Timeline, part 2

1906 – Churches of Christ (more prominent in the former Confederate States) and the Disciples of Christ formally split over issues of:

1. use of instrumental music,
2. formation of trans-congregational institutions (e.g., mission societies),
3. development of professional ministry with degrees, title, and authority.
Marks formal split between liberal Restoration via ecumenism and conservative Restoration via “primitivism.”

 1907 – Chinese Christian Institute in San Francisco, California established by the Christian Women’s Board of Missions (close in 1923 as a result of the Chinese Exclusion Act).

 1908 – Japanese Christian Church established in Los Angeles, California (will later become All Peoples Christian Church and Center as a result of the 1942 internment of Japanese Americans): http://www.allpeoplescc.org/

 1909 – International Convention for centennial of the “Declaration and Address” draws together 1,250,000 participants.

 1910 – establishment of the Council on Christian Union (will later become the CC (DoC)’s Council on Christian Unity), the first ecumenical agency of its kind created by a major Christian group: http://www.disciples.org/ccu/

 1912 – A. J. Hurdle, Disciples minister and freedman, helps establish Northeast Texas Christian Theological and Industrial College (later Jarvis College).

 1917 – Taylor, William Alphin, and other African American Disciples form the National Christian Missionary Convention. In his inaugural address, Taylor critiqued the separatist spirit of Marcus Garvey and others when he stated: “The Disciples of Christ, strange at it may seem, need the colored people, if for no other reasons, as the acid test of Christian orthodoxy and willingness to follow Christ all of the way in His program of human redemption. For if the white brother can include in his religious theory and practice the colored people as real brothers he will have avoided the heresy of all heresies.”

 1920 – all of the various Disciples mission societies for both mission work within and outside of the U.S. merge to form the United Christian Missionary Society (will later re-divide into Disciples Home Mission and Division of Overseas Ministries).

 1921 – Red Fox and Black Hawk (two members of the Blackfoot Nation and later First Christian Church of Yakima) along with chief Stire Water of the Yakama Nation have the United Christian Missionary Society establish the Yakima Indian Christian Mission in Washington. (Note: thus making the Christian Church Disciples of Christ the only major church group to not impose schools on Native American reservations with the Bureau of Indian Affairs that contributed to the systematic ethnocide of the Native American populations in the U.S., Hawai’i, or Alaska): http://www.disciplesnw.org/yakama/

 1933 – establishment of Filipino Christian Church, Los Angeles, California.

 1935 – establishment of Disciples Peace Fellowship: http://www.dpfweb.org/

 1939 – Puerto Rican Disciples establish La Hermosa Christian Church, New York.
United Christian Missionary Society organizes the Committee for China Relief (this will become the Committee on Relief in 1941, the Day of Compassion in 1941, and the Week of Compassion by 1944 which will partner with One Great Hour of Sharing by 1950): http://www.weekofcompassion.org/

 1942 – National Christian Missionary Convention and United Christian Missionary Society vote to expand mutual partnership (namely between African American and white Disciples, a process that will culminate in 1969).

 1940s-1950s – ecumenical conversations and agreements begin between Disciples and American Baptists. {Hymnal produced jointly}

 1950s – formation of the Panel of Scholars by Dean Barnett Blackmore of the Disciples Divinity House of Chicago to systematically reflect on the Stone-Campbell movement and possibility of forming an official general denomination.

 1959 – mission policy “Strategy of World Mission: Basic Policy of the Division of World Mission of the United Christian Mission Society”:
* denounces effects of denominationalism, colonialism, and imperialism on church mission work,
* affirms human dignity, freedom, and economic justice as legitimate concerns of the Christian faith,
* calls to abandon “old possessiveness” to pursue mission ecumenically,
* declares that mission work should relate to the life of the people by aiding development of indigenous forms of worship, leadership, organization, and theology.

 1960 – Commission on Brotherhood Restructure formed to explore formal formation of a denominational church and structure.

 1961 – ecumenical conversations and agreements begin between Disciples and the UCC.

 1962-1965 – Dean Blakemore of the Disciples Divinity House and member of University Christian Church attends the Second Vatican Council in Roman as an officially invited ecumenical observer.

 1966 – 1st Consultation on Hispanic Ministry (includes Hispanic Disciples ministers in the U.S., Mexico, and Puerto Rico) (will later become the ethnic-linguistic ministry called the Central Pastoral Office on Hispanic Ministries): http://www.obrahispana.org/

 1967 – merger and establishment of the Joint Southern Asia Office between the CC (DoC) and the UCC for combined mission work (the Pacific will be added in 1990).

 1968 – approval of the Provisional Design of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) including official merger with the National Convocation of African American Disciples of Christ. By its structure or ecclesiology, the CC (DoC) is:
1. a radically horizontal and non-hierarchical denomination;
2. composed of three “manifestations” or “expressions” of the church, the: a. individual congregations, b. regional ministries (including Canada as a region), and c. general unit ministries (including the General Minister & President);
3. with no single one of these units or manifestations consisting of the “church”;
4. but rather all three together in covenantly cooperation are “church”;
5. the most authoritative policymaking body is the biannual General Assembly. For the full text see: http://www.disciples.org/AboutTheDisciples/TheDesignoftheChristianChurch/tab id/228/Default.aspx

 (1968 merger and establishment of the Joint Office for Latin America between CC (DoC) cont’d) and the UCC (will be discontinued in 1971 but re-established in 1989).

 1969 – 1st General Assembly (every 2 years). (Note: there is NOT a “National Assembly” or “National Ministries” as the denomination includes Canada; however Puerto Rico is not included as they constitute their own denomination like Disciples in Mexico, Paraguay, Argentina, Congo, and Australia; Disciples in India, Britain, and English- Caribbean joined ecumenical churches to form new “united” denominations).

1971 – over 650,000 members leave over the formation of the institutional denomination (considered unbiblical) to form the independent Christian Churches.

 1976 – first Korean Disciples congregation, Wilshire Korean Christian Church.

 1977 – establishment of the Disciples-Roman Catholic Dialogue (the oldest, continuously running ecumenical dialogue between the Catholic and a U.S. mainline Protestant communion/denomination).

 1978 – 1st consultation of American Asian Disciples (later becomes the ethnic-linguistic ministry called North American Pacific Asian Disciples (NAPAD)): http://www.napad.net/

 1980 – merger and establishment of the Joint Office for Middle East between CC (DoC) and the UCC between the CC (DoC) and the UCC for combined mission work. (1989 – formal “ecumenical partnership” established between the CC (DoC) and the UCC.

 1990 – establishment of first Chinese Disciples congregation since 1923, First Christian Church of Alameda, California.

 1992 – merger and establishment of the Joint Ministry in Africa between the CC (DoC) and the UCC between the CC (DoC) and the UCC for combined mission work.

 1994 – establishment of the Joint Office for Europe between the CC (DoC) and the UCC for combined mission work.

 1996 – formation of the Common Global Ministries Board with shared resources and staff between the CC (DoC) and the UCC: http://globalministries.org/

 2005 – Sharon Watkins elected General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the first woman to head a mainline Christian denomination.

 2009 – Watkins preaches at the National Prayer Breakfast for President Barack Obama’s inauguration, Washington, D.C. 2010 – Watkins chosen as one of Pres. Obama’s “10 Most Important Faith Leaders,” see: http://www.usnews.com/listings/obama-faith-leaders/9-the-rev.-sharon-watkins

Note:
* role of African Americans (and multi-ethnicity in general) since 1801 and women in the building of the movement and its more enduring institutions,
* role of immigrants (Scots-Irish, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Caribbean, etc.) throughout movement since the beginning (remains strong in the present),
* bias against/absence of Native Americans (except with Yakama Nation),
* the priority on ecumenism (even to a determent, e.g., over slavery and “union”),
* value of intellect and discernment prior to and with “experience” and Bible.

 Closing note: A member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is NOT a “Disciple” – that would be Peter, James, Andrew, and the others who knew Jesus personally – but rather one is a “Disciples”; e.g., I cannot say “…as a Disciple…(blah, blah, blah)” but rather I would say “I’m Disciples,” like one would say “I’m UCC” or “I’m Baptist,” etc. Sounds goofy, but that’s what we get with a denomination that likes parenthesis in its name. This little rule, the prayer that Jesus taught that we say at every worship, and the refrain “no creed but Christ” are probably the closest things to “creeds” in this creedless Christian communion.

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 National Convocation History (from disciples.org) The African American Convention movement was established as early as 1830 in "free" states as the secular adjunct of African American congregations as a means of coordinating opposition to slavery, forced relocation of free African Americans to Africa and a multitude of social ills. The development of collective strategies to effect the well-being of "freed" African Americans after the close of the Civil War (1865) was so great that most of the present organized work of the African American congregations within the Christian Church (Disciple of Christ) was developed by that first generation of former slaves.

· 1867 - Southern District of Churches of Christ (Disciples of Christ)
· 1867 - National Convention of Disciples (Colored), Rufus Conrad, founder
· 1871 - South Carolina Christian Missionary Convention
· 1872 - Western District of Churches of Christ (Disciples of Christ)
· 1872 - Kentucky Christian Missionary Convention
· 1880 - Alabama Christian Missionary Convention
· 1881 - Texas Christian Missionary Convention
· 1882 - Goldsboro/Raleigh Assembly, Goldsboro (West of Tarr River)
· 1882 - Piedmont Tri-State District Convention
· 1887 - Mississippi Christian Missionary Convention
· 1892 - Wester District of Churches of Christ (Disciples of Christ)
· 1910 - Washington and Norfolk District of Churches of Christ (Disciples of Christ), East of Tarr River

 The American Christian Missionary Society supported African American evangelists and employed Preston Taylor as "National Evangelist" during the closing decade of the 19th century. The ACMS asked the Christian Women's Board of Mission to take over the work in 1900. The CWBM continued that support through the next two decades. On July 1, 1914 the CWBM employed Rosa Brown to minister among the women and on October 1, 1914 the Bible School Department of the ACMS employed P.H. Moss to serve the bible schools.

 Two calls went out in 1917 to organize a National Convention -- Preston Taylor sent out a call from Nashville, Tennessee in September, and William Alphin sent out a call in October in connection with the International Convention of the Christian Churches which was being held in Kansas City. The people rallied to the call of Preston Taylor and in September, 1917 the National Christian Missionary Convention was formed. Anna R. Atwater of the CWBM, Robert M. Hopkins of the ACMS, Stephen J. Corey of the Foreign Christian Missionary Society and J.B. Lehman of the CWBM were present at the organizing meeting. A delegation from the newly-formed NCMC was present at the October 1917 meeting of the International Convention which voted approval of the NCMC as an auxiliary of the International Convention.

 The 1942 NCMC Constitution stated its purpose as follows: " ... to cooperate in the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; to promote the cause of evangelism, to foster and maintain a program of Christian Education among the Christian Churches of the Brotherhood; to perform such general supervisory functions as the best interest the work may require; and to cooperate with the International Convention, the United Christian Missionary Society, and other Brotherhood agencies, boards or movements for the furthering of the world program of the Brotherhood, and any other religious movement the Brotherhood chooses to work with."

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On the “Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ International” from disciples.org/DNS

The two branches of Disciples have been apart since 1868 when the annual conference of Disciples of Christ in North Carolina voted to separate from black Disciples. Some saw this step as an opportunity for both groups to worship in their own way. Others saw the vote as a racial severing of ties. Over the ensuing years, the two groups developed separate worship styles, governance and structures. Today, the Churches of Christ, Disciples of Christ International - also known as the Assembly churches - are comprised of about 25,000 members in 300 churches spanning from New York to Miami, with additional churches in Africa and the Caribbean. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is made up of about 3700 churches and 600,000 members in the United States and Canada.

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Alexander Campbell on War & Peace - http://www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/acampbell/ac2.html

 "Many wars have been prosecuted, and some have been terminated after long and protracted efforts, before the great majority of the soldiers themselves, on either side, distinctly understood what they were fighting for. Even in our country, a case of this sort has, it is alleged, very recently occurred. If, it is presumed, the true and proper causes of most wars were clearly understood and the real design for which they are prosecuted could be clearly and distinctly apprehended, they would, in most instances, miscarry for the want of efficient means of a successful prosecution."  (1848)