Hello all:
If you are viewing this, than you obviously see that I am changing the template. It took me a little bit, but I figured out how to manipulate some of the template code so I was able to move so things around. In the next couple of weeks I’m going to explore some of the addons and such for wordpress that I don’t use right now to make the site better.
What do you think about the new look? Better, worse? I perfer to have the links of the left side of the page, but do you?
Also, I took Gabe Peterson’s link off for the time being since he’s not writing in his blog.
-Clarke
Hello all:
Over on Travis’ blog there is a conversation going on about the imminent reincarnation of the MISSION journal and what people would like to see in it.
In that conversation, the comment was made:
I would like to hear some discussion on the evolution of restoration theology. Is there a place for the restoration plea in the 21st century or is it a completely dead idea altogether? What will restoration churches look like in the future and what divergent paths will we take. Are we doomed to more division or will we see a new unit form from all of the factions that exist today?
Thanks!
Posted by Joel Maners Tuesday, December, 6, 2005 at 9:50 pm
While I won’t go into the evolution of Restoration theology here, I am driven to answer Joel’s question about whether or not there is a place in the 21st century for the Restoration Plea.
There is most certainly a place for the Restoration Plea today, and I believe there always will be.
The Restoration Plea hinges on two beliefs:
1) That Christians should be united.
2) That unity can be built around the abandonment of written creeds and a return to the pattern of New Testament belief and practice.
Obviously, opinions on what constitute New Testament beliefs and practices varies widely. One person will read the New Testament and come away with the belief that we should all use one communion cup, another will come away with the though that a capella singing is what is called for in worship, others believe that the use of the instrument is fine. Some feel that because a college, ministry group, missionary society or other para-church organization isn’t mention in the bible, that they are a departure from what we should do.
That is the nature of a movement that calls for a return to New Testament practices. There are honest differences of opinion, and there will always be those two disagree with one another on the interpretation and application of passages in the Bible.
The key is that we allow room for opinion. We even need to allow some room for error. There is nothing wrong with some healthy debate now and then, and if you genuinely feel someone is wrong, gently teach them the correct way. But, we must not disfellowship and divide over matters involving silence in the scriptures or opinion of man.
If the issue is not one that effects salvation, then we agree to disagree, and continue to love each other. There will, of course, be those that don’t agree to disagree as well. We must continue to love those individuals as well and show them that we truly are their brothers and sisters in Christ whether they agree with us or not.
Now that I’ve dealt with some of the internal issues of Restoration, let looks at why we need the Restoration Plea in the 21st Century.
People need to hear the Gospel.
As we all know, people need to hear the good news. And, unfortunately, the majority of those out there telling people about the good news are telling people that they can be saved by reciting the “Sinners Prayer.” The scriptures specifically promise salvation to those who repent of their sins and are baptized. Restoration Movement churches have close to a monopoly on teaching baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. While some churches ordain baptism by “church ordinance”, just as many do not.
Furthermore, as we all know, Restoration churches emphasize the Lord’s Supper on a weekly basis, while most other churches practice it at most once a month.
Restoration Churches hold the New Testament to be inerrant, and usually hold it to be relevant to our lives. We are more-or-less a people of the book, and have a strong desire to do what the Lord says.
The Restoration Movement has a lot of merit to it. One stream of the movement is the fastest growing church in the United States. While not everything that has occurred during the quest for Restoration has been positive, we have, and continue, to do alot of good works that glorify God.
For my next post, I think I will try and tackle the other questions posed by Joel.
-Clarke
Hello all:
The site is nearing completion. The full template is now online and can be visited at either www.restorationmovement.org or www.clarkcomments.com/restoration
Some people have reported that the restorationmovement.org URL doesn’t redirect for them, but the majority of people I have spoken to report that it works. I have added a forum to the page, as well as more links and information. All pages that were on the original site have been ported to the new template.
I will be starting on the ICOC pages soon. If you have any content suggestions or ideas, please feel free to email them to me at restoration (at) clarkecomments (dot) com.
-Clarke
Hello all:
Unity is on my mind. Its kind of been my theme lately, and its something that I really would like to have a hand in working towards. The a capella churches of Christ and the Independent Christian Churches have been officially divided for 100 years this upcoming year. There will be a number of events that focus on unity between the churches of Christ and Independent Christian Churches and among all streams of the Restoration Movement as well.
One of my New Years Resolutions is going to be to work towards unity through networking. Lord willing, I want to make contacts within the Independent Christian Churches, expand my contacts in the non-institutional churches, and also make new contacts in the “no-class, one-cup churches”. Once that happens, I’ll have to see where the next step is.
One of the things I am going to try to do is to make it to places and conferences where we all gather. I’m going to try to attend the Oregon Christian Convention (which is for the Independent Christian Churches) as well as the Pepperdine Bible Lectures. There are other things I’d like to attend, but due to cost and distance I won’t be able to make them.
I’d like to challenge everyone to be Unity minded in 2006, and I’d like to hear what your efforts for unity will be this year.
-Clarke
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Below is a list of Unity Events which I pulled off the North American Christian Convention website:
Feb. 19-22, 2006
ACU Lectures/Restoration Forum XXIV
Abilene Christian University
Abilene, TX
www.acu.edu/events/lectureship.html
Mar. 23-25, 2006
International Soul Winning Workshop
Tulsa, OK
www.tulsaworkshop.org
May 2-5, 2006
Pepperdine University Bible Lectures
Malibu, CA
Email: patricia.atkisson (at) pepperdine (dot) edu
June 11-13, 2006
Stone-Campbell Dialogue
Nashville, TN
foster (at) bible.acu (dot) edu
June 27 - 30, 2006
North American Christian Convention - Together in Christ
Louisville, KY
www.nacctheconnectingplace.org
Aug. 7-10, 2006
Kentucky-Indiana Fellowship Week