"What Church are you with?"
"What church are you with?"
"Christian."
"No, I mean, what denomination?"
"Christian. We just call ourselves Christians."
What is a "Christian" church?
- Christ-Centered
- We believe that Christ is the Head of the Church
- The New Testament is Rule
- We use the New Testament as our rule of faith and practice.
- A "Restoration Church"
- We follow the New Testament where possible.
- We are "Independent" or Elder driven.
- We believe in baptism by immersion.
- We celebrate the Lord's Supper weekly.
- An emphasis on Christian "Unity"
- We believe that we are not the only Christians, but we are Christians only.
- We strive for "in essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things love."
- Theological Convictions
- We are conservative evangelicals.
- We emphasize "free will."
"How do you determine what a 'church' should be?"
"The only way to determine what the church should be and how Christians should behave is to study the New Testament documents in which the churches of Christ are presented in splendor - and in shortcomings. While there is no single church that we should imitate, the ideal of the church as the body of Christ, the household of faith, the temple of the Holy Spirit, and the people of God is clearly pictured." Leroy Lawson, What Kind of Church Is This?
Our Position
by leroy Lawson
"How shall we summarize what kind of church we are talking about? Perhaps the following terms will help.
A Christian Church
Our message is that 'Jesus is the Christ, the some of the living God." We require no other creed. He alone is Lord and Savior.
A Church of Christ
The church belongs to Him. We have no authority to change the teachings, rewrite the rules, alter membership requirements, or usurp His place. The church is not a democracy.
A Church Seeking Unity
Like the Campbells and Stone, members of this church seek to be one in Christ with all others He calls His own.
A Church Seeking to Restore
As much as possible, we imitate the New Testament precedents. This is why our baptism is by immersion, our Communion is every Lord's Day, our leaders are called elders, our preaching is about Christ, and our prayers are in Christ's name...
An Apostolic Church
The church, Ephesians 2.20 states, is "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone..."
A Thinking Church
...Paul prays that God will give a 'Spirit of Wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better...' Christian faith demands the best our minds can give, so we are a studying church seeking to apply biblical truth intelligently.
A Feeling Church
...We rejoice and praise and pray and love and serve from the heart. We are unashamed of the gospel and not embarrassed to let our excitement be seen.
A Sharing Church
We share our faith and love with as many as we can each and our possessions as persons who know that everything we have belongs to God to be used for His purposes.
A Free Church
We have no bishops or superintendents or national headquarters to determine local church policies. We elect our own leaders, call and support our own ministers, and decide where our mission money will go...Our congregants freely associate with one another to accomplish tasks too big for one church alone.
A Growing Church
We want to grow, because we are under Christ's commission to disciple the world. We haven't completed the task, yet, so Christian churches and churches of Christ are renewing our commitment to go unto the ends of the earth, preaching and baptizing and teaching, until the whole world know the one Lord of all."
