23
needs, without a carefully thought through rationale. That does not invalidate them, but it raises
questions that need to be considered, and, I would say, places them secondary to that which is
mentioned explicitly in Scripture, namely, the church. Sadly, however, Leith Anderson's
assessment is, I think, accurate: "Most para-church organizations say they are extensions of the
church and subject to the church, but in reality that is seldom true."
77
The absence of scriptural guidance for parachurch groups also raises difficulties for them
in terms of the eschatological boundary. I think parachurch group leaders need to recognize that
part of the reason for their dramatic growth and prominence is the way they "fit" the
entrepreneurial, independent American spirit. Alan Youngren notes four aspects of this "fit:"
Americans have less respect for tradition, a preference for autonomous groups, a generally
independent spirit, and "an infatuation with almost anything new."
78
The danger is that such
groups, lacking biblical guidance as to what they should be as a corporate entity, will take their
cue from the culture in which they exist. As Anderson notes, while parachurch groups may
"seek to operate by the same New Testament principles as the local church . . . they often are
more open to adopting the organizing structures of secular institutions, businesses, and
universities."
79
To be sure, churches face this same danger, but they have Scriptural guidelines
that should allow them to be "eschatological outposts"
80
in space and time; parachurch groups
lack such Scriptural guidance.
In terms of the liturgical boundary, most parachurch groups have refrained from
celebrating the sacraments out of deference to the idea that they seek to complement, rather than
compete with, the ministry of churches. I think such an idea of complementariness, or
Parachurch Groups," 110-129.
77
Leith Anderson, Dying for Change (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany, 1990), 17.
78
J. Alan Youngren, "Parachurch Proliferation: The Frontier Spirit Caught in Traffic,"
Christianity Today 25:19 (November 6, 1981): 38-41.
79
Anderson, 17.
80
This is Carson's phrase. See Carson, "Evangelicals, Ecumenism, and the Church," 364.