Christian Churches (Independent) & Instrumental Churches Of Christ

Christian churches generally follow the free-worship tradition in its nineteenth-century evangelical form, featuring gospel songs, informal structure, and evangelistic sermons with invitations. Unlike most other free churches, however, they celebrate the Lord's Supper weekly. In recent years, some churches have been influenced by liturgical and praise-and-worship practices.

In the United States alone there are some 1.5 million members of the Christian Church/Church of Christ, yet in some ways the group is unknown and difficult to identify. The churches go by different titles, the most common being Christian Church (Church of Christ) or Church of Christ (Instrumental). The group has no denominational headquarters or central governing body to officially recognize a congregation, so many divergent viewpoints and worship practices are represented. The churches do not form a denomination or even an association, but constitute a "brotherhood" of mutually cooperating independent churches sharing a basic ideal. They attempt to give up all sectarian labels and call themselves "Christian" in a generic sense; it is their nondenominational plea to restore New Testament Christianity. Through the years there have come to be three major identifiable branches of what is called the Restoration movement: Churches of Christ (noninstrumental), fully autonomous conservative evangelical churches known for their rejection of mechanical musical instruments in the worship service; the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), whose leadership adopted a fully denominational position involved in ecumenism; and the centrist branch, Christian churches, which remain independent, and Churches of Christ, which choose to allow the use of musical instruments in worship. Christian churches tend to be conservative and broadly evangelical. They reject written creeds and historically have had little association with other evangelicals, though in recent years they are moving more into the evangelical mainstream. There are some elements of worship practice that all of the congregations of the Christian churches and Churches of Christ have in common: They all insist on following biblical examples as much as possible, seeking to find ways to apply the principles to contemporary culture; virtually all of the churches baptize adults by immersion; nearly all celebrate the Lord's Supper (as a memorial) weekly; and certainly all have a substantial place given for a preached message. Most of the churches are of the free worship tradition following the evangelical model of the nineteenth century: use of gospel songs, informal structure, and evangelistic sermon with invitation. An Order of Worship Here is a typical order of worship and its terminology from a Christian Church or Church of Christ dating from any time between 1920 and 1980, before recent experimentation in worship renewal began. Organ Prelude. Originally people were in quiet meditation during the prelude, but in most churches now they visit quietly during this time. The music is either classical music or an arrangement of a hymn or gospel song. Call to Worship. Usually either a few verses from a psalm or a congregational hymn; choir processional in some churches. Invocation. Offered by minister or appointed layman, extemporaneous. Hymns. One to three congregational songs, consisting of chosen stanzas of hymns or gospel songs, led by a volunteer male song leader; the organ is the principle instrument for musical accompaniment, with help from the piano. Prayer Hymn. A more meditative hymn; one or two stanzas. Prayer. Sometimes silent meditation precedes the minister or an elder voicing pastoral prayer concerns of the congregation; in many churches the organ plays softly under the prayer. Communion Hymn. One or two stanzas of a hymn, announced by the song leader but sung without his direction; the men who will distribute the elements gather and proceed to the front during the singing. Communion Meditation. A two- to five-minute meditative thought, presented by one of the elders; either original material or read from his own source; prayer by two elders—one for each element—or a combined prayer by one elder. Lord's Supper. Also called Communion or the Lord's Table; passed by deacons and other men to the congregation; individual cups and unleavened bread squares are most common. Open Communion policy, although many churches specify that it is open to immersed believers. Offertory Prayer. After the men serving Communion return to the front, one of them offers a prayer for the offering; sometimes a stewardship meditation by the minister is inserted before this. Offering. The men again pass trays through the congregation while the organ and piano play an uplifting song arrangement. Scripture Reading. The text for the sermon; usually a few verses from the New Testament. Special Music. Either a solo, lately often with prerecorded accompaniment tracks, or the choir serving as proclaimers of truth, preparing the hearts of the congregation to hear the message. Morning Message. Sometimes called the sermon, lasting from twenty to thirty minutes and always concluding with an invitation for people to come to the front pew. Invitation Hymn. People stand and sing a gospel song, always one verse beyond the last response to the invitation. Baptismal Service. Those who respond to the invitation are introduced to the congregation, asked to confess, "I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God," and are immersed. Announcements. Free and informal, often allowing members to speak. Benediction. Extemporaneous summarizing prayer, usually offered by one of the men called upon by the minister, and not uncommonly by any visiting Christian minister or elder from another congregation who is in attendance that day. Diversifying Practice Within the last decade, worship practices have diversified within the Christian churches. Some are more formal, but virtually none adhere to the church calendar. Some are mildly charismatic and sing worship choruses and praise music for forty minutes or more. Many of the churches lately are taking the lead of the recent evangelism model of Willow Creek Community Church, holding seeker services on Sunday mornings or Saturday evenings, with less congregational singing and informal but very polished performance of a presentation of the basics of Christianity for the unchurched of the community. Many of the Christian churches look to the Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, as an example for their worship services. Several thousand people attend Southeast each weekend in multiple services, and they are attracted by the smoothly flowing song service that incorporates about twelve minutes of congregational singing, involving a conscious balance between choruses and hymns, computer-projected on a large screen. Transitions enable the songs to flow smoothly from one to the other, with an additional twelve minutes of other elements of the service interspersed—such elements as Scripture reading, prayer, "Congregation-Greet-One-Another" time, baptisms (of those who responded at earlier services, slice-of-life dramatic sketches, announcements, meditations, and musical performances—one to three special selections each week. The Communion portion of the service consists of a brief introduction and prayer and about a six-minute time of passing trays and partaking. The message is thirty minutes long (for radio play), and the invitation time often involves singing two or three hymns or choruses while people are responding. The entire service is precision-timed to be done in less than seventy minutes and is built around the theme of the sermon. Wednesday evenings the church has "Celebration," which involves more praise choruses and deeper instruction for the Christian members of the church. As society has been changing, the style of the service has shifted among Christian churches and Churches of Christ. Yet a simple, informal service with a twofold emphasis on the Lord's Table and evangelism continues to be the guiding principal of worship.