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By: Batsell Barrett Baxter

 

                              Seek to duplicate the non-denominational church of the first century.
                              Take the bible as our supreme and only guide.
                              Reject doctrines and practices that were introduced after the close of the new testament.
                              Seek to be Christians only.
                              Believe this is the one and only way to unite all who are seeking to follow Christ.

    The apostle Peter once wrote, "Sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord, being ready always to give answer to

    every man that asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear" (I Peter 3:15.)

    Christians are admonished to be ready at all times to give a reason for the faith which they hold.

    It is primarily a plea for religious unity based upon the bible. In a divided religious world it is believed that

    the bible is the only possible common denominator upon which most, if not all, of the God fearing people of

    the land can unite. This is an appeal to go back to the bible.  It is a plea to speak where the bible speaks and

    to remain silent where the bible is silent in all matters that pertain to religion.  It further emphasizes that in

    everything religious, there must be a "Thus saith the Lord" for all that is done.  The objective is religious unity

    of all believers in Christ.  The basis is the new testament.

    One of the earliest advocates of the return to new testament Christianity, as a means of achieving unity of all 

    believers in Christ, was James O'Kelly of the methodist episcopal church.  In 1793 he withdrew from the 

    Baltimore conference of his church and called upon others to join him in taking the bible as the only creed.  

    His influence was largely felt in Virginia and North Carolina where history records that some seven thousand 

    communicants followed his leadership toward a return to primitive new testament Christianity.  In 1802 a 

    similar movement among the baptists in New England was led by Abner Jones and Elias Smith.  They were 

    concerned about "denominational names and creeds" and decided to wear only the name Christian, taking the 

    bible as their only guide.  In 1804, in the western frontier state of Kentucky, Barton W. Stone and several other 

    presbyterian preachers took similar action declaring that they would take the bible as the "only sure guide to 

    heaven."  Thomas Campbell, and his illustrious son, Alexander Campbell, took similar steps in the year 1809 in 

    what is now the state of West Virginia.  They contended that nothing should be bound upon Christians as a

    matter of doctrine which is not as old as the new testament.  Although these four movements were completely

    independent in their beginnings eventually they became one strong restoration movement because of their

    common purpose and plea.  These men did not advocate the starting of a new church, but rather a return to

    Christ's church as described in the bible.  Members of the church of Christ do not conceive of themselves as a 

    new church started near the beginning of the 19th century. Rather, the whole movement is designed to

    reproduce in contemporary times the church originally established on Pentecost, A.D. 30. The strength of the 

    appeal lies in the restoration of Christ's original church.

    The most recent dependable estimate lists more than 15,000 individual churches of Christ. The "Christian 

    Herald," a general religious publication which presents statistics concerning all the churches, estimates that

    the total membership of the churches of Christ is around 2,000,000.  There are more than 7000 men who preach

    publicly. Membership of the church is heaviest in the southern states of the United States, particularly 

    Tennessee and Texas, though congregations exist in each of the fifty states and in more than eighty foreign 

    countries.  Missionary expansion has been most extensive since the second World War in Europe, Asia and 

    Africa.  Many full time workers are supported in foreign countries. The churches of Christ now have five times

    as many members as were reported in the U.S. Religious Census of 1936.

    Following the plan of organization found in the new testament, churches of Christ are autonomous.  Their 

    common faith in the bible and adherence to its teachings are the chief ties which bind them together.  There

    is no central headquarters of the church, and no organization superior to the elders of each local congregation. 

    Congregations do cooperate voluntarily in supporting the orphans and the aged, in preaching the gospel in

    new fields, and in other similar works.  Members of the church of Christ conduct colleges and secondary 

    schools, as well as orphanages and homes for the aged.  There are magazines and other periodicals published

    by individual members of the church. A nationwide radio and television program, known as "In Search of the

    Lord's Way" is supported by Christians and churches of Christ across the country.  There are no conventions,

    annual meetings, or official publications.  The "tie that binds" is a common loyalty to the principles of the New

    Testament.

    In each congregation, which has existed long enough to become fully organized, there is a plurality of elders

    or presbyters who serve as the governing body.  These men are selected by the local congregations on the basis

    of qualifications set down in the scriptures (1 Timothy 3:1-8). Serving under the elders are deacons, teachers, 

    and evangelists or ministers.  The latter do not have the authority equal to or superior to the elders.  The elders 

    are shepherds or overseers who serve under the headship of Christ according to the new testament, which is a 

    kind of constitution.  There is no earthly authority superior to the elders of the local church.