Church of Christ?

Question

What is the Church of Christ? And why do my Catholic in-laws hate them so much??

Are they mormons? I have no idea!

I've heard they don't believe in the power of prayer. Is that true?

Answer 1

A Church of Christ is a biblically sound church. It follows the example of a first century church as described in the Bible.

Each congregation is independent. There is no "National Office" or single spiritual leader. These congregations do not follow any particular human because they follow only the New Testament in the structure and workings of their congregations.

The leadership of such congregations is composed of men in the positions of Elder and Deacon, as outlined in the Bible. They also have male Preachers. Elders are elected by the congregation, and have responsibility for the overall spiritual growth and direction for all of the members of that congregation. Deacons are also elected by the congregation, and are more like working leaders responsible for individual tasks or ministries.

There are no titles offered to leaders or members. They are all equally and simply addressed as "Brother" or "Sister" to acknowledge that as members of the Church, we are all 'adopted' by God, and will share equally in the "inheritance' offered by God to those who choose to follow the example of His Son. So, we are, in fact, Brothers and Sisters to Jesus.

As in the Bible, women are not Deacons, Elders, or Preachers, but they are active in other parts of the congregations. Each person in encouraged to work within the congregation to further the Gospel.

Churches of Christ also discourage the use of musical instruments during the worship service. The examples set forth in the Bible have no such instrumentation, they have singing only. (No accompaniment.) The general feeling is that everybody should fully participate in every part of the worship service. By singing only, everyone can fully participate. Musical numbers performed by musicians can be viewed as performances to be enjoyed by the audience, rather than acts of worship to be actively participated in.

In American history, Churches of Christ sometimes let their preferences and traditions lead them to be somewhat closed to new ideas, and closed to fellowship with other churches with differing ideas. They were considered "uppity" or "snooty" but other churches, thus the poor connotations today.

Modern Churches of Christ are less judgemental, and more open to fellowship with other churches. They are not tolerant of sin, however. While it is recognized that musical instruments are not sinful, true sin is simply not tolerated.

Also, without a scriptural reference or example for a tradition, Churches of Christ generally do not practice traditions of other churches.

Baptism, for example, follows the New Testament examples of total immersion. Sprinkling is not considered a true baptism to Churches of Christ.

Also, baptism of infants is not practiced by Churches of Christ. A person must first Hear the Gospel, Believe it, Repent of Sins, and Confess that Jesus is the true son of God before obeying the commands of Jesus and the church to be baptized for the remission of sin. Infants do not have the capability of performing all of these prerequisite tasks, so therefore they do not need to be baptized.

This is a brief summary, so I did not include all details and scriptural references. Contact me if you need more details.

Answer 2

Churches of Christ try to base everything on the Bible.

They believe in baptism when one has repented, and confessed Christ as their Savior. They believe that Baptism is necessary for salvation.

The Church of Christ DOES believe in prayer. I would be worried if they don't believe in prayer. They believe that prayer is a necessary part of being a Christian.

Your in-laws probably hate them so much because they reject the Pope as a spiritual leader. And basically all other Catholics.

They also do not believe in the use of instruments. This comes from the usage of instruments never being mentioned in the New Testament.

Hope this makes sense, and helps.

Answer 3

They are not Mormons. They are very strict Protestants who do not believe in musical instruments. Some of the more stoic of them believe that if you are not a member of the Church of Christ, you will go to hell. It seems to me that different religions are formed because of different views taken from the Bible, but the Catholic Bible is different from the Protestant Bible because the Catholic Bible has kept some chapters in their Bible that are not in the Protestant Bible.
Don't let it bother you. You might find it interesting to do some research on this. It will help you understand the many different versions.

Answer 4

It's a non-denominational fundamental church that uses the Bible as their only source of doctrine. They are pretty much the complete opposite of Catholics within the Christian religions. But I don't know why your in-laws hate them so much... maybe ask them?

p.s. They are not Protestant, similar, but not the same. And while their beliefs are extreme (I left because I couldn't handle it), I wouldn't consider them a cult, at least not the church I grew up in. Any church can be viewed as a cult really.

Answer 5

I left the 'church of Christ' (not LDS) a few years ago. Each congregation is 'independent' (each congregation for it self). I knew something was not right (see my profile), but actually othe 'Christian' denominations (beliefs) actually kept me there. Each group may be a bit different.

AS for why 'church of Christ' and Catholicism are near opposite ends of a spectrum in many senses of the Word. Hate is a matter the relatives can take up with God.

Answer 6

The Church of Christ has some goofy beliefs and are considered by many churches to be a cult.

Some of their views include the need to be baptized into the Church of Christ in order to have salvation. (Although sometimes you really have to press them for a straight answer on this.)

A friend of mine was forcefully pressured to make a decision about Christ by this church - they asked some of his most personal issues then made him feel guilty about what he had done. Then they surrounded him and told him he couldn't leave until he accepted.

Edit: An interesting letter from the LA Church of Christ - this was written after my experience with them. http://www.laicc.net/Content/Articles/2003/LA_Apology_Letter.htm

Answer 7

Obama is a member of the "United Church of Christ". This group isn't the comparable via fact the Church of Christ!!!! they are appreciably diverse in doctrine, worship, and employer.

Answer 8

I am a member of the church of Christ. I agree with Barry F, with the brief summary of the church, and bama_jld.

Answer 9

The “church of Christ” is neither Catholic, nor Protestant. The church of Christ is not a denomination.

A denomination is larger than the local congregation, but smaller then the universal church. Each congregation of the church of Christ is independant. There is no man-made organization between the local congregation (which is not a denomination) and the "church" as a whole (which is not a denomination). We want to be nothing more than the church that belongs to Christ!

The church of Christ identifies itself by name as a church that is trying to follow the “doctrine of Christ” (2 John 9).

The “church of Christ” identifies itself by name as a church that belongs to Christ. The name points to the owner and builder. The name points to the one who purchased the church. (Matthew 16:18, Acts 20: 28)

In contrast to this the name of many denominations point to the name of a man, a particular practice, or the way they are organized. A member of a denomination identifies himself by name as one who submits to the authority and the doctrine (teaching) of that denomination. Why not just follow the doctrine and authority of Christ?

The church of the Bible is compared to a bride, with Christ being the groom. A bride honors the groom when she agrees to wear his name. But many churches today wear man made names.

Suppose, for example, Mr. Smith asks his girlfriend to marry him. She agrees, but says, “Our friend Mr. Jones is a good man, so when we get married, instead of being called Mrs. Smith, I want to be called Mrs. Jones.” Would Mr. Smith have a reason to question her loyalty to him? Would he feel honored? Why would a bride wear another man’s name? Why would a church want to wear a man-made name? The “church of Christ” wears a name found in scripture (Romans 16: 16).


The church of Christ wishes to restore the church to the teaching that was established and authorized by Christ and his apostles. We wish to have Biblical authority for everything we practice and teach. (Col. 3:17) We want to speak where the Bible speaks, be silent where the Bible is silent, do Bible things in Bible ways, and call Bible things by Bible names.

The Bible teaches that Jesus is the head of the church and the church is his body. (Eph. 1:22-23) The church of Christ recognizes this, and therefore there is no “headquarters” on earth.

Each congregation is independent and goes directly to the Bible to learn what should be taught and how we should worship. We believe the Bible is sufficient and we need no other authority or creed books. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:3) Christ has “all authority” and we wish to follow this authority by following the things He taught. (Matt 28:18-20)

We don’t want to add any man-made doctrine. (If we follow the authority or teaching of men, then Christ does not have “all authority” in our spiritual lives.) If we teach as doctrine the commandments of men, this makes our worship vain! (Matthew 15:9)

Please do not confuse the church of Christ with the “United Church of Christ”, the “International Church of Christ”, the “Church of Christ Scientists”, or the “Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints (Mormons)”. These groups are not the same and they teach drastically different things! (One of the other answers spoke of the "Church of Christ" and gave a link to an "International Church of Christ".)

If you wish to know more about those who simply want to be New Testament Christians (nothing more, nothing less, nothing else), I invite you to investigate the church of Christ by comparison to the Scriptures! I have included a few web sites below that you might wish to visit, or you can e-mail me with any additional questions.

Thank you for your good question and interest in the church.

Answer 10

they hate them because they are not catholic (catholics hate anybody who is not catholic) - church of christ is protestant