Can the Bible be our creed?

The other night I was able to drop by and participate in a friend's house church. After the meeting he mentioned that he was thinking about writing down a statement of beliefs for the church. The church was born in his home about two years ago and has already grown into two churches that meet in his home at different days of the week. It would seem to make perfect sense to write down the core beliefs that this gathering of believers hold in common and consider essential. In fact whenever I'm on vacation or attend a church with a friend or family member I usually pickup a copy of their statement of faith just out of curiosity. For some reason however, when my friend told me his intention to write just such a statement I became uneasy.

I wrote him an email a couple days later in which I explored my concerns. To be honest I was really surprised at how strongly I felt about this - almost embarrassed by how strongly I felt. After further reflection however I think I realize that if I take these creeds seriously, they would separate me from a body of believers that I have come to appreciate. Having reached out and been blest by fellow Christians outside of the box of my denomination, I'm not eager to withdraw behind those walls again. Here is what I wrote:

Why do you feel you should write down a creed or doctrinal position statement? What do you hope that will accomplish?

I ask these questions because I’m a little concerned. Historically, creedal statements were made after growth periods and were used to “settle” doctrinal conflicts within the church. Rather than settling the issues however they created divisions (or highlighted existing divisions and set them in concrete).

One of the dynamics of house / organic church is that the Holy Spirit is drawing people together from different denominations. God is drawing people in certain directions and revealing truths that are not welcome in “institutional” churches. People are drawn out or thrust out of their churches and are now gathering together with others who share their spiritual experience and revelation, but not their doctrinal background.

This is exactly what happened a century ago when God began baptizing people with his Spirit. Tongues, supernatural healing and words of prophecy scared the leadership of the “mainline” churches. When people shared what God was doing in their lives with others in their churches, they were forced out. Sermons were preached about how those who spoke in tongues were of the devil or deceived – in a similar way that house church is sometimes condemned in many “institutional” churches today. These people met together in homes for fellowship because they were unwanted everywhere else. Here were Baptists, Methodists and Episcopalians, worshiping together because of their common experience and belief in the power of God’s Spirit. These believers are the predecessors of all the Pentecostal and Charismatic groups today. Succeeding generations in the “main line” churches of that day eventually came around because the spiritual vitality of these believers couldn’t be refuted. In time they sought to find a way to embrace this move of the Spirit in ways they could incorporate into their existing theologies. If house church / organic church demonstrate a similar spiritual vitality and multiply, then I’m sure “institutional” churches will attempt to embrace those parts of it that they can integrate into their existing theology. As these Pentecostal groups grew they sought a way to organize or affiliate with each other, as they needed government recognition for certain things. They did so, but in time doctrinal divisions formed and doctrinal debates ensured. Creeds were then established that splintered the Pentecostal movement. But originally, it was just people with varied doctrinal backgrounds worshiping together because of a common participation in a move of God.

I say all that because I was hoping the believers who share the house church / organic church calling and experience could relish the unity of the body of Christ a little longer before they begin drawing boxes around themselves. Could the Bible be our creed? Could we admit that we are all still growing and learning and be open to the beliefs of others than can be clearly articulated from scripture? Would a creed really be of any assistance in reigning in doctrinal error? How good have other creeds been at accomplishing this? What makes us so competent at distilling the essential interpretations of scripture that we don’t trust succeeding generation to be able to do so? Does the body of Christ need creeds, or are they primarily for the survival of religious organizations as they help divide the greater body and then unify a sliver of it? I don’t have all the answers my friend. Perhaps it’s not even possible to avoid written creeds and let the Bible be our creed and our lives our interpretation of it. I think however, that I am going to try.