Christian Churches and Churches of Christ History - Part 6: So Who Are We?

So Who Are We?

In this last session, we will attempt to summarize the material we have viewed and create a simple profile that accurately identifies the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ.

Guiding Principles

We believe the church is one, and unity can be achieved by focusing on the Word of God as our rule for faith and practice, and the Lordship of Jesus.  We attempt to model the church after the example of the New Testament church found in the book of Acts. 

The slogans shared in our second session continue to be guiding lights, and are frequently referenced by leaders as they seek to discern direction for the body.  We still attempt to work for the unity of all believers, while holding fast to the Word of God and the good news of Jesus Christ.

A phrase one might use of us is that we are an "independent, Biblically conservative body that seeks unity with other believers by being 'Christians Only.'"

Theology and Practice

Because we are attempting to model ourselves after the New Testament Church, we try to shadow what we believe the first Christians did.  We believe those who came to follow Jesus were immediately baptized by immersion (as opposed to babies who are sprinkled in some church bodies), and that the church met regularly to share in fellowship, learn from the apostle's teaching (the New Testament for us), break bread (take communion) and pray.  These four practices are found in Acts 2:42.

Sometimes our churches are called "New Testament Churches" because of our philosophy regarding the church model we find in the book of Acts.  However, this does not mean we do not use the whole counsel of God as revealed in both Old and New Testaments.  Our focus on the New Testament is not intended to exclude the Old Testament, but rather to emphasize the importance of the Biblical model of the church as our standard. 

Leadership Structure

Our congregations still resist large church structures beyond our local congregation, however, we do have a structure within our body based on leadership roles found in the New Testament.  We have elders, who are the shepherds and overseers (1 Timothy 3:1-7); deacons (1 Timothy 3:8-12), who are special servants assisting the elders; and a host of other servant-leaders, some of them trained for a specific ministry focus as in the case of our paid staff. 

While our church is "congregational" in that it is independent of bigger denominational structures, and often votes together on issues affecting us all, from a Biblical standpoint, we look to the elders as our final accountability under the Lord and His Word.  The elders, in turn, give authority to others, including our trained staff, to lead and execute ministry.  At Northside, the elders and staff come together regularly to pray and seek God's direction for the church body.

Aside from these roles, the Bible does not give a lot of specifics on how the elders are to perform their shepherding and oversight, or how specialized servants are supposed to minister, except that they should exhibit the character and grace of a spiritual leader.  For this reason, organizational systems and titles for staff members vary from church to church as the size and circumstances of the congregation vary.  Elders also often share their shepherding and oversight responsibilities with others, much the same as Moses learned to share his leadership with others in the wilderness.

Great care should be used not to marry ourselves to any one leadership or organizational structure that is not specifically spelled out in scripture, but rather to seek God's wisdom in every generation as we attempt to work through the roles He has established to build His kingdom.  It is often hard for those who have been raised with one leadership structure to separate their experience from Biblical command, but again, we should always be open to methods that will benefit the kingdom, while not going against expressed Biblical commands. 

Not the End of the Story

As a body, we are still committed to church unity, using the model of the church in the New Testament as our example.  We will continue to study and learn as we reach out with the saving message of Jesus.  And we believe we can continue to have a positive influence on our brothers and sisters in the denominational world by teaching our principles in love.

We continue to build fellowship with our non-instrumental brethren, and look for opportunities to celebrate common ground with the Disciples of Christ.  There are, incidentally, small movements within the Disciples group to move back to a more solid Biblical foundation. 

In addition, we make every effort to extend kindness and Christian love to everyone who worships our Savior, even though we may differ theologically and philosophically.  Though we are not always in agreement with everything these groups do, we believe we are better able to draw others to the table to discuss what the Lord has commanded when we practice the "in all things love" portion of the slogan previously shared.

Somehow, in all of this we must remain uncompromisingly true to the teachings of the scripture, while still building relationships with those who differ.  As a famous preacher in our movement once said, "I can participate with those with whom I disagree as long as I know where my anchor is." 

Our anchor is in the Word of God, the Lordship of Christ, and the vision of His church as revealed in the New Testament and most clearly in the history book of Acts.  To the extent we are able to understand and follow this example, we will be able to realize our two-fold goal of unity and truth.