''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 1700s, they were organized early in the 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").
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 [[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.
*Singing by a cappella means only (i.e., no musical instruments, though a pitch pipe may be used)
*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".
==Splits within the movement==
===Split from Disciples of Christ===Prior to 1906 the Churches of Christ and the [[Disciples of Christ]]<ref>Formally, the denomination is called Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).</ref> and the Churches of Christ were listed in US Census records as one and the same movement. After then, when the two groups parted ways (and, ever since, have been listed recorded as separate movementmovements).
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: [[Alexander Campbell]] believed in progress toward the Kingdom of God and was both optimistic and not hostile toward the secular world. [[Barton , 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>
Ultimately, the Disciples of Christ evolved into a centralized denomination which has increasingly become theologically and politically liberal. The denomination , is ardently committed to [[social justice]] and is an active member of both the [[National Council of Churches]] and the [[World Councils Council of Churches and is ardently committed to social change]]. On the other hand, 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. Furthermore, the Churches of Christ are theologically conservative and tend to avoid political controversies (though they will speak out against abortion and homosexuality).
===The Non-Institutional Movement===
[[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==