Disciplined Disciples

After 166 years, the Disciples of Christ last week conceded that they are, in fact, a Protestant denomination. In Kansas City, at the Disciples' annual convention, 4,700 delegates overwhelmingly approved the principles of a new constitution that will transform the movement from a loose grouping of autonomous congregations into an organization with central direction and authority. The change was symbolized by dropping two letters from the Disciples' proper name. Previously, they were members of the Christian Churches; now they will be known as the Christian Church.

The Disciples were organized at the beginning of the 19th century as a backwoods ecumenical venture that sought to do away with denominational differences. The founder was the Rev. Thomas Campbell, a Presbyterian minister from Pennsylvania who wanted to unite all men on a few basics of belief. Christianity, he argued, is "essentially and constitutionally one church made up of all those in every place who profess their faith in Jesus Christ."

Inefficient Omission. Unfortunately for Campbell's dream, the Disciples evolved into just another sect, with a more-or-less Congregational theology and structure that united a number of like-minded churches in a voluntary association. But as the Disciples grew in numbers (membership is now about 1,250,000) and expanded their activities, they found it difficult to get along without some kind of central authority. Today the churches operate 117 autonomous missionary and social agencies and 23 colleges, all of which are supported by voluntary contributions. Leaders of the Disciples have long deplored the lack of a policy-making body as highly inefficient.

Last week's decision came after a decade-long battle in which 2,000 of the Disciples' 8,000 churches broke away. Many of the dissident congregations affiliated with the conservative Churches of Christ, which separated from the more liberal Disciples at the turn of the century. Among other things, the dispute involved the question of whether organ music in church had scriptural justification (the Disciples said it did).

First proposed in 1958, the reorganization plan allows the local congregations considerable autonomy. They will keep title to their property, retain the right to plan their own services, decide on membership requirements, hire their pastors. Central policy, however, will be decided by a new general assembly composed of 5,000 delegates elected by the congregations, which is expected to meet every two years, and a 400-member general board. A new general minister and president" and a 47-member administrative committee will carry out the decisions of the assembly and board.

Putting on Bonds. Opponents of centralized authority denounce it as a betrayal of the movement's tradition of local autonomy. At last week's meeting, the Rev. Robert Burns of Atlanta, spokesman for several hundred churches, asked: "Why is all this control from the top necessary? There has never yet been an organization that, given power, didn't use it. This is no less than incipient dictatorship." Another dissident, the Rev. Rex Miller of Jewell, Kans., complained that "at a time when the Roman Catholic Church is loosening the bonds of its hierarchy, we find ourselves putting them on."

In answer, leaders of the majority argued that restructuring, by helping the Disciples carry out a better-organized Christian mission, is actually a step toward the larger unity that Campbell envisioned. One concrete result of the reorganization will be that the Disciples can take a more decisive part in the Consultation on Church Union, the ambitious ecumenical venture that is seeking to merge nine main-line denominations into a Protestant superchurch. The Disciples have participated in C.O.C.U. since 1963, but now they will be able to get clearer decisions from the membership on unity issues.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.