---

 

         

---

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" & 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 starting

    a new church, but rather a return to Christ's church as described in the bible.  Members of the church of Christ don't 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.