Essay 69 (4/16/05)

WHO ARE WE IN CHURCHES OF CHRIST?

(The elders of our congregation asked me, along with others, to submit a concise "identity statement" of who we are - or who we should be -- as a church. This should include a brief word about our origin, our message, and our mission. This is reflective of a concern throughout Churches of Christ, what some are calling "an identity crisis."

But most denominations are in such a crisis. We are all trying to find ourselves in a radically changing world. So, what I submit here - or something similar to it -- might hopefully be adopted by all churches. Still, I place it on the table as only tentative and suggestive - a point of departure for discussion. It is by no means the last word. I would be pleased to have your reaction, even your take on what a church is to be in our kind of world.

This may be beyond where most of us are in Churches of Christ, but that is the point of such a "white paper" - to focus on who we should be, think of ourselves in that way, and then move towards it.)

ЧЧЧЧЧЧЧЧЧЧЧЧЧЧЧ

The Singing Oaks Church of Christ is a community of believers identified with a tradition generally known as the Stone-Campbell Movement or the Restoration Movement. While it has European roots, it began as a viable movement in America in the early nineteenth century. Its mission was "to unite the Christians in all the sects" by means of a restoration of primitive Christianity.

There were two frontier movements - each with a passion for the unity of all believers - one led by Barton W. Stoner and the other by Alexander Campbell... These two movements merged in 1832, forming a religious community that eventually identified itself as Disciples of Christ, Churches of Christ, and Christian Churches. Numbering about 25,000 in a few hundred churches in 1832, there are now some seven million members in approximately 25,000 congregations. Churches of Christ - with over 3,000,000 members worldwide in 13,000 congregations -- are part of this tradition.

While Churches of Christ are generally Protestant in doctrine - such as believing in the divinity of Christ, the priesthood of all believers, and the inspiration of the Bible - they are unique in that they are part of a movement "born and bred with a love for Christian unity," as our earliest historian expressed it. This means that we not only reject sectarianism, but that we seek unity and fellowship with all those who accept Jesus as Lord and obey him according to their understanding.

Our founding pioneers believed they had discovered biblical principles that would make Christian unity both desirable and practicable, enabling all believers to be one in Christ in spite of differences. These principles centered in making the basic truths of the Christian faith - the core gospel -- the basis of unity and fellowship. They expressed this principle in a simple axiom: "In essentials, unity; in opinions and methods, liberty; in all things, love." Still another axiom - "We are Christians only, but not- the only Christians -- was their way of saying that by laying aside all sectarian names and looking to Christ alone we can realize our Lord's prayer that his church be one.

As heirs of such a rich heritage, Singing Oaks Church of Christ, along with all other Churches of Christ, can view our mission and destiny as threefold:

To become a devoted and responsible community of faith - Christ-centered and Spirit-filled - that accepts its share of the responsibility that rests upon the church at large to reach out in love and compassion to suffering humanity with the gospel of Christ.
To exemplify in our own congregation that unity for which Christ prayed, to be united by such love and mutual respect that may one day unite all Christians.
To look to a future - beyond our present vision but not beyond our faith and hope -- when we will lose our identity as Churches of Christ, and along with all other believers, become simply the one body of Christ upon earth - one, holy, catholic, and apostolic - ecclesia semper reformanda (the church always reforming).

_________________

Personal Notes

Now that my eyesight has improved, I am back to sending out these essays on my own computer. We are grateful to Ron Hasty for helping us out in the interim. If you get behind on the essays you will remember that that all the previous 68 essays are available at www.leroygarrett.org, along with other material.

The last six essays on Alexander Campbell were reproduced by permission from The Encyclopedia of The Stone-Campbell Movement. We did this because many of our readers will not choose to purchase the encyclopedia. Those who do may purchase it from us for $53.10, including shipping. Make check to Leroy Garrett, and mail to 1300 Woodlake Dr., Denton, TX. 76210. This is a massive volume of 700 pages and it is beautifully bound. There were 300 writers from all three churches, 800 articles and 200 pictures. This publication is an impressive credit to our heritage.

The ultimate compliment on my autobiography - A Lover's Quarrel: My Pilgrimage of Freedom in Churches of Christ - is "I could hardly put it down," which I often hear to my delight. That may because the book is not just about me, but about a movement, and ideas. You may order it from us at $14.9t postpaid, as above.

Ouida and I have been about somewhat since we last reported. We went with Curt and Sue Burton to Temple and Round Rock, Texas to visit with Ervin Waters and Cecil Hook, old friends and veterans in the spiritual conflict. While in that general area we were guests of my brother William J. Garrett and his wife Betty in Bryan. We visited both the Bush and Johnson presidential libraries. On Lord's Day we assembled with the Round Rock Church of Christ. We flew to Washington D.C. with Ron and Sharlott, Hasty, and after an exciting time in D.C. we visited Williamsburg, Monticello, and Jamestown in Virginia. On Lord's Day we met with the Williamsburg Church of Christ.

I have recently had appointments at Argyle Church of Christ in Argyle, Pecan Grove Church of Christ in Greenville, Denton Christian Church in Denton, Graham St. Church of Christ in Stephenville, Jonesville Church of Christ, and a country church near Stephenville, all in Texas. Jonesville was especially delightful in that it reminded me of the country churches I knew in my youth. This church and cemetery date back to the 1890s and has a historical marker in its yard, noting that it was once a frontier community. As is always the case in our travels, it is the people we meet, especially fellow believers that we treasure more than the things we see.

[TOP].