Articles for tag: Christian Unity

August 2, 2009

Christian Standard

Big C, little c: Building Bridges by Saying “˜Thank You”

by Ben Cachiaras One in four Americans calls himself Catholic. That”s 64 million people in this country””and an estimated billion people worldwide. There were lots of Roman Catholics in Minnesota, where I grew up. Many of my friends were Catholic. Some struck me as devout and genuinely committed to Christ, while others seemed halfhearted, as if they were going through obligatory religious motions. Then I discovered there were those same two kinds of folk in my own church. Later God moved my family and me to Maryland, and I have found a lot of Catholics here, too. In fact, Roman

July 12, 2009

Christian Standard

The Point of Christianity 3: Christian Reconciliation

  By Douglas A. Foster Christ knew there would be trouble. He knew the human heart and its tendency toward pride. His intense prayer for his followers “that they may be one” was not a request for a good but optional addition to Christianity””unity was the very essence of it. The walls that separate humans were precisely what Christ came to destroy. Reconciliation is the point of Christianity! And reconciliation results in unity. Tragically, the very people Christ entrusted with his ministry of reconciliation built walls of separation. Christians destroyed the visible unity of Christ”s body. The spirit of division

May 20, 2009

Christian Standard

More Than Talk About Unity

By Mark A. Taylor Most biblical ideals are easier to talk about than to practice. I may be able to quote Bible verses about love or patience or forgiveness or grace. But just let the neighbor”s dog wake me with its barking or my coworker across the aisle talk too loud on the phone, and let”s see how I express those virtues! Perhaps no value is easier to promote and also more difficult to experience than unity. Whenever I”m called upon to explain the Restoration Movement to someone who doesn”t know us, I”m faced with this reality. Soon into my

March 22, 2009

Christian Standard

The Point of Christianity

  By Douglas Foster If you were to ask a non-Christian, “What is the point of Christianity?” what do you think he or she would say? Based on many people”s experience with professed Christians, he might say the point of Christianity is to make people as miserable and uptight as possible. Or that it is to shape people into vigilantes who get great satisfaction from attacking and destroying those with whom they differ””in the name of Christ and sound doctrine. Unfortunately there is ample evidence to back up these impressions. But what would you, a Christian and a reader of

July 13, 2008

Christian Standard

Restoration Movement Q&A 2

Answers from Robert Lowery Does the Restoration Movement Matter? Answers from Robert Lowery. Robert Lowery is professor of New Testament and dean at Lincoln (Illinois) Christian Seminary. Do you feel as strongly about being a part of the Restoration Movement today as you did fifteen years ago?  What, if anything, has changed? I remain committed to the principles of the Restoration Movement, yet I am not impressed with our efforts to articulate clearly and implement boldly those principles today. I have heard some say: “We have arrived! We do exactly what the earliest Christians did, no more and no less,

July 13, 2008

Christian Standard

Restoration Movement Q&A 4

Answers from Pat Magness Does the Restoration Movement Matter? Answers from Pat Magness. Pat Magness is professor of humanities and English at Milligan College in Tennessee and a member of the Publishing Committee at Standard Publishing. Do you feel as strongly about being a part of the Restoration Movement today as you did fifteen years ago?  What, if anything, has changed? Yes, I remain strongly committed to the Restoration Movement and even more deeply involved in a variety of ministries. In addition to the connections in my local congregation, I feel increasingly connected to the Restoration Movement through my work on

July 6, 2008

Christian Standard

A New Movement and the Choices We Must Make

By Greg Taylor There”s a new Restoration Movement on fire and spreading in the United States and the world. For those of us who have passionately believed in Restoration principles of wearing Christ”s name alone, who see Scripture as our only rule of faith and practice, and who are imperfectly living out a dream of being the church Jesus wanted, we have a decision to make. We can continue with the little pickup stickball game outside the World Series stadium, or we can realize the larger Christian world is singing our song and playing our game in the arena. A

June 29, 2008

Christian Standard

Stone-Campbell Dialogue Addresses Issues of Global Mission

By Guthrie Veech and John Mills Representatives of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Churches of Christ, and Christian Churches/Churches of Christ gathered in St. Louis June 8-10 for the 11th meeting of the Stone-Campbell Dialogue, an ongoing discussion intended to strengthen ties between the three “streams” of the 19th-century movement associated with Barton W. Stone and Thomas and Alexander Campbell. This session of the dialogue focused on global mission. The event began with a Sunday evening worship service at First Christian Church of Florissant, Missouri, a 1,500-member congregation of the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. Attending the service were some

June 1, 2008

Christian Standard

One Church

TAKE THE QUIZ: “What Do You Know About the Declaration and Address“ By Victor Knowles Thomas Campbell stood at the rail of the ship and breathed deeply of the invigorating ocean breeze. He was leaving his beloved Ireland and setting sail for America. Perhaps there his health would improve. Perhaps there the religious air would be healthier too””free from the strife and division that had troubled him so in the Seceder Presbyterian Church. Upon his arrival in America in 1807, the 44-year-old minister was appointed to preach in western Pennsylvania by the American counterpart of the anti-Burgher Seceder Presbyterian Church.

June 1, 2008

Christian Standard

What Do You Know About the Declaration and Address?

By Victor Knowles Read the main article, “One Body,” by Victor Knowles.       1. The Declaration and Address was written by: a. Alexander Campbell b. Thomas Campbell c. Benjamin Franklin d. Walter Scott e. Barton W. Stone 2. The Declaration and Address was published in the year: a. 1793 b. 1801 c. 1809 d. 1866 e. 1906 3. The Declaration and Address was largely a: a. Pattern for organizing New Testament churches b. Call to secede from the Union c. Primer on hermeneutics d. Document advocating Christian unity e. Treatise on instrumental music 4. Arguably the most memorable

May 28, 2008

Christian Standard

Can We Do It His Way?

By Mark A. Taylor Frank Sinatra”s signature song, “My Way,” summarized the mind-set of the generations that followed him. Still today we could think of it as a theme for our times. Now personal choice is claimed as a right, and marketers of everything from flip-flops to family sedans try appealing to the consumer”s quest to be unique. In such an atmosphere, religious pluralism has only increased. Talk-show hosts and best-selling authors speak of spirituality. But no one in the mainstream spotlight dares suggest Jesus is the only way to God, the only reliable source of truth. Even among those

January 6, 2008

Christian Standard

Restoration Forum”“Catalyst for Change

By Sam E. Stone “At this meeting I”ve found that I have about a million brothers and sisters I didn”t even know about!” That was one person”s reaction after attending his first Restoration Forum. Those in churches of Christ share essentially the same faith and practice with those in the Christian churches/churches of Christ, with one obvious difference. Most of them do not worship with instrumental music accompaniment. The churches of Christ have been listed separately in the U.S. Census since 1906, although both groups trace their roots back to the same Restoration Movement of the 1800s. The a cappella

August 26, 2007

Christian Standard

Two Christians Pursue Paths to Unity:

By William Westfall Tell me again, how did this happen? That seems to be the question I ask myself over and over at different points in my life. How did I””how did we””get to this place? I have one of those familiar (some would say “boring”) stories. I was raised in a Christian””Christian church””home. My father was an elder. He baptized me at the age of 9. My mom was a “deaconess.” She served in many ways, but I most clearly remember all the meals she provided to families in need. I can”t remember a time when I did not

May 13, 2007

Christian Standard

Celebrating a Celebration

By Pat Magness Celebrations light up my life, from major events like birthdays and anniversaries to lesser-known occasions such as the first daffodil of spring or the last tomato of summer. But even with my commitment to celebrations, I was surprised to receive an invitation to be a part of the 2009 Task Force that will plan centennial/bicentennial celebrations in 2009. I must confess that I did not immediately resonate to the significance of the year 2009. Why celebrate in 2009? I began doing some research and learned there are some very important reasons to celebrate, important enough that I

January 24, 2007

Christian Standard

Deciding What to Move

By Mark A. Taylor Anyone who’s ever moved knows the idea is more romantic than the reality. Those success seminar speakers have it right when they say, “Keep your eyes on the goal.” Only a vision of new offices in an attractive, fresh setting can sustain us here at Standard Publishing through our weeks of sorting, boxing, and pitching. It’s the deciding what to throw away that can be agonizing especially for a pack rat like me. I looked for my name in the 1977 North American Christian Convention program book, on its way to the trash, and discovered I

September 17, 2006

Christian Standard

NACC Viewpoint 3: Together–It’s Reality

By Judy Hutchinson The NACC has become a working vacation for me. My father-in-law, W.D. Hutchinson, founded the business called Christian Audio Tapes, which records every main session and workshop of the event. “This is my 40th NACC,” he announced shortly after I arrived at the booth. I marveled at the physical endurance demonstrated by that statement and wondered how he and his staff continued the task of loading, unloading, and reloading the multitude of boxes that it takes to fill the orders for CDs, DVDs, and tapes. He made his announcement with a lilt in his voice that told

September 17, 2006

Christian Standard

NACC Viewpoint 4: You Just Had to Be There

By Steven Clark Goad I am parson for a church of Christ that has a tradition of not singing with instruments in our assemblies. As a music major in college, and even now, I have often wondered what the fuss was over a lousy piano in the church house. Pianos don”t worship. Guitars and percussion instruments don”t worship. People do. We make melody in our hearts. I am glad””elated, frankly””that we are coming together. At Pepperdine. At Abilene Christian. At Tulsa. And now Louisville. It”s about time. One hundred years is way too long to be estranged from brethren like

September 13, 2006

Christian Standard

First Step, Big Step?

By Mark A. Taylor Maybe you remember your child’s first steps. Was he one who tried and tumbled? Or was she more of a wait till I know I can do it type? In my family we had one of each. Our firstborn didn’t take a step till she was 13 months old. But once she walked, she took off and never stopped. It was different when our son came along. We remember less about his first step than his attempts to achieve it. After weeks of pulling up and falling down again and again, he finally took a few

July 2, 2006

Christian Standard

Reconciliation and the Restoration Vision

By C. Robert Wetzel It happened to be Remembrance Day when I visited the Church of Christ in Coventry, England. It was now 30 years after the guns of World War II had been silenced. During the worship service that morning an elder shared his memory of that catastrophic night in November 1940 when the German Luftwaffe carpet-bombed this city of 600,000 people. If it was not the first saturation bombing it was certainly the most devastating up to that time. As the elder talked about the suffering, there was no bitterness in his voice toward the Germans; only a

June 25, 2006

Christian Standard

We Strayed from Original Principles

By Thomas Langford We could have stayed true to the original principles of our movement, and we should have. These are best presented in Thomas Campbell”s Declaration and Address. The document sets forth the essential unity of the church and the importance of freedom from extra-biblical laws and restrictions. Note the following from Proposition 3: Nothing ought to be inculcated upon Christians as articles of faith; nor required of them as terms of communion, but what is expressly taught and enjoined upon them in the word of God. And from Proposition 5: That with respect to the commands and ordinances

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