Chapter 16: every tradition · Christianity

Independent nondenominational church

Not one body but the pattern many independent evangelical congregations share, with no denomination above them: a church governed by its own bylaws, usually by a board of elders with the lead pastor, often its founder. Worship is a band-led set of contemporary songs, a long topical sermon, and a time of response, in an auditorium with chairs, screens, and stage lighting, repeated across several Sunday services and online. Believers are baptized by immersion and children dedicated; communion, a memorial of the Lord's death, is open to all who believe. Giving is strongly taught and mostly online; there is nothing to pay upward, no one to approve a call, and no one to step in if a pastor falls, and handing on from the founder is the hardest moment in a church's life. Many are Baptistic in their theology, many charismatic, and some Reformed. Together they are the largest Protestant grouping in the United States by some counts (some 44,000 congregations in 2020; adherents estimated at 12 to 21 million, depending on the count).

All 80 traditions · its profile in Faiths and traditions, with how to play it; How people feel, what every factor is.

At a glance

Faith	Christianity
Its words	church, church, auditorium; the lead pastor leads the service; the message; Sunday; the Bible
Worship	word focus, responsive, minimal formality (0.00 of 1); seated on chairs
Music	organ discouraged; gospel organ discouraged; choir discouraged; band expected; brass discouraged; handbells discouraged; chant discouraged
The room's sound	likes a dry room (the band)
Its year	western; minimal observance; fasts none
Leans	conservative on moral questions, conservative on economic ones
Polity	independent; leaders come by call; property local
Leaders	one leader, full time, trained by in house; marriage expected
Belonging	moderate commitment, pastoral discipline, admitted by board
Giving	tithing expected; collected by online, boxes
Way of life	alcohol moderation, dress casual, sabbath relaxed

The week's services

Day	Time	Service	Led by	People look for it
Sunday	9:00 am	Praise and worship	the lead pastor	expected
Sunday	10:30 am	Praise and worship	the lead pastor	expected
Saturday	5:00 pm	Praise and worship	the lead pastor	optional

Leader: a lead pastor. With none (a vacancy, or no one hired), the services are still held, but each costs everyone at it 0.10; on sabbatical a supply lead pastor stands in ($800 a month) for a little less.
Communion (monthly), served at stations: it needs an altar, communion table, rail, or communion station with clear floor in front of it, or communion can't be given that week. People receive from age 7; anyone younger who comes forward is blessed instead.
Baptism: needs a baptistry or an immersion font, built and installed; until there is one, those wanting baptism wait.

Rites

Child Dedication (per birth, +0.02 to those there): Parents bring their baby to the front, promise to raise the child in the faith, and the lead pastor prays a blessing over the family while the congregation promises to support them.
Baptism Celebration (quarterly, +0.03 to those there): A service built around baptisms: one after another, people share their stories and are baptized before the cheering congregation.
Worship Night (monthly, +0.02 to those there): An evening given over to extended praise and worship led by the worship team, with prayer between the songs.

Baptism, confirmation, and joining

Baptized elsewhere: it recognizes a believer's baptism in the name of the Trinity (not one given as a baby). Someone so baptized is received at a service after about 2 weeks (a week from another of its churches).
Not baptized (or baptized where it doesn't recognize it): a candidate who is baptized and received at the same service.
Joining age: 16.
The church's children are baptized as believers at about 10, most within a year or two of it.
Kinds of belonging: members (may hold office); regular attenders; received by its board.
What it means: being baptized, confirmed, or received is worth +0.1 to the person, +0.05 to family there, and +0.03 to everyone else at the service. It roots them: a rooted household drifts away only 0.6 times as often, and if it does fall away, it has a 25% chance of coming home each Christmas Eve and Easter for ten years.

Giving, and what goes up

How its people give and what else comes in, as Money explains it for every faith.

How it's given: the giving, by giving online, and boxes. With no plate passed, members give a tenth less at the boxes than they would into one, and visitors give nothing at the service. Those who give online give whether or not they come (8% more a month).
Tithing is expected: people give 15% more.
Fundraisers: only the modest ones (below).
Owed above: nothing: it has no wider body.

The lead pastor, the staff, and who decides

How the lead pastor comes: advertised and called: the elder board votes.
Paid: full time.
Candidates: three apply; trained in-house (they ask 90%); women among them where the congregation ordains them; nearly all married; about one married candidate in seven comes as a couple, caring for 75 more; the spouse has a recognized part (+0.01 to everyone after each service).
Tenure: settled for about 15 years, then may be called elsewhere; the associate succeeds at once.
Staff it can hire or name (see Staff and volunteers):
- Bivocational lead pastor ($22,000–$38,000; cares for 75)
- Lead pastor ($55,000–$85,000 + $18,000 benefits, full time; cares for 150)
- Associate lead pastor ($42,000–$62,000 + $15,000 benefits, full time; cares for 100 more)
- Choir director / organist / pianist ($15,000–$35,000; leads the music (up to +0.06))
- Caretaker ($18,000–$30,000; slows the building's wear)
- Church secretary ($20,000–$35,000; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once))
- Youth director ($20,000–$40,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
Its boards: the elder board (deciding, over everything).
Renovations: The elder board votes, consulting the lead pastor.
New construction: The elder board votes, consulting the lead pastor.
Calling a leader: The elder board votes.
Who votes: no kind of belonging votes, so what would go to the members goes to the board.

Life together

What its Community screen offers it, with the dilemmas only its own faith or family meets; see The congregation in its community.

Ministries of its own: Choir.
Ministries every tradition can run that it's offered: Blood drive, Food pantry, Health clinic, Preschool, Youth group.
Fundraisers of its own: Soup supper.
Shared fundraisers it may hold (only the modest ones): Bake sale, Car wash, Raffle, Rummage sale.
Tenants it can take: A Masonic lodge, A scout troop, A twelve-step group, Another congregation, Dance classes, Parties and receptions, Polling place and forums.
Outreach: invitation Sunday, planting a new church (Community → Evangelism).
Dilemmas of its own faith (besides those every congregation meets): A petition for cushions, The bells, again.
Dilemmas its code of life brings: A candidates' forum, A raffle for the roof, A recruiter asks for the hall, Champagne at the reception.

What the building needs

required BaptistryBeliever's baptism by immersion needs a baptistry: a tank large enough for an adult, with plumbing to fill and drain it.
required Communion tableThe Lord's Supper is served from a communion table, recalling the table of the Last Supper.
required PulpitPreaching is the center of worship, so the pulpit stands at the center of the platform.
expected Drum kitWorship is led by a band.
expected Sound systemA band needs a sound system to be heard.
discouraged Brass band standsBrass doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
discouraged Choir stallsThis tradition's worship has no choir.
discouraged CrucifixThis tradition uses an empty cross, proclaiming the risen Christ, rather than a crucifix.
discouraged Flag of the churchThis tradition doesn't fly a flag in worship.
discouraged Flaming chaliceThe flaming chalice is another tradition's symbol.
discouraged Hammond organA gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
discouraged IconIcons are not part of this tradition's worship.
discouraged Pipe organAn organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
discouraged StatueStatues are not part of this tradition's worship space.

What people here feel

Architectural style: Colonial brick +0.012; Modern synagogue -0.006; Gurdwara -0.012; Japanese temple -0.024; Islamic -0.03; Shinto shrine -0.03; Chinese temple -0.036; Dravidian temple -0.042; Nagara temple -0.042; Thai temple -0.042; Jain marble -0.048; Gothic -0.054.
Building fit: up to ±0.15 for everyone, the average fit of the characterful items in its worship rooms (the table below).
Acoustics: it wants a dry room, about 0.9 seconds of reverberation: carpet, padded seats, a low ceiling. Up to ±0.05.
Seasonal decor: it keeps the church year: paraments and the season's decor are worth up to ±0.000.
The message lands by its topic and the tradition's leaning (below); the lead pastor's preaching adds or costs up to 0.08 more.
Communion: each communion service runs longer; a slow one costs 0.05 for every 10 minutes the service runs over (0.2 at most).

How each message lands

The topics its leader can choose from (some are only for one faith or family), and what each is worth.

Fire & Brimstone+0.08
Marriage as God Designed+0.06
Sanctity of Life+0.06
The Last Days+0.06
Faith & Family+0.04
Faith of Our Fathers+0.04
Obedience & Discipline+0.04
Personal Holiness+0.04
Resisting Temptation+0.04
Spiritual Warfare+0.04
The Authority of Scripture+0.04
The Great Commission+0.04
Biblical Stories+0.015
Blessed Are the Peacemakers+0.015
Called by Name+0.015
Doubt & Faith+0.015
Eternal Life & Resurrection+0.015
Grace & Forgiveness+0.015
Gratitude+0.015
Hope & Comfort+0.015
Joy in All Things+0.015
Love One Another+0.015
Sabbath Rest+0.015
Saints & Witnesses+0.015
Servant Leadership+0.015
Songs of the Psalms+0.015
Stewardship & Generosity+0.015
The Church Year+0.015
The Life of Prayer+0.015
The Parables of Jesus+0.015
Care for Creation-0.05
Healing for All-0.05
Interfaith Understanding-0.05
Reading Scripture in Context-0.05
Swords into Ploughshares-0.05
The Prophets' Call-0.05
Wealth & Poverty-0.05
Welcome the Stranger-0.05
Women Who Led-0.05
Racial Justice & Reconciliation-0.075
Radical Inclusion-0.075
Social Justice Call-0.075

Every item, for this tradition

Fit runs from −1 (jars) to +1 (just right); the building fit is the average over the characterful items in the worship rooms. An item with no character (a table, a toilet) has no fit. A rule applies wherever the item is.

Item	Fit	Rule
Seating
Box pew	-1
Choir stalls	-1	discouraged This tradition's worship has no choir.
Meeting bench	no fit
Oak pew	no fit
Row of chairs	+1
Liturgical furniture
Altar	-1
Baptismal font	-1
Baptistry	no fit	required Believer's baptism by immersion needs a baptistry: a tank large enough for an adult, with plumbing to fill and drain it.
Bishop's chair	-1
Brass eagle lectern	-1
Columbarium niches	-1
Communion rail	-1
Communion station	no fit
Communion table	no fit	required The Lord's Supper is served from a communion table, recalling the table of the Last Supper.
Communion trays	no fit
Confessional screen	no fit
Coptic cross	0
Epitaphios	-1
Flaming chalice	-1	discouraged The flaming chalice is another tradition's symbol.
Foot-washing basins	no fit
Haikal screen	-1
Iconostasis	-1
Immersion font	-1
Lectern	no fit
Litany desk	-1
Mercy seat	no fit
Octagonal stone font	-1
Paraments	no fit
Pulpit	no fit	required Preaching is the center of worship, so the pulpit stands at the center of the platform.
Readers' desks	no fit
Rood screen	-1
Sanctuary lamp	-1
Tabernacle	-1
Three-bar cross	0
Thurible and stand	no fit
Music
Brass band stands	-1	discouraged Brass doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Chanter's stand	-1
Drum kit	+1	expected Worship is led by a band.
Electronic organ	-1
Grand piano	0
Hammond organ	-1	discouraged A gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Handbell table	-1
Pipe organ	-1	discouraged An organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Sound system	+1	expected A band needs a sound system to be heard.
Upright piano	0
Decor
Advent wreath	no fit
Banner	0
Christmas Eve candles	no fit
Cross	0
Crucifix	-1	discouraged This tradition uses an empty cross, proclaiming the risen Christ, rather than a crucifix.
Easter lilies	no fit
Eternal flame	no fit
Flag of the church	-1	discouraged This tradition doesn't fly a flag in worship.
Great dome	-1
Icon	-1	discouraged Icons are not part of this tradition's worship.
Memorial plaque	no fit
National flag	0
Painting of Christ	0
Paschal candle	no fit
Plain spire	no fit
Small dome	no fit
Stained glass window	-1
Statue	-1	discouraged Statues are not part of this tradition's worship space.
Steeple and bells	-1
Votive candle stand	no fit
Furnishings
Alms box	no fit
Coffee pot	no fit
Commercial coffee pot	no fit
Computer	no fit
Crib	no fit
Desk	no fit
Desk chair	no fit
Folding table	no fit
Full-length mirror	no fit
Pillar	-1
Prie-dieu	-1
Projection screen	+1
Vestment cabinet	-1
Wooden table	no fit
Utility
A/V rack	no fit
Camera	no fit
Cast-iron boiler	no fit
Central air conditioner	no fit
Commercial HVAC plant	no fit
Commercial stove	no fit
Congregation van	no fit
Ductless heat pump	no fit
Electric wall heater	no fit
Gas furnace	no fit
Hearing loop	no fit
Lift	no fit
Packaged heat pump	no fit
Plumbing stack	no fit
Ramp	no fit
Shuttle bus	no fit
Sink	no fit
Solar panels	no fit
Stairs	no fit
Toilet	no fit
Used school bus	no fit
Wall camera	no fit
Window air conditioner	no fit
Grounds
Evergreen tree	no fit
Flower bed	no fit
Fountain	no fit
Garden bench	no fit
Hedge	no fit
Lychgate	-1
Playground	no fit
Shade tree	no fit
Standing cross	no fit

Variants

Chosen when you found the church:

Baptistic: its own school; its own sacraments (and so its own font or baptistry)
Charismatic: its own expression, altar call; its own calendar; its own leaders
Reformed-leaning: its own services: Preaching service, sunday at 10:30 am; Preaching service, sunday at 9:00 am; its own expression, altar call, formality; its own sacraments (and so its own font or baptistry); its own calendar; its own leaders

Sources

Wikipedia, Nondenominational Christianity (link)
Christianity Today, Nondenominational church growth (2022) (link)
Hartford Institute for Religion Research, Nondenominational Congregations Study (link)
Lifeway Research, What does the growth of nondenominationalism mean? (2017) (link)
Faith Communities Today, FACTs on Worship (link)