Articles for tag: Restoration Movement

August 30, 2009

Christian Standard

The Celebration of Congregationalism

by C. Robert Wetzel As a young man I spent too much time thinking about what was wrong with the church without reflecting enough on how much I was blessed in being a part of it. And when I thought of church, it was both the local congregation and broader expressions of church. There was, of course, an idealized version of what the pure, New Testament church was supposed to be, but if the ideal existed, it must be in another town, another state, or another country. Thankfully, the older I grew the more I began to see what is

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

August 16, 2009

Christian Standard

Ideally

  by David Faust Great enterprises are not built on deals; they are built on ideals. And it”s hard to think of more noble ideals than these: “¢ “No book but the Bible, no creed but Christ.” “¢ “In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; and in all things, love.” “¢ “Where the Scriptures speak, we speak; where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent.” “¢ “We are not the only Christians, but we are Christians only.” I heard these slogans when I was a child. I”ve analyzed and admired their truth as an adult, and I”ve found them useful over

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

August 2, 2009

Christian Standard

Walking with My Expatriate Catholic Friends

 by Don. M. Hamilton “I grew up Catholic so this is all new to me.” I”ve heard this statement, or ones like it, many times over the past 27 years. Capital Area Christian Church is in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area, where Catholicism is strong. A significant portion of our church family traces its spiritual roots to the Catholic church. Dozens from this background show up in our services and small groups. I”ve found these folks to be some of the most enjoyable and eager souls to walk through our doors. Having worked with so many from this faith background through

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 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 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

June 6, 2009

Christian Standard

One State, Three Bible Colleges

By David Fincher Within our fellowship of churches, people are often surprised to learn Missouri has three Bible colleges. Churches in this state and region have been blessed by the ongoing ministry, Bible teaching, and ministerial training offered by Ozark Christian College (OCC) in Joplin, St. Louis Christian College (SLCC) in Florissant, and Central Christian College of the Bible (CCCB) in Moberly, Through the years, faculty, staff, and administrators of the three colleges have had cordial relationships and developed many friendships with supporters. But there remains this question, “How could the three Bible colleges in Missouri work together to reflect

May 24, 2009

Christian Standard

Restoring, Rethinking, Remembering

By Dale Brown In an Indiana factory town in the 1950s, my family labored as a backbone piece of the Madison Avenue church of Christ. (They insisted on the small “c” for “church” as they were not a denomination””not by a long shot.) Evangelicals commonly talk about where and when they “met the Lord,” and I suppose a “meeting” of that sort happened to me in that Madison Avenue venue””not a commercial center by any stretch””but a fake tan brick building on the wrong side of the tracks where most of the important stuff of my young life came together.

May 24, 2009

Christian Standard

To Know and Speak

  By Joe Bliffen I am a Disciples of Christ pastor. I am “certified by the Christian Church in Ohio”s Commission on Ministry as a clergy person who has standing with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)” (from a letter confirming this recognition dated October 2004). I also believe the 66 books of the Bible are the inspired, inerrant revelation of God and that the 27 books of the New Testament are the only authority for the faith, practice, morals, and ethics of both individual Christians and the church. I believe creation took place over the course of six 24-hour

May 24, 2009

Christian Standard

The 2006 Unity Efforts”“Three Years Later

  By David Faust Three years ago I had the privilege of serving as president of the 2006 North American Christian Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. Our convention theme, “Together in Christ,” highlighted Jesus” prayer for unity in John 17.  We preached the great unity texts found in Ephesians 4. We sang””with and without instrumental accompaniment””and worshiped the Lord together. We noted the historic significance of the year 2006, 100 years after the U.S. Census Bureau first listed the a cappella churches of Christ as a separate body distinct from the Christian churches. We acknowledged that in a lost and dying

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

April 29, 2009

Christian Standard

Campus Ministries”“Something Special

By Mark A. Taylor It was a typical college visit, the kind high school students across the land make in their junior and senior years. But something special happened at this one. To get a real feel for the school she was visiting, this student stayed overnight in the dorm. That evening her host invited her to a get-together on campus, a Bible study sponsored by the Christian campus ministry there. Later her parents smiled as they spoke about their daughter”s positive experience with the group of Christian students and the campus minister she met. Christian parents of new college

April 19, 2009

Christian Standard

Congregational Membership and Worshiping Community”“A Reflection on Church Polity

  By C. Robert Wetzel One of the most divisive issues to plague the heirs of the Restoration Movement was the question of “open membership.” It became a symbol for a number of growing differences that were emerging among Christian churches early in the 20th century. But in many respects it was an unresolved question from the earliest days of the movement. That history is well documented, and I will not go into it here. In its starkest form, the issue centered on the recognition that the Scriptures taught baptism by immersion of repentant believers for the remission of sins

April 15, 2009

Christian Standard

Preview/Order “What Kind of Church Is This?”

                What Kind of Church Is This? This 8-page brochure for visitors and new members has sold hundreds of thousands of copies! Updated now with current information and a fresh, new look, it is the perfect addition to welcome packets, new member folders, or other outreach products. Explains history and philosophy of Restoration Movement churches in a winsome, colorful way. CLICK HERE TO ORDER PRINTED COPIES (sold in lots of 100; $30 per 100) CLICK HERE TO ORDER A DOWNLOADABLE PDF (post on your Web site; print unlimited copies for $9.99) READ LEROY

March 22, 2009

Christian Standard

Church Loans, Risky Loans?

  by Darrel Rowland It”s not weakness in the stock market or real estate sales that concerns Doug Crozier the most about whether churches can repay their loans from the Church Development Fund.  It”s weakness of the flesh. “This current economic scenario scares me, but my biggest risk in making loans to churches is moral failure in the pulpit, not economic bad times,” says Crozier, CDF president. The Church Development Fund, based in California, currently has about 450 loans worth $650 million for Restoration Movement facilities in 41 states. Most are church buildings, although the list includes a handful of

March 15, 2009

Christian Standard

Christian College: High Value

    These days everyone is thinking about value received for money spent. In keeping with the times, we asked each of the Christian colleges in our annual survey to write a few paragraphs on this theme: “The High Value of Your Education at Our School.” Their reports follow.     Alberta Bible College Empowered to dream! Equipped to serve! Students join Alberta Bible College at different points on their faith journeys, but each is greeted with the same challenging question, “Where does your deep gladness meet the world”s deep need?”But students who are uncertain about attending ABC should ask

March 15, 2009

Christian Standard

FROM MY BOOKSHELF: For Presiders, Preachers, Prayers, and Other Leaders

By LeRoy Lawson Clinton J. Holloway, Lest We Forget: Meditations at the Meal of Remembrance (Cold Tree Press, 2008). August 2008 featured selections in Christian Standard from this collection by Clinton Holloway of meditations on the Lord”s Supper. This helpful book responds to a need many a presider feels when trying to offer a fresh thought before the worshipers partake. Some of Holloway”s offerings are refreshingly original, others more predictable, and yet others will spark your own imagination. Each focuses our attention on the reason for our worship. And, to one who has sat through””and even been guilty of presenting””sometimes

March 11, 2009

Christian Standard

Interview with Perry Stepp

By Brad Dupray From an early age, Perry Stepp was captivated by the complexity of Scripture. “As a kid I would listen to my dad preach and I was fascinated with doctrine and how different parts of the Bible connected with each other.” He followed that path to a lifelong study of the Word culminating in the recent release of Reading Paul”s Letters to Individuals, a commentary on Philemon, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus (cowritten with Hulitt Gloer; Smyth & Helwys Publishing). Perry is an alumnus of Dallas (Texas) Christian College and holds a master”s degree from Lubbock (Texas)

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