In his article on the World Convention of Churches of Christ, Mr. Wetzel mentioned “Learning Another Language.” Though he didn’t go much into that topic, I’ve experienced it first hand. A member of the independent Christian Churches, my first couple of months at Harding University’s School of Biblical Studies involved a lot of silence on my part (let the reader understand!). Harding is affiliated with the a cappella Churches of Christ, one of three main branches of the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement in the United States. Since before 1906 the division had existed, and the progress of time and passing of a generation or two had not only crystallized the division, but changed the way we speak.
The first or second week I was at Harding, one of my classmates asked if I wanted to go to a “Gospel Meeting.” I had no idea what he was talking about. Not wanting to reveal that I was an “outsider” to the a cappella churches, and also fairly curious, I agreed.
It was a Revival.
At least, the independent Christian Churches as well as Baptists and most evangelicals would call it a Revival. Not the Churches of Christ, though. For them, it was a “Gospel Meeting.”
Soon I learned a few other verbal cues that would indicate a person’s insider status. One was that Christians from one Church of Christ moving to another one did not “transfer” their membership, but rather “placed membership.” Another terminology difference that interested me was that my Church of Christ brethren spoke not of “witnessing” or “sharing the Gospel,” but of “studying the Bible” or “conducting a Bible study” with non-Christians.
To be honest, a cappella Church of Christ people used to scare me. They seemed so strict on “doctrine” (meaning those matters they had decided collectively were most important) and so quick to debate that I felt intimidated. This impression was only confirmed by the atmosphere at Harding, especially in my program, where the focus was on understanding the Bible so we could explain it to others.
My judgment of Church of Christ brethren was a bit unfair. Though I’ve had a few “run-ins” with some of them, the majority seem to be very kind and sincere, though a bit too certain at times. Further, my training at Harding and subsequent experiences (sometimes not terribly pleasant) has helped me have courage with them. I’m still not interested in a debate, but I have no problem with a little face-to-face sparring.
I’d much rather share a coffee and chat about God’s new creation and the task of the church, though.
The term "witnessing" or "to be a witness" is slowly making its way into the non-instrumental church. I think the idea of "transferring" membership is odd, since we are all members of one church. Better terminology would be "identifying" with one congregation or another, I guess so that people know where to find you on Sunday.
ReplyDeleteThere was a meeting at Pepperdine last year (or maybe in 2006) that had a focus of bridging the gap between instrumental and non-instrumental congregations. I think it met with mixed success. I hope you enjoyed your time at HSBS.
dr burt,
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting and for commenting!
Yes, I enjoyed my time at HSBS. My only problem is that I wasted nearly all the two years I was there dating and then engaged long-distance to a woman in Brazil who ended up dumping me the night before my birthday and just two months from graduation. Had I not allowed a relationship to consume me, I would have gotten a lot more out of the course and the fellowship there.
Of course it seems odd to speak of "transferring" membership. You are a member, I presume, of the Church of Christ. Singular. The independent Christian Churches have historically spoken of ourselves in the plural, perhaps in our resistance to being caught up into the Disciples denomination. Hard to say, but there it is. I still grit my teeth every time a Church of Christ member refers to "the Christian Church" when speaking of the independent churches.
I'm committed to unity and ecumenical work (that latter expression was anathema to me up until not too long ago) but I have doubts about how far it can go is some sectors. That is a topic for other blog posts, though.