Churches of Christ and Christian Churches Report Growing Cooperation After Convention in Louisville, Kentucky

The 2006 North American Christian Convention (NACC) in Louisville, Kentucky, held June 27-30, 2006, was described by the Christian Standard as a historic “family reunion” between churches of Christ and Christian churches/churches of Christ. The two groups, whose combined membership was about 2.6 million, were acknowledging a division that had taken place in 1906. More than 10,000 people from across the United States attended, welcoming and accepting one another in Christ, a picture of seeking unity among believers (John 17:21).

Attendees praised the event. Thomas E. Mackey of Granville, Ohio, said, “I’ve never felt more proud to be a part of this people!” Bob Tinsky of Oblong, Illinois, recalled that Jeff Walling and Dave Stone, along with several other brotherhood leaders, exchanged Bibles, and said the meeting was similar in importance to the 1832 handshake between Barton W. Stone and Raccoon John Smith, when their two groups agreed to work together.

David Faust, president of the 2006 NACC, said, “These are great days, and it’s going to be interesting to see where the Lord takes us in the future.” On October 14 of that year, Faust took part in a “Contemporary Discussion” with Ralph Gilmore on the campus of Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tennessee. Richard J. Cherok, writing in One Body, said the discussion was carried out “with a sense of honest inquiry, love, and consideration for those who have opinions that differed from their own.”

In a move the article described as unprecedented for the NACC, a tithe of the offerings, totaling $149,000, was designated to assist a joint venture between Christian churches and churches of Christ in Kenya. Milton Jones of Northwest Church of Christ in Seattle, Washington, reported that property had been purchased in Kisumu, where AIDS is most prevalent, for a counseling and testing center. Christian Relief Fund, which partners with both groups, is managing the project, and a team from both fellowships was to complete it that summer.

One month after the NACC, church leaders met with the Chinese ambassador to the United States, had breakfast at the White House, and were briefed by the head of the State Department’s China desk. They traveled to China in the first week of August to meet government leaders and discuss Christianity in China. The group included Rick Atchley of Richland Hills Church of Christ, Royce Money of Abilene Christian University, and Bob Russell, then of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville. That August, Marvin Phillips and Kerry Allen also led a unity seminar, “Together in Mission: Maintaining Unity in a Divided World,” in Castle Hill, New South Wales, Australia.

Local cooperation was also reported across the country. In Louisville, the article described two church of Christ preachers teaching workshops in the spring sessions of a Christian churches’ “School of Christian Living,” and in Lexington, ministers from Indian Hills Christian Church and West End Church of Christ began preparing sermons together each week. In Texas, several churches of Christ and Christian churches in Lubbock held joint services over Holy Week, and about 50 elders and ministers from Restoration churches in Austin formed a Unity Steering Committee among churches of Christ, Christian churches and Disciples of Christ. In Oklahoma, Garnett Church of Christ in Tulsa and Cedar Ridge Christian Church worked together to build a Habitat for Humanity house.

Other reports described congregations in Columbia, Missouri, that held prayer breakfasts, a proposed merger in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a possible merger in Palo Alto, California, and joint efforts in Caldwell, Idaho. In Knoxville, Tennessee, Johnson Bible College hosted a picnic inviting Christian churches and churches of Christ in the area after the NACC, and the author’s ministry, Peace on Earth Ministries, partnered with the college to underwrite a young minister from churches of Christ in Belarus. The article also noted that Walling and others would return for the next NACC in Kansas City.

Source: Read the original report