Practices and Beliefs
It is no simple task to summarize what members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) believe. In his book We Call Ourselves Disciples, General Minister and President Emeritus Dr. Kenneth Teegarden explains:
"Disciples always have opposed...the use of creeds to exclude persons from the church. It was (the) use of creeds as 'tests of fellowship' that the Disciples' founding fathers fingered as the major cause of division among Christians...(So) unlike most other churches, we Disciples do not have an official doctrinal statement we can refer to when someone asks, 'What does the Christian Church believe?'"
"For many years, The Christian Evangelist,a forerunner of our present journal The Disciple, carried a maxim in its masthead: 'In essentials, unity: in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity.' It expresses the cherished conviction that liberty should be allowed in the nonessential areas into which most creedal statements roam."
A widely-known slogan among Disciples claims "No Creed but Christ." That conviction is borne out in the manner in which persons come to be a part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Dr. Teegarden goes on to say:
"Standing before a congregation of Disciples to confess faith in Jesus Christ and become part of the church, a person is asked only one question. It is usually phrased, 'Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and do you accept him as your personal Savior?' The person who responds, 'I do,' might have recently completed a church membership course. If so, the instruction will not have been to transmit a system of doctrines. In fact, a person who is comfortable with a dogmatic approach would be disappointed in the Christian Church."
"We Disciples have beliefs and practices in common with all sorts of Christians. These apparent similarities sometimes are superficial, sometimes fundamental. We baptize by immersion, so we look like Baptists. We have Communion every Sunday, so we look a bit like Roman Catholics. We stress the ministry of the laity, so we look a little like Quakers. Our congregations call their pastors rather than accepting assigned ministers, so in that respect we look like Presbyterians. We rely heavily on preaching and teaching, so we look somewhat like Methodists. We have congregational government, so we look a lot like the United Church of Christ."
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To Unite With This Congregation
Becoming a member of this congregation is simple
If you have been a member of another christian church (any denomination), you may unite with this one by
• coming forward during the final hymn of Sunday morning worship
• telling the minister or elder of your desire to be a part of this community of faith
• reaffirming your faith in Jesus Christ, the son of the Living God and your Lord and Savior
• committing to grow in faith and serve God through the church
If you have never made a confession of your faith, you are invited to
• come forward during the final hymn of Sunday morning worship
• tell the minister or elder of your desire to claim Jesus as your Lord and Savior
• respond with "I do" when asked: "Do you believe Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God and your Lord and Savior?"
• prepare for Christian baptism by immersion at a later time
• continue the journey of growing in faith and Christian service.
Please feel to contact us, if you have additional questions or concerns regarding membership in the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Kennewick.
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