Dear
beloved in Christ Jesus:
I
just finished reading “Reclaiming a Heritage” (2002) by Richard T. Hughes, and
this is one book that should be recommended reading by every church member;
especially the leadership. The author grew up in the Church of Christ and is
therefore eminently qualified to write this book, not only from a scholarly
perspective but he has an insider perspective about the mindset and inner
workings of this religious group. The first thing that has to be admitted is
the influence of such men as Alexander Campbell, Barton Stone, David Lipscomb,
James Harding, and others in the Restoration Movement in general and Churches
of Christ/Disciples of Christ (The Christian Church) in particular. Although
Jesus Christ is the founder of our ‘Faith’ these reformers are the founders of
our religious tradition. In this article I will use the author’s words mostly taken
from his book to help better explain the Churches of Christ from a perspective
that is seldom taught, or if at all, in the congregations.
The
main point that Hughes wants to make is that the in the beginning the
foundational principle behind the movement was that everyone had the right and
privilege to search out the truth for themselves, and that such an endeavor may
take a lifetime because humans are imperfect and our understanding of Scripture
is constantly evolving. Since we are imperfect and not infallible, no mere human
person can fully capture, possess, comprehend, preserve, dispense or attempt to
codify the full measure of God’s eternal truth. The central theme of the
Restoration Movement was first, to return back to the ancient order as
presented in the New Testament and secondly, Christian unity (p. 30). There are
those among the Churches of Christ who believe and teach that they have already
restored the foundation or structure of the ancient Church in all its purity and
perfection. I suppose they think they have fulfilled what it says in Ephesians 4: 13: until we all attain to the unity of the
faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ.
Barton Stone said: “View all children of God as
your brother, whatever [religious] name they may bear” (p. 32).There seems to
have been a seismic shift from that viewpoint where in modern times there is an
overemphasis on being “the One True Church” as opposed to unifying all
Christians on the basis of following the ancient faith as outlined in the New
Testament, and not following sectarian creeds, dogma, ritual or ecumenical
authorities. Churches of Christ claim not to be a denomination because they do
not have a written creed or that each congregation is autonomous, but they
follow an unwritten code where they
exclude (dis-fellowship/withdraw) from their fellowship anyone or entire groups
of people who disagree with the standard or accepted orthodoxy. On page 47, the
author correctly opines that in our zeal to restore the primitive church in its
purity we deny the history of the human founders of our faith tradition.
Churches of Christ claim to follow the Bible and
the Bible alone and that our congregations are nothing more or less than those
of the first Christian Age. The other Churches are a product of the powerful
forces of history, culture and tradition; but not Churches of Christ. The thing
is, though, what started out as a sincere movement to restore New Testament
pattern of faith practice and teaching has instead, become a religious
organization with our own particular ‘brand’ of Christianity as evidenced by
our own distinct Churches, lectureships, publications, colleges, disciplinary
measures, and theology- hence a denomination. Perhaps the one fatal flaw in all
of this is that since we are so preoccupied or convinced of our restorative
perfection then whenever the Gospel is preached among and out from us it has
the seal of approval from God and the Lord Jesus Christ. The Plan of Salvation almost
seems to lose some of its meaning because it is presented as a series of steps
to do instead of as it pictured in Ephesians
2: 8-9, which says: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and
this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can
boast. Richard Hughes, near the end of the book goes on to say that
Churches of Christ are facing enormous challenges over forms and methods-
worship, baptism, administering the Lord’s Supper (p. 121).
He concludes by
saying that we need to restore the passion of the former times by what is
referred to as “radical discipleship,” which is similar to the commitment of the
Anabaptists/Mennonite/Amish believers. Instead of withdrawing from society in
separatist communities there should be a more proactive engagement in society
and the world for the cause of social justice; which the Churches of Christ
have been somewhat derelict in this area as opposed to other Christians. The
Cross of Christ is more than facts, forms,
methods and structures (p. 132), it must be engagement with or in the world
where we shine as a beacon of light on a hill (Cp. Matthew 15: 14-16). Another Bible verses worth considering are
found in Titus 2: 14: Who gave
himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works; Colossians 1: 10: that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully
pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing
in the knowledge of God. Further information regarding the Churches of Christ is
suggested below in the following:
Sounding
Brass and Clanging Cymbals by Choate/Woodson; Encyclopedia
of the Stone-Campbell Movement by Foster/Blowers/Dunnavant/Williams;
Distant Voices: Uncovering a Forgotten past for a Changing Church by
Leonard C. Allen; Evangelism & the Stone-Campbell Movement by
William R. Baker; Radical Restoration by F. LaGard
Smith
Robert
Randle
776
Commerce St Apt 701
Tacoma,
WA 98402
June
3, 2017
