Denominational Breakdown

One of the unfortunate parts about being a Presbyterian chaplain in the US Army comes the ambiguity and general ignorance of "Presbyterian" even means. 

If someone outside the church knows the term, they know it as an alternative to Roman Catholicism--as one of the many Protestant denominations.

If someone from a more fundamentalist or conservative church background knows the term, they know it as a liberal denomination that rejects the Bible. They are shocked to learn that there are many Presbyterian bodies, and a number of them love and revere God's Word.

Others from less-churched backgrounds, especially those in non-denominations, assume that all of the labels are just various descriptions of Bible-believing Christians, and are shocked to learn that there are any bodies that identify as Christian, yet reject the Bible.

In his punchy blog, Dr. R. Scott Clark gives a very thoughtful analysis of how to understand the various denominations. In general, each denomination can be considered either "mainline," "borderline," or "sideline." Mainline denominations reject the historic teachings of their own denomination and those of Christianity in general. Sideline denominations have very consciously maintained their fidelity to the Bible and their denominational confessions, even at the cost of numbers and cultural relevance. Borderline denominations tend to straddle the line, often moving from fidelity to apostasy (deserting the faith) over time.

What makes the matter more difficult for those searching for a solid church is that many of these denominations claim the same name somewhere in their title. If you're a Lutheran, do you go to the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America), the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, or the Lutheran Church-Wisconsin Synod? The following is a grossly-oversimplified breakdown of these denominations.

(I will not be touching on Roman Catholicism, with their historic contention with Protestantism and Biblical truth in general. There is also no realistic way to categorize Pentecostalism or "non-denominational" churches. In general, the rule of thumb should be "buyer beware" on the latter two.)

Baptists. Of the remaining denominations, Baptists are hardest to categorize because there is so very many. Some are very much a part of the mainline and should be avoided; others are incredibly legalistic. As a general rule of thumb, the Southern Baptist Convention is the most healthy and sure-fire bet for at least generally-evangelical (Bible-believing) views. This was the one denomination to successfully fend off a liberal (rejection of core Biblical truths) takeover. Of the SBC, approximately one-third could be considered broadly-Reformed (emphasize salvation by God's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone).

Methodists. This is the next most difficult to categorize because there was never a split in the denomination. Much of the denomination is apostate, but not all of it. The best best for finding a church likely lies in geography. If you are in the Northeast or on the West Coat, the church is probably dead. If you are in the South, or in a rural area elsewhere, it may be somewhat solid. Of course, these folks tend to believe in salvation as a cooperative work between God and man, which means that even though they're believers, they don't appreciate the full beauty of the Gospel.

Episcopalians. This denomination has really just begun to split in the last decade or so. In general, most Episcopalian churches are liberal, but clusters of churches in various parts of the broken off and joined evangelical Episcopalian churches around the world to form more-conservative Anglican denominations. You see this played out with a church like Falls Church Episcopalian in Virginia, which has broken off of the Episcopalian Church and has aligned and submitted to the oversight of Anglican bishops in Africa.

Lutherans. This breakdown is pretty simple. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) is in the mainline. Both of the other two, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and the Lutheran Church-Wisconsin Synod are both sideline. If you're a Lutheran, look for the latter two.

Dutch Reformed. This is a smaller body, historically, but an important one nonetheless. The first break occurred in this group around a century ago, with a split between the Reformed Church in America (RCA) and the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). The former eventually became a part of the mainline, while the CRC stayed on the sideline. For a variety of reasons, the CRC started quickly moving away from their roots in the latter part of this past century. They can only be considered "borderline" at this point. A significant evangelical/Reformed block still remains, but they are in the minority. The majority is moving quickly toward liberalism and the mainline. As a result, the United Reformed Churches (URC) began breaking off in the mid-90's. They are now the mantle-bearers of the Dutch Reformed tradition and confessions.

Presbyterians. This body was at the heart of the great fundamentalist-liberal controversy in the early twentieth century. The Presbyterian Church in the USA (PCUSA) quickly became borderline during this era, resulting in the exodus of the sideline-bound Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC). Many evangelical/Reformed churches remained in the denomination or its southern counterpart, the PCUS, for much of the rest of the century, hopefully to change its course. When the semi-liberal PCUS and very-liberal PCUSA began to make moves toward uniting, this forced the hand of the more evangelical/Reformed southern churches to depart, forming the sideline Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Following their departure, a less conservative body, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), left the PCUSA. Like the CRC, the EPC is a part of the borderline, drifting slowly toward liberalism as well.

Again, these are all gross over-simplifications. There is no doubt that in the more historic traditions, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Methodism, and Presbyterians, the largest bodies are in the mainline. But though they are the largest, they are also marked by the greatest declines. And as the borderline denominations move in that same direction, they begin to see their own declines. Meanwhile, the bodies the remain faithful to the Scriptures and their confessions on the sideline have tended to experience growth over the past couple of decades. This may not always prove true, but it is consistent with the reality that when people seek out a Christian Church, they want a truly Christian Church.

And while the historic, evangelical Church within the West has clearly diminished in numbers and influence, that is not the whole story. As Philip Jenkins, amongst many others, has noted, the heart of the Church is quickly moving the global East and South. Some countries in these regions have even begun sending missionaries to the U.S.

The main story, however, is not found in the ebb and flow of numbers and influence, but the over-arching, providential reality that Christ is building His Church by His Word and His Spirit, and the gates of Hell will never prevail against it.