The Problem of Wineskins

Dear Pastors

There have been quite a few books that I’ve read over the years that have had a profound impact on my life and ministry. I’m sure as pastors we all have our list of significantly influential books……way way more impacting than the 200-300 pages of ink they are written on. Then there are perhaps 4-6 books you’ve read that are absolute stand outs. These are the books that sit right alongside your bible and that follow you whenever you move house or office. These books interpret and contemporise the eternal and timeless truths of scripture through the lived experience of another pastor and/or theologian.

One such book for me was and still is Howard A Synder’s book, ‘The Problem of Wineskins’ with a sub-title, Church Structure in a Technological Age. This book was first published in….guess…..….1975 and was the first of a quadrilogy¹ from Synder. All four books were published by IVP.

The reason I mention this today (and Part 2 next week) is because I worry quite a bit about the structures (locally, regionally and nationally) of our churches and how these structures can so easily and often in fact do so easily dictate and dominate the life of our fellowships, congregations and churches. Not to say anything about the cost of running and maintaining these structures. This book really helps us to think more clearly about things like:-

• What is Church according to scripture especially the New Testament? It certainly isn’t a building or even a location.
• Why do we need structures (Forms)?
• What structures are necessary and important?
• What is the ‘biblical’ way of thinking about church structures?

Snyder begins with Jesus’ parable in Luke 5:36-38, where Jesus says “no one puts new wine into old wineskins”. Snyder interprets this not merely as an organisational metaphor but as a fundamental challenge to the way the Christian church expresses and organises itself. The “new wine” symbolizes the gospel of Jesus Christ — life-giving, dynamic, and transformative — while “wineskins” represent the manmade structures, traditions, institutions, and patterns that the Church has built around the gospel.

He argues that church structures are not eternal absolutes; they are sociologically conditioned, historically specific, and relative to the cultures in which they developed. The gospel itself doesn’t change, but the way it is contained, expressed, and embodied must change across eras. Old forms eventually constrain the gospel and diminish its power, much like brittle old wineskins bursting under fermenting wine. Therefore, new wineskins are periodically necessary — not because the gospel changes, but because it demands and produces change.

Synder goes on by doing what I think is a superb critique of structures that dominate much of Protestant and evangelical life:

1. Church Buildings as Central

Church buildings can unintentionally become symbols of institutional priority, diverting focus from mission to maintenance. For Snyder, over-emphasis on building programs often reflects a wineskin that has outlived its usefulness. Let me add, Synder isn’t saying – don’t own buildings. He IS saying are those buildings modelled after a Temple mentality or a Tabernacle mentality/philosophy. And those two ideas are worlds apart.

2. Superstar Pastors and Celebrity Leadership

The elevation of clergy to celebrity status can transform churches into audience-oriented organisations rather than body-oriented communities. Snyder critiques this “superstar” model for reinforcing the wrong sort of structure and diminishing the participation of lay believers. Let me add, there has been a lot of very important and insightful writing been done on this subject over more recent years especially after some recent spectacular falls (last 10 years) from so called celebrity pastors and Christian Leaders.

3. Over-institutionalisation and Bureaucracy

Traditions, bylaws, and rigid governance can become ends in themselves. Snyder sees this as a perversion of the gospel’s organic, Spirit-led nature. These structures often protect the institution at the expense of authentic community and mission. Let me add, this perhaps worries me the most because bureaucracy ‘creeps’ up on you and most people are unaware that it is becoming bigger and bigger and hungrier and hungrier. . A decision this year to add in some rules and beef up administration and another decision next year and another in three years and so on - and before long you have a top heavy bureaucratic organisation that no one really likes and everyone feels something isn’t right but no one is brave enough to call it out and then be braver still and do something about it. Most people and increasingly churches just leave or if they can tolerate it continue to operate but largely ignore the structure.

Given that Synder wrote this exactly 50 years ago, I ask myself what has changed? Really changed? Not just a few tweaks every now and again but deep, fundamental change.

I’d be interested in your thoughts. Does this resonate for you?

Next week I want to share some further thoughts based from this book around what are the elements we should think about when creating structures around our churches.

Blessings
Alan

¹ The other three titles in the quadrilogy are: Liberating The Church, The Community of the King and The Radical Wesley.