A.
Over the last fifteen years of ministry as a teacher and a pastor, I have become increasingly
aware of certain dynamics in church life that operate largely on the level of assumption and
unconscious conviction, and yet are very far reaching in their effects. The present study seeks to
identify ways that theological commitments of evangelicals are influenced by implicit factors or
forces having to do with democracy, codependency and the irenic spirit.
I use these terms with an interest in general impressions rather than precise definitions. By
"democracy" I allude to the leveling impulse in a culture or system that equalizes the ideas and
influence of various community members, and to the corresponding assumption that what is true
and good is related to majority opinion. Codependency has received a great deal of attention in
the study of family systems, specifically with regard to the experience of adult children of
alcoholics. But it is a dynamic that can be seen in any kind of organization or social system,
fueled by the various compulsive behaviors of some together with the reactive behaviors of
others. The "irenic spirit" is said to be a hallmark of my denominational tradition, the Baptist
General Conference. (At the 2000 BGC Annual Meeting, Luis Palau, in an effort distinguish the
BGC from other Baptist groups, said, "Now, you are the gentle Baptists--not the fighting type.")
To be sure, the desire to maintain peaceful, harmonious relations within the church is by no
means unique to any particular denomination, but I can say that it has been a powerful force in
shaping the church culture in which I have grown up and served.
This paper represents an interdisciplinary experiment that has been exciting and yet also nearly
impossible to manage because the subject matter runs in so many directions. Further, I am not
an expert in the major the fields to which this wide-ranging study takes me (those fields are vast,
each is supported by a mammoth body of literature), but I have enough of a general sense for
their importance to see how placing too much emphasis on popular opinion, placating and peace-
keeping has done great harm to churches and individual believers. It is hoped that by high-
lighting ways that democracy, codependency and the irenic spirit have been subtly operative in
the church, insight can be gained regarding the process and product of theological formulation.
B.
To speak of the "place" of democracy, codependency and the irenic spirit in the life of congre-
gations is to be deliberately ambiguous. We are concerned both to confirm the existence of these
forces and to set out the appropriate limits they should have in church life. To verify that they
are active in the body of Christ we will draw on contemporary literature and historical studies,
and also consider my own and others' ministry experiences. To set out appropriate boundaries