Articles for tag: Declaration and Address

January 10, 2010

Christian Standard

Stone-Campbell Dialogue Launches New Phase

By Staff Marking a decade of discussion, prayer, and fellowship centering on Christian unity, the Stone-Campbell Dialogue agreed at its recent meeting to shift its emphasis to a new phase of cultivating unity through mission and service among the three religious streams that trace their origins back to Barton W. Stone and Thomas and Alexander Campbell. The 21-person dialogue team met November 1-3 in Lexington, Kentucky. Among topics discussed were: the Great Communion Celebration of October 4, 2009; the possibility and potential of common mission/service projects as a focus for the next phase of conversation and engagement; getting youth and

October 4, 2009

Christian Standard

A Document for Today

  by Joni Sullivan Baker A lot can happen in 200 years. That”s plenty of time for a family to launch, prosper, and stretch out around the world. But it”s also plenty of time for punches to be thrown, hearts to break, and feuds to start and then to fester through many generations. And although most are too polite to say it, those outside the family puzzle or scoff at cousins who share the same name and same family mottoes but still can”t figure out a way to get along. It”s especially strange when a lot of those mottoes are

October 4, 2009

Christian Standard

In Communion

  by C. Robert Wetzel “Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body” (1 Corinthians 10:17). In 1909 Christians from the Restoration Movement were making plans for the centennial celebration of the Declaration and Address to take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that October. At the same time, in what was then a remote part of mountainous western North Carolina, a small group of believers were making plans to establish a church. Late in 1908 there had been a 30-day evangelistic meeting that led to the baptism of 14 people. In the spring of the following year,

September 30, 2009

Christian Standard

Interview with Terry Erwin

By Brad Dupray One hundred years ago, 25,000 Christians from around the United States gathered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for a convention celebrating the 100th anniversary of Thomas Campbell”s Declaration and Address, a formative document in Restoration Movement history. In this bicentennial year, as Christians gather around the world to celebrate a “Great Communion” today, another gathering will take place in Pittsburgh. Terry Erwin, minister with Norwin Christian Church, has worked with his associate, Ed Gratton, to plan festivities honoring the memory of Thomas Campbell, but most importantly, to serve as a remembrance of the Lord Jesus Christ as those gathered

September 30, 2009

Christian Standard

Tell Us About Your Celebration!

By Mark A. Taylor As we finished this issue in the final days of August, we continued to hear news about Great Communion celebrations planned for October 4 in community after community. “We started planning for the Great Communion in 2005,” Glenn Carson, president of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society, wrote. “And what we expected from the beginning is now occurring.” Many have posted details about their celebrations at www.greatcommunion.org. Yet we”ve also received notes from some who have searched in vain for a Great Communion service in their area. “I am profoundly disappointed that nothing is happening close

August 19, 2009

Christian Standard

How Will You Celebrate Great Communion?

By Mark A. Taylor It”s not too late for your church to plan a Great Communion observance October 4. Let me review what we”ve said about this event before, and then give you some new information. Review: Great Communion is an international celebration of the Lord”s Supper to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Thomas Campbell”s Declaration and Address, considered by many as the catalyst for our Restoration Movement. In it Campbell lifted up unity based on faith in Christ and obedience to the Scriptures. He decried divisions among believers in Christ and described the Lord”s Supper as “that great ordinance

July 12, 2009

Christian Standard

The Lord”s Supper: Great Communion”“October 4, 2009

  By Victor Knowles About 25,000 people gathered at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 17, 1909, for a special Communion service commemorating the Centennial Celebration of Thomas Campbell”s Declaration and Address. In that historic document Campbell called the Lord”s Supper “that great ordinance of unity and love.” On October 4, 2009, thousands of people will be gathering together for a “Great Communion.” This time, however, it will not be limited to just one city (although a special service is being planned in Pittsburgh). All over the world members of the Restoration (or Stone-Campbell) Movement will be meeting to

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

July 8, 2009

Christian Standard

Remembering, Renewal, and Celebration

By Mark A. Taylor Once in awhile an article actually brings us to tears while we”re preparing it for print. Not often, mind you. But it does happen. It happened this week as one of our staff was formatting Ethan Magness”s articles about the Lord”s Supper. His insights are among several powerful pieces in this issue to help readers think afresh about Communion. He challenges us to lift our weekly observance above thoughtless routine. “The danger posed by meaningless ritual is no reason to stop the ritual,” he says. And he suggests how to keep our Communion celebrations alive. Another

January 14, 2009

Christian Standard

Great Communion in Greater Pittsburgh

By Mark A. Taylor Christians across the country are planning community observances of the 200th anniversary of the Declaration and Address October 4. They will include unity Lord”s Supper services under the banner of “Great Communion,” the nationwide promotion of the anniversary. One of the most significant celebrations may happen in Pittsburgh. “When we first started our planning, we contracted with a local high school,” said Ed Gratton, one of the ministers at Norwin Christian Church in the Pittsburgh suburb of North Huntingdon. The school auditorium seats 1,000, “but from the response to our idea, we decided we”d better look

January 7, 2009

Christian Standard

Something New”“-for All Our Readers

By Mark A. Taylor You can sort most CHRISTIAN STANDARD readers into one of three categories. Some read or at least skim every page every week. Some read some of the magazine some weeks, when they have time or when they see something that particularly interests them. They don”t feel bad about what they choose to skip. Some receive a copy every week and want to read it””but they feel guilty when they fall behind. Unread issues stack up beside them in an accusing pile. We”d like to serve those in all three groups, and we”d like everyone to feel

October 5, 2008

Christian Standard

Great Communion”“a Great Opportunity

By Douglas A. Foster Two hundred years ago next year, Thomas Campbell wrote in a foundational document of the Stone-Campbell Movement, the Declaration and Address, “that the church of Christ upon earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one. . . .” “Division among Christians is a horrid evil, fraught with many evils,” he added, and said that Christians “are . . . bound to love each other as brethren, even as Christ has loved them.” In that document, Campbell called the Lord”s Supper “that great ordinance of unity and love.” One hundred years ago next year, a great Centennial Convention

July 30, 2008

Christian Standard

First Steps Toward Mending Broken Relationships

By Mark A. Taylor When I”m convinced I”m right and you”re wrong, I can find many justifications for refusing to give you a call. The first step toward mending a broken relationship is sometimes the most difficult. This is especially true when it comes to religion. It”s not just that I feel those folks in the church building down the street are mixed up. I”ve got chapter and verse to prove it. Unfortunately, nowhere has this been more evident than between some in each of the three “streams” of the Restoration Movement. But would it be possible to focus on

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

February 24, 2008

Christian Standard

An Invitation from the World Convention”s Executive Director

By Jeff Weston This summer will be the first time in 16 years the World Convention has been conducted in the United States. But what is the World Convention? I am frequently asked that question even though it has been active within our churches for more than 77 years! FOUNDATIONAL PRECEPTS Many within our churches are unaware of some of our foundational precepts. Thomas Campbell, said, “The Church of Christ upon earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one,” while Barton W. Stone said, “Let the unity of Christians be our polar star.” These pioneers had read and reflected on the

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

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