Churches of Christ

Template:Short description Template:AboutTemplate:DistinguishTemplate:Infobox Christian denomination The Churches of Christ, also commonly known as the Church of Christ, is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations located around the world. Typically, their distinguishing beliefs are that of the necessity of baptism for salvation and the prohibition of musical instruments in worship. Many such congregations identify themselves as being nondenominational.<ref name="Hughes2001">Template:Cite book</ref> The Churches of Christ arose in the United States from the Restoration Movement of 19th-century Christians who declared independence from denominations and traditional creeds. They sought "the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after the original church described in the New Testament."<ref name="I Just Want to Be a Christian">Rubel Shelly, I Just Want to Be a Christian, 20th Century Christian, Nashville, Tennessee 1984, Template:ISBN.</ref>Template:Rp

Overview

Modern Churches of Christ have their historical roots in the Restoration Movement, which was a convergence of Christians across denominational lines in search of a return to an original "pre-denominational" form of Christianity.<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ"/><ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988">C. Leonard Allen and Richard T. Hughes, "Discovering Our Roots: The Ancestry of the Churches of Christ," Abilene Christian University Press, 1988, Template:ISBN.</ref>Template:Rp Participants in this movement sought to base their doctrine and practice on the Bible alone, rather than recognizing the traditional councils and denominational hierarchies that had come to define Christianity since the first century A.D.<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ"/><ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>Template:Rp Members of the Churches of Christ believe that Jesus founded only one church, that the current divisions among Christians do not express God's will, and that the only basis for restoring Christian unity is the Bible.<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ"/> They simply identify themselves as "Christians", without using any other forms of religious or denominational identification.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jew">Batsell Barrett Baxter and Carroll Ellis, Neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jew, Church of Christ (1960) ASIN: B00073CQPM. According to Richard Thomas Hughes in Reviving the Ancient Faith: The Story of Churches of Christ in America, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1996, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, this is "arguably the most widely distributed tract ever published by the churches of Christ or anyone associated with that tradition."</ref><ref name="Encyclopedia of Religion in the South">Samuel S. Hill, Charles H. Lippy, Charles Reagan Wilson, Encyclopedia of Religion in the South, Mercer University Press, 2005, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN.</ref>Template:Rp They aspire to be the New Testament church as established by Christ.<ref>"On the cornerstone of the Southside Church of Christ in Springfield, Missouri, is this inscription: 'Church of Christ, Founded in Jerusalem, A.D. 33. This building erected in 1953.' This is not an unusual claim; for similar wording can be found on buildings of churches of Christ in many parts of the United States. The Christians who use such cornerstones reason that the church of Jesus Christ began on Pentecost, A.D. 33. Therefore, to be true to the New Testament, the twentieth-century church must trace its origins to the first century." Robert W. Hooper, A Distinct People: A History of the Churches of Christ in the 20th Century, p. 1, Simon and Schuster, 1993, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN.</ref><ref>"Traditional Churches of Christ have pursued the restorationist vision with extraordinary zeal. Indeed, the cornerstones of many Church of Christ buildings read 'Founded, A.D. 33.' " Jill, et al. (2005), "Encyclopedia of Religion", p. 212.</ref><ref name="Perfect Stranger"/>Template:Rp

Members of the church of Christ do not conceive of themselves as a new church started near the beginning of the 19th century. Rather, the whole movement is designed to reproduce in contemporary times the church originally established on Pentecost, A.D. 33. The strength of the appeal lies in the restoration of Christ's original church.{{#if:|{{#if:|}}

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Churches of Christ generally share the following theological beliefs and practices:<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Also available via these links to church-of-christ.org Template:Webarchive, cris.com/~mmcoc (archived June 22, 2006) and scriptureessay.com (archived July 13, 2006).</ref>

• Autonomous, congregational church organization without denominational oversight;<ref name="Unauthorized Guide"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Rhodes 2005"/>Template:Rp
• Refusal to hold to any formal creeds or informal "doctrinal statements" or "statements of faith", stating instead a reliance on the Bible alone for doctrine and practice;<ref name="Perfect Stranger"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Unauthorized Guide">Carmen Renee Berry, The Unauthorized Guide to Choosing a Church, Brazos Press, 2003, Template:ISBN.</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="Rhodes 2005"/>Template:Rp
• Local governance<ref name="Unauthorized Guide"/>Template:Rp by a plurality of male elders;<ref name="Rhodes 2005"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Howard 1971"/>Template:Rp
• Baptism by immersion of consenting believers<ref name="Unauthorized Guide"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Rhodes 2005"/>Template:Rp in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins;<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ"/><ref name="Perfect Stranger"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Rhodes 2005"/>Template:Rp
• Weekly observance of the Lord's Supper<ref name="Rhodes 2005"/>Template:Rp on Sunday<ref name="Perfect Stranger"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Unauthorized Guide"/>Template:Rp
  • In British congregations, the term "breaking of bread" is commonly used.
  • In American congregations, the terms "Communion" or "body and blood" are used.
  • Churches of Christ typically offer open communion on the first day of each week, offering the bread and fruit of the vine to all present at each person's self-examination.
• Practice of a cappella singing is the norm in worship,<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> based on New Testament passages teaching to sing for worship, with no mention of instrumental music (and also that worship in church assemblies for centuries in the early Church practiced a cappella singing).<ref name="Unauthorized Guide"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Rhodes 2005"/>Template:Rp

In keeping with their history, the Churches of Christ claim the New Testament as their sole rule of faith and practice in deciding matters of doctrine and ecclesiastical structure.<ref>Template:Bibleverse.</ref> They view the Old Testament as divinely inspired<ref name="Perfect Stranger"/>Template:Rp and historically accurate, but they do not consider its laws to be binding under the New Covenant in Christ (unless they are repeated in the New Testament) (Hebrews 8: 7–13).<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Hermeneutics"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Wharton 1997"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Pharr 2000">David Pharr, The Beginning of Our Confidence: Seven Weeks of Daily Lessons for New Christians, 21st Century Christian, 2000, Template:ISBN.</ref>Template:Rp They believe that the New Testament demonstrates how a person may become a Christian (and thus a part of the universal Church of Christ) and how a church should be collectively organized and carry out its scriptural purposes.<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ"/>

Demographics

In 2022, the total membership of Churches of Christ is estimated to be between 1,700,000 and 2,000,000,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="churchzip"/> with over 40,000 individual congregations worldwide.<ref name="churchzip">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} This is a country-by-country tabulation, based on the enumeration of specific individual church locations and leaders. While it is known to under-represent certain developing countries, it is the largest such enumeration, and improves significantly on earlier broad-based estimates having no supporting detail.</ref> In the United States, there are approximately 1,087,559 members and 11,776 congregations.<ref name="churchzip"/> Overall U.S. membership was approximately 1.3 million in 1990 and 1.3 million in 2008.<ref name="ARIS 2008">Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar, American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS 2008) Template:Webarchive, Trinity College, March 2009.</ref>Template:Rp Estimates of the proportion of the US adult population associated with the Churches of Christ vary from 0.8% to 1.5%.<ref name="ARIS 2008"/>Template:Rp<ref>"The Religious Composition of the United States," U.S. Religious Landscape Survey: Chapter 1, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, Pew Research Center, February 2008.</ref>Template:Rp Approximately 1,240 congregations, with 172,000 members, are predominantly African-American; 240 congregations with 10,000 members are Spanish-speaking.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Churches of Christ">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, "Churches of Christ", in The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN.</ref>Template:Rp The average congregation size is approximately 100 members, with larger congregations reporting over 1,000 members.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Churches of Christ"/>Template:Rp In 2000, the Churches of Christ were the 12th largest religious group in the U.S. based on the number of members, but the 4th largest in number of congregations.<ref name="Yeakley PPT 2008"/>

Within the U.S., membership in the Churches of Christ has declined by approximately 12% over the period from 1980 through 2007. The current retention rate of young adults graduating from high school appears to be approximately 60%. Membership is concentrated, with 70% of the U.S. membership, in thirteen states. Churches of Christ had a presence in 2,429 counties, placing them fifth behind the United Methodist Church, Catholic Church, Southern Baptist Convention and Assemblies of God – but the average number of adherents per county was approximately 677. The divorce rate was 6.9%, much lower than national averages.<ref name="Yeakley PPT 2008">Flavil Yeakley, Good News and Bad News: A Realistic Assessment of Churches of Christ in the United States: 2008; an mp3 of the author presenting some of the results at the 2009 East Tennessee School of Preaching and Ministry lectureship on March 4, 2009, is available hereTemplate:Dead link and a PowerPoint presentation from the 2008 CMU conference using some of the survey results posted on the Campus Ministry United website is available here.</ref>

Name

File:Alexander Campbell 1788.png

Alexander Campbell

"Church of Christ" is the most common name used by this group. In keeping with their focus of not being a denomination, using Ephesians 1:22–23 as reference to the church being the body of Christ and a body cannot be divided, congregations have identified themselves primarily as community churches and secondarily as Churches of Christ.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Churches of Christ"/>Template:Rp A much earlier tradition is to identify a congregation as "the church" at a particular location, with no other description or qualifiers.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Churches of Christ"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Redigging the Wells">Monroe E. Hawley, Redigging the Wells: Seeking Undenominational Christianity, Quality Publications, Abilene, Texas, 1976, Template:ISBN (paper), Template:ISBN (cloth)</ref>Template:Rp A primary motivation behind the name is the desire to use a scriptural or Biblical name – to identify the church using a name that is found in the New Testament.<ref name="I Just Want to Be a Christian"/><ref name="Howard 1971">V. E. Howard, What Is the Church of Christ? 4th Edition (Revised) Central Printers & Publishers, West Monroe, Louisiana, 1971.</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="Redigging the Wells"/><ref name="Shepherd 1929">J. W. Shepherd, The Church, the Falling Away, and the Restoration, Gospel Advocate Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1929 (reprinted in 1973)</ref>Template:Rp Adherents are also referred to as Campbellites by academics<ref name="Encyclopedia of Religion in the South"/> and other denominations<ref name="Faith Defenders">"Campbellism and the Church of Christ" Template:Webarchive Morey 2014.</ref> because it is assumed that they are followers of the teachings of Alexander Campbell, similar to Lutherans or Calvinists. Campbell himself refuted the idea that a denomination was started by him or that he was the head of one in The Christian Baptist publication in 1826 and 1828, stating: "Some religious editors in Kentucky call those who are desirous of seeing the ancient order of things restored, 'the Restorationers', 'the Campbellites'... This may go well with some; but all who fear God and keep his commands will pity and deplore the weakness and folly of those who either think to convince or to persuade by such means" (The Christian Baptist, Vol. IV, 88–89) and: "It is a nickname of reproach invented and adopted by those whose views, feelings and desires are all sectarian – who cannot conceive of Christianity in any other light than an ISM" (The Christian Baptist, Vol. V, 270). He was also associated with the Baptist denomination until 1820. The term "Campbellite" is usually offensive to members of the churches of Christ because members claim no allegiance to anyone except Jesus Christ and teach only what is presented in biblical texts.<ref name="Merriam-Webster">The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary describes the term as "sometimes offensive." Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc. Entry on "Campbellite."</ref>

Alexander Campbell said the "calling of Bible things by Bible names" was important in the reformation.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This became an early slogan of the Restorationist Movement.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Slogans"/>Template:Rp These congregations generally avoid names that associate the church with a particular man (other than Christ) or a particular doctrine or theological point of view (e.g., Lutheran, Wesleyan, Reformed).<ref name="I Just Want to Be a Christian"/><ref name="Neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jew"/> They believe that Christ established only one church, and that the use of denominational names serves to foster division among Christians.<ref name="Howard 1971"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Redigging the Wells"/><ref name="Declaration and Address">Thomas Campbell, Declaration and Address, 1809, available on-line here</ref><ref name="Shields 1945">O. E. Shields, "The Church of Christ," The Word and Work, VOL. XXXIX, No. 9, September 1945.</ref><ref name="Kurfees October 14, 1920">M. C. Kurfees, "Bible Things by Bible Names – The General and Local Senses of the Term 'Church'", Gospel Advocate (October 14, 1920):1104–1105, as reprinted in Appendix II: Restoration Documents of I Just Want to Be a Christian, Rubel Shelly (1984)</ref><ref name="McQuiddy November 11, 1920">J. C. McQuiddy, "The New Testament Church", Gospel Advocate (November 11, 1920):1097–1098, as reprinted in Appendix II: Restoration Documents of I Just Want to Be a Christian, Rubel Shelly (1984)</ref> Thomas Campbell expressed an ideal of unity in his Declaration and Address: "The church of Jesus Christ on earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one."<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Slogans">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, "Slogans", in The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN,</ref>Template:Rp This statement essentially echoes the words of Jesus Christ in John 17:21, 23.

Other terms are derived from their use in the New Testament: "church of God", "church of the Lord", "churches of Christ", "church of the first-born", "church of the living God", "the house of God", and "the people of God",<ref name="Redigging the Wells"/><ref name="Kurfees September 30, 1920">M. C. Kurfees, "Bible Things by Bible Names – Different Designations of the Church Further Considered", Gospel Advocate (September 30, 1920):958–959, as reprinted in Appendix II: Restoration Documents of I Just Want to Be a Christian, Rubel Shelly (1984)</ref> while terms recognized as scriptural, such as Church of God, are avoided to prevent confusion or identification with other groups that use those designations.<ref name="I Just Want to Be a Christian"/><ref name="Redigging the Wells"/><ref>Within the Restoration Movement, congregations that do not use musical instruments in worship use the name "Church of Christ" almost exclusively; congregations that do use musical instruments most often use the term "Christian Church." Monroe E. Hawley, Redigging the Wells: Seeking Undenominational Christianity, 1976, page 89.</ref> As a practical matter, use of a common term is seen as a way to help individual Christians find congregations with a similar approach to the scriptures.<ref name="Redigging the Wells"/><ref>As, e.g., for listings in the yellow pages.</ref> Members understand that a scriptural name can be used in a "denominational" or "sectarian" way.<ref name="I Just Want to Be a Christian"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Redigging the Wells"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Kurfees September 30, 1920"/> Using the term "Church of Christ" exclusively has been criticized as identifying a denomination.<ref name="I Just Want to Be a Christian"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Redigging the Wells"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Kurfees September 30, 1920"/> Many congregations and individuals do not capitalize the word "church" in the phrases "church of Christ" and "churches of Christ".<ref name="Garrett 2002">Leroy Garrett, The Stone-Campbell Movement: The Story of the American Restoration Movement, College Press, 2002, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 573 pages</ref>Template:Rp<ref>Examples of this usage include the Gospel Advocate website Template:Webarchive ("Serving the church of Christ since 1855" – accessed October 26, 2008); the Lipscomb University website ("Classes in every area are taught in a faith-informed approach by highly qualified faculty who represent the range of perspectives that exist among churches of Christ." – accessed October 26, 2008); the Freed-Hardeman University website Template:Webarchive ("Freed-Hardeman University is a private institution, associated with churches of Christ, dedicated to moral and spiritual values, academic excellence, and service in a friendly, supportive environment... The university is governed by a self-perpetuating board of trustees who are members of churches of Christ and who hold the institution in trust for its founders, alumni, and supporters." – accessed October 26, 2008); Batsell Barrett Baxter, Who are the churches of Christ and what do they believe in? (Available on-line here Template:Webarchive, here, here Template:Webarchive, here Template:Webarchive and here Template:Webarchive); Batsell Barrett Baxter and Carroll Ellis, Neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jew, tract, Church of Christ (1960); Monroe E. Hawley, Redigging the Wells: Seeking Undenominational Christianity, Quality Publications, Abilene, Texas, 1976; Rubel Shelly, I Just Want to Be a Christian, 20th Century Christian, Nashville, Tennessee 1984; and V. E. Howard, What Is the Church of Christ? 4th Edition (Revised), 1971; Website of the Frisco church of Christ ("Welcome to the Home page for the Frisco church of Christ in Frisco, Texas." – accessed October 27, 2008); website of the church of Christ Internet Ministries ("The purpose of this Web Site is to unite the churches of Christ in one accord." – accessed October 27, 2008) {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This is based on the understanding that the term "church of Christ" is used in the New Testament as a descriptive phrase, indicating that the church belongs to Christ, rather than as a proper name.<ref name="Redigging the Wells"/>Template:Rp

Church organization

Congregational autonomy and leadership

Church government is congregational rather than denominational. Churches of Christ purposefully have no central headquarters, councils, or other organizational structure above the local church level.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Religion in the South"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Perfect Stranger">Stuart M. Matlins, Arthur J. Magida, J. Magida, How to Be a Perfect Stranger: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People's Religious Ceremonies, Wood Lake Publishing Inc., 1999, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, Chapter 6 – Churches of Christ.</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="Unauthorized Guide"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Rhodes 2005">Ron Rhodes, The Complete Guide to Christian Denominations, Harvest House Publishers, 2005, Template:ISBN.</ref>Template:Rp<ref>"Churches of Christ from the beginning have maintained no formal organization structures larger than the local congregations and no official journals or vehicles declaring sanctioned positions. Consensus views do, however, often emerge through the influence of opinion leaders who express themselves in journals, at lectureships, or at area preacher meetings and other gatherings" page 213, Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages</ref> Rather, the independent congregations are a network with each congregation participating at its own discretion in various means of service and fellowship with other congregations (see Sponsoring church (Churches of Christ)).<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ"/><ref name="Rhodes 2005"/>Template:Rp<ref>"Churches of Christ adhere to a strict congregationalism that cooperates in various projects overseen by one congregation or organized as parachurch enterprises, but many congregations hold themselves apart from such cooperative projects." Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, page 206, entry on Church, Doctrine of the</ref><ref>"It is nothing less than phenomenal that the Churches of Christ get so much done without any centralized planning or structure. Everything is ad hoc. Most programs emerge from the inspiration and commitment of a single congregation or even a single person. Worthwhile projects survive and prosper by the voluntary cooperation of other individuals and congregations." Page 449, Leroy Garrett, The Stone-Campbell Movement: The Story of the American Restoration Movement, College Press, 2002, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 573 pages</ref> Churches of Christ are linked by their shared commitment to Biblical restoration principles.<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ"/><ref name="Perfect Stranger"/>Template:Rp Congregations which do not participate with other church congregations and which refuse to pool resources in order to support outside causes (such as mission work, orphanages, Bible colleges, etc.) are sometimes called "non-institutional".

Congregations are generally overseen by a plurality of elders who are sometimes assisted in the administration of various works by deacons.<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ"/><ref name="Rhodes 2005"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Howard 1971"/>Template:Rp Elders are generally seen as responsible for the spiritual welfare of the congregation, while deacons are seen as responsible for the non-spiritual needs of the church.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Ministry"/>Template:Rp Deacons serve under the supervision of the elders, and are often assigned to specific ministries.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Ministry"/>Template:Rp Successful service as a deacon is often seen as preparation for the eldership.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Ministry"/>Template:Rp Elders and deacons are appointed by the congregation based on the qualifications found in Template:Bibleref2 and Template:Bibleref2, including that the persons must be male (with female elders and deaconesses not recognized, as these are not found in Scripture).<ref name="Howard 1971"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Ferguson 1975">Everett Ferguson, "Authority and Tenure of Elders", Template:Webarchive Restoration Quarterly, Vol. 18 No. 3 (1975): 142–150</ref><ref name="Ferguson 1996">Everett Ferguson, The Church of Christ: A Biblical Ecclesiology for Today, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1996, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 443 pages</ref>Template:Rp Congregations also typically apply a requirement that an elder has children who believe. Congregations look for elders who have a mature enough understanding of scripture to enable them to supervise the minister and to teach, as well as to perform "governance" functions.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Elders">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Elders, Eldership</ref>Template:Rp In the absence of willing men who meet these qualifications, congregations are sometimes overseen by the congregation's men in general.<ref>"Where elderships do not exist, most congregations function through a 'business meeting' system that may include any member of the congregation or, in other cases, the men of the church." Page 531, Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Ministry</ref>

While the early Restoration Movement had a tradition of itinerant preachers rather than "located Preachers", during the 20th century a long-term, formally trained congregational minister became the norm among Churches of Christ.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Ministry">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Ministry</ref>Template:Rp Ministers are understood to serve under the oversight of the elders<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Elders"/>Template:Rp and may or may not also be qualified as an elder. While the presence of a long-term professional minister has sometimes created "significant de facto ministerial authority" and led to conflict between the minister and the elders, the eldership has remained the "ultimate locus of authority in the congregation".<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Ministry"/>Template:Rp There is, however, a small segment of Churches of Christ who oppose the "located minister" concept (see below).

Churches of Christ hold to the priesthood of all believers.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> No special titles are used for preachers or ministers that would identify them as "clergy".<ref name="Perfect Stranger"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Wharton 1997"/>Template:Rp Many ministers have undergraduate or graduate education in religion, or specific training in preaching through a non-college school of preaching.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Churches of Christ"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Ministry"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Preaching">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Preaching</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Schools of Preaching">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Schools of Preaching</ref>Template:Rp Churches of Christ emphasize that there is no distinction between "clergy" and "laity" and that every member has a gift and a role to play in accomplishing the work of the church.<ref>R. B. Sweet, Now That I'm a Christian, Sweet Publishing, 1948 (revised 2003), Template:ISBN</ref>Template:Rp

Variations within Churches of Christ

While there is an identifiable mainstream within the Churches of Christ, there are also significant variations within the fellowship.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Religion in the South"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Churches of Christ"/>Template:Rp<ref name="All People, All Times">Jeffery S. Stevenson, All People, All Times Rethinking Biblical Authority in Churches of Christ, Xulon Press, 2009, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="Hughes and Roberts, 2001"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Hawkins 2008">Ralph K. Hawkins, A Heritage in Crisis: Where We've Been, Where We Are, and Where We're Going in the Churches of Christ, University Press of America, 2008, 147 pages, Template:ISBN, 9780761840800</ref>Template:Rp The approach taken to restoring the New Testament church has focused on "methods and procedures" such as church organization, the form of worship, and how the church should function. As a result, most divisions among Churches of Christ have been the result of "methodological" disputes. These are meaningful to members of this movement because of the seriousness with which they take the goal of "restoring the form and structure of the primitive church".<ref name="Encyclopedia of Religion in the South"/>Template:Rp

Three-quarters of the congregations and 87% of the membership are described by The Encyclopedia of the Stone–Campbell Movement as "mainstream", sharing a general consensus on practice and theology.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Churches of Christ"/>Template:Rp

Congregational a cappella music from hymnals (perhaps pitched from a pitch pipe), but directed by any capable song-leader motioning the time signature, is notably characteristic of the Churches of Christ.<ref name="Unauthorized Guide"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Instrumental Music">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Instrumental Music</ref>Template:Rp<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Few congregations clap hands or use musical instruments during "formal" weekly convocations.

The remaining congregations may be grouped into four categories which generally differ from the mainstream consensus in specific practices, rather than in theological perspectives, and tend to have smaller congregations on average.<ref name = "Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Churches of Christ" />Template:Rp

The largest of these four categories is the "non-institutional" Churches of Christ. This group is notable for opposing congregational support of institutions such as orphanages and Bible colleges. Similarly, non-institutional congregations also oppose the use of church facilities for non-church activities (such as fellowship dinners or recreation); as such, they oppose the construction of "fellowship halls", gymnasiums, and similar structures. In both cases, opposition is based on the belief that support of institutions and non-church activities are not proper functions of the local congregation. Approximately 2,055 congregations fall into this category.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Churches of Christ"/>Template:Rp<ref name=Who>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The remaining three groups, whose congregations are generally considerably smaller than those of the mainstream or non-institutional groups, also oppose institutional support as well as "fellowship halls" and similar structures (for the same reasons as the non-institutional groups), but differ by other beliefs and practices (the groups often overlap, but in all cases hold to more conservative views than even the non-institutional groups):<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Churches of Christ"/>Template:Rp

• One group opposes separate "Sunday School" classes for children or gender-separated (the groups thus meet only as a whole assembly in one area); this group consists of approximately 1,100 congregations. The no Sunday School group generally overlaps with the "one-cup" group and may overlap with the "mutual edification" group as defined below.
• Another group opposes the use of multiple communion cups (the term "one-cup" is often used, sometimes pejoratively as "one-cuppers", to describe this group); there are approximately 550 congregations in this group. Congregations in this group differ as to whether "the wine" should be fermented or unfermented, whether the cup can be refilled if during the service it runs dry (or even if it is accidentally spilled), and whether "the bread" can be broken ahead of time or must be broken by the individual participant during Lord's Supper time.
• The last and smallest group "emphasize[s] mutual edification by various leaders in the churches and oppose[s] one person doing most of the preaching" (the term "mutual edification" is often used to describe this group); there are approximately 130 congregations in this grouping.

Beliefs

File:Family-bible.jpg

An American family Bible dating to AD 1859

Churches of Christ seek to practice the principle of the Bible being the only source to find doctrine (known elsewhere as sola scriptura).<ref name="Rhodes 2005"/>Template:Rp<ref>"Whenever there are disagreements in the Churches of Christ, a 'reference to the scriptures is made in settling every religious question. A pronouncement from the scripture is considered the final word.'" page 240, Carmen Renee Berry, The Unauthorized Guide to Choosing a Church, Brazos Press, 2003</ref> The Bible is generally regarded as inspired and inerrant.<ref name="Rhodes 2005"/>Template:Rp Churches of Christ generally see the Bible as historically accurate and literal, unless scriptural context obviously indicates otherwise. Regarding church practices, worship, and doctrine, there is great liberty from congregation to congregation in interpreting what is biblically permissible, as congregations are not controlled by a denominational hierarchy.<ref>See F. LaGard Smith, "The Cultural Church", 20th Century Christian, 1992, 237 pages, Template:ISBN</ref> Their approach to the Bible is driven by the "assumption that the Bible is sufficiently plain and simple to render its message obvious to any sincere believer".<ref name="Encyclopedia of Religion in the South"/>Template:Rp Related to this is an assumption that the Bible provides an understandable "blueprint" or "constitution" for the church.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Religion in the South"/>Template:Rp

If it's not in the Bible, then these folks aren't going to do it.{{#if:Carmen Renee Berry|{{#if:|}}

— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries

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Historically, three hermeneutic approaches have been used among Churches of Christ.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Hermeneutics">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, entry on Hermeneutics.</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="Olbricht 1995">Thomas H. Olbricht, "Hermeneutics in the Churches of Christ," Template:Webarchive Restoration Quarterly, Vol. 37/No. 1 (1995)</ref>

• Analysis of commands, examples, and necessary inferences;
• Dispensational analysis distinguishing between Patriarchal, Mosaic and Christian dispensations (however, Churches of Christ are amillennial and generally hold preterist views); and
• Grammatico-historical analysis.

The relative importance given to each of these three strategies has varied over time and between different contexts.<ref name="Olbricht 1995"/> The general impression in the current Churches of Christ is that the group's hermeneutics are entirely based on the command, example, inference approach.<ref name="Olbricht 1995"/> In practice, interpretation has been deductive, and heavily influenced by the group's central commitment to ecclesiology and soteriology.<ref name="Olbricht 1995"/> Inductive reasoning has been used as well, as when all of the conversion accounts from the book of Acts are collated and analyzed to determine the steps necessary for salvation.<ref name="Olbricht 1995"/> One student of the movement summarized the traditional approach this way: "In most of their theologizing, however, my impression is that spokespersons in the Churches of Christ reason from Scripture in a deductive manner, arguing from one premise or hypothesis to another so as to arrive at a conclusion. In this regard the approach is much like that of science which, in practice moves deductively from one hypothesis to another, rather than in a Baconian inductive manner."<ref name="Olbricht 1995"/> In recent years, changes in the degree of emphasis placed on ecclesiology and soteriology has spurred a reexamination of the traditional hermeneutics among some associated with the Churches of Christ.<ref name="Olbricht 1995"/>

A debate arose during the 1980s over the use of the command, example, necessary inference model for identifying the "essentials" of the New Testament faith. Some argued that it fostered legalism, and advocated instead a hermeneutic based on the character of God, Christ and the Holy Spirit. Traditionalists urged the rejection of this "new hermeneutic".<ref>Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, page 219</ref> Use of this tripartite formula has declined as congregations have shifted to an increased "focus on 'spiritual' issues like discipleship, servanthood, family and praise".<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Hermeneutics"/>Template:Rp Relatively greater emphasis has been given to Old Testament studies in congregational Bible classes and at affiliated colleges in recent decades. While it is still not seen as authoritative for Christian worship, church organization, or regulating the Christian's life, some have argued that it is theologically authoritative.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Hermeneutics"/>Template:Rp

Many scholars associated with the Churches of Christ embrace the methods of modern Biblical criticism but not the associated anti-supernaturalistic views. More generally, the classical grammatico-historical method is prevalent, which provides a basis for some openness to alternative approaches to understanding the scriptures.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Hermeneutics"/>Template:Rp

Doctrine of salvation (soteriology)

Churches of Christ are strongly anti-Lutheran and anti-Calvinist in their understanding of salvation and generally present conversion as "obedience to the proclaimed facts of the gospel rather than as the result of an emotional, Spirit-initiated conversion".<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Churches of Christ"/>Template:Rp Churches of Christ hold the view that humans of accountable age are lost because they have committed sins.<ref name="Rhodes 2005"/>Template:Rp These lost souls can be redeemed because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, offered himself as the atoning sacrifice.<ref name="Rhodes 2005"/>Template:Rp Children too young to understand right from wrong and make a conscious choice between the two are believed to be innocent of sin.<ref name="Perfect Stranger"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Rhodes 2005"/>Template:Rp There is no set age for this to occur; it is only when the child learns the difference between right and wrong that they are accountable (Template:Bibleverse). Congregations differ in their interpretation of the age of accountability.<ref name="Perfect Stranger"/>Template:Rp

Churches of Christ generally teach that the process of salvation involves the following steps:<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ"/>

1. One must be properly taught, and hear (Template:Bibleref);
2. One must believe or have faith (Template:Bibleref, Template:Bibleref);
3. One must repent, which means turning from one's former lifestyle and choosing God's ways (Template:Bibleref);
4. One must confess belief that Jesus is the son of God (Template:Bibleref);
5. One must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (Template:Bibleref); and
6. One must live faithfully as a Christian (Template:Bibleverse).

Beginning in the 1960s, many preachers began placing more emphasis on the role of grace in salvation, instead of focusing exclusively on implementing all of the New Testament commands and examples.<ref name="Hughes and Roberts, 2001">Richard Thomas Hughes and R. L. Roberts, The Churches of Christ, 2nd Edition, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 345 pages</ref>Template:Rp This was not an entirely new approach, as others had actively "affirmed a theology of free and unmerited grace", but it did represent a change of emphasis with grace becoming "a theme that would increasingly define this tradition".<ref name="Hughes and Roberts, 2001"/>Template:Rp

Baptism

File:Baptism by immersion.jpg

Baptism by immersion

Baptism has been recognized as the important initiatory rite throughout the history of the Christian Church,<ref name="Understanding Four Views on Baptism"/>Template:Rp but Christian groups differ over the manner and time in which baptism is administered,<ref name="Understanding Four Views on Baptism"/>Template:Rp the meaning and significance of baptism,<ref name="Understanding Four Views on Baptism"/>Template:Rp its role in salvation,<ref name="Understanding Four Views on Baptism"/>Template:Rp and who is a candidate for baptism.<ref name="Understanding Four Views on Baptism"/>Template:Rp

Baptism in Churches of Christ is performed only by bodily immersion,<ref name="Perfect Stranger"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Rhodes 2005"/>Template:Rp based on the New Testament's use of the Koine Greek verb βαπτίζω (baptizō) which is understood to mean to dip, immerse, submerge or plunge.<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ"/><ref name="Howard 1971"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Wharton 1997">Edward C. Wharton, The Church of Christ: The Distinctive Nature of the New Testament Church, Gospel Advocate Co., 1997, Template:ISBN.</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="Understanding Four Views on Baptism">Tom J. Nettles, Richard L. Pratt, Jr., John H. Armstrong, Robert Kolb, Understanding Four Views on Baptism, Zondervan, 2007, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 222 pages</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="Baptism, Why Wait?">Rees Bryant, Baptism, Why Wait?: Faith's Response in Conversion, College Press, 1999, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 224 pages</ref>Template:Rp Immersion is seen as more closely conforming to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus than other modes of baptism.<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ"/><ref name="Howard 1971"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Understanding Four Views on Baptism"/>Template:Rp Churches of Christ argue that historically immersion was the mode used in the first century, and that pouring and sprinkling emerged later.<ref name="Understanding Four Views on Baptism"/>Template:Rp Over time these secondary modes came to replace immersion, in the State Churches of Europe.<ref name="Understanding Four Views on Baptism"/>Template:Rp Only those mentally capable of belief and repentance are baptized (e.g., infant baptism is not practiced).<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ"/><ref name="Rhodes 2005"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Howard 1971"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Ferguson 1996"/>Template:Rp

Churches of Christ have historically had the most conservative position on baptism among the various branches of the Restoration Movement, understanding that repentance and baptism by immersion are necessary parts of conversion.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Baptism">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Baptism</ref>Template:Rp The most significant disagreements concerned the extent to which a correct understanding of the role of baptism is necessary for its validity.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Baptism"/>Template:Rp David Lipscomb argued that if a believer was baptized out of a desire to obey God, the baptism was valid, even if the individual did not fully understand the role baptism plays in salvation.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Baptism"/>Template:Rp Austin McGary argued that to be valid, the convert must also understand that baptism is for the forgiveness of sins.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Baptism"/>Template:Rp McGary's view became the prevailing one in the early 20th century, but the approach advocated by Lipscomb never totally disappeared.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Baptism"/>Template:Rp More recently, the rise of the International Churches of Christ, who "reimmersed some who came into their fellowship, even those previously immersed 'for remission of sins' in a Church of Christ," has caused some to reexamine the question of rebaptism.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Baptism"/>Template:Rp

Churches of Christ consistently teach that in baptism a believer surrenders his life in faith and obedience to God, and that God "by the merits of Christ's blood, cleanses one from sin and truly changes the state of the person from an alien to a citizen of God's kingdom. Baptism is not a human work; it is the place where God does the work that only God can do."<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Baptism"/>Template:Rp The term "alien" is used in reference to sinners as in Template:Bibleverse. Members consider baptism a passive act of faith rather than a meritorious work; it "is a confession that a person has nothing to offer God".<ref name="Theology Matters"/>Template:Rp While Churches of Christ do not describe baptism as a "sacrament", their view of it can legitimately be described as "sacramental".<ref name="Baptism, Why Wait?"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Baptism"/>Template:Rp They see the power of baptism coming from God, who uses baptism as a vehicle, rather than from the water or the act itself,<ref name="Baptism, Why Wait?"/>Template:Rp and understand baptism to be an integral part of the conversion process, rather than as only a symbol of conversion.<ref name="Baptism, Why Wait?"/>Template:Rp A recent trend is to emphasize the transformational aspect of baptism: instead of describing it as nothing more than a legal requirement or sign of something that happened in the past, it is seen as "the event that places the believer 'into Christ' where God does the ongoing work of transformation".<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Baptism"/>Template:Rp There is a minority that downplays the importance of baptism in order to avoid sectarianism, but the broader trend is to "reexamine the richness of the Biblical teaching of baptism and to reinforce its central and essential place in Christianity".<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Baptism"/>Template:Rp

Because of the belief that baptism is a necessary part of salvation, some Baptists hold that the Churches of Christ endorse the doctrine of baptismal regeneration.<ref name="Foster">Douglas A. Foster, "Churches of Christ and Baptism: An Historical and Theological Overview," Template:Webarchive Restoration Quarterly, Volume 43/Number 2 (2001)</ref> However members of the Churches of Christ reject this, arguing that since faith and repentance are necessary, and that the cleansing of sins is by the blood of Christ through the grace of God, baptism is not an inherently redeeming ritual.<ref name="Understanding Four Views on Baptism"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Foster"/><ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Regeneration">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Regeneration</ref>Template:Rp One author describes the relationship between faith and baptism this way, "Faith is the reason why a person is a child of God; baptism is the time at which one is incorporated into Christ and so becomes a child of God" (italics are in the source).<ref name="Ferguson 1996"/>Template:Rp Baptism is understood as a confessional expression of faith and repentance,<ref name="Ferguson 1996"/>Template:Rp rather than a "work" that earns salvation.<ref name="Ferguson 1996"/>Template:Rp

A cappella singing

File:Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs 1843, 13th stereotype ed..JPG

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1843, 13th stereotype ed.)

The Churches of Christ generally combine the lack of any historical evidence that the early church used musical instruments in its worship assemblies<ref name="I Just Want to Be a Christian"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Howard 1971"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Instrumental Music"/>Template:Rp with the New Testament's lack of scriptures authorizing the use of instruments in worship assemblies<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ"/><ref name="Howard 1971"/>Template:Rp to conclude that instruments should not be used today in corporate worship. Thus, they have typically practiced a cappella music in their worship assemblies.<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ"/><ref name="Unauthorized Guide"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Rhodes 2005"/>Template:Rp

The tradition of a cappella congregational singing in the Churches of Christ is deep rooted and the rich history of the practice stimulated the creation of many hymns in the early 20th century. Notable Churches of Christ hymn writers have included Albert Brumley ("I'll Fly Away") and Tillit S. Teddlie ("Worthy Art Thou"). More traditional Church of Christ hymns commonly are in the style of gospel hymnody. The hymnal Great Songs of the Church, which was first published in 1921 and has had many subsequent editions, is widely used in Churches of Christ.<ref name=WakefieldGrove/>

Scriptures cited to support the practice of a cappella worship include:

• Template:Bibleverse: "And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."<ref name="Howard 1971"/>Template:Rp
• Template:Bibleverse: "Therefore I will praise thee among the Gentiles, and sing to thy name";<ref name="Howard 1971"/>Template:Rp
• Template:Bibleverse: "... be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart,"<ref name="Who Are the churches of Christ"/><ref name="Howard 1971"/>Template:Rp
• Template:Bibleverse: "I will sing with the Spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also."<ref name="Howard 1971"/>Template:Rp
• Template:Bibleverse: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts unto God."<ref name="Howard 1971"/>Template:Rp
• Template:Bibleverse: "I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee."<ref name="Howard 1971"/>Template:Rp
• Template:Bibleverse: By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

The use of musical instruments in worship was a divisive topic within the Stone–Campbell Movement from its earliest years, when some adherents opposed the practice on traditional grounds, while others may have relied on a cappella simply because they lacked access to musical instruments. Alexander Campbell opposed the use of instruments in worship. As early as 1855, some Restoration Movement churches were using organs or pianos, ultimately leading the Churches of Christ to separate from the groups that condoned instrumental music.<ref name=WakefieldGrove>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, since the early 2000s, an increasing number of congregations within the Churches of Christ have begun using musical instruments in their worship assemblies. Some of these latter describe themselves as a "Church of Christ (Instrumental)".<ref name="Unauthorized Guide"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Instrumental Music"/>Template:Rp<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Hawkins 2008"/>Template:Rp

Other theological tendencies

File:Millennial views.svg

Churches of Christ are generally amillennial.

Many leaders argue that the Churches of Christ only follow the Bible and have no "theology".<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Theology">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Theology</ref>Template:Rp Christian theology as classically understood – the systematic development of the classical doctrinal topics – is relatively recent and rare among this movement.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Theology"/>Template:Rp Because Churches of Christ reject all formalized creeds on the basis that they add to or detract from Scripture, they generally reject most conceptual doctrinal positions out of hand.<ref>"Creeds are rejected because they are believed to generate schisms in the body of Christ. As well, theological paradigms (such as Calvinism and Arminianism) are avoided because the New Testament alone is the proper guide to doctrinal belief." Ron Rhodes, The Complete Guide to Christian Denominations, Harvest House Publishers, 2005, Template:ISBN, page 123.</ref> Churches of Christ do tend to elaborate certain "driving motifs".<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Theology"/>Template:Rp These are scripture (hermeneutics), the church (ecclesiology) and the "plan of salvation" (soteriology).<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Theology"/>Template:Rp The importance of theology, understood as teaching or "doctrine", has been defended on the basis that an understanding of doctrine is necessary to respond intelligently to questions from others, to promote spiritual health, and to draw the believer closer to God.<ref name="Theology Matters">Harold Hazelip, Gary Holloway, Randall J. Harris, Mark C. Black, Theology Matters: In Honor of Harold Hazelip: Answers for the Church Today, College Press, 1998, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 368 pages</ref>Template:Rp

Churches of Christ avoid the term "theology", preferring instead the term "doctrine": theology is what humans say about the Bible; doctrine is simply what the Bible says.{{#if:|{{#if:|}}

— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries

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Eschatology

Regarding eschatology (a branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world or of humankind), Churches of Christ are generally amillennial, their originally prevalent postmillennialism (evident in Alexander Campbell's Millennial Harbinger) having dissipated around the era of the First World War. Before then, many leaders were "moderate historical premillennialists" who did not advocate specific historical interpretations. Churches of Christ have moved away from premillennialism as dispensational millennialism has come more to fore in Protestant evangelical circles.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Churches of Christ"/>Template:Rp<ref>Dispensational premillennialism is characterized by an emphasis on the rapture, the restoration of Israel, Armageddon and related ideas.</ref> Amillennialism and postmillennialism are the prevailing views today.<ref name="Rhodes 2005"/>Template:Rp

Premillennialism was a focus of controversy during the first half of the 20th century.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Churches of Christ"/>Template:Rp One of the most influential advocates for that point of view was Robert Henry Boll,<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Boll, Robert Henry">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Boll, Robert Henry</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Eschatology">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Eschatology</ref>Template:Rp whose eschatological views came to be most singularly opposed by Foy E. Wallace Jr.<ref>Robert E. Hooper, A Distinct People: A History of the Churches of Christ in the 20th Century (West Monroe, LA: Howard Publishing, 1994), pp. 131–180 et passim, Template:ISBN.</ref> By the end of the 20th century, however, the divisions caused by the debate over premillennialism were diminishing, and in the 2000 edition of the directory Churches of Christ in the United States, published by Mac Lynn, congregations holding premillennial views were no longer listed separately.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Boll, Robert Henry"/>Template:Rp<ref>Mac Lynn, Churches of Christ in the United States: inclusive of her commonwealth and territories, Twentieth Century Christian Books, 2000, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 682 pages</ref>

Work of the Holy Spirit

During the late 19th century, the prevailing view in the Restoration Movement was that the Holy Spirit currently acts only through the influence of inspired scripture.<ref name="Foster 2003">Douglas A. Foster, "Waves of the Spirit Against a Rational Rock: The Impact of the Pentecostal, Charismatic and Third Wave Movements on American Churches of Christ," Template:Webarchive Restoration Quarterly, 45:1, 2003</ref> This rationalist view was associated with Alexander Campbell, who was "greatly affected by what he viewed as the excesses of the emotional camp meetings and revivals of his day".<ref name="Foster 2003"/> He believed that the Spirit draws people towards salvation but understood the Spirit to do this "in the same way any person moves another—by persuasion with words and ideas". This view came to prevail over that of Barton W. Stone, who believed the Spirit had a more direct role in the life of the Christian.<ref name="Foster 2003"/> Since the early 20th century, many, but not all, among the Churches of Christ have moved away from this "word-only" theory of the operation of the Holy Spirit.<ref>See for example, Harvey Floyd, Is the Holy Spirit for me?: A search for the meaning of the Spirit in today's church, 20th Century Christian, 1981, Template:ISBN, 128 pages</ref> As one scholar of the movement puts it, "[f]or better or worse, those who champion the so-called word-only theory no longer have a hold on the minds of the constituency of Churches of Christ. Though relatively few have adopted outright charismatic and third wave views and remained in the body, apparently the spiritual waves have begun to erode that rational rock."<ref name="Foster 2003"/> The Churches of Christ hold a cessationist perspective on the gifts of the Spirit.Template:Citation needed<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The Trinity

Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone are recognized as two of the major Reformers of the so-called "Stone–Campbell Movement". Barton Stone was staunchly non-trinitarian as he elucidates in his, "An Address to the Christian Churches in Kentucky, Tennessee, & Ohio On Several Important Doctrines of Religion<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>." Alexander Campbell, "rejected the term 'Trinity,' but Campbell did not reject the theological idea of the tri-unity of the Christian God."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The fact that these two movements merged into one shows that this was not a major point of contention, even if it was a point of disagreement.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Due to the autonomous nature of the Churches of Christ it is difficult to ascribe any doctrinal beliefs to the group as a whole. In Trinity in the Stone-Campbell Movement: Restoring the Heart of Christian Faith, Kelly Carter argues that many members of the Churches of Christ believe in the Trinity, but that it has not been discussed very often because of the lack of importance that Campbell and Stone placed on it in their movement.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Church history

Template:See also The fundamental idea of "restoration" or "Christian Primitivism" is that problems or deficiencies in the church can be corrected by using the primitive church as a "normative model".<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Models of Restoration">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, 9780802838988, 854 pages, entry on Restoration, Historical Models of</ref>Template:Rp The call for restoration is often justified on the basis of a "falling away" that corrupted the original purity of the church.<ref name="Shepherd 1929"/><ref name="Ward 1965">Roy B. Ward, "The Restoration Principle": A Critical Analysis," Template:Webarchive Restoration Quarterly, Vol. 8, No. 4, 1965</ref><ref name="Garrett 1980">Leroy Garrett (editor), "Restoration or Reformation?," Restoration Review, Volume 22, Number 4, April 1980</ref> This falling away is identified with the development of Catholicism and denominationalism.<ref name="Howard 1971"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Shepherd 1929"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Ward 1965"/><ref name="Garrett 1980"/> New Testament verses that discuss future apostasy (Template:Bibleverse) and heresy (e.g., Template:Bibleverse, Template:Bibleverse, Template:Bibleverse) are understood to predict this falling away.<ref name="Ward 1965"/> The logic of "restoration" could imply that the "true" church completely disappeared and thus lead towards exclusivism.<ref name="Garrett 1980"/> Another view of restoration is that the "true Church ... has always existed by grace and not by human engineering" (italics in the original).<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Meaning of Restoration">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, 9780802838988, 854 pages, entry on "Restoration," Meanings of Within the Movement</ref>Template:Rp In this view the goal is to "help Christians realize the ideal of the church in the New Testament – to restore the church as conceived in the mind of Christ" (italics in the original).<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Meaning of Restoration"/>Template:Rp Early Restoration Movement leaders did not believe that the church had ceased to exist, but instead sought to reform and reunite the church.<ref name="Garrett 1980"/><ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Meaning of Restoration"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Garrett 1984">Leroy Garrett (editor), "Why Church of Christ Exclusivism Must Go," Restoration Review, Volume 26, Number 8, October 1984</ref><ref name="Garrett 1992">Leroy Garrett (editor), "What We've Been Saying (2)," Restoration Review, Volume 34, Number 9, November 1992</ref> A number of congregations' web sites explicitly state that the true church never disappeared.<ref>For example:

• History, Church of Christ of Genesee County website, (accessed 12/04/2013);
• Template:Usurped, West End Church of Christ Template:Usurped (accessed 12/04/2013);
• What is the church of Christ? Template:Webarchive, Woodbridge Church of Christ website Template:Webarchive (accessed 12/04/2013);
• John Telgren, Some More About Us Template:Webarchive, Leavenworth Church of Christ website Template:Webarchive (accessed 12/04/2013);
• A History of the Church of Christ!, Glendale church of Christ website (accessed 12/04/2013).</ref> The belief in a general falling away is not seen as inconsistent with the idea that a faithful remnant of the church never entirely disappeared.<ref name="Howard 1971"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Shepherd 1929"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Lyon 2006">Mack Lyon, Churches of Christ: Who Are They?, Publishing Designs, Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, 2006</ref>Template:Rp Some have attempted to trace this remnant through the intervening centuries between the New Testament and the beginning of the Restoration Movement in the early 1800s.<ref name="Grimm 1963">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Keith Sisman, Traces of the Kingdom, 2nd edition, self-published under the imprint "Forbidden Books," 2011, Template:ISBN.</ref>

One effect of the emphasis placed on the New Testament church is a "sense of historylessness" that sees the intervening history between the 1st century and the modern church as "irrelevant or even abhorrent."<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>Template:Rp Authors within the brotherhood have recently argued that a greater attention to history can help guide the church through modern-day challenges.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>Template:Rp<ref>Jeff. W. Childers, Douglas A. Foster and Jack R. Reese, The Crux of the Matter, ACU Press, 2002, Template:ISBN</ref>Template:Rp

Contemporary social and political views

The churches of Christ maintain a significant proportion of political diversity.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to the Pew Research Center in 2016, 50% of adherents of the churches of Christ identify as Republican or lean Republican, 39% identify as Democratic or lean Democratic and 11% have no preference.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Despite this, the Christian Chronicle says that the vast majority of adherents maintain a conservative view on modern social issues. This is evident when the Research Center questioned adherents' political ideology. In the survey, 51% identified as "conservative", 29% identified as "moderate" and just 12% identified as "liberal", with 8% not knowing.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In contemporary society, the vast majority of adherents of the churches of Christ view homosexuality as a sin.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They cite Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1:26–27 for their position. Most don't view same-sex attraction as a sin; however, they condemn "acting on same-sex desires".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

History

File:Cane Ridge Meeting House Interior.JPG

Interior of the original meeting house at Cane Ridge, Kentucky

Early Restoration Movement history

Template:See also The Restoration Movement originated with the convergence of several independent efforts to go back to apostolic Christianity.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Redigging the Wells"/>Template:Rp Two were of particular importance to the development of the movement.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Redigging the Wells"/>Template:Rp The first, led by Barton W. Stone, began at Cane Ridge, Kentucky and called themselves simply "Christians". The second began in western Pennsylvania and was led by Thomas Campbell and his son, Alexander Campbell; they used the name "Disciples of Christ". Both groups sought to restore the whole Christian church on the pattern set forth in the New Testament, and both believed that creeds kept Christianity divided.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Redigging the Wells"/>Template:Rp

File:CampbellThomas.png

Thomas Campbell

The Campbell movement was characterized by a "systematic and rational reconstruction" of the early church, in contrast to the Stone movement which was characterized by radical freedom and lack of dogma.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>Template:Rp Despite their differences, the two movements agreed on several critical issues.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>Template:Rp Both saw restoring the early church as a route to Christian freedom, and both believed that unity among Christians could be achieved by using apostolic Christianity as a model.<ref name="Allen & Hughes 1988"/>Template:Rp The commitment of both movements to restoring the early church and to uniting Christians was enough to motivate a union between many in the two movements.<ref name="Hughes and Roberts, 2001"/>Template:Rp While emphasizing that the Bible is the only source to seek doctrine, an acceptance of Christians with diverse opinions was the norm in the quest for truth. "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, love" was an oft-quoted slogan of the period.<ref>Hans Rollmann, "In Essentials Unity: The Pre-history of a Restoration Movement Slogan," Restoration Quarterly, Volume 39/Number 3 (1997)</ref> The Stone and Campbell movements merged in 1832.<ref name="Redigging the Wells"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Garrison & DeGroot, 1948">Garrison, Winfred Earnest and DeGroot, Alfred T. (1948). The Disciples of Christ, A History, St Louis, Missouri: The Bethany Press</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Survey and Analysis">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, Introductory section entitled Stone-Campbell History Over Three Centuries: A Survey and Analysis</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Chronology">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, Introductory Chronology</ref>Template:Rp

There are many similarities between the Churches of Christ and the Pilgrim Fathers and the Puritans, that settled in what is now Massachusetts in the early 1600s. Their first book published in America, The Bay Psalm Book, has a 40 page introduction outlining why the Puritans did not use any instruments of music in worship, no choirs, and no solos, citing the Command, Example and Necessary Inference form of establishing authority, familiar to the Churches of Christ. This form of establishing authority is traced back to Ulrich Zwingli in Zurich, Switzerland, who influenced the teachings of John Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland. John Knox took Zwingli's teachings to Scotland, which influenced the Church of Scotland, and the Presbyterian Church, into which Thomas Campbell and Alexander Campbell were born. The Congregational Church in England and Scotland in the late 1700s, differed little from the Churches of Christ today: Congregational organization, elders and deacons, priesthood of all believers, no instruments of music, and the establishment of authority and practice through Command, Example and Necessary Inference. They differed in their beliefs on infant baptism, weekly communion, the use of a catechism, closed communion, and predestination.

The Restoration Movement began during, and was greatly influenced by, the Second Great Awakening.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Awakenings">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Great Awakenings</ref>Template:Rp While the Campbells resisted what they saw as the spiritual manipulation of the camp meetings, the Southern phase of the Awakening "was an important matrix of Barton Stone's reform movement" and shaped the evangelistic techniques used by both Stone and the Campbells.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Awakenings"/>Template:Rp

Christian Churches and Churches of Christ separation

In 1906, the U.S. Religious Census listed the Christian Churches and the Churches of Christ as separate and distinct groups for the first time.<ref name="McAlister & Tucker, 1975">McAlister, Lester G. and Tucker, William E. (1975), Journey in Faith: A History of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) – St. Louis, Chalice Press, Template:ISBN</ref>Template:Rp This was the recognition of a division that had been growing for years under the influence of conservatives such as Daniel Sommer, with reports of the division having been published as early as 1883.<ref name="McAlister & Tucker, 1975"/>Template:Rp The most visible distinction between the two groups was the rejection of musical instruments in the Churches of Christ. The controversy over musical instruments began in 1860 with the introduction of organs in some churches. More basic were differences in the underlying approach to Biblical interpretation. For the Churches of Christ, any practices not present in accounts of New Testament worship were not permissible in the church, and they could find no New Testament documentation of the use of instrumental music in worship. For the Christian Churches, any practices not expressly forbidden could be considered.<ref name="McAlister & Tucker, 1975"/>Template:Rp Another specific source of controversy was the role of missionary societies, the first of which was the American Christian Missionary Society, formed in October 1849.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Missionary Societies Controversy"/><ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: American Christian Missionary Society">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on American Christian Missionary Society, pages 24–26</ref> While there was no disagreement over the need for evangelism, many believed that missionary societies were not authorized by scripture and would compromise the autonomy of local congregations.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Missionary Societies Controversy">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Missionary Societies, Controversy Over, pp. 534–537</ref> This disagreement became another important factor leading to the separation of the Churches of Christ from the Christian Church.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Missionary Societies Controversy"/> Cultural factors arising from the American Civil War also contributed to the division.<ref name="Dictionary of Christianity in America: Churches of Christ (Non-Instrumental)">Reid, D. G., Linder, R. D., Shelley, B. L., & Stout, H. S. (1990). Dictionary of Christianity in America. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. Entry on Churches of Christ (Non-Instrumental)</ref>

File:DavidLipscomb.jpg

David Lipscomb

Nothing in life has given me more pain in heart than the separation from those I have heretofore worked with and loved{{#if:David Lipscomb1899<ref>David Lipscomb, 1899, as quoted by Leroy Garrett on page 104 of The Stone-Campbell Movement: The Story of the American Restoration Movement, College Press, 2002, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 573 pages</ref>|{{#if:|}}

— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries

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{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}

In 1968, at the International Convention of Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ), those Christian Churches that favored a denominational structure, wished to be more ecumenical, and also accepted more of the modern liberal theology of various denominations, adopted a new "provisional design" for their work together, becoming the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).<ref name="Garrett 2002"/>Template:Rp Those congregations that chose not to be associated with the new denominational organization continued as undenominational Christian churches and churches of Christ, completing a separation that had begun decades before.<ref name="Garrett 2002"/>Template:Rp The instrumental Christian Churches and Churches of Christ in some cases have both organizational and hermeneutical differences with the Churches of Christ.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Religion in the South"/>Template:Rp For example, they have a loosely organized convention and view scriptural silence on an issue more permissively,<ref name="Encyclopedia of Religion in the South"/>Template:Rp but they are more closely related to the Churches of Christ in their theology and ecclesiology than they are with the Disciples of Christ denomination.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Religion in the South"/>Template:Rp Some see divisions in the movement as the result of the tension between the goals of restoration and ecumenism, with the a cappella Churches of Christ and Christian churches and churches of Christ resolving the tension by stressing Bible authority, while the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) resolved the tension by stressing ecumenism.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Religion in the South"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Garrett 2002"/>Template:Rp

Race relations

File:Stonebw01.jpg

Barton W. Stone

Early Restoration Movement leaders varied in their views of slavery, reflecting the range of positions common in the Pre-Civil-War U.S.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Race Relations">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Race Relations</ref>Template:Rp Barton W. Stone was a strong opponent of slavery, arguing that there was no Biblical justification for the form of slavery then being practiced in the United States and calling for immediate emancipation.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Race Relations"/>Template:Rp Alexander Campbell represented a more "Jeffersonian" opposition to slavery, writing of it as more of a political problem than as a religious or moral one.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Race Relations"/>Template:Rp Having seen Methodists and Baptists divide over the issue of slavery, Campbell argued that scripture regulated slavery rather than prohibited it, and that abolition should not be allowed to become an issue over which Christians would break fellowship with each other.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Race Relations"/>Template:Rp Like the country as a whole, the assumption of white racial superiority was almost universal among those on all sides of the issue, and it was common for congregations to have separate seating for black members.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Race Relations"/>Template:Rp

After the Civil War, black Christians who had been worshiping in mixed-race Restoration Movement congregations formed their own congregations.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Race Relations"/>Template:Rp White members of Restoration Movement congregations shared many of the racial prejudices of the times.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Race Relations"/>Template:Rp Among the Churches of Christ, Marshall Keeble became a prominent African-American evangelist. He estimated that by January 1919 he had "traveled 23,052 miles, preached 1,161 sermons, and baptized 457 converts".<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Race Relations"/>Template:Rp

To object to any child of God participating in the service on account of his race, social or civil state, his color or race, is to object to Jesus Christ and to cast him from our association. It is a fearful thing to do. I have never attended a church that negroes did not attend. {{#if:David Lipscomb1907<ref>David Lipscomb, Gospel Advocate, 49 (1 August 1907): 488–489.</ref>|{{#if:|}}

— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries

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{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}

During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s the Churches of Christ struggled with changing racial attitudes.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Race Relations"/>Template:Rp Some leaders, such as Foy E. Wallace Jr., and George S. Benson of Harding University railed against racial integration, saying that racial segregation was the Divine Order.<ref name="no to integration">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Wallace>"The manner in which the brethren in some quarters are going in for the negro meetings leads one to wonder whether they are trying to make white folks out of the negroes or negroes out of the white folks. The trend of the general mix-up seems to be toward the latter. Reliable reports have come to me of white women, members of the church, becoming so animated over a certain colored preacher as to go up to him after a sermon and shake hands with him holding his hand in both of theirs. That kind of thing will turn the head of most white preachers, and sometimes affect their conduct, and anybody ought to know that it will make fools out of the negroes. For any woman in the church to so far forget her dignity, and lower herself so, just because a negro has learned enough about the gospel to preach it to his race, is pitiable indeed. Her husband should take her in charge unless he has gone crazy, too. In that case somebody ought to take both of them in charge." Foy E. Wallace, Vol. 3, No. 8 March 1941, "Negro Meetings for White People," in the Bible Banner.</ref> Schools and colleges associated with the movement were at the center of the debate.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Race Relations"/>Template:Rp N.B. Hardeman, the president of Freed-Hardeman, was adamant that the black and white races should not mingle, and refused to shake hands with black Christians.<ref name=Wallace /> Abilene Christian College first admitted black undergraduate students in 1962 (graduate students had been admitted in 1961).<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Race Relations"/>Template:Rp Desegregation of other campuses followed.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Race Relations"/>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Efforts to address racism continued through the following decades.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Race Relations"/>Template:Rp A national meeting of prominent leaders from the Churches of Christ was held in June 1968.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Race Relations"/>Template:Rp Thirty-two participants signed a set of proposals intended to address discrimination in local congregations, church affiliated activities and the lives of individual Christians.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Race Relations"/>Template:Rp An important symbolic step was taken in 1999 when the president of Abilene Christian University "confessed the sin of racism in the school's past segregationist policies" and asked black Christians for forgiveness during a lectureship at Southwestern Christian College, a historically black school affiliated with the Churches of Christ.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Race Relations"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Southwestern Christian College">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Southwestern Christian College</ref>Template:Rp

Institutional controversy

After World War II, Churches of Christ began sending ministers and humanitarian relief to war-torn Europe and Asia.

Though there was agreement that separate para-church "missionary societies" could not be established (on the belief that such work could only be performed through local congregations), a doctrinal conflict ensued about how this work was to be done. Eventually, the funding and control of outreach programs in the United States such as homes for orphans, nursing homes, mission work, setting up new congregations, Bible colleges or seminaries, and large-scale radio and television programs became part of the controversy.

Congregations which supported and participated in pooling funds for these institutional activities are said to be "sponsoring church" congregations. Congregations which have traditionally opposed these organized sponsorship activities are said to be "non-institutional" congregations. The institutional controversy resulted in the largest division among Churches of Christ in the 20th century.<ref>Randy Harshbarger, "A history of the institutional controversy among Texas Churches of Christ: 1945 to the present," M.A. thesis, Stephen F. Austin State University, 2007, 149 pages; AAT 1452110</ref>

Separation of the International Churches of Christ

The International Churches of Christ had their roots in a "discipling" movement that arose among the mainline Churches of Christ during the 1970s.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: ICOC">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on International Churches of Christ</ref>Template:Rp This discipling movement developed in the campus ministry of Chuck Lucas.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: ICOC"/>Template:Rp

In 1967, Chuck Lucas was minister of the 14th Street Church of Christ in Gainesville, Florida (later renamed the Crossroads Church of Christ). That year he started a new project known as Campus Advance (based on principles borrowed from the Campus Crusade and the Shepherding Movement). Centered on the University of Florida, the program called for a strong evangelical outreach and an intimate religious atmosphere in the form of soul talks and prayer partners. Soul talks were held in student residences and involved prayer and sharing overseen by a leader who delegated authority over group members. Prayer partners referred to the practice of pairing a new Christian with an older guide for personal assistance and direction. Both procedures led to "in-depth involvement of each member in one another's lives", and critics accused Lucas of fostering cultism.<ref name="alt religions">Template:Cite book</ref>

The Crossroads Movement later spread into some other Churches of Christ. One of Lucas' converts, Kip McKean, moved to the Boston area in 1979 and began working with "would-be disciples" in the Lexington Church of Christ.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: ICOC"/>Template:Rp He asked them to "redefine their commitment to Christ," and introduced the use of discipling partners. The congregation grew rapidly, and was renamed the Boston Church of Christ.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: ICOC"/>Template:Rp In the early 1980s, the focus of the movement moved to Boston, Massachusetts where Kip McKean and the Boston Church of Christ became prominently associated with the trend.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: ICOC"/>Template:Rp<ref name="alt religions"/>Template:Rp With the national leadership located in Boston, during the 1980s it commonly became known as the "Boston movement".<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: ICOC"/>Template:Rp<ref name="alt religions"/>Template:Rp A formal break was made from the mainline Churches of Christ in 1993 with the organization of the International Churches of Christ.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: ICOC"/>Template:Rp This new designation formalized a division that was already in existence between those involved with the Crossroads/Boston Movement and "mainline" Churches of Christ.<ref name="Garrett 2002"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: ICOC"/>Template:Rp Other names that have been used for this movement include the "Crossroads movement", "Multiplying Ministries", the "Discipling Movement" and the "Boston Church of Christ".<ref name="alt religions"/>Template:Rp

Kip McKean resigned as the "World Mission Evangelist" in November 2002.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: ICOC"/>Template:Rp Some ICoC leaders began "tentative efforts" at reconciliation with the Churches of Christ during the Abilene Christian University Lectureship in February 2004.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: ICOC"/>Template:Rp

Churches of Christ outside the United States

Most members of the Churches of Christ live outside the United States. Although there is no reliable counting system, it is anecdotally believed there may be more than 1,000,000 members of the Churches of Christ in Africa, approximately 1,000,000 in India, and 50,000 in Central and South America. Total worldwide membership is over 3,000,000, with approximately 1,000,000 in the U.S.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Churches of Christ"/>Template:Rp

Africa

Although there is no reliable counting system, it is anecdotally believed to be 1,000,000 or more members of the Churches of Christ in Africa.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Churches of Christ"/>Template:Rp The total number of congregations is approximately 14,000.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Missions in Africa">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Africa, Missions in</ref>Template:Rp The most significant concentrations are in Nigeria, Malawi, Ghana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, South Africa, South Sudan and Kenya.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Missions in Africa"/>Template:Rp

Asia

Estimates are that there are 2,000 or more Restoration Movement congregations in India,<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Missions in Asia">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Asia, Missions in</ref>Template:Rp with a membership of approximately 1,000,000.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Churches of Christ"/>Template:Rp More than 100 congregations exist in the Philippines.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Missions in Asia"/>Template:Rp Growth in other Asian countries has been smaller but is still significant.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Missions in Asia"/>Template:Rp

Australia

Template:See also Historically, Restoration Movement groups from Great Britain were more influential than those from the United States in the early development of the movement in Australia. Churches of Christ grew up independently in several locations.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Australia"/>Template:Rp While early Churches of Christ in Australia saw creeds as divisive, towards the end of the 19th century they began viewing "summary statements of belief" as useful in tutoring second generation members and converts from other religious groups.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Australia"/>Template:Rp The period from 1875 through 1910 also saw debates over the use of musical instruments in worship, Christian Endeavor Societies and Sunday Schools. Ultimately, all three found general acceptance in the movement.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Australia"/>Template:Rp Currently, the Restoration Movement is not as divided in Australia as it is in the United States.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Australia">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Australia, The Movement in</ref>Template:Rp There have been strong ties with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), but many conservative ministers and congregations associate with the Christian churches and churches of Christ instead.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Australia"/>Template:Rp Others have sought support from non-instrumental Churches of Christ, particularly those who felt that "conference" congregations had "departed from the restoration ideal".<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Australia"/>Template:Rp

Canada

A relatively small proportion of total membership comes from Canada. A growing portion of the Canadian demographic is made up of immigrant members of the church. This is partly the result of Canadian demographics as a whole, and partly due to decreased interest amongst late generation Canadians.<ref>Wayne Turner, "The Strangers Among Us," Template:Webarchive Gospel Herald, February 2007</ref> The largest concentration of active congregations in Canada are in Southern Ontario, with notable congregations gathering in Jordan, Bramalea, Niagara Falls, Vineland, Toronto (several), and Waterloo. However, many congregations of various sizes (typically under 300 members) meet all across Canada.<ref>"Church of Christ Directory," Template:Webarchive Gospel Herald website (accessed December 6, 2013)</ref>

Great Britain

Template:See also In the early 1800s, Scottish Baptists were influenced by the writings of Alexander Campbell in the Christian Baptist and Millennial Harbinger.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Britain and Ireland"/> A group in Nottingham withdrew from the Scotch Baptist church in 1836 to form a Church of Christ.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Britain and Ireland">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Great Britain and Ireland, Churches of Christ in</ref>Template:Rp James Wallis, a member of that group, founded a magazine named The British Millennial Harbinger in 1837.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Britain and Ireland"/>Template:Rp In 1842 the first Cooperative Meeting of Churches of Christ in Great Britain was held in Edinburgh.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Britain and Ireland"/>Template:Rp Approximately 50 congregations were involved, representing a membership of 1,600.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Britain and Ireland"/>Template:Rp The name "Churches of Christ" was formally adopted at an annual meeting in 1870.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Britain and Ireland"/>Template:Rp Alexander Campbell influenced the British Restoration Movement indirectly through his writings; he visited Britain for several months in 1847, and "presided at the Second Cooperative Meeting of the British Churches at Chester".<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Britain and Ireland"/>Template:Rp At that time the movement had grown to encompass 80 congregations with a total membership of 2,300.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Britain and Ireland"/>Template:Rp Annual meetings were held after 1847.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Britain and Ireland"/>Template:Rp

The use of instrumental music in worship was not a source of division among the Churches of Christ in Great Britain before World War I. More significant was the issue of pacifism; a national conference was established in 1916 for congregations that opposed the war.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Britain and Ireland"/>Template:Rp A conference for "Old Paths" congregations was first held in 1924.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Britain and Ireland"/>Template:Rp The issues involved included concern that the Christian Association was compromising traditional principles in seeking ecumenical ties with other organizations and a sense that it had abandoned Scripture as "an all-sufficient rule of faith and practice".<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Britain and Ireland"/>Template:Rp Two "Old Paths" congregations withdrew from the Association in 1931; an additional two withdrew in 1934, and nineteen more withdrew between 1943 and 1947.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Britain and Ireland"/>Template:Rp

Membership declined rapidly during and after the First World War.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Britain and Ireland"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Missions in Europe">Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN, 854 pages, entry on Europe, Missions in</ref>Template:Rp The Association of Churches of Christ in Britain disbanded in 1980.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Britain and Ireland"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Missions in Europe"/>Template:Rp Most Association congregations (approximately 40) united with the United Reformed Church in 1981.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Britain and Ireland"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Missions in Europe"/>Template:Rp In the same year, twenty-four other congregations formed a Fellowship of Churches of Christ.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Britain and Ireland"/>Template:Rp The Fellowship developed ties with the Christian churches and churches of Christ during the 1980s.<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Great Britain and Ireland"/>Template:Rp<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Missions in Europe"/>Template:Rp

The Fellowship of Churches of Christ and some Australian and New Zealand Churches advocate a "missional" emphasis with an ideal of "Five Fold Leadership". Many people in more traditional Churches of Christ see these groups as having more in common with Pentecostal churches. The main publishing organs of traditional Churches of Christ in Britain are The Christian Worker magazine and the Scripture Standard magazine. A history of the Association of Churches of Christ, Let Sects and Parties Fall, was written by David M Thompson.<ref>David M. Thompson, Let Sects and Parties Fall: A Short History of the Association of Churches of Christ in Great Britain and Ireland, Berean Publishing Trust (January 1980), Template:ISBN, 160 pages</ref> Further information can be found in the Historical Survey of Churches of Christ in the British Isles, edited by Joe Nisbet.<ref>Joe Nisbet, gen. ed. Historical Survey of Churches of Christ in the British Isles. Aberdeen, Scotland, 1995. 580 pages</ref>

South America

In Brazil there are above 600 congregations and 100,000 members from the Restoration Movement. Most of them were established by Lloyd David Sanders.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} (English and various other translations available)</ref>

See also

• Christian churches and churches of Christ
• Christianity in the United States
• Christian primitivism
• Churches of Christ (non-institutional)
• Congregationalist polity
• Gospel Broadcasting Network (GBN) – a television network affiliated with the Churches of Christ
• House to House Heart to Heart – a printed outreach affiliated with the Churches of Christ
• List of universities and colleges affiliated with the Churches of Christ
• Regulative principle of worship
• Sponsoring church (Churches of Christ)
• World Convention of Churches of Christ
• World Mission Workshop – an annual gathering of students of missions, missionaries, and professors of missions associated with Churches of Christ

Categories

• Members of the Churches of Christ
• Ministers of the Churches of Christ

References

Sources

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External links

• Church of Christ Internet Ministries
• Brotherhood News – Online news source of the Churches of Christ
• The Christian Chronicle – A newspaper of the Churches of Christ.
• Christian Courier Template:Webarchive – A religious journal associated with the Churches of Christ.
• HisLoveforme.com – A Church of Christ Ministry Website, providing Sound Doctrine Teaching Content from Sound Churches of Christ.
• Fellowship of Churches of Christ in Great Britain & Ireland
• Template:Webarchive
• Template:Citation
• SOAS Special Collections Template:Webarchive – archive papers of the Missionary Committee of Churches of Christ Great Britain and Ireland