wfn.org | Stone-Campbell dialogue advances in historic

["Wilma Shuffitt" <wilmas@oc.disciples.org>]

setting
Date: September 6, 2001
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: Curt Miller
E-mail: cmiller@cm.disciples.org
on the Web: http://www.disciples.org

01a -48	

	Lexington (DNS) -- The 200th Anniversary Celebration 
of the Great Revival at Cane Ridge provided the context 
for the fourth session of a Stone-Campbell dialogue held 
at Lexington Theological seminary on August 7-8, 2001.

	Members of the dialogue team -- coming from the "a 
cappella" Churches of Christ, the Christian Church 
(Disciples of Christ), and the Christian 
Churches/Churches of Christ -- shared together in 
worship and in dialogue on the theme of this session, 
"Our Unity in Christ."

	Three papers were presented, one from each of the 
three churches, to examine how Christian unity has been 
understood and pursued in the years since the churches' 
common beginnings at the Cane Ridge Revival of August 
6- 12, 1801.

	Newell Williams, professor of Church History at 
Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, reviewed 
the way that Barton W. Stone helped to give direction to 
the Disciples view of unity as a "gift of the Spirit" and as 
a "means of conversion of the world and the 
establishment of Christ's reign of peace and justice." 
Williams also identified two important corollaries in 
Stone's views that continue to shape the Disciples' 
understanding of Christian unity today: "(a) that creeds 
and (baptism by) immersion will not produce unity, and 
(b) that uniformity is not required to manifest oneness in 
Christ."

	James North, professor of Christian History at 
Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary, addressed 
Christian unity as one of the "foundation stones of the 
Restoration Movement." He noted that the key question 
from the perspective of the Christian Churches/Churches 
of Christ that remains as a dilemma in pursuit of unity is, 
"At what point does unity mean a sacrifice of biblical 
standards?"

	In his paper offering an historical perspective on 
"Unity in the Churches of Christ," Michael Armour, a 
strategic planning/change management consultant in 
Dallas, Texas, and former pulpit minister at the Skillman 
Church of Christ, identified that, "All three groups 
gathered for this dialogue have known their share of 
division and rancor. But of the three, those of us in a 
capella Churches of Christ have had the greatest struggle 
with division. Unable to find a successful formula for unity 
among ourselves, we've had little involvement with the 
cause of unity beyond our borders."

	In discussion of the three papers, the members of the 
dialogue team noted several important agreements and 
convergences between the churches' differing 
understandings of unity in Christ. These included: (a) the 
recognition that each of the three streams draws heavily 
upon both Barton W. Stone and Thomas and Alexander 
Campbell in the approach they take to pursuing Christian 
unity; however, they give different weight to certain 
emphases found in the two traditions (Stone and 
Campbell); (b) unity is both a gift of the Holy Spirit and a 
calling to be achieved -- not in uniformity of practice or 
belief, but as an on-going process of conforming to the 
will of Christ; and, (c) the sin of presumption and pride 
has been a part of each of the churches -- they need 
always to begin the search for unity in a spirit of 
confession and humility.

	The next meeting of the dialogue will take place in 
Nashville, Tenn., on December 2-3, 2001. The theme will 
be to engage together in Bible study around central texts 
related to understanding Christian unity, and to look to 
ways of opening the dialogue to local dialogue groups in 
communities across the life of our churches.

	At the Lexington meeting, the teams also re-affirmed the statement of purpose that had been developed during the first session of this dialogue: "To develop relationships and trust within the three streams of the Stone-C
ampbell movement through worship and through charitable and frank dialogue That the world may believe.'" It was noted that this statement stands in the tradition of the Cane Ridge Revival that permeated this dialogue ses
sion as a living reminder of the three communions' heritage and birthright as a Spirit-filled movement seeking oneness in Christ.

	{Release prepared by Robert K. Welsh in 
collaboration with Michael Armour and John Mills, co-
conveners of the Stone-Campbell Dialogue. Papers from 
the dialogue are available at www.disciples.org/ccu.}

                                                                -- end --

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