OUR CHANGING WORLD

 

Dr. Paul Crow, who is ecumenical officer for Disciples of Christ, recently presented Pope John Paul with a copy of the Declaration and Address by Thomas Campbell. The Vatican released a photo showing the new pope studying the document. The Disciples and Roman Catholics have been conducting unilateral discussions, most recently on baptism.

We reported earlier in this column of how the Central Church of Christ in Irving (Dallas), Texas joined the Dallas Area Community of Churches so as to have a broader ministry to those most in need of the gospel. The reactions from abroad have been mixed, but mostly encouraging. A few churches have “withdrawn” from them in this autonomous fellowship of ours, and the Gospel Advocate excoriated them for forsaking the Cause. As a result of the Advocate writeup the Central church has received responses from all over the country encouraging them in their more open position and expressing revulsion to the party politics involved, and Central is now having more to come and place membership with them than ever before in recent history. When I saw some of the Central elders recently, I told them they should be grateful for all the free advertising they were getting!