|
| |
History and Witness of Churches of
Christ
There are
many theological and Ministry training institutions in Western Australia, but
few of them are able to ground trained people for ministry in what it means to
be a part of this movement within the mainstream church, known in this country
as Churches of Christ. With very high transportability between churches and
denominations, there is a danger of losing that distinctive that gave rise to
Churches of Christ in Britain, the United States and thence Australia.
The
Association of Churches of Christ in Western Australia has therefore deemed that
in order to be ordained and acquire religious celebrant status within this state
that, amongst other requirements, candidates need to complete a two day reading
and seminar
style short course on the History and Witness of Churches of Christ.
The
course will normally run once per year, but may run a second time depending on
need.
The next course is set down for
February 2009 (yet to be scheduled).
It will
be held in the conference room of the Churches of Christ head office, Plantation
St, Menora, from 9.00am to 4.00pm each day.
No
enrolments will be taken prior to two weeks in advance of the course, as there
is substantial pre reading to complete, without which you will waste your own
time and those of the other participants who have done the necessary
preparation.
Download an enrolment form.
Indicative course
structure:
|
Day 1 |
Topics |
|
0915 - 1045 |
Roots
·
Stone-Campbell roots and the fertile ground of revival.
·
Mission/Evangelism and a desire for Unity
·
Some foundational documents and
Slogans |
|
1100 – 12.30 |
Word
of God
Interpretation of the Bible
Preachers |
|
1315 - 1445 |
Panel 1
·
Panels
introduce participants to between 6 and 8 leaders within our
structure and associated agencies in order to give a feel for the
wider work of Churches of Christ in WA Inc.. |
|
1500 - 1600 |
Baptism
·
Believer’s Baptism by immersion. The Stone-Campbell standpoint.
·
What about baptism in other traditions?
·
What about the children?
·
Baptism and membership – are they connected? |
|
Day 2 |
Topics |
|
0915 - 1045 |
Lord’s Supper
·
The Stone Campbell standpoint.
·
Centrality?
·
Leadership and appropriateness.
·
What about the children? |
|
1100 – 1230 |
Ministry and Ordination
·
Stone-Campbell stand point.
·
Congregational autonomy – strengths and weaknesses
·
Ordination
Denominational Structure |
|
1315 -1445 |
Panel 2
·
To be advised
. |
|
1500 - 1600 |
.Ministry and Governance
·
Women in ministry
·
Ministry/eldership/leadership
·
Priesthood of all believers – fact or fiction? |
By two
weeks before the course you will receive a reading pack in the mail.
It will
contain a numbered loan copy of Gordon Stirling's booklet:
Churches of Christ - Reinterpreting ourselves for the New Century (75pp). you
will return that on the second day of the course, and they may also be purchased
from the Resource Centre for a very nominal cost.
You will
also receive a DVD of an interview with Gordon Stirling.
The reader, posted below, must be read prior to the
commencement of the course. This is essential, as it is predominantly a reading
course.
On the
first day of the Course, you will hand in a 1500 word essay related to a
particular issue within our history.
The Essay
Topics link is on the side bar.
(or click here) 4 topics have been listed, you may choose any
one of the four.
Completion of the essay by the start date is essential to your successful
completion of this unit of study.
|
The reader
This will not be sent to you, but is an on line
resource. |
|
|
|
|
|
A chronology and introduction to the
Stone Campbell movement
compiled by Jim Longbottom, May 2006
|
|
1.
Churches of Christ in Western Australia, Keith Bowes revised 2004 |
|
The milieu of the birth of the
movement,
A letter from Colonel Patterson, 1801
|
|
2.
Churches of Christ work Together, Keith Bowes 2004 |
|
Passion -
The Last Will and Testimony
of the Springfield Presbytery, 1804
|
|
3.
Membership in Churches of Christ, Keith Bowes, revised 2003 |
|
An extract from the Declaration and
Address by Thomas Campbell, 1809.
|
|
4.
The Lord's Supper in Contemporary worship, Keith Bowes, revised 2003 |
|
Encyclopedia article on Disciples of Christ - Alexander Campbell, 1838 |
|
5.
Extracts from "The Christian System, Alexander Campbell, 1839 |
|
The Lord's Supper, Barton W Stone, 1834. |
|
6.
Communion, Graeme Chapman, 1998 - large PDF |
|
The Role of
Women in the Church, Keith Bowes, 1997 |
|
7
Baptism, Randy Edwards, 1988 - large PDF
|
|
Churches of Christ National Identity, Nigel Pegram, 2006 |
|
8
The Stone Campbell Movement - The Movement faces the 21st Century, Leroy
Garrett, 1994 - large PDF |
|
|
|
9
A Future and a Hope, Keith Horne, 1996 - large PDF
|
|
|
|
10.
Are we there yet? , L & L Jacobs, 2003 - large PDF
|
|
|
|
11.
Ordination in Churches of Christ in Australia, 1997
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
There are
many other valuable resources available.
The
recently published Encyclopedia of the Stone Campbell Movement by Eerdmans, 2004 is a very comprehensive and valuable resource.
There is
also this huge on line resource of Australian and International papers and
articles posted on the Memorial University of Newfoundland site.
Follow
these links:
Browse the
Foundational and international articles.
Browse
the Australian articles.
|
