as a first
consideration when a church makes a decision to grant or decline
financial contributions to such agencies, which are legally
external and separate from the congregations they serve. These
practices also find currency among non-denominational
fundamentalist or
charismatic fellowships, many of
which derive from Baptist origins, culturally if not
theologically.
Most Southern Baptist congregations and
African-American Baptist churches, by
contrast, generally relate more closely to external groups such as
mission agencies and educational institutions than do those of
independent persuastion. However, they adhere to a very similar
ecclesiology, refusing to permit outside control or oversight of
local affairs.
See also
References
- Wayne Grudem, Electronic Systematic Theology: An
Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Whitefish, MT: Bits &
Bytes Computer Resources, 2000)
- Stanley M. Horton, ed., Systematic Theology, A Pentecostal
Perspective (rev. edn, Springfield, MO: Logion Press,
1994)
- Byron D. Klaus, Systematic Theology, ed. Stanley M.
Horton (Springfield, MI: Logion P, 2007), pp. 567-96
- Michael L. Dusing, Systematic Theology, ed. Stanley M.
Horton (Springfield, MI: Logion P, 2007), pp. 525-66
- Paul Fiddes, A leading question:
the structure and authority of leadership in the local church
(London: Baptist Publications, 1986)
- Paul Fiddes, Tracks and traces:
Baptist identity in church and theology (Carlisle:
Paternoster, 2003)
- NACCC | Principles and Practice: The Congregational
Way of Churches and the National Association
- constitution of the ucc
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