The World Convention: Christmas Truce or Reclaiming a Heritage?

By C. Robert Wetzel

An extraordinary event occurred in the early days of the First World War. Fighting had begun in August 1914, and by Christmas opposing armies were mired in bitter trench warfare. In a segment of the battle line, British soldiers faced their German enemies in bitter cold. Both armies were in trenches knee-deep in mud. Already there had been more loss of life than anyone could have imagined before the war. But on that Christmas Eve the impossible happened.

Quietly at first, voices called out from trenches on either side of the battle line. Soon men began singing Christmas carols. Then came requests to cease firing. And then, what no one would have thought possible, soldiers ventured from their trenches to greet each other in no-man”s land. For a few too-brief moments the air was filled with the sounds of them laughing as they joked and found gifts to share.

Unfortunately, this informal truce involving hundreds if not thousands of troops did not hold. The war continued for almost five more years with a loss of life that staggers the imagination.

CALLING A TRUCE

In 1930 Jesse Bader and a group of Christians wanted to call a truce in the struggles that had developed within that movement of churches known first as the Reformation of the 19th century, then the Restoration Movement, and later called the Stone-Campbell Movement. By 1906 a separation that had been brewing since the Civil War was formalized in the national census. Two decades later another controversy gained national visibility, leading to another separation, along with all the bitterness and recriminations that inevitably accompany such divisions.

With two national conventions vying for the loyalty and support of the churches, the battle lines were drawn. And I do not think I exaggerate when I use the imagery of battle. In many respects the separation of the “three streams” of the movement was an American affair even though it would soon be exported. The indigenous restoration movements in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada were not impacted by the American controversies, at least certainly not to the same degree. Furthermore, there were now churches in many other countries, some the result of missionary efforts and other indigenous churches of Christ, that would have been surprised to learn of the divisions in the American churches.

It was in these fractious times that Bader and his fellow visionaries called for a truce. They invited the troops to come out of the trenches for what proved to be the first World Convention of Churches of Christ. It took place in 1930 in Washington, D.C., and some 10,000 people attended. The week included a tea on the White House Lawn with President Herbert Hoover.

Since that time the World Convention has generally met in four- to six-year intervals. For many, each occasion is seen as a kind of Christmas truce, a coming out of trenches to celebrate our common heritage, but with the recognition that when the day is over the struggle will continue.

LEARNING ANOTHER LANGUAGE

But in recent years, more and more troops are choosing not to return to the trenches. And longtime foes are beginning to learn each other”s language. Furthermore, many are now able to see beyond the stereotypes we have of each other. But most importantly, many now recognize how our evangelistic witness is compromised by division in the body of Christ.

In many respects this trench metaphor is, thankfully, already dated. We live in a time that some of us could not have imagined 50 years ago.

The Stone-Campbell Dialogue has been bringing together people from all three streams of the movement since 1999. Its effort was intended “to develop relationships and trust within the three streams of the Stone-Campbell Movement through worship and through charitable dialogue “˜that the world might believe.””

The Restoration Forum began in 1984, and was primarily a common ground for dialogue and fellowship between Christian churches and a cappella churches of Christ. These efforts encouraged so many local and national efforts that the forum had its final meeting in September 2007.

Surely the Restoration Forums laid the groundwork for what happened at the North American Christian Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2006 when sermons and sessions were led by speakers from both groups.

Many local examples of renewed fellowship demonstrate the influence of these regional and national efforts. But none of these have the global scope of the World Convention.

Furthermore, the World Convention is the one forum in which there is broad participation of people from all three streams of the Stone-Campbell Movement. It was created at a time when there was no formal separation between “Disciples of Christ” and “Christian churches/churches of Christ.” (I intentionally avoid the terms “cooperatives” and “independents,” terms that have lost their significance for most.)

Over the years, most of the financial support for the World Convention came from Disciple sources. When the separation between Christian churches and Disciples of Christ was formalized with the Restructure of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in 1968, the World Convention committed to serving the entire Stone-Campbell Movement rather than being owned by any one segment of the movement. Today funding for the World Convention comes from churches and organizations affiliated with all three streams of the movement.

ENJOYING THE FAMILY

From its beginning in 1930, the World Convention was seen as a family gathering of churches with roots in the Restoration Movement. In keeping with the concern of the movement”s founders, it was an occasion to celebrate and reinforce the unity of the body of Christ.

True to his calling as an evangelist, Jessie Bader was aware that the plea for Christian unity was rooted in Jesus” prayer for the unity of his followers in John 17 “so that the world may believe.” Hence Christian unity, whether within the Stone-Campbell Movement or in the church at large, with all of the blessings that it might bring, is not an end in itself. Rather it is an effort to remove the stumbling block of church division for nonbelievers. Even “restoration of the New Testament order” is not an end in itself. Rather it is a means by which Christians may transcend historical and denominational separations, and be “Christians only.” The imperative is to “make disciples.”

Hence the World Convention is an occasion to meet and enjoy members of our church family we would otherwise never meet. The World Convention is an occasion to celebrate the rich heritage we have in the Restoration Movement, being simply Christians, “not the only Christians but Christians only.” But foremost, it is a way to demonstrate the convention theme, “Together in Christ.”

INVOLVING THE WORLD

And we must not lose sight of the universal scope of the World Convention. Starting with Jesse Bader, the World Convention office has attempted to identify all the countries where one could find churches of our movement. This project was greatly enhanced through the work of Lorraine and Lyndsay Jacobs, and it continues today through the efforts of Clinton Holloway.

It has been determined we have or have had Restoration Movement churches in about 180 countries. Some 40 different countries were represented at the World Convention in Brighton, England, in 2004. Australia and New Zealand were well-represented. And there were Africans and Asians who wanted to be part of a larger expression of the church as well as to bring their own distinctive contribution to the worship of the assembly. One of the projects of the World Convention office is to challenge American churches to provide travel expenses for Christians from developing nations. It is especially important for North American Christians to learn from the emerging churches in Africa, Asia, and South America. Often one sees an evangelistic fervor that is missing in our comfortable American churches.

We hope the World Convention will give visibility to what is happening among our churches on a global scope. We all have much to learn from each other, and we can be an encouragement to each other. We are living in a day when we are not simply coming out of the trenches for a “Christmas truce,” we are reclaiming and enhancing a rich heritage as a movement within the whole church. And for the sake of the evangelistic witness of the church, we seek to be “Together in Christ,” so that the world might believe.

 

 

Bob Wetzel, president of Emmanuel School of Religion, and a CHRISTIAN STANDARD contributing editor serves as president of the World Convention.