Church of Christ

The Church of Christ is a church tracing its roots back to the restorationist movement.

They claim to be "undenominational and have no central headquarters or president. The head of the church is none other than Jesus Christ himself (Ephesians 1:22-23). Each congregation of the churches of Christ is autonomous, and it is the Word of God that unites us into One Faith (Ephesians 4:3-6). We follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and his holy Apostles, and not the teachings of man."

Table of contents

1 Church Organization
2 Specific teachings and prohibitions
3 The Crossroads Movement
4 External Links

Church Organization

There is no headquarters for the Church of Christ and each congregation has its own structure consisting of Elders, Deacons, and a Preacher/Evangelist. Typically the churches participate in a loose informal network of other local Churches of Christ.

The Preacher/Evangelist/Minister is the head of each congregation and prepares and delivers sermons, performs weddings, and preaches or evangelizes the gospel. This position is typically paid.

Elders are spiritually mature Christian men who work in some specialized capacity of a spiritual nature. They perform baptisms, establish moral guidelines, approve and establish bible study curriculum, select Sunday School teachers, and select the Preacher/Evangelist if the position becomes vacant. They also select the Deacons.

Deacons take care of specialized needs of the congregation. Typically the physical building in which services are held will have a Deacon overseeing it.

Specific teachings and prohibitions

The Church of Christ believes that the organization and structure of the church was laid down by Christ himself through his apostles in the form of the Bible. Any deviation from the King James Bible is damned. Since this Church has no headquarters and each church is independant, the teachings may vary.

They specifically believe or prohibit;

The Bible was written through divine intervention by god himself

No religious icons

No celebration of religious holidays, such as Christmas, as religious holidays

No Instrumental Music in services

Men, males over the age of 12, are not to be taught by Women

Segregated Bible study for adults but Integrated Services

Women may not be Elders or Preachers

Adult immersion baptism is the only acceptable form of Baptism
All unbaptized people are damned
Baptism is a choice that must be rationally choosen. Children without developed reasoning facilities are not baptized.
Divorce, except for reasons of infidelity, is not seen as divorce in the eyes of god and remarriage in these cases is adultery.
Abortion is doubly wrong becuase the soul of the fetus goes to hell, as it was unbaptised, and killing is a sin.
Damnation is eternity without god. Some believe in a literal hell while others believe it is metaphore of an eternity outside of the light of god.
Congregation wide confesion of sins.
Worship can take place at any gathering of church members. Baptism can take place in any suitable body of water.
Anyone Baptised member can serve Communion anywhere members are gathered on Sunday.

They also typically condemn;

Dancing
Alcoholic Drink
Rock Music
Role Playing Games

They typically teach that other denominations and churches are wrong in their beliefs and are damned.

Particularly damned are;

The International Church of Christ
Catholics They often teach the father of the Catholic church is the beast.
Mormons
All Non-Christian faiths

Not all Churches of Christ believe other denominations are damned per se.

The Crossroads Movement

The Crossroads Movement, generally identified as an occult movement, was split off of the Church of Christ and was sued into changing their name to the International Church of Christ (ICC). The ICC then split off the REVEAL movement. The Crossroads Movement is also known as the Boston Movement.