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"But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance" (Romans 6:17).

In the early 1800s, Thomas and Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone, among others, looking at the state of Christianity in America, began to emphasize that people need to follow the Bible only and move away from various ideas and denominations that divided Christians. So began churches of Christ in America, a movement that has grown over the years worldwide. Over time, various views became better understood and were emphasized. Other views developed and became more dogmatic, established in what some would call our DNA. As some views hardened, it became more difficult to maintain unity. Divisions occurred over a number of issues, big and small.

Over the years, we have developed statements that were meant to explain our view of things. For instance, we just want to be New Testament Christians, we speak where the Bible speaks and are silent where the Bible is silent, and we use Bible names and do things in Bible ways. They all sound good and are meant to be positive in there use. But these statements have also caused problems when questioned. It is not that some are rejecting these ideas, rather there are aspects that need to be considered when expressing them.

One idea is in the text above. There is a pattern of teaching that we are to follow. The question is, what is that pattern? For many it has become various forms. The church is organized in a certain pattern with elders, deacons and preachers. Elders are to be plural and there are no deacons without elders though there can be a preacher without elders. The elders have developed into a board of directors that governor a congregation and what is done or not done must be approved by them. This has lead to an institutional view of the church and has moved us away from the idea that we are a family. In scripture, I see elders as shepherds who move among the flock. There chief concern is with the spiritual welfare of God’s people, not with buildings and programs. I see a lack of trust on the part of elderships who do not trust people to do what is right and who fear that someone might make a mistake or misuse God’s money. We need to be open in this and many other things. We also need to understand that just because we do not agree on a certain text does not means that an elder can accuse the preacher of being a false teacher, causing doubt. Honesty means that we can disagree and still be brothers, something that Campbell and later, James Harding and David Lipscomb all emphasized.

Another pattern or form is that of the assembly. We are to do five things in the assembly: sing, pray, preach, give, and the Lord’s Supper. When we examine the New Testament however, we do not have many assembly texts. The longest is 1 Corinthians 11-14 and there are several things that we do and do not do today that are found in that text. The idea that the assembly is a worship service is not stated explicitly in the New Testament. We do worship when we come together but we also are involved in edification (1)

Then there is the pattern or plan of salvation: hear, believe, repent, confess and be baptized. This has lead to an emphasis on baptism as immersion and for the forgiveness of sins (see Acts 2:38). Anyone who suggests that baptism is to obey God as a valid baptism has been criticized. If one states that it is for a clean conscience such as Peter states (1 Peter. 3:21), that too is not valid. It must be for one and only one reason, even though the New Testament gives several. In the 1930s, K.C. Moser questioned this emphasis on the plan stating that we need to be preaching the Man, that is, Jesus Christ. He was criticized for this but he was right. Reading some of our tracts over the years, Jesus is barely mentioned, if at all, but baptism is examined in full. It has lead some to suggest that we are converting people to the church, which is the people, rather than to Christ.

The pattern that Paul is talking about is Romans 6 appears not to be a governing, worship or salvation pattern. It is the good news of Jesus Christ. Does it include repentance and baptism. Yes! Read Romans 6:1-12. But for Paul, Jesus was the center of his preaching and he was telling the Romans that they needed to focus on Him.

We want to be New Testament Christians but what does that mean? It has come to mean that we follow only what is in the New Testament. Now this is important. We have the New Testament that teaches us about Jesus and about how God wants us to live and work together. We need the New Testament! All of this is important. But we have not thought through what we are saying.

There are those who think the New Testament starts in Acts 2. Alexander Campbell argued against this view, seeing the Gospels as part of the New Testament. We must consider that the Gospels were all written to believers to explain the message that they were preaching. I think that Matthew was the earliest, written to Jewish believers in the 40s A.D. Mark was also written somewhere in the late 40s after he returned from his mission trip with Paul and Barnabas (2). Luke completed his Gospel before joining Paul in the early 50s, explaining to Theophilus who Jesus was and what He did. John wrote in the late 70s or later to a church that was facing both doctrinal problems and persecution. All wrote after Acts 2 and this must be kept in mind.

But there is still another issue. When we say that we want to be New Testament Christians, we often state that the Old Testament is no longer valid for us. There is a problem. You see, the Bible of the First Century church was the Old Testament. Paul stated that he preached nothing but what Moses and the Prophets said (see Acts 26:22-23). Almost all of Paul’s quotes came from the Old Testament. The song book of Israel and the early church was the Psalms. Yet today we find some complaining about preaching from the Old Testament. If we really want to be New Testament Christians as we claim, then we need to be studying the Old Testament.

Of course, this will lead to some challenging and controversial ideas. It might be that some of the issues that we have emphasized over the years were not issues of importance to the First Century church. Interestingly, we have pick up the legalism that is seen in the Galatians churches and boast that this is God’s will. It gets to the point of the absurd. I read of a congregation who removed old pews and put in new chairs. When they were set up, the chairs were put in a circle so that everyone could see each other. Some of the older members were furious and demanded a return to everyone facing forward (3). The fellow reporting this has left along with many others because they were tired of the legalistic views that some have made equal to scripture.

If we think that this only comes from one side in churches of Christ, the traditional side, we would be wrong. In recent years, several congregations in churches of Christ have decided to add instrumental music to one of their assemblies. The idea is that it will 1) keep the youth, and 2) attract people to the church. What I see happening is changing one form for another. Forms might attract some but that is more of a carry back to our "form" theology than scripture. Jay Guin, a lawyer and teacher, commented on this. He has found that music is important but that what is more important is the development of relationships. His son announced that he would attend a Baptist church when he went to college. But when he visited the college and went to a college class in a a cappella church, he was welcomed, introduced to people who could help him, and found immediate acceptance. Brother Jay stated that the singing wasn’t as good as the home congregation but what mattered more was the fellowship. I think this is where we often miss it. The church is a family, not an institution. Of course, if we study the Old Testament, we will quickly find instrument music in the Psalms. Now as you know I am all for a cappella music (4). By examining this perspective, we might develop a different view of the use or non-use of instruments. I said it would be challenging and controversial.

Another aspect in studying the Old Testament is seeing God’s activity in the world, both then and now. Our tradition has leaned far too much toward deism which states that God did His redemptive activity in Jesus, gave the Holy Spirit to give us the word, and now has left us with just scripture. Sadly, this has affected how we see prayer, evil and God’s activity. Examining Old Testament texts will challenge this.

Yes, I want to be a New Testament Christian, or better, to examine what and how the First Century church lived and taught. We need to realize that slogans are good to a point, but that there is much more involved in our understanding of scripture. Maybe it would be better for us to move away from them, especially if they lead to wrong impressions and ideas. But returning to scripture certainly is the main emphasis that we have and should proclaim. That is the heart of the American Restoration Movement also known as the Stone-Campbell Movement. I appreciate those who have gone before and what they developed, but I also realize they were not perfect, nor am I. We must continue to study and to think through what we are teaching and saying.

George B. Mearns

(1) See John Mark Hicks, et al, A Gathered People, Leafwood.

(2) Paul stated that Mark deserted them but I see it as cultural shock. Mark entered a Gentile world he never experienced and was unprepared for. But he also could have seen the need for more information on Jesus and wrote, most likely with Peter’s help, his Gospel.

(3) I think that there might not have been preparation for such a change and it shocked the older members. Then again, we have really not been very good at asking if something is scripture or culture. Many would be shocked at what Campbell and others did and thought about the assembly. One of these early preachers thought that the church should gather around a long table rather than facing a pulpit.

(4) See the 9/2/2007 bulletin for one. I hope to visit a cappella music again from what I learned at Pepperdine University Lectures this year.