Disciples of Christ

Introduction | Churches of Christ

 

    I. Group Profile

    1. Name: The Christian Church/Disciples of Christ and the Christian Church (Churches of Christ)

    2. Founder: Barton W. Stone, died in 1844.

    3. Date of Birth: 1772

    4. Birth Place: Port Tobacco, Maryland

    5. Year Founded: 1906

    6. Brief History: Barton W. Stone began preaching in 1801 in Kentucky during the start of the Second Great Awakening. During this time Stone took part in the Cane Ridge Revival and became burdened with the desire for Christian unity. By participating in this charismatic revival, he was violating the Presbyterian doctrine. Thus, around 1804, he and several others, decided to leave their organized religion, and on June twenty-eighth wrote The Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery. (Tyler, 1894: 26) Their hopes, like those of Alexander Campbell, were to form a primitive church that was united as one body. In 1832, the Stoneites joined Campbell’s group, forming the Stone-Campbell Movement, but less than two decades later there was conflict within the sect. In 1906, the groups split; Stone’s followers became officially known as the Christian Church, or Disciples of Christ while Campbell’s group became known as the Churches of Christ (non-instrumental). A further division occurred in 1968 with the restructuring of the Christian Church into the Christian Church/churches of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The Disciples became more centralized once again as a denomination

    7. Sacred or Revered Texts: Bible - specifically passages from the New Testament are used.

    8. Cult or Sect:

      Negative sentiments are typically implied when the concepts "cult" and "sect" are employed in popular discourse. Since the Religious Movements Homepage seeks to promote religious tolerance and appreciation of the positive benefits of pluralism and religious diversity in human cultures, we encourage the use of alternative concepts that do not carry implicit negative stereotypes. For a more detailed discussion of both scholarly and popular usage of the concepts "cult" and "sect," please visit our Conceptualizing "Cult" and "Sect" page, where you will find additional links to related issues.

    9. Size of Group: over 2,000,000 http://www.disciples.org/

    II. Beliefs of the Group

      Whereas the Non-Instrumental Churches of Christ tend to remain more focused on the specifics of New Testament teachings, the Christian Churches place more emphasis on unity within the church. That is not to say that they do not teach strictly by the Bible; however, they are more free to worship in manners as they wish. For example, the Christian Churches may use instruments during worship and may also tend to express their worship in a more emotional manner. There is more freedom in interpretation of the Bible. The Disciples of Christ are involved with missionary societies, and do not feel that this contradicts Biblical teaching. (Melton, 1996: 476-478) The Christian Church established by Barton Stone claimed a premillennial ideology although there tends to be overlapping in this belief along with others found within the churches of Christ tradition. For example, the role of women is debated within this group as well as within the Churches of Christ.

      Ultimately, these New Testament churches are very similar to the Churches of Christ. The Disciples of Christ are more liberal, however. Their second break from the Christian Church/churches of Christ in 1968 was due to the fact that they wanted to become more unified and centralized again. They have moved back to a general stream of Protestantism and now consider themselves a denomination. They have a general assembly that meets every two years demonstrating a profound difference from both the Church of Christ and the Christian Churches/churches of Christ. In fact, there are many overlappings which make it difficult to drawn distinct lines between the three main divisions of the Restoration Movement.

      Go back to the Restoration Movement

    III. Links to Christian Churches (of Christ) Web Sites

      Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Home Page
      This is a great site including contemporary and historical aspects of the Disciples faith and information on their latest news and ministries.
      http://www.disciples.org/

      Barton W. Stone Page
      This page offers a directory of articles, letters, and arguments that Barton Stone wrote including his own autobiography. One may choose to read any of the articles in order to gain better understanding of Stone's ideas and theology which came to form the basis for the Christian Church.
      http://www.mun.ca/rels/hrollmann/restmov/people/bstone.html

    IV. Bibliography

    Harrell, David Edwin, Jr. 1973.
    The Social Sources of Division in the Disciples of Christ. Athens, GA: Publishing Systems.

    Harrell, David Edwin, Jr. 1966.
    Quest for a Christian America: A Social History of the Disciples of Christ. Nashville, TN: Disciples of Christ Historical Society.

    Tyler, B. B. 1894.
    “A History of the Disciples of Christ.” The American Church History Series. Volume XII. New York: Scribner’s.

    Melton, J. Gordon. 1996
    Encyclopedia of American Religions. Detroit: Gale. 5th ed. pps: 476-478.

    Created by Kelly Stewart
    For Soc 257: New Religious Movements
    Spring Term, 1998
    University of Virginia
    Last Updated: 07/23/01