They give lip service to the value of the reformers' work while maintaining that they were ignorant and blind on the most important doctrine. Fourth, CES and TWI share the same idea of their group's place in history. Fifth, they claim not to be a church or denomination, yet act just like one. Most church bodies are associations of congregations. When the churches meet in convention, together they elect leaders to short-term offices, approve budgets, make statements on doctrine, plan goals and programs, and direct studies that are to be done.
Local churches control their own schedules, staff, finances, discipline and leadership.
Church bodies recommend things, but local churches choose whether or not to implement them. They collect offerings from local fellowships, but unilaterally decide how to use them. CES and TWI have the same goals as denominations, including networking local fellowships, forming local groups, training leaders, and education. TWI and, to a lesser extent, CES also function as a church in the sense that the leaders have their own fellowships, and the leaders distribute regular teaching tapes. It is likely that their followers virtually consider their national leaders to be like their pastors rather than just as denominational executives.