[AMA Series] Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ
Welcome to the next installment in the r/Christianity Denominational AMAs! This is the second of three AMAs representing the Stone-Campbell Movement.
Today's Topic
Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ
Panelists
u/pilgrimboy
u/FlareCorran
u/johnugent
See also yesterday's AMA on the Churches of Christ, as well as tomorrow's on the Disciples of Christ.
AN INTRODUCTION
I'm happy to have reined in one of my favorite professors to join us. u/johnugent.
It is strange to speak on behalf of an organization that actually holds at its core an independent nature that really abhors anyone speaking for them. The Independent Churches of Christ/Christian Churches are not technically an organization, although many will describe us as being a non-denominational denomination. Through this AMA, we will do our best to represent the Churches of Christ/Christian Churches, but please recognize that there is quite a diverse variety under this umbrella. Like many denominations, a range of perspectives are expressed through the different local churches. However, unlike formal denominations, an unhealthy view at the local level cannot be corrected by anyone higher up because there is nobody higher than the local elders when it comes to dictating what a church should or shouldn't do.
It is our movement's desire to restore the teachings and practices of the early church, hence the name Restoration Movement. Throughout history, churches have split over all sorts of different creeds. We want to avoid that. We were founded on a principle of striving for unity while maintaining a focus on the essential truths of the Bible. It would be arrogant of us to say that we haven't stumbled along the way, but this drive is still our focus today. Despite our failings, we strive to go straight to the Bible rather than our founders and be faithful to the practices we find in the early church. This practice of going straight to the Bible and trying to live a church life as we see in the early church is why we emphasize local autonomy, baptism by immersion, the priesthood of believers, and the weekly practice of the Lord's Supper.
You will see this ideal expressed in our popular slogans.
We are Christians only, but not the only Christians. In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; in all things, love. No creed but Christ. No book but the Bible.
With all of this said, the Restoration Movement and the Independent Church of Christ/Christian Church branch of that movement were forerunners to the modern-day non-denominational movement. The battle for local autonomy seems to have been won. Some may not agree with it being a good thing, but local autonomy is proving to be a valid model taking root throughout the world. Barton Stone, the Campbells, and the other trailblazers of the Restoration Movement paved a way that many follow today despite disagreeing on a doctrinal point here or there. Independent Churches of Christ/Christian Churches typically accept many of the churches who are also non-denominational as being in the same spiritual stream despite having originated from different historical streams. It's not about the history that got us here but about the direction we are flowing in together.
John Nugent, professor of Old Testament at Great Lakes Christian College had this to say on describing the Independent Churches of Christ/Christian Churches: "Something that has caused people to look down condescendingly upon our churches is that they judge our beliefs by the local church people who make the news or grow big churches. Yet these people hardly represent where the movement is at and where it is headed. With more structured denominations eloquent people at the top of the ladder represent them through officially approved statements. Yet these don't always reflect what is going on in the trenches of local bodies as much as the vision of where the leaders seek to take all local bodies. But with us, we are often judged by local personalities who may or may not represent us well. Suffice it to say that we, too, have leaders with robust, well conceived visions and are trying to lead local churches forward just like every other denomination. Such leaders are well-educated and experienced and occupy positions in our churches, colleges, publishing houses, and scholarly communities. A true comparison between traditions would have to either compare all traditions by their local expressions or all traditions by their most eloquent and informed representatives. Unfortunately because our representatives are not easily identifiable, we often suffer imbalanced (strawman) comparisons."
**
From here we will move on to looking at some views that are commonly shared by the individual Churches of Christ/Christian Churches. The key is that there is some flexibility and difference in the way these issues are expressed at the local level because of our loose affiliation without any established hierarchy beyond the local leadership. These are excerpts from the Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement.
ON LOCAL AUTONOMY
"Christian Churches/Churches of Christ have opted for a polity fiercely protective of congregational autonomy. This is evident from the total absence of any organizational tie uniting the fellowship of some 5,500 congregations and hundreds of agencies. There is powerful resistance to any effort that might be seen as compromising in any way the complete and total autonomy of each congregation." (187)
ON MISSIONS
"Few would deny that the Independent/direct support method of doing missions employed by Christian Churches/Churches of Christ involves some problems. Few of the religious communions that are more highly structured, however, can rival Christian Churches/Churches of Christ in the number of missionaries that are sustained on the fields. Missions continue to be a focus of major interest among most of the churches, claiming a considerable portion of each congregation's budget." (188)
ON WATER BAPTISM
"True to the Stone-Campbell heritage, Christian Churches/Churches of Christ practice immersion of believers as the only valid baptism because they understand this to be the only method of baptism found in the New Testament and practiced by the early church. They insist that baptism finds its meaning as it relates to forgiveness of sin; but they emphatically reject any form of water regeneration, a charge that is sometimes wrongfully made because of the emphasis placed on this ordinance" (188).
ON THE LORD'S SUPPER
"The other ordinance/sacrament (the latter term is seldom heard) found in Christian Churches/Churches of Christ is the Lord's Supper, which is observed every Sunday in every congregation. This, too, is believed to have been the practice of the early church, and thus it holds a central place in the churches' effort to 'restore' early Christian faith and practice. Emphasis is generally focused on the memorial nature of the Supper. Elders usually preside at the table, although this is not mandated. The Supper is made available to all believers ('open communion')" (188).
ON COOPERATION WITH OTHER CHURCHES
"Christian Churches/Churches of Christ are not formally involved in any aspect of the ecumenical movement. This is due not only to the paucity of mechanisms enabling these churches to join a council but also to the continuing conviction that such official recognition of denominational statuses would be a repudiation of the Stone-Campbell heritage. Nonetheless, ministers from these congregations have no hesitation about participating in local ministerial associations, and they generally support community efforts in association with other Christian bodies...Finally, missionaries often engage in cooperative activity with missionaries from other Christian bodies as they seek to make an impact on non-Christian cultures" (189).
**
You can look at the belief statement of the largest Independent Church of Christ/Christian Church, Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, to see a belief statement that is fairly representative of the beliefs of the movement. For another example, you could look at the belief statement of the church, Riverside Christian Church, that I have the privilege of being a pastor at.
**
About us:
u/FlareCorran I'm a 22 year old guy, working at a Church of Christ coordinating our young adult ministry and apprenticing under our senior minister. I grew up in an independent Christian Church, where my father was the minister (part time) for seven-ish years.
u/pilgrimboy Father of six, husband of one, friend of many, bumbling servant of the One, pastor at Riverside Christian Church, an adjunct professor at a university that won't be named where I teach a politics, a history, and a sociology course, and a blogger for nearly ten years at www.regansravings.blogspot.com. I have a bachelors in biblical theology and Christian ministry from Great Lakes Christian College and a masters in history and culture from Union Institute and University.
u/johnugent John and his wife are happily married and proud parents of three daughters. An alumnus of GLCC, John completed a Ph.D. at Calvin Theological Seminary, Th.M. at Duke Divinity School, and M.Div. at Emmanuel Christian Seminary. Ministry experiences include youth ministry, associate ministry, camp directing, campus ministry, church planting, and house church ministry. John has published articles in books, scholarly journals, and popular level magazines. He also writes Bible lesson commentaries for Standard Publishing; is the editor of Radical Christian Discipleship (2012), The End of Sacrifice (2011), and Radical Ecumenicity (2010); serves as a consulting editor for the Stone-Campbell Journal; and is the author of The Politics of Yahweh (2011). John and his family are committed members of Delta Community Christian Church (a network of house churches in Lansing). Those wishing to keep up on John's writing projects can frequent his website www.walkandword.com.
Thanks to the panelists for volunteering their time and knowledge!
As a reminder, the nature of these AMAs is to learn and discuss. While debates are inevitable, please keep the nature of your questions civil and polite.
Join us tomorrow when u/RevEMD, u/RevMelissa, and u/revappleby take your questions on the Disciples of Christ!
Posted Jan 30, 2014, 3:21 PM UTC · edited