Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Encyclopedia : C : CH : CHR : Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), often abbreviated as the Disciples of Christ or Christian Church, is a denomination of Christian Protestantism that grew out of the Restoration Movement founded by Thomas Campbell and Alexander Campbell of West Virginia (then Virginia) and Barton W. Stone of Kentucky. Both families were originally Presbyterians.
History
The roots of the Disciples of Christ lie in the Restoration Movement of the early 1800s, with a focus on Christian unity and lack of strict denominationalism. This focus came from a study of the New Testament by the movement's founders. Tolerance of other viewpoints that differed on non-essentials was key, as was inclusion based on the Lord's Table (Communion). It has been estimated that the movement that gave rise to the modern Disciples of Christ (and its associated offshoots) has been surpassed in size by only one other body of North American origin, that of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.The unity of this group was shaken by the formation of a missionary society in the late 1840s, a development looked upon with disfavor by many, especially among the smaller, more rural, and Southern congregations, and by the adoption shortly after this by some congregations of instrumental music, predominantly (at first) pianos and organs. After the American Civil War the dispute became more strident, as many leftover regional animosities became a subtext. By the 1870s and 1880s there were essentially two groups within the Restoration Movement, although the break was not truly formalized until the Religious Census of 1906 in which the congregations that disagreed with instrumental music and the missionary society asked to be listed separately as the Church of Christ.
Another group, perhaps nearly as conservative as the Church of Christ (but at variance with the Church of Christ mainly on Biblical interpretations concerning the use of musical instruments during worship), was disturbed by the liberalism that it perceived to be predominant at a church conference in Memphis, Tennessee in 1926, forming the North American Christian Convention the next year. Slowly over the next forty-five years, the split between these "Independents" and the Disciples became more or less complete; this group is now known as Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ.
At the time of the 1906 division, the Disciples were by far the larger of the two bodies; now it would seem possible that they might be the smallest of the three current major divisions of the Restoration Movement, the other two bodies being so strongly congregational as to make a reliable count of their overall memberships almost impossible. To this point, despite serious concerns over the direction of the denomination being expressed by some of the more conservative members, further open division has not occurred.
1963 saw the next wave of Disciples history. It began with the publication of essays from pastors and scholars that were charged with the task of reexaming the beliefs and doctrines of the Disciples. The essays were published as a three-volume series under the name of The Panel of Scholars Reports.
Modern Disciples
The Disciples of Christ declare only one essential tenet of the faith: belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In addition, the Disciples affirm that Jesus is the son of God and that he offers saving grace to all, as all persons are God’s children. Beyond this, there are several central practices generally associated with the Disciples:- Open Communion: Communion is celebrated weekly during the worship service; no individual is ever refused Communion.
- Baptism by immersion: Disciples practice "Believer's baptism" by immersion in the name of the Trinity, however, other baptism traditions are honored in converts. Re-baptism may be performed for converts or existing members if requested, but this practice is not normative of the denomination at large. Most Disciples ministers will not administer re-baptism.
- The unity of the church: Disciples believe that all Christians are called to be the Body of Christ; they deny that any denomination (including their own) is the "one Church." Disciples seek opportunities for common witness and service with other denominations. As early Disciples leader Barton Stone declared, "Unity is our polar star."
- Common ministry: Disciples ministers are ordained by their respective regional church, based on criteria established by the general church, and after an intensive in-care process with the region. They must have sponsorship by at least one local congregation, and normally the ordination service is hosted by that congregation. An ordained Disciples minister normally holds a Master of Divinity degree from a theological seminary. Laypersons often lead worship, and lay elders and deacons preside at Communion. Disciples belive in a "clergy of believers", meaning services normally conducted by an ordained minister, provided that there are no legal issues which restrict an act to being conducted by an ordained minister, i.e. conducting a marriage ceremony, may be performed by a layperson. As such, it is not unheard of for a layperson to substitute for an ordained minister in the ministers normal duties, i.e. giving sermons, home visits, baptisms, etc. Even youth are permitted to take part in these roles.
- Freedom of belief: Individual members are free to follow their consciences; they are expected to extend that freedom to others. Members are encouraged to seek guidance from scripture, study, and prayer, but to develop their own opinions about most issues.
At the 2005 General Assembly, over 3000 delegates voted nearly unanimously to elect [Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins], senior pastor of Disciples Christian Church in Bartlesville, OK, to become the first female General Minister and President of the denomination.
The Chalice
The insignia of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a red chalice with a white St. Andrew's Cross in the upper left corner. The chalice recalls the central place of Communion to the life of every Christian. The cross of Saint Andrew is a reminder of the ministry of each person and the importance of evangelism, and recalls the denomination's Presbyterian ancestry. The current symbol was designed in the 1960s by John Fulton and Robert Friedly.Churches Uniting in Christ
The Disciples are part of Churches Uniting in Christ, an ecumenical movement that many hope will result in one large mainline Protestant body in the U.S. similar to the role of the United Church in Canada and the Uniting Church in Australia; more conservative members tend to oppose this due to the liberalism of some of the other churches involved in the project. The Disciples were closely involved in the church union discussions between the United Church of Canada and the Anglican Church of Canada which would have resulted in a "Church of Christ in Canada," but which floundered at the 11th hour in 1974 when the Anglican bishops feared that their prerogatives would be compromised in a larger denomination dominated by non-episcopal liberal evangelical Protestants. The Disciples have continued to develop a close relationship in the USA with the United Church of Christ.In the United Kingdom, the related Churches of Christ largely united with the United Reformed Church in 1981.
Peoples Temple and Jim Jones
The Peoples Temple congregation led by Jim Jones was affiliated with the Disciples of Christ at the time of the mass suicide of its members on 18 November 1978 at its compound in Guyana. Jones was ordained by the Disciples of Christ. His fellowship and standing with the Disciples was in the process of being revoked due to mental defect at the time of the events in Guyana. Because of the congregational polity of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), regional leaders did not have the power to intervene in a decisive manner. However, since the tragedy, the systems of accountability in all regions of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) have been strengthened.Prominent members
- James Garfield, 20th President of the United States and a lay minister
- David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, who delivered open air sermons on temperance.
- Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th President of the United States (whose family, however, had been staunchly Baptist and whose wife Lady Bird Johnson is a devoted Anglican)
- Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States (baptised into the Disciples as a youth, but a member of Bel Air Presbyterian Church in his later years)
- J. William Fulbright, U.S. Senator from Arkansas
- John Tanner, Congressman from Tennessee's 8th Congressional District
- Ike Skelton, Congressman from Missouri's 4th Congressional District
- Lew Wallace, author and Civil War general.
- Edgar Cayce, Psychic and healer - His unorthodox "readings" clashed with his Disciples beliefs
- John Stamos, Actor
- Colonel Sanders, Founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken
- Frances McDormand, Oscar-winning actress
Affiliations
- Churches Uniting in Christ
- National Council of Churches
- World Convention of Churches of Christ
- World Council of Churches
See also
- Christianity
- Christian apologetics
- List of famous people with Restoration Movement ties
- First Christian Church
References
External links
- [Disciples of Christ]
- [DisciplesWorld, a journal of news, mission and opinion for the Disciples of Christ]
- [The Christian - Churches of Christ - Disciples of Christ family of Churches XVIIth World Convention of Churches of Christ in Nashville, Tennessee in July-August 2008]
- [One Hundredth Anniversary of the Disciples of Christ in 1909]
- [FCCHistory.org] - The historical archives of a Disciples of Christ church
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.