I acknowledge that my exploration of the issue of group uniformity has been quite unorganized in presentation. My goal is, at the least, to find some direction on the issues by stirring our thinking. I do not have definitive answers to all the questions that could be asked. And I do value your input to the conversation.

In this discussion on uniformity I am not addressing the core doctrinal issues of Scripture. The concept of uniformity within a church group, however we define that group, is more generally applied to lifestyle and cultural issues. It is not the same discussion as unity in the body, but neither is it totally disconnected from unity.

Historically, some Anabaptist related groups have, at times, nearly merged unity and uniformity into one issue. When I was in my early twenties, I remember talking to a young brother from a group that highly stressed uniformity in dress. I recall telling him that I didn’t think that it was necessary for Christians to look like they had come out of a “ditto machine”.

How can we put the idea of uniformity into an appropriate Biblical framework? Are there any redeeming aspects for uniformity of practice within an organized group? How does it relate to the larger truth of unity in the body of Christ? Does it strengthen or weaken unity? Or is there no relationship between the two?

It seems to me that in the Anabaptist/Brethren community, historically most of the emphasis of uniformity has been directed to issues of cultural separation from society in general. Issues like dress and entertainment have often been the predominant applications.

Different periods of history had different issues of concern. The list of items is long of the the things that have been addressed by our earlier brethren. Things like whether it is right for a brother to have bells on his sleigh or to have carpet in his house or to have his picture taken are just a few examples of practices that were once regulated.

I am going to pull back into this discussion some comments made by a brother in a couple of the earlier posts in this blog series. I think they are valid points to consider. I encourage you to go back to the second and fifth post in this series and read Adam’s comments in entirety.

In part two he suggests that there could be a general consistency of practice in a group that results from the group living together in “the same time, place and culture, and sharing the same background and social attitudes.” He suggests that this may not necessarily be an intentional uniformity.

He also identifies another type of uniformity that is intentional and this involves “a collection of expectations that define… who is a part of the group”. In his opinion, he sees this more problematic.

In post five, Adam raises some concerns related to the following quote:

“‘Church regulations’, when properly formulated, are ‘divine regulations’.”

Adam brings into the discussion some questions about what is the church, what authority does the church have and how do we deal with the issue of denominations in this picture?

I will have to say that, I too, would view the statement, “‘Church regulations’, when properly formulated, are ‘divine regulations’”, to be concerning. I do not know the full context in which this statement was presented originally, but it almost appears to say that church regulations can be regarded on the same level as the Scripture. If we are speaking about applications of biblical principles within a given culture, this becomes a very wrong and even a dangerous statement in my opinion.

Before l close this segment, I will confess that the problem of denominations is a bit perplexing to me. I need to give it much more thought. On one hand, it seems to have created an enormous amount of confusion in the world and much opportunity for Satan to create chaos. Is God displeased with denominations? Should we view them as “the work of the devil”?

Or should we view them, at least in part, a necessary and expected development because of the imperfectness of men, but, a situation in which the Holy Spirit is still well able to accomplish the purposes of the Father?

Are denominations artificial barriers we should ignore in our fellowship experiences? Or are there times when it is appropriate to refrain from fellowship with other “Christians”? Again, from a historic perspective, Anabaptist and Brethren groups have often viewed other religious groups with nearly as much suspicion as they viewed the world around them.

I would like to hear your thoughts.

DSJ