''Not to be confused with the Liberal [[United Church of Christ]].'' <br> The '''Churches of Christ'''<ref>Many of this movement prefer to use the spelling "churches of Christ", differentiating between "the Church" (all Christians) and "the church" (a local congregation).</ref> are a group of autonomous churches in the United States made up of believers in Jesus Christ who have been baptised by immersion"for the remission of sins" as a component of the salvation process.
They consider themselves to be non-denominational (there is no "headquarters" for the group, unlike denominations) and prefer not to be categorized as a Protestant group (though many of their early followers came from Protestant denominations), saying that they do not seek to reform the Catholic Church but only to restore Christianity to authentic New Testament beliefs and practices.
With roots going back into the early 1800s1700s, they were organized early in the 20th century 1800s from the union of two similar groups, one led by Barton Stone and the other by Alexander Campbell (the latter being the more influential, the group is sometimes referred to in a pejorative manner as "Campbellism").
They are strongest in the American South.
Although there are several sub-groups within the Churches of Christ, common beliefs and practices within the group include:
*Baptism by immersion "for the remission of sins" as a component of the salvation process.
**Churches of Christ do not believe in [[infant baptism]]; only persons old enough to understand what is required of salvation can be baptized.**The belief that baptism is an essential component of salvation has led opponents to accuse adherents of believing in "baptismal regeneration" and rejecting the views of '''[[sola gratia''' ]] and '''[[sola fide''']]; in return adherents believe that faith requires obedience or it is not truly faith at all.**The phrase "for the remission of sins" does not have a uniform position within Churches of Christ. The majority view is that a baptismal candidate must understand that baptism will remit their sins; as such, any baptism (even by immersion) with any other belief (such as it being symbolic, as what Southern Baptists [[Baptist]]s and most other Protestant denominations teach) is not valid and the candidate would have to be rebaptized in the Church of Christ. However, a significant minority view holds that, so long as the candidate had a desire to obey God, it is valid even if the candidate did not completely understand its significance.*Rejection of the doctrine Strongly Armenian in their views on God and salvation, especially their rejection of [[Eternal security (salvation)|eternal security**]] <ref>However, there is no consensus on how one could end up lost after being saved.</ref>
*Singing by a cappella means only (i.e., no musical instruments, though a pitch pipe may be used)
**A small but growing number of congregations have started using instrumental music in services (mainly large groups offering separate instrumental and a cappella services)
*Weekly observance of the Lord's Supper
**Technically Although some Churches of Christ practice "[[closed communion"; however]], in the majority of congregations practice they do not prohibit visitors from taking [[open communion]], on the basis that according to I Corinthians 11:28 a visitor must "examine himself" and decide whether or not to participate (i.e. the minister, deacons, or elders do not decide who may or may not partake).
*Church governance by elders, supported by deacons
**The term "pastor" is rarely used among churches and the term "reverend" even less, due to lack of Biblical support for either name. Instead, terms used to describe the person giving the weekly sermon include "minister", "evangelist", or (if the person is also an elder) "preaching elder".
**Only adult men may be elders, deacons, or ministers; the group opposes women in these roles.
Churches of Christ support [[Biblical inerrancy]]. They are also [[Dispensationalism|dispensational]], in that they accept the Old Testament as illustrative (and useful for Christians to study) but not authoritative (i.e. the church is guided solely by the New Testament). Furthermore, they do not accept any creeds or doctrinal statements as binding on the church (though they may not necessarily disagree with them).
They are generally [[Amillennialist|amillenial]] in their views of the end times, and strongly oppose teachings on the Rapture.
They oppose Pentecostal and charismatic practices, believing that the gifts of tongues and healing disappeared when the final canon of Scripture was complete. They do not generally support the direct involvement of the Holy Spirit in Christian life (this comes from Campbell's view that people were convinced by words and ideas; Campbell was a strong debater and that practice continues in Churches of Christ today); however, the direct involvement view (which came from Stone) has gained some influence in recent years.
Some Churches of Christ hold to what is likely the hardest position on divorce and remarriage, believing adultery to be the only Biblical grounds. Some even advocate that if a person is divorced and remarried (outside of grounds of adultery) and then becomes a Christian, the person should divorce his/her current spouse and either remarry their former spouse or remain unmarried, or else they continue to commit adultery. This is an increasingly minority view.
==Splits within the movement==
===Split from Disciples of Christ===Prior to 1906 the Churches of Christ and the [[Disciples of Christ]] and <ref>Formally, the Churches denomination is called Christian Church (Disciples of Christ ).</ref> were listed in US Census records as one and the same movement, when the two groups parted ways (and, ever since, have been recorded as separate movements).
However, long before then the two groups had serious disagreements over the use of music in worship and missionary societies. More important was a fundamental division between the views of two early leaders of the movement. The dispute was over that which [[Barton Stone]] called primitivism and the Campbellian modernistic position. [[Alexander : Campbell]] believed in progress toward the Kingdom of God and was both optimistic and not hostile toward the secular world. , while Stone, on the other hand, wanted a radical separation from the world, and he was pessimistic about human nature and the prospects for progressand wanted a radical separation from the world.
From the end of the Civil War to 1917, [[David Lipscomb]] dominated the Churches of Christ and managed to balance the views of Campbell and Stone. After Lipscomb's death, the Churches of Christ moved away from the [[premillennialism]] of Stone and Lipscomb and embraced Campbell's views. Foy Wallace, whose views prevailed among the Churches of Christ from the 1930s through the 1950s, continued the movement away from the thought of Stone and Lipscomb.<ref>Richard T. Hughes, "The Apocalyptic Origins of Churches Of Christ and the Triumph of Modernism." ''Religion and American Culture'' 1992 2(2): 181-214. 1052-1151</ref>
More specificallyUltimately, the Disciples have of Christ evolved into a centralized denominationwhich has increasingly become theologically and politically liberal, is ardently committed to [[social justice]] and is an active member of both the [[National Council of Churches]] and the [[World Council of Churches]]. On the other hand, whereas the Churches of Christ tend to be theologically conservative though politically neutral (however, churches and ministers will speak out against abortion and homosexuality), and maintain an earlier system of fellowship between congregations which does not involve any surrender of congregational independence. In addition, the Disciples of Christ are active members of the National and World Councils of Churches and are ardently committed to social change. The Churches of Christ tend to avoid political controversies.
===The Non-Institutional Movement===
A second major split in the movement took place in the 1950's 1950s over a growing trend toward the use of "sponsoring churches" to perform larger works such as the operation of orphanages and television networks.
As Churches of Christ have no central denominational headquarters, and due to concerns that "missionary societies" would ultimately lack any accountability to anyone but themselves, under the "sponsoring church" system one church would take responsibility for a work (with its elders being in charge) and other churches or individuals would then donate to that church for that work.<ref>The work may be organized under a separate entity for legal purposes, an example being the [[Gospel Broadcasting Network]], an internet-based television network which is under the oversight of a Mississippi congregation.</ref>
[[Sunday School]]
[[Infant baptism]]
[[Essay: Water baptism cannot save, the Church cannot save, Born again by faith alone]]
<div style="column-count:3;-moz-column-count:3;-webkit-column-count:3">
*[[American Christianity]]
*[[Canadian Christianity]]
*[[Future of Christianity]]
*[[Christianity in Africa]]
*[[Christianity in Asia]]
*[[Christianity in Australia | Christianity in Australia, Oceania, New Zealand]]
*[[Christianity in Europe]]
*[[Christianity in North America | Christianity in North America, Caribbean]]
*[[Christianity in South America | Christianity in South America, Central America]]
*[[Christianity]]
*[[Internet evangelism]]
*[[Turning Point USA]]
</div>
==External links==
[[Category:Christian Denominations]]
[[Category:Fundamentalism]]