PRACTICES AND BELIEFS
It is no simple task to summarize what
members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) believe. In his book
We Call Ourselves Disciples, General Minister and President Emeritus Dr.
Kenneth Teegarden explains:
"Disciples always have opposed...the
use of creeds to exclude persons from the church. It was (the) use of creeds
as 'tests of fellowship' that the Disciples' founding fathers fingered
as the major cause of division among Christians...(So) unlike most other
churches, we Disciples do not have an official doctrinal statement we can
refer to when someone asks, 'What does the Christian Church believe?'"
"For many years, The Christian Evangelist,
a forerunner of our present journal The Disciple, carried a maxim
in its masthead: 'In essentials, unity: in nonessentials, liberty; in all
things, charity.' It expresses the cherished conviction that liberty should
be allowed in the nonessential areas into which most creedal statements
roam."
A widely-known slogan among Disciples claims
"No Creed but Christ." That conviction is borne out in the manner in which
persons come to be a part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Dr. Teegarden goes on to say:
"Standing before a congregation
of Disciples to confess faith in Jesus Christ and become part of the church,
a person is asked only one question. It is usually phrased, 'Do you believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and do you accept
him as your personal Savior?' The person who responds, 'I do,' might have
recently completed a church membership course. If so, the instruction will
not have been to transmit a system of doctrines. In fact, a person who
is comfortable with a dogmatic approach would be disappointed in the Christian
Church."
"We Disciples have beliefs and practices
in common with all sorts of Christians. These apparent similarities
sometimes are superficial, sometimes fundamental. We baptize
by immersion, so we look like Baptists. We have Communion
every Sunday, so we look a bit like Roman Catholics. We stress the ministry
of the laity, so we look a little like Quakers. Our congregations call
their pastors rather than accepting assigned ministers, so in that respect
we look like Presbyterians. We rely heavily on preaching and teaching,
so we look somewhat like Methodists. We have congregational government,
so we look a lot like the United Church of Christ."
While Disciples honor no human-made creed,
the preamble to a document called The Design for the Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ) poetically and prayerfully expresses our shared affirmations
in this way:
"As members of the Christian Church,
we confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and proclaim
him Lord and Savior of the world.
In Christ's name and by his grace we accept
our mission of witness and service to all people.
We rejoice in God, maker of heaven and
earth, and in the covenant of love which binds us to God and to one another.
Through baptism into Christ we enter into
newness of life and are made one with the whole people of God.
In the communion of the Holy Spirit we
are joined together in discipleship and in obedience to Christ.
At the table of the Lord we celebrate with
thanksgiving the saving acts and presence of Christ.
Within the universal church we receive
the gift of ministry and the light of scripture.
In the bonds of Christian faith we yield
ourselves to God that we may serve the One whose kingdom has no end.
Blessing, glory and honor be to God forever.
Amen."
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