Struggle for Existence–Part 4
The solution is not to resign the churches of Christ to “just another denomination.” The churches of Christ have a stronger plea than the rest of the religious world. The churches of Christ are unique in focus and perspective. Unlike the majority of denominations, the churches of Christ have a Biblically focused understanding of Christianity. Churches across America are turning to culture, society, philosophy, and business to dictate practices, but the church of Christ roots all activity from the Bible. The conversation begins with the text from the word of God and proceeds to an appropriate expression in the world. Instead of allowing the world to set the agenda the church seeks to allow God to speak first. Even though people are accusing members of the church of being Biblically ignorant, the majority of Christian’s desire pure preaching and teaching from the Bible. Instead of operating from the Wesleyan Quadrilateral where scriptural, tradition, reason, and experience have an equal voice in establishing Biblical authority, the churches of Christ allow scriptural to have the sole voice while tradition, reason, and experience are allowed to participate in the interaction but are supporting voices. This background will cause the churches of Christ to always stay conservative in an ever increasing liberal world. Even if the world moves in a radical direction, the churches of Christ will stay rooted because the word of God never changes. The church offers Biblical solutions to a confused world.
Related posts:
- Struggle for Existence–Part 2
- Struggle for Existence–Part 1
- Struggle for Existence–Part 3
- The Apostolic Reality and Growth
- Review of “The Apostolic Congregation”
About The Author
What do you think?
Here is where we are going to disagree
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You said, “The solution is not to resign the churches of Christ to “just another denomination.” The churches of Christ have a stronger plea than the rest of the religious world. The churches of Christ are unique in focus and perspective. Unlike the majority of denominations, the churches of Christ have a Biblically focused understanding of Christianity. Churches across America are turning to culture, society, philosophy, and business to dictate practices, but the church of Christ roots all activity from the Bible.”
I would like to see that proven. It is debatable whether the original resotartion plea is even biblical. Jesus’ gospel was the kingdom of God — not a supposed pattern within scriptures that his followers must adhere too. Second, we may claim to have a unique focus and perspective that is rooted in the biblical account but many other Christian groups make the same claim and to claim we are unique in this perspective only seems to erect walls of division rather than sowing seeds for unity. The majority of Protestant Christianity, including the Churches of Christ, have claimed to base their faith on “sola-scriptura” but then why all of the division? And why would we dare think we are the only ones who have not had our sola-scriptura lens shaped by external factors (culture, philosophy, etc…)? There is just too much historical research existing that shows Churches of Christ (and the larger Restoration M.) has been shaped as much by the social-culture of its day as it has scripture. The notion that we have not been shaped by anything besides the word of God is a myth. Does that make us wrong? No, it just means we are human like every other Christian. Third, do Churches of Christ root all activity from the Bible? Again, we may claim to do so but that is another myth. We have many practices, like it or not, that have no biblical foundation – at least not in any way that takes seriously the belief that Jesus Christ is the revelation of God and who we are to become. How esle would you explain our history of tolerating (and in the worst case promoting) racism and racial injustice? How would you explain the view of many in the CoC that it is ok to support and/or participate in the willful destruction of the governments political enemies (when Jesus taught us to love even our enemies)?
For the Churches of Christ, as well as all the other Christian groups who have come of age within the western-world of modernism and now are struggling to find an existing way forward in a postmodern, post-Christian, and post-western world, we must rediscover what it means to ground our indentity in Jesus Christ alone. Protestant Christians of all stripes, despite their claim to sola-scriptura, have rooted their identity in other foundations besides Jesus Christ. Such foundations have included doctrinal paradigms (i.e., church patternism), traditionalism (as different from tradition), charismatice leaders, etc… all of which have proved to be the house built upon sand. We must now find our foundation on The Rock and until we do, we have nothing to offer a broken world except another broken house.
Grace and peace,
Rex
Great response, Rex. As one who grw up in another denomination, and is now a member of a Restoration church movement, I cringed when I read “Unlike the majority of denominations, the churches of Christ have a Biblically focused understanding of Christianity”
A Biblical focused understanding of Christianity? I think we all (Restoration movement Christians and Christians from other denominations) have a very long way to go. Why are we not all focusing on the things Jesus taught? I do like how one of our pastors (yes, we call him a pastor) called the Restoration movement “clutter-free Christianity”. But we are still much too focussed on doing church and not being the church.
Thank you for the imput everyone. There are certainly problems in the movement but I am one who sees a great future and at the core of the movement is the desire to know the word of God. We might not always get this correct, but I believe we want to know, those who have a good heart. My desire for the movement is for us to have a higher standard than other religious groups, I do long for us to restore the purity of the message of Christ for this world. Thank you for the comments.
I think Rex makes a good point here, “Second, we may claim to have a unique focus and perspective that is rooted in the biblical account but many other Christian groups make the same claim and to claim we are unique in this perspective only seems to erect walls of division rather than sowing seeds for unity.” In our discussions with members of different religious bodies, saying anything from an assumptive point of view can be dangerous. By flaunting that we believe we’re the one church or that we sing with our hearts (acapella) or that we have all the answers, can really turn people off. We need to show the world, not just Christians of other denominations, but the world why Jesus is answer. We must bridge gaps while still being respectful of the word.
Matthew,
I hope you know that even though I disagreed with your post, I am not trying to be critical of you. I know you want the best – the gospel of Jesus Christ being proclaimed in word and deed – for your congregation and all others you have influence upon. That much is evident in your blog postings and I appreciate your imput. We are just not always going to agree and that is ok, our fellowship in Christ does not hinge on whether we agree on everything.
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Any ways, I do want to help our movement become better. But I have learned that most non-Christians could care less about denominational identities and so I do not just want us to help our movement but help (in whatever way we can) all professing Christians, for those other Christians have just as much influence on how non-Christians perceive the Christian faith as we have. Does that make sense?
Grace and peace,
Rex
Wendy said, “we are still much too focussed on doing church and not being the church.”
I agree. Even though I was raised attending a CoC, I left at the age 16 because I saw too many confessing Christians acting like anything but Jesus. They claimed they had it all right and were the only ones going to heaven but the way they treated others was horrendous (resulting in 2 different church splits). I became a Christian as a young adult because I actually saw Christians who took the life of Jesus seriously, realizing that they were the church of Jesus Christ when they lived their lives like Jeuss. I saw Christians who were more interested in living like Jesus than trying to point out all of the flaws in the church down the road or accross the street.
After being raised in the Chicago area, I have lived in Detroit, MI; in the supposed Bible-belt (Searcy, AR and Memphis, TN); in Ithaca, NY (which is a very pagan culture); and now in small-town mid-western Minnesota with many traditional values. Despite the cultural differences, these communities share many “spiritual” commonalities: they are broken and bankrupt; they are full of people who have put their hope in other gods (wealth, govenrment, secular philosophies, etc…); some of them may attend a church somewhere but that is often just a disquise for the sandy foundation they have been standing on; even in the CoC I have known a couple of people who believe Jesus is just one option among many…
…BUT…these broken and bankrupt people also recognize that something is terribly wrong with this world and they are searching for that answer. They are searching for God even if they do not know it. They need Jesus! And the only way they are going to begin to see Jesus is for some of Jesus’ people to take seriously his life and begin living out that life (in all of our feeble attempts). We cannot do that if we are willing to toss out the scriptures or even jettison 2,000 years of Christian tradition (in the best sense) just because the current times find it difficult to accept that there is one Lord of the universe. So, in full agreement, I will quote Dale “We need to show the world, not just Christians of other denominations, but the world why Jesus is answer. We must bridge gaps while still being respectful of the word.”
Thanks for the discussion everyone.
Grace and peace,
Rex
Rex, you just said a mouth full. You just told your story. I guarantee the denominational church of Christ (there is a denominational church of Christ) that you moved to or created there are the same folks there…….”too many confessing Christians acting like anything but Jesus.” “Notice you said “I was raised attending.” Where I preach there are more than a third of the folks just attending.
Wendy sounds like you too just moved from one denomination to another. I don’t say that being mean but it sounds like that’s what you did.
Rex, I agree with you, “we are still much too focused on doing church and not being the church.”
Matthew we need to get to the business of doing being what you wrote.
Thank you for all the input. Rex, we are friends and I really appreciate your thoughts. Never worry about how I am taking you, I know your heart and it is a good one. Thank you though of being kind and just making sure. There problems with the churches of Christ, but we must push on to a higher standard.
Sonny,
I’ve forgotten who said this but we sometimes are more concerned with Churchianity rather than Christianity. I think it was CS Lewis.
Rex,
You can’t offend Matthew. Believe me, I’ve tried.
Dale