Blueprint 21: Presbyterians in the Post-Denominational Era
Reviewed by Robert P. Mills, February 1, 2001
“I am unapologetic in my conviction that the day of denominations as we have known them is now past.”
Having thus gotten his reader’s attention, Bob Henderson, director of seminary ministry for Presbyterians for Renewal, begins his stimulating assessment of the status and future of the PCUSA.
Defining a denomination as “the aggregate of congregations consenting to be accountable to each other in theology and mission,” Henderson precisely identifies the major problem of modern denominationalism when he observes that, “If this consensus is absent, then there may still be the same number of congregations, but there is no reason for the denomination.”
He states that, while denominations “are now anachronistic … the Reformed tradition is the treasure around which the denomination came into existence, and it is a gift to the whole of the church.”
And that distinction – the difference between denominational structures and the Reformed tradition – is at the core of Henderson’s vision for the future of the Church.
He notes that the “twenty-something” generation, which is notably non-denominational, is “asking the very questions to which the Reformed tradition gives profound answers. Yet, this tradition is so buried in ecclesiastical chaos that it is hardly a living voice.”
Many Presbyterian congregations will emerge from this chaos and thrive in the years ahead. But those that do so will embody and convey historic Presbyterian theological and organizational emphases in ways that employ the genius of the Reformed tradition to serve the mission of the Church, rather than the felt needs of mainline bureaucracies.
Less a sustained argument than a series of observations, conversations and reflections, Blueprint 21 is peppered with wonderfully well-turned phrases. Few will agree with all of Henderson’s observations, let alone his predictions of what the Church will look like 20 years from now. But none who wish to remain Presbyterian in the coming decades will be able to avoid the issues he raises.