Articles for tag: Restoration Movement

March 27, 2012

Christian Standard

Considering the Question of “˜Them” and “˜Us” and “˜Ours”

By Mark A. Taylor The spirit of the day was one of inclusiveness. “Denominationalism is dead.” “Sectarianism is to be shunned.” “People today are more interested in Jesus than any human hierarchy or divisions.” Hear, hear for the plea to be “Christians only.” But this discussion was not just about whom to treat as Christians, but also about whom to include in one of “our” meetings. And here opinions were not as uniform. If the meeting is by and for “us,” some wondered, shouldn”t those credentialed by the meeting planners be from among “us”? Their question of “them” and “us”

March 26, 2012

Christian Standard

We’re Not Alone

By Darrel Rowland Colleges in the a cappella stream of our movement are also experiencing greater religious diversity in their student bodies. Abilene Christian University crossed a historic threshold in 2008. For the first time since the Texas college was founded 102 years earlier, a majority of its freshman class was not part of a (noninstrumental) church of Christ. Just 10 years before, about two-thirds of its students belonged. The decline at Abilene Christian shows that the a cappella branch of the Restoration Movement is experiencing the same, if not a greater, decrease in the proportion of fellowship students making up its

March 25, 2012

Christian Standard

How Colleges Are Coping

By Darrel Rowland With more non-Restoration Movement students added to the growing number from Christian churches/churches of Christ “who are relatively disconnected from key biblical teachings on salvation and the Christian walk,” Florida Christian College, south of Orlando, put key Bible and apologetics courses earlier in the educational process, says President William K. Behrman. “The key concern is how the institution ministers to those students. We put professors skilled at teaching key beliefs in those courses.” As at several institutions, the increasing proportion of non-Restoration Movement students at Manhattan Christian College in eastern Kansas stems mostly from growing interest in

March 25, 2012

Christian Standard

Christian Church Colleges?

By Darrel Rowland More students from non-Restoration Movement churches are attending colleges and universities associated with independent Christian churches and churches of Christ. Is that good news or bad? To find out, CHRISTIAN STANDARD contacted leaders of the movement”s institutions of higher learning. Those from 15 responded, together representing about 85 percent of total enrollment. The “good news” camp points to the benefits of exposure to faithful biblical teaching, which in several cases has led to baptisms””sometimes in college swimming pools. “We view having non-Restoration Movement students as a blessed opportunity to share our message with those who might never

March 10, 2012

Christian Standard

Creeds: A Slogan Reexamined

By C. Robert Wetzel I could remember only the words of the first line and the melody of the refrain. It was a hymn that we sang in my home church when I was a boy. I checked with my colleague Ted Thomas, who has an amazing knowledge of hymnology. I sang the first line of the chorus, and before I could hum the rest, he said, “We Saw Thee Not.” It was the hymn that kept running through my mind when I sat down to write this article. Let me explain.   Singing Creeds When asked, “Can women preach

February 18, 2012

Christian Standard

Heritage Center Ready to Add to Collection

By Jennifer Taylor   In the fall of 2009, Pepperdine University opened the Churches of Christ Heritage Center on its campus in Malibu, CA. Today the collection of books, photographs, congregational histories, speeches, and other documents fills a room in the school”s library. “Many of these “˜artifacts” are connected to Pepperdine, like the catalog from the school”s first year in 1937,” says Jerry Rushford, director. “But there are also unusual pieces like a device from the 1920s used to fill Communion cups. A church in Idaho donated it to us.” In fact, the collection was created primarily with donations from

February 3, 2012

Christian Standard

What Are We Trying to Restore?

By Gary Weedman For the past 100 years or so, churches and Christians in our fellowship generally have professed to be part of the Restoration Movement. We have not always been clear, however, about what exactly we are working to restore. To this day, perhaps with a bit too much hubris, we say of our early leaders that Thomas Campbell restored the ancient book, Alexander Campbell the ancient order, Walter Scott the ancient gospel, and Barton Stone the ancient life. Work done. Case closed. But for much of the 20th century, many of the heirs of this historical movement thought

January 28, 2012

Christian Standard

Looking Upward, Outward, and Inward

By LeRoy Lawson The Day We Found the Universe Marcia Bartusiak New York: Pantheon Books, 2009 The Next Christians: The Good News about the End of Christian America Gabe Lyons New York: Doubleday, 2010 The End of Sexual Identity: Why Sex Is Too Important to Define Who We Are Jenell Williams Paris Downers Grove: IVP Books (InterVarsity Press), 2011   Many years ago I read that naturalist William Beebe was a guest of President Theodore Roosevelt in his Sagamore Hill home. At the close of an evening, the two went out on the lawn, searched the skies, and Roosevelt said,

January 25, 2012

Christian Standard

Come with Us to Brazil

By Mark A. Taylor Suppose you could meet for five days with Christians from around the world in fellowship and worship. Suppose you could learn from church leaders you know and from international church leaders whose important work you”d like to know about. Suppose your experience could include exuberant Latin American worship in one of the most progressive and beautiful countries in South America. Suppose you could rub elbows with fellow believers you might not be able to meet anyplace else, all of them members of congregations that identify themselves with the worldwide Stone-Campbell fellowship. Suppose your trip allowed you

January 24, 2012

Christian Standard

Church Planting Organizations

Compiled by R. Paige Mathews Christian churches and churches of Christ are committed to church planting! Just a quick look at this list will remind you that church leaders from coast to coast are working to reach non-Christians with new congregations. Church planting organizations and associations were asked to share information about their ministry beyond basic contact information. That information is condensed below, for those who answered our survey.   (For your convenience, this list is available as a pdf. Just click here: Church Planting Organizations.) “¢ “¢ “¢   Alabama State Evangelizing Association Philip King 3601 Lorna Ridge Drive Hoover, AL 35216

January 13, 2012

Christian Standard

Counting Sheep

By Steve Carr “Of course God cares about numbers. There”s a book in the Bible called Numbers!” “Each number represents a soul, and God desires every one of them.” These statements are simplistic but serve as an apologetic for both tracking congregational size and aiming for larger attendance numbers. They affirm what we seem to know innately””that bigger is obviously better when it comes to the church. It makes perfect sense, doesn”t it? The more people in the pews, the more ministry being accomplished, and the better off the kingdom of God. As a student of the church growth movement,

December 29, 2011

Christian Standard

I Have a Family

By Jim Tune My father died just a few months ago. It hasn”t been easy, and I feel the loss keenly. His death has prompted a desire to know more about my dad, his extended family, and his heritage. As a godly father and a devoted worker for Christ, he has also marked me with a legacy””one I intend to celebrate, embrace, and pass on. No one would expect any less.   The Family I Chose From a faith perspective, I also have a family. I didn”t join it as the result of a father”s will or by accident. I

December 27, 2011

Christian Standard

Why New Testament Christians Should Study the Old Testament

By Steve Hooks The Stone-Campbell Movement has served Christendom well through its invitation of all believers to practice “New Testament Christianity.” An unintended and unfortunate consequence of this plea, however, has been the historical neglect of the Old Testament in the preaching and teaching of many Restoration churches. Regarding the New Testament as the “only rule of faith and practice,” some in our fellowship have come to view the Old Testament as no longer relevant for the believer. The Old Testament, it is argued, was for the Jews. Having brought us to Christ it has now served its intended purpose

November 23, 2011

Christian Standard

Biblical Interpretation in the Restoration Movement

By Mark Weedman The history of the Restoration Movement is diverse and complex, and summarizing it is necessarily difficult. But some general patterns do emerge, and we can use those patterns to gain an overview of how followers of the Restoration Movement have approached biblical interpretation. Three moments in that history stand out as especially important in shaping how Thomas and Alexander Campbell and their followers would interpret the Bible. The first was the appearance of Thomas Campbell”s Declaration and Address, a seminal document that established the movement”s governing plea. The second moment was a debate between Isaac Errett and

November 9, 2011

Christian Standard

More Bible, Better Worship

By David Butzu How much of the Bible do we actually hear in church in any given year? What is the ratio of the amount of talking to the amount of Scripture we hear on Sundays? As our church considered those questions and others, we discovered a way to enrich worship and honor God by bringing more of his Word to our weekly gatherings. For a long time, the only kind of Christianity my family knew or cared about was Pentecostalism. Contrary to its caricatures, our Sunday worship was never wholly unbridled emotionalism; there was also a logical, right-brain dimension

November 2, 2011

Christian Standard

Emmanuel Institutes Seeks Top Students

This week the Emmanuel Institutes announced a new program–and an opportunity for 15 students to earn a full scholarship. Next August the institute will host its first-ever Ministry Immersion Week as an opportunity for emerging church leaders from undergraduate programs. Students will gather for a week of “comprehensive exposure to the ‘ins and outs’ of ministry best practices.” The organization is inviting other Restoration Movement colleges and universities to encourage their top students to apply, and 15 will be selected to participate with no expenses beyond the $50 application fee. The East 91st Street Christian Church Foundation and contributions from 33 partner churches and organizations are

November 2, 2011

Christian Standard

What a Guide!

By Ben Merold I grew up knowing that the Bible was the Word of God. In retrospect, I consider that fact strange for several reasons. I do not recall reading the Bible in my early life, and my attendance at a Sunday school class or a church youth group meeting was limited to a few short periods of time. I heard very few sermons and remembered none of them, but in spite of these things, I really believed the Bible was the Word of God. Yet, even though I had this conviction about the Bible, it had very little influence

November 1, 2011

Christian Standard

A Simpler Way

By Matt Bortmess Why does it have to be so complicated? Because I crave simplicity in my life and my ministry, this is a question I find myself wrestling with more and more these days. My life has become so complex. Sixteen years into our marriage, now with four kids and a dog, my wife and I are finding a busy calendar crammed with appointments, ball games, birthday parties, school events, and . . . the list goes on and on. Add to that a church calendar filled with meetings, studies, and luncheons, and I”m presented with so many choices

October 19, 2011

Christian Standard

Bringing the Word to Life for Nearly 60 Years

By Jonathan Underwood Standard Publishing”s logo includes a worthy phrase, “Bringing the Word to Life.” It describes in a nutshell the mission of Standard Publishing from the beginning, when Isaac Errett was selected in 1865 to be editor of a new periodical intended to raise the standard for “the restoration of New Testament Christianity, its doctrine, its ordinances, and its fruits.” Errett and his partners were convinced the Bible spoke to the needs of the day. Like their predecessors in the Restoration Movement, they believed understanding the Bible”s message would eliminate sectarianism in the church. Standard Publishing has produced many

October 2, 2011

Christian Standard

Remembering J.W. McGarvey

By Andrew Paris This coming Thursday, October 6, marks the centennial anniversary of the death of John William “J.W.” McGarvey, a great Christian preacher, teacher, author, educator, and Scripture scholar who deserves to be remembered. McGarvey was a man of only one book””the Bible. He was firmly convinced it was the inerrant Word of God, and so he devoted his life to loving it, teaching it, defending it, and living it. In his day, McGarvey held the respect of all groups emerging from the Restoration Movement, and was recognized as the movement”s greatest scholar and writer. He has been a

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