Hello! How to tell if a church is Restoration? Info?

[Morgaine1205]

Please forgive my ignorance, I just have a quick question, or two.

Are all Disciples of Christ churches Restoration?

Are there appearance/dress code particulars in a Disciples of Christ church?

I'm asking as I moved a few months ago to a different city. As you can probably tell from my avatar, etc., that I belong to a Methodist church - however, since the move, I haven't found a church where I feel at home yet. I have been checking out some other churches, and came across a Disciples of Christ church, as recommended by an aquaintence.

Would this church (if you can tell based on this) be considered restoration? Here is there statement, although they do not call it that (I wasn't sure what to call it :) ):

Briefly, National Avenue Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) affirms the following:

We believe in God. We receive the testimony of scripture and the collective wisdom of the church as we seek to know, to worship and to serve God as Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.

We believe in the Bible. We receive the Bible as the primary authority for the guidance of the church.
We believe in the Lord's Supper. We celebrate the Lord's Supper, or Communion, weekly as the central focus of our worship.

We believe there is value in Christian unity. We do not see ourselves as being "in competition with" or "in opposition to" any other Christian denomination.
We believe that every individual must make a confession of faith in Christ. Beyond that, we do not impose any particular creed or set of doctrines on those who choose to worship here.

We believe that the particulars of anyone's beliefs are between him/her and God. We have not adopted particular interpretations of scripture and we do not insist upon conformity to certain beliefs in order to be members of our church. Membership is based solely upon faith in Christ.
We believe that members of the church are "ministers" and are able to participate in all of the offices of ministry. National Avenue Christian Church is committed to equality, and affirms that all members of the church have equal opportunity to serve.
We believe in baptism by immersion upon the individual's confession of faith. However, we affirm the validity of every other Christian community's observance of baptism.
Thank you in advance! I really appreciate your help! I was hoping to know something of what to expect before I visit.

[Splayd]

Yes - the Disciples of Christ came from the Restoration Movement. There are a few little things that set them apart from the CofC and ICC (ie: they're basically a denomination) but we essentially share common roots and beliefs.

I'm not aware of any dress code. Many RM churches tend to be conservative in most senses including dress, though it's hardly a prerequisite (as far as I'm aware) and isn't entirely consistent across the board anyway.

Peace

[spiritfilledjm]

What about the House of Prayer movement that's been going on for 7 years in Kansas City, MO. Is that considered a RM church? Now I know that they aren't a church perse but they do believe in the unity of all Christians.

[apsalmistspraise]

Please forgive my ignorance, I just have a quick question, or two.

Are all Disciples of Christ churches Restoration?

Are there appearance/dress code particulars in a Disciples of Christ church?

I'm asking as I moved a few months ago to a different city. As you can probably tell from my avatar, etc., that I belong to a Methodist church - however, since the move, I haven't found a church where I feel at home yet. I have been checking out some other churches, and came across a Disciples of Christ church, as recommended by an aquaintence.

Would this church (if you can tell based on this) be considered restoration? Here is there statement, although they do not call it that (I wasn't sure what to call it :) ):

Briefly, National Avenue Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) affirms the following:

We believe in God. We receive the testimony of scripture and the collective wisdom of the church as we seek to know, to worship and to serve God as Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.

We believe in the Bible. We receive the Bible as the primary authority for the guidance of the church.
We believe in the Lord's Supper. We celebrate the Lord's Supper, or Communion, weekly as the central focus of our worship.

We believe there is value in Christian unity. We do not see ourselves as being "in competition with" or "in opposition to" any other Christian denomination.
We believe that every individual must make a confession of faith in Christ. Beyond that, we do not impose any particular creed or set of doctrines on those who choose to worship here.

We believe that the particulars of anyone's beliefs are between him/her and God. We have not adopted particular interpretations of scripture and we do not insist upon conformity to certain beliefs in order to be members of our church. Membership is based solely upon faith in Christ.
We believe that members of the church are "ministers" and are able to participate in all of the offices of ministry. National Avenue Christian Church is committed to equality, and affirms that all members of the church have equal opportunity to serve.
We believe in baptism by immersion upon the individual's confession of faith. However, we affirm the validity of every other Christian community's observance of baptism.
Thank you in advance! I really appreciate your help! I was hoping to know something of what to expect before I visit.
i would say there could be many churches that would be considered from the restoration then right? and yes Jared I guess if that is all restoration means then City HOP would also be included.

[ParsonJefferson]

Historically & traditionally, there have been 3 basic "branches" of the Restoration Movement - which is a bit ironic, considering that it was really a unity movement.

Anyway... in overly-simplified terms, I see it breaking down this way:

Disciples of Christ - liberal.
Christian Church/Church of Christ - moderate.
churches of Christ - conservative.

[WesWoodell]

^^ what he said

[spiritfilledjm]

Well, what if a church seeks unity? Like I know that the Christian Churches I went to didn't really seek unity at all. They never fellowshipped with other church unless they planted them. I mean, sure they'd go and do outreach in the city but other than that...that and they didn't believe in the manifested gifts of the Holy Spirit...

[JDIBe]

Please forgive my ignorance, I just have a quick question, or two.

Are all Disciples of Christ churches Restoration?

Are there appearance/dress code particulars in a Disciples of Christ church?

I'm asking as I moved a few months ago to a different city. As you can probably tell from my avatar, etc., that I belong to a Methodist church - however, since the move, I haven't found a church where I feel at home yet. I have been checking out some other churches, and came across a Disciples of Christ church, as recommended by an aquaintence.

Would this church (if you can tell based on this) be considered restoration? Here is there statement, although they do not call it that (I wasn't sure what to call it :) ):

Briefly, National Avenue Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) affirms the following:

We believe in God. We receive the testimony of scripture and the collective wisdom of the church as we seek to know, to worship and to serve God as Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.

We believe in the Bible. We receive the Bible as the primary authority for the guidance of the church.
We believe in the Lord's Supper. We celebrate the Lord's Supper, or Communion, weekly as the central focus of our worship.

We believe there is value in Christian unity. We do not see ourselves as being "in competition with" or "in opposition to" any other Christian denomination.
We believe that every individual must make a confession of faith in Christ. Beyond that, we do not impose any particular creed or set of doctrines on those who choose to worship here.

We believe that the particulars of anyone's beliefs are between him/her and God. We have not adopted particular interpretations of scripture and we do not insist upon conformity to certain beliefs in order to be members of our church. Membership is based solely upon faith in Christ.
We believe that members of the church are "ministers" and are able to participate in all of the offices of ministry. National Avenue Christian Church is committed to equality, and affirms that all members of the church have equal opportunity to serve.
We believe in baptism by immersion upon the individual's confession of faith. However, we affirm the validity of every other Christian community's observance of baptism.
Thank you in advance! I really appreciate your help! I was hoping to know something of what to expect before I visit.

Morgaine, really nice to see you again.

Yes, the DOC is considered a RM church as it sprung from the Restoration Movement of the early 1800's. Below is a document from Thomas Campbell which outlines the principles of the RM. As far as I know, no church uses this as a creed, but the principles as still valid today and most of us would say we agree with them. I hope they give you some sense of what the RM is all about.

Prospectus Of A Religious Reformation;
The Object of Which Is the Restoration Of Primitive Apostolic Christianity In Letter and Spirit- In Principle and Practice
(14 Queries)
by
Thomas Campbell (1829)

(Paraphrased* by JDIBe)


1. Isn't there but one Body?
2. Aren't we brothers and sisters? Aren't we children of the same Father?
3. Isn't division evil? Isn't is the product of confusion and evil works?
4. Aren't there many denominations, separate and apart from each other?
5. Did we not get this way by human opinions in matters of church government, faith and worship?
6. Doesn't it benefit ALL OF US to eliminate this condition?
7. Can this be accomplished while we are divided?
8. Is there any other way but to return to the original standard, the Bible for our authority?
9. Wouldn't following precisely what the Apostles taught be sufficient?
10. Wouldn't the above produce the faith and obedience we need?
11. Isn't everything we need to be saved in the New Testament Scriptures?
12. If so, what more do we need to teach, believe and obey? Wouldn't this solve our divisions?

Definitions of faith and obedience for the purposes of the document

13. Faith comes from testimony, obedience from Law.
14. Faith- A belief of facts (things said or done). Obedience- Compliance with the expressed will of Authority


CONCLUSION

Upon the whole, these things being so, it necessarily follows, that christianity, being a divine institution, there can be nothing human in it; consequently it has nothing to do with the doctrines and commandments of men; but simply and solely with the belief and obedience of the expressly recorded testimony and will of God, contained in the Holy Scriptures, and enjoined by the authority of the Saviour and his holy Apostles upon the christian community.

-------

* Great effort was made to translate the formal language of the original document into simpler, more understandable language while still retaining the original meaning. (The conclusion is a direct quote) If I have erred in any way, I apologize. It was an error of ignorance rather than of malicious intent. I would be happy to provide a copy of the original document in the original language upon request. I would also be happy to provide a web link to the entire Prospectus as well, if you desire.
JDIBe



As far as I can tell, the main difference between the DoC and the CC and coC's is that the DoC seems to emphasize unity at the expense of some doctrine, (Statements 1-7) while the coC and CC seem to emphasize NT doctrine as a vehicle to unity. (Statements 7-12) This is not to say that DoC care nothing of doctrine or CC and coC care nothing of unity, it's just a matter of emphasis. (It is probably better though, that you ask a DoC what they believe in. They could explain it much better than I. I just haven't seen one come forward to answer your question yet. If anyone who is DoC wishes to contradict the above statement, I happily defer.) I have never heard of a "dress code" in the DoC (although swimwear would probably be frowned upon...)

As for House of Prayer, I do not know the particulars of that movement. Strictly speaking, if it did not directly come from the Restoration Movement of the 1800's, (or a branch thereof) it would not be considered a "Restoration Movement church".
However, the term "Restoration Movement" is not trademarked in any way and if a church wanted to go back to the Bible for it's sole source of authority and consider itself "Restorationist", I think everyone here would welcome such a move.

Good luck in your search.

[ParsonJefferson]

Well, what if a church seeks unity? Like I know that the Christian Churches I went to didn't really seek unity at all. They never fellowshipped with other church unless they planted them. I mean, sure they'd go and do outreach in the city but other than that...that and they didn't believe in the manifested gifts of the Holy Spirit...

I'll take a shot at it here. I'll share my opinions with you - but keep in mind they are my opinions.

First of all, I pastor an Christian Church (independent), which means it's one of those "moderate" churches. I've been in ministry for over 20 years now - 7 months in my present church and over 17 years in my previous church. We do use instruments in worship, and I feel we do a pretty decent job of maintaining a good balance.

That said, I'm not sure that "fellowshipping with other churches" needs to be that high of a priority. What I mean by that is that we should put less effort worrying about what another church is doing, and more effort focused on making sure we're doing the right things. Let me give you an example of that...

Last summer, our church opened their arms to a black congregation whose building had burned down. We let them use our building when they needed to, not expecting them to just join our worship service. We even extended the invitation to them to become part of the family that used our building. They declined our invitation - not because of doctrinal differences, but because they are intentionally ministering to a black population in an inner-city neighborhood. Absolutely no problems. Just a different focus in different areas of the city.

That's just one example. I may share more later, but this post is long enough already, and I need to get to some other things. :)