If there were one word I could expunge from Fundamentalism’s vocabulary, it would be the word “association.”  Actually, that might not be at the head of the list, but it would definitely make the top ten. “Association” frequently serves as a smoke screen to cover unnecessary and unbiblical separation.  For the sake of “guarding associations,” Scripturally mandated unity finds itself discarded as the body of Christ suffers great mutilation.  If we are going to demonstrate God’s glory through the Church, we need to make admissions and change our thinking about associations.

Before I say any more, let me clarify something.  I’m writing because I’m concerned about people throwing babies out with bathwater by abusing or overusing.  I don’t want to do the same thing with the topic I’m writing about today.  Paul speaks to the value of associations in his discussion of eating idol meat (I Cor. 8-10).  I’m not out to bash every single decision or opinion that involves associations; I’d just like to bring up some points that will (ideally) help us safeguard against an abuse of association arguments.

First, let’s just admit that even though everyone talks about association, no one knows exactly what it means.  Sure, everyone has a fuzzy idea about about they mean when they use the word “association.”  But give me a uniform, broadly acceptable definition, please.  Some of you just thought about a definition for association for the very first time.  What is association?  Does it necessarily involve face-to-face time with a person?  Is it cooperative or unilateral?  Is it merely reading or listening to resources?  Does it apply to organizations, individuals or both?  How do you handle ignorance of associations?  Those are all good questions and there are good answers (feel free to kick some thoughts around in the comments), but the variety in opinion on those answers demonstrates something essential: when we talk about association, we’re all talking about our own idea of what association means, not about a clearly defined and broadly agreed-upon definition.  To complicate matters further, how do we decide what issues make an association (whatever that may be!) an issue?  And further how big of an issue is an undesirable association – is it sinful, problematic or just confusing?  I’m not arguing that there’s no such thing as a valid associational concern (there are some); I’m just trying to show how far into the realm of individualism, preferences and subjectivity we end up when we try to make association-driven choices.

A second problem with association-driven choices is its implicit negativity.  No one uses “association” as a reason to cooperate in Gospel-centered ministry; it only functions as a reason for rejection or separation.   When dozens of good books, songs, sermons and Christians are denigrated or prohibited because of “their associations,” negative triviality abounds.  An atmosphere of nit-picking, hyper-sensitivity and judgmentalism develops.  The overuse of “association” arguments hinders grace-based relationships: resources, ministries and people are viewed through the lens of “What bad associations do they have?” not “What good is God doing in and through them?”  When “association” is the issue in nearly every choice, the situations where it actually matters end up devalued because of an overused argument.  It’s bad enough using an implicitly negative argument; must we overuse it as well?

Perhaps the worst offense of “associationism” is that it obscures the real issues.  Consider the following scenarios.  (A) A choir director uses a choir song by a theologically liberal or openly homosexual author/composer.  That’s not usually a problem.  The same choir director uses a choir song by a well-known Christian musician whose primary style is something akin to pop or rock.  That’s bad association. (B) A pastor uses commentaries and reference works that are written by unconverted men who treat Scripture as a thing to be dissected and graded according to human reason.  That’s not usually a problem.  That same pastor tries quoting a godly man whose ministry is characterized by careful exposition of Scripture but whose church has “lower standards” for conduct or dress.  That’s bad association.  Do you see what’s happening here?  Trying to run a ministry according to “association” is like trying to cut a straight line with pinking shears.  The subjectivity we saw growing from the undefined nature of associations is the subjectivity that makes it impossible to make objective decisions solely on association factors.

Of course, we don’t want to leave this topic with an entirely negative understanding of the problem.  Let’s think about some practical ways to cut a better path forward.

• Let’s set the word “association” aside for now.  Really, if we can’t define the “problem” in detail without resorting to “association,” we might not even have a real problem in the first place.  Deliberately avoiding the word might appear pedantic, but it will help by forcing us to think about the actual situation.
• Let’s keep the important issues in focus.  What does God really want from His people – separation or holiness?  (And no, those are not the same!)  Instead of starting with questions of separation, let’s start with Christlikeness.  Picture a book from a pastor of a church that’s not like your church.  Now, ask yourself some questions.  “Will this book promote Christlikeness in my life?”  “Will this book help me understand the Scripture better?”  “Will this book increase the fervency, love and passion with which I relate to God?”  If the answer is “yes,” read the book!
• Let’s get move from disclaimer-ism to discernment.  Are we interacting with one another as with growing Christians or are we all treating each other like infants?  Accuracy and discernment are super, but qualifying every recommendation with is a disclaimer is silly.  First, treat the person you’re talking to as a Christian who is capable of biblically discerning right and wrong.  Second, discern others’ recommendations without judging them.  It really isn’t as complicated as we make it out to be!

Any other suggestions on how to move past petty association-ism and teach holy discernment?