Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Central Christian Church is a part of the denomination known as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ or DOC). More info can be found about the denomination at https://disciples.org/.
The 4 Priorities; A Recent History:
At the 2001 General Assembly, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) adopted the 2020 Vision, which contained four priorities that guided the Church through the first two decades of the 21st century and continue to be priorities beyond 2020.
The Four Priorities were:
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Becoming a Pro-reconciling/Anti-racist church
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Formation of 1,000 new congregations by 2020
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Transformation of 1,000 current congregations by 2020
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Leadership development necessary to realize these new and renewed congregations
Signs that the priorities have transformed the Church include:
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Pro-reconciliation/anti-racism training is now required continuing education for clergy in the majority of regions and in general ministries.
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The General Board and other ministry boards are accountable for the demographics of their boards with an eye to 30 percent of members being people of color in addition to geographic and age representation.
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The Executive Search model is used for many leadership positions.
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A racism audit of governing documents was completed.
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More than 1,000 faith communities were planted with a 60 percent success rate after five years.
1
Our Identity
We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.
As part of the one body of Christ, we welcome all to the Lord’s Table as God has welcomed us.
2
Our Vision
To be a faithful, growing church, that demonstrates true community, deep Christian spirituality and a passion for justice.
– Micah 6:8
3
Our Mission
To be and to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, witnessing, loving and serving from our doorsteps “to the ends of the earth.”
– Acts 1:8
4
Our Confession
As members of the Christian Church,
We confess that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of the living God,
and proclaim him Lord and Savior of the world.
– The Preamble to The Design of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
This confession is the opening paragraph in the Preamble to the Design of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It is used by many Disciples congregations in worship as an affirmation of the faith of the church throughout the ages – not as a “test of fellowship,” but as a statement of faith that identifies the Disciples’ commitment to and place within the universal and ecumenical church. The preamble continues…
As members of the Christian Church,
We confess that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of the living God,
and proclaim him Lord and Savior of the world.
In Christ’s name and by his grace
we accept our mission of witness
and service to all people.
We rejoice in God,
maker of heaven and earth,
and in God’s covenant of love
which binds us to God and to one another.
Through baptism into Christ
we enter into newness of life
and are made one with the whole people of God.
In the communion of the Holy Spirit
we are joined together in discipleship
and in obedience to Christ.
At the Table of the Lord
we celebrate with thanksgiving
the saving acts and presence of Christ.
Within the universal church
we receive the gift of ministry
and the light of scripture.
In the bonds of Christian faith
we yield ourselves to God
that we may serve the One
whose kingdom has no end.
Blessing, glory, and honor
be to God forever. Amen.
4
Communion
For I have received of the Lord what I have also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way he took the cup also after supper saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread, and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. – I Corinthians 11:23-26 (NRSV)
The Lord’s Supper or Communion is celebrated in weekly worship. It is open to all. The practice of Holy Communion has become the central element of worship within the Disciples tradition.
Disciples’ observance of the Lord’s Supper echoes the Passover feast, when Jesus shared bread and wine with his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the living Christ is met and received in the sharing of the bread and the cup, representative of the body and blood of Jesus. The presence of the living Lord is affirmed and he is proclaimed to be the dominant power in our lives.
4
Baptism
Peter said to them,” Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” – Acts 2:38 (NRSV)
Just as the baptism represents the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, it symbolizes the death and burial of the old self of the repentant believer, and the joyous birth of a brand new being in Christ. Those who founded the Disciples movement taught baptism by immersion as the accepted form. – From Word to the Church on Baptism, Commission on Theology, 1987
Baptism is a public act by which the church proclaims God’s grace, as revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, through the use of a visible sign of God’s gracious initiative and the human individual’s response in faith.
With other Christians we affirm that baptism is at once a divine gift and a human response.The meaning of baptism is grounded in God’s redemptive action in Christ, it incorporates the believer in the community in the body of Christ, and it anticipates life in the coming age when the powers of the old world will be overcome, and the purposes of God will triumph.