Information
from J. Gordon Melton, Encyclopedia of American Religions, 5th
ed. Detroit: Gale Research, 1996, p. 478-481.
Churches of Christ (Non-Instrumental) are the most conservative
elements of the American Restoration movement, but also the largest
group within that movement. The Civil War hastened the division,
and most congregations are south of the Ohio River. The
group officially split from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
as of the 1906 census, when they asked to be listed separately.
Primary issues were the missionary society and the use of instruments in
worship, due to Thomas Campbell's oft-quoted, "Where the Scriptures
speak, we speak; where the Scriptures are silent, we are
silent." This group also opposes the involvement of women in
leading worship. Primary perodicals: Firm Foundation,
Gospel Advocate, Image.
Six groups of Churches of Christ have also descended from the main
doctrines in the years since 1906.
1. Churches of Christ (Non-Instrumental, Non-Class, One
Cup)
This group formed in 1915 in Chattanooga,
Tennessee. They use a common
cup for communion. Primary periodical: Old Paths Advocate.
2. Churches of Christ (Non-Instrumental, Premillenial)
This group began in the early 1930's in
Louisville, Kentucky. Primary periodical: The Word
and Work.
3. Churches of Christ (Non-Sunday School)
This group was begun by G.B. Shelburne, Jr. and
Jim Bullock in 1936, at what is now the West Angelo School of Evangelism
in San Angelo, Texas. Primary periodical: Gospel Tidings.
4. Churches of Christ (Non-Institutional)
Primary periodical: Guardian of Truth.
5. Churches of Christ (Non-Instrumental, Conservative)
This group began in the 1960's at Florida College
in Tampa, Florida.
6. Churches of Christ (Pentecostal)
This group sprang from the charismatic movement in
the late 1960's and encourages speaking in tongues. Some of these
congregations utilize instrumental music. It established itself as
a separate entity in 1976 in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Belmont Church
of Christ, now Belmont Church.
Churches of Christ (Non-Instrumental)
