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| Sunday, June 22, 2008 |
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Congregationalism: A Needed Conversation
Church of God Ministries, Church of God - General
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By David Farlow
 Dr. Ronald V. Duncan, general director of Church of God Ministries, will host an open-forum discussion on his recently release a paper titled “Congregationalism and the Church of God Reformation Movement: A Needed Conversation.” The discussion will be held in Byrum Hall, Monday from 4:00 to 5:00 pm.
Duncan believes that one of his primary responsibilities as general director of Church of God Ministries is to initiate and facilitate needed conversations about the life of the church. “I want to have an open and honest dialogue with the leaders in the Church of God movement regarding the role of congregationalism,” said Duncan.
Camp meetings have historically been an important venue for pastors and lay leaders to address key issues facing the church. “Hosting this conference during the North American Convention provides a great opportunity for the gathered brothers and sisters to share their thoughts on the issue,” said Duncan. “I want them to share their thoughts, suggestions and concerns.”
Setting the stage for the discussion, Duncan’s paper makes the point that “many have seen congregationalism as synonymous with independence or unlimited autonomy…This understanding of congregationalism has functioned largely as an unquestioned assumption in the life of the church.”
Duncan writes that congregationalism is a powerful type of polity, “but it must be configured with the New Testament core values of connectivity, leadership by the Holy Spirit, and individual giftedness. I cannot find any biblical principle that would lead a believer or group of believers to practice [unlimited autonomy, apart] from other believers. It seems we have allowed culture, our preoccupation with problem areas, and our growth and development to race ahead and define for us what some think we should practice and believe about our body life together.”
“The future growth and development of the Church of God reformation movement needs a clarification and conversation concerning the various aspects of congregationalism if we want to achieve the missional and relational endeavors given to us by God,” he writes. “We must not be afraid to carefully examine and discuss who and what we are as a movement. I hope all will read and prayerfully consider the points discussed in the paper, and then come and participate in the discussion,” Duncan states.
The congregationalism paper has been distributed to pastors and has been the subject of much discussion. It is available for download from the Internet here. It includes discussion questions provided by Rev. Robert Christensen, chair of the Western Area Regional Ministerium, to stimulate your thoughts about the topic.
A version of this article appears in the Monday, June 23, 2008, edition of the NAC roundup/08 newsletter. To view the newsletter in its entirety, click here (2.85 MB). The document is in PDF format and requires Adobe Acrobat in order to read and/or print it. If you do not have Acrobat installed on your computer, you can download a free copy of Acrobat Reader here.
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