DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

group of Protestant churches that originated in the religious revival movements of the American frontier in the early 19th century. The three major bodies are the Churches of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and the Undenominational Fellowship of Christian Churches and Churches of Christ. Related churches exist outside the United States. All have attempted to restore what they have interpreted to be the ancient order of the church and have repudiated human creeds. The Great Western Revival (1801) produced a variety of religious movements dedicated to overcoming the barriers of denominationalism through a return to primitive Christianity. Two of these movements, located on the trans-Appalachian frontier and associated with the names of Thomas and Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone, merged in 1832 to become the Disciples of Christ. The new denomination grew rapidly with the frontier. Despite the merger, the essential program of the Disciplesthe unity of all Christians on the basis of New Testament faith and practicefailed to unite a divided Protestantism, and, in fact, proved to be divisive even within the movement as it struggled to define more precisely that common platform. (It must be noted that these controversies were reinforced by a series of historic, geographic, and cultural factors.) For the segment of Disciples that was to become the Churches of Christ, that platform meant that every aspect of faith, organization, and worship had to conform to New Testament prescription or precedent. Hence when societies for missions and for the publication of tracts appeared around 1849, and when churches began using reed organs to accompany congregational singing during worship, charges of unscriptural innovation were raised. A division over these issues emerged during and after the American Civil War and was formally ratified by a request from the conservatives for a separate listing in the 1906 U.S. census (see Christ, Church of). Following a very different path, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) gradually abandoned its primitivist platform and advocated instead a program of unity based on an already existing and generally recognized common faith in Christ. This branch of Disciples is the most widely known of the three, in part because it has identifiable denominational structures including a general office and a biennial delegate assembly. It participates in the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches and generally supports the positions of these organizations in social and theological matters. While some congregations have experimented with liturgical forms, typical Christian Church worship still generally retains the basic elements of prayer, singing, preaching, and a weekly memorial observance of the Lord's Supper. Congregations have a high level of autonomy but acknowledge regional and general structures as equal manifestations of the church. In recent years the quest for Christian unity has been pursued through participation in the Consultation on Church Union since its formation, and in 1985 the Disciples of Christ entered into an ecumenical partnership with the United Church of Christ. A number of congregations tracing their roots to the Disciples movement neither claim affiliation with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination nor reject the use of musical instruments in worship. Most of these congregations continue to hold to a Restoration program. They began to separate from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) during and after World War I over such issues as ecumenical cooperation in missions, biblical criticism, and the rising influence of liberal theology. As early as the 1920s alternative strategies for overseas missions were developed, Bible colleges were established to prepare a ministry true to the Restoration tradition, and in 1927 a separate annual gathering, the North American Christian Convention, was called. The division was formalized in the late 1960s when the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) underwent restructuring, and many conservative congregations still in some cooperation with that more liberal body formally withdrew. As a group they continue to reject denominational status, retaining their group identity as a movement mainly through periodicals, annual conventions, and Bible colleges and seminaries. The World Convention of Churches of Christ remains the only institutional manifestation of the common Disciples of Christ heritage. Organized in 1930, it meets every five years for worship and fellowship. Some member groups originated independently of American Disciples but associate in the convention because of similarities of doctrine and practice. group of Protestant churches that originated in the religious revival movements of the American frontier in the early 19th century. There are three major bodies of the Disciples of Christ, all of which stem from a common source. The Churches of Christ emphasize rigorous adherence to the New Testament as the model for Christian faith, practice, and fellowship. They reject ecclesiastical institutions other than the congregation, practice a dynamic evangelism based on a literal view of the Bible, and remain aloof from interdenominational activities. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) affirms a free and voluntary covenantal relationship binding members, congregations, regions, and general units in one ecclesiastical body committed to a mission of witness and service. Recognizing its status as a denomination, it acknowledges the right of dissent in love and engages fully in the ecumenical venture. The congregations loosely related in the Undenominational Fellowship of Christian Churches and Churches of Christ refused to enter such a Christian Church. They earlier had refused to follow the Churches of Christ in rejecting musical instruments in worship and missionary organizations as a matter of biblical principle; they later repudiated the openness of their fellow Disciples toward biblical criticism, theological liberalism, ecumenical involvement through official channels, and development of denominational institutions. In a larger sense Disciples of Christ includes sister churches in Australia and New Zealand, known locally as Churches of Christ, with origins largely independent of the United States. It also denotes churches in other lands resulting from the missionary efforts of all these bodies; most of these younger churches, as well as Churches of Christ in Great Britain, have entered united churches. Originally Disciples blended the independence and pragmatism of the American frontier with an uncomplicated biblical faith that demanded restoration of the ancient order in the church. They repudiated human creeds and traditions as requirements for Christian fellowship, understood baptism as the immersion of believers only, and recognized no churchly authority beyond the congregation. This simple formula's typical sectarianism was combined with a strong catholic impulse: a plea for the union of all Christians, the regular celebration of the Lord's Supper in weekly worship, and the use of inclusive biblical names. Additional reading Leroy Garrett, The Stone-Campbell Movement: An Anecdotal History of Three Churches (1981), which gives major attention to the 19th century; James DeForest Murch, Christians Only: A History of the Restoration Movement (1962), reflecting an independent viewpoint; and William E. Tucker and Lester G. McAllister, Journey in Faith: A History of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (1975), centring on the cooperative stream. Biographical studies include William Garrett West, Barton Warren Stone: Early American Advocate of Christian Unity (1954); and Lester G. McAllister, Thomas Campbell: Man of the Book (1954). Beliefs, worship, and organization are treated in Alexander Campbell, The Christian System, in Reference to the Union of Christians and a Restoration of Primitive Christianity as Plead in the Current Reformation, 2nd ed. (1839, reprinted 1980), the classic summary of Campbell's theology; Royal Humbert (ed.), A Compend of Alexander Campbell's Theology (1961), with critical and historical commentary; Keith Watkins, The Breaking of Bread: An Approach to Worship for the Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ) (1966), a comprehensive, historical, and theological analysis; David Edwin Harrell, Jr., A Social History of the Disciples of Christ, 2 vol. (196673); and Kenneth Lawrence (ed.), Classic Themes of Disciples Theology: Rethinking the Traditional Affirmations of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (1986). See also Mid-Stream: An Ecumenical Journal (quarterly). The Rev. Ronald E. Osborn