wfn.org | First session of Stone-Campbell Dialogue offers promise in shared

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history and confession
Date:  December 21, 1999
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
{This release authored by the Rev. Robert Welsh in collaboration with 
other participants in the dialogue.}

99a-82

	INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- The first of three sessions of a dialogue among the 
three streams of the Stone-Campbell movement took place in Indianapolis, 
Ind. at the Disciples Center on Nov. 29-30, 1999.

	Six members of each of the three churches -- the "a capella" Churches of 
Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and the independent 
Christian Churches/Churches of Christ -- shared worship together and spent 
time getting acquainted with each other, first as individuals and then as 
church traditions.  

	A major part of this meeting was to receive papers from historians in 
each of the three churches looking at the question, "What we might have 
done differently in the past?"  Doug Foster, Abilene Christian University, 
presented the statement from the perspective of the Churches of Christ; 
Newell Williams, Christian Theological Seminary, offered reflections from 
the perspective of the Disciples of Christ; and Henry Webb, Milligan 
College, addressed the topic from the perspective of the "independents."

	In each of these three statements there was a strong element of 
confession over the division that has occurred within the Stone-Campbell 
movement that claims Christian unity as a hallmark of its witness.  
Additionally, each historian identified specific actions and attitudes 
within their own tradition that have contributed to the past separations
and regrettable division.

Doug Foster identified five things that Churches of Christ might have done 
differently:
•	 We might have refused to allow the issues of missionary societies and 
instrumental music in worship to push us to vilify and excommunicate each 
other.
•	We might have realized that the controversies were complex and went well 
beyond the surface issues of instrumental music and missionary societies.
•	We might have avoided the vitriolic, inflammatory language that impugned 
the motives of fellow believers.
•	We might have held more strongly to our heritage of seeing ourselves as 
‘Christians only but not the only Christians' instead of adopting a 
sectarian exclusive understanding of the church.
•	We might have refused to act as if assent to a set of doctrines IS 
Christianity and the Christian life.

In a similar presentation, Newell Williams named three things Disciples 
might have done differently in relation to divisive forces in the history 
of the Stone-Campbell movement:  "First, we might have eschewed 
‘ecclesiastical politics' in favor of education and discussion of the 
issues. . .  Second, we might have paid more attention to the Gospel. (By 
the Gospel, I mean the good news of what God has done for us in Jesus 
Christ). . . Third, we might have given more attention to our 
Stone-Campbell tradition, a tradition that has two foci -- union and 
restoration," the Disciples scholar said. 

In his paper, Henry Webb reviewed the long history that lead to the 
separation of "independents" from "Disciples," beginning with the events 
surrounding the 1926 International Convention in Memphis, moving through 
the decade of the ‘40s that was marked by growing bitterness and conflict, 
and culminating in the official break at the 1949 Centennial Convention in 
Cincinnati, with the North American Convention becoming exclusively an 
independent convention in 1951.  It was a difficult and painful story to 
hear, and yet, Dr. Webb concluded with "learnings" from "this regrettable 
series of events," including:

We have not yet learned how to deal with extremists.  Some of them are 
blunt and harsh; others are suave but equally persistent . . . Too often 
their shrill voices have drowned out the more temperate message of the 
reasonable majority.  I look back with sorrow at the leadership vacuum 
that enabled the tragic events of 1945-1951 to happen. The Via Media had 
no voice, no leadership . . . 

We have not yet learned how to manage conflicts other than to ‘let nature 
take its course', which can be devastating.  How to direct passion in 
behalf of the larger consensus and to disagree without becoming 
disagreeable is a quest we seemingly will be passing on to the next 
generation.  Perhaps we can make some initial progress here and in so 
doing establish a refreshing, new precedent.

As members of the dialogue discussed these statements and their 
commonalities, there was general agreement with several basic conclusions 
identified in the three reports:

•	Division is essentially an attitude.  So is unity.  I pray that these 
meetings will promote an attitude of understanding and unity that will 
glorify the One who prayed that his followers be one."  (Foster)

•	If we had paid more attention to the Gospel, we would have demonstrated 
greater love for others, including others in the Stone-Campbell movement 
with whom we disagreed. By giving more attention to the restoration theme, 
we would have helped others in the Movement to see more clearly that we, 
too, are a people who seek to live in continuity with the apostolic 
witness to what God has done in Jesus Christ."  (Williams)

•	Thankfully, a new generation of leaders is no longer threatened by 
meeting with ‘the enemy'; in fact, we no longer find such categorization 
to be the least bit appropriate.  Perhaps the time has come when we, who 
have not personally shared in these old conflicts, can enjoy the luxury of 
a more dispassionate and rationale perspective . . . 

•	We may be privileged to explore new possibilities for rapprochement 
that, frankly, would have horrified our forbears of a generation or two 
ago.  (Webb)

The next meeting of the dialogue will take place in Nashville, Tenn., on 
June 1-2, 2000.  It will be hosted by the members of the Churches of 
Christ.  The theme of that session will be to look at the "common ground" 
that exists between us.  

The statement of purpose for the dialogue was re-affirmed: "To develop 
relationship and trust within the three streams of the Stone-Campbell 
movement through worship and through charitable and frank dialogue ‘that 
the world may believe.'"

Members of the dialogue included: From the Churches of Christ -- Mike 
Armour, pastor, Dallas;  Doug Foster, professor, Abilene, Texas; Jimmie 
Sites, pastor, Nashville, Tenn.; Phillip Morrison, editor, Franklin, Tenn; 
and David Worley, professor, Austin, Texas.

^From the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) -- Richard Hamm, general 
minister and president, Indianapolis, Ind.; Robert Welsh, ecumenical 
officer, Indianapolis, Ind; Peter Morgan, president of Historical Society, 
Nashville, Tenn.;  Newell Williams, professor, Indianapolis, Ind.; Sharon 
Watkins, pastor, Bartlesville, Okla.; and Raymond Brown, retired general 
staff executive, Indianapolis, Ind.

^From the independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ -- John Mills, 
pastor, Brunswick, Ohio; Henry Webb, professor, Johnson City, Tenn.; James 
North, professor, Cincinnati, Ohio; Susan Higgins, professor, Milligan, 
Tenn.; Byron Lambert, retired pastor, Hagerstown, Ind.; and Robert Wetzel, 
president, Emmanuel School of Religion, Johnson City, Tenn.

Invited Observers -- Lyndsay Jacobs, Co-General Secretary, World 
Convention of Churches of Christ; and Victor Knowles, editor of "One Body" 
magazine.

For further information, contact:  Dr. Mike Armour, 214-823-2179; Dr. 
Robert Welsh, 317-635-3100; Dr. John Mills330-225-5268.

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