Christianity: Details about 'Church Of Christ Disciples'
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The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), often abbreviated as the Disciples of Christ or the 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.
HistoryThe 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 indigenous 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. 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 DisciplesThe 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:
In addition, Disciples churches practice congregationalist church governance and utilize a "bottom-up" hierarchy. While other denominations utilize a top-down hierarchy where the senior church official or church council holds ultimate authority, the ultimate authority of the Disciples of Christ church lies in the individual, independent congregations. A General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a biannual gathering of congregations, expresses only the views of that particular assembly and holds little power to bind the denomination as a whole, although decisions may be made that affect the general manifestation of the church. The denomination is governed by At the 2005 General Assembly, 3000+ delegates voted (almost) 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 this denomination. The ChaliceThe 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. Churches Uniting in ChristThe 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 foundered 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 the United Church of Christ. New Spirit Community Chuch in Berkeley, California grew out of the gay affirming Metropolitan Community Church movement and is triple affiliated with Metropolitan Community Church, United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ. Peoples Temple and Jim JonesThe 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 under review 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
Affiliations
See alsoReferences基督会 |
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