Chapter 16: every tradition · Christianity

Christian Churches and Churches of Christ

An independent Christian church of the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement, the stream that kept instruments when the a cappella Churches of Christ parted from it and kept to immersion when the Disciples of Christ opened their membership. Its plea is "No creed but Christ": no confession beyond the Good Confession, and no convention, magazine, or agency with any authority over it. Each congregation is overseen by its elders, served by deacons, and ordains its own ministers, most of them called by the elders out of the movement's Bible colleges. Believers are immersed for the forgiveness of sins, and the Lord's Supper is kept every Sunday near the centre of the service, open to all who believe, presided over by an elder and passed by elders and deacons or picked up on the way in. Some congregations have women elders or ministers, most do not. About 4,800 to 5,000 congregations and 1.2 to 1.4 million people in the US, from megachurches to many small town churches (estimates from the unofficial Directory of the Ministry and the 2020 US Religion Census).

All 80 traditions · its profile in Faiths and traditions, with how to play it; How people feel, what every factor is.

At a glance

Faith	Christianity
Its words	church, church, sanctuary; the minister leads the service; the sermon; Sunday; the Bible
Worship	balanced focus, reserved, low formality (0.33 of 1); seated on pews
Music	gospel organ discouraged; piano expected; chant discouraged
The room's sound	no strong preference
Its year	western; minimal observance; fasts none
Leans	conservative on moral questions, conservative on economic ones
Polity	independent; leaders come by call; property local
Leaders	one leader, full time, trained by college; marriage any
Belonging	moderate commitment, pastoral discipline, admitted by clergy
Giving	tithing taught; collected by plate, online
Way of life	alcohol abstinence, dress church clothes, sabbath relaxed

The week's services

Day	Time	Service	Led by	People look for it
Sunday	10:30 am	Worship around the Lord's table	the minister	expected
Sunday	6:00 pm	Preaching service	the minister	optional
Wednesday	7:00 pm	Prayer meeting and Bible study	the minister	optional

Leader: a minister. With none (a vacancy, or no one hired), the services are still held, but each costs everyone at it 0.10; on sabbatical a supply minister stands in ($800 a month) for a little less.
Communion (every week), passed among the people: nothing needs to be placed to serve it. People receive from age 11; anyone younger who comes forward is blessed instead.
Baptism: needs a baptistry or an immersion font, built and installed; until there is one, those wanting baptism wait.
Lay helpers at each service: Required: 2 communion servers (at communion); Expected: a Scripture reader.

Rites

Child Dedication (per birth, +0.02 to those there): Parents bring their baby to the front, promise to raise the child in the faith, and the minister prays a blessing over the family while the congregation promises to support them.
Revival (yearly, +0.03 to those there): A week of nightly meetings with a guest evangelist, rousing music and an invitation every night, held to renew the church and win new converts.
Ordination to the Ministry (on request, +0.02 to those there): The congregation, which alone ordains in these churches, sets apart a minister it has called, often a Bible college graduate: the elders, with ministers the candidate asks to join them, lay hands on the candidate and pray. No wider body examines or confirms it.

Baptism, confirmation, and joining

Baptized elsewhere: it recognizes a believer's baptism in the name of the Trinity (not one given as a baby). Someone so baptized is received at a service after about 2 weeks (a week from another of its churches).
Not baptized (or baptized where it doesn't recognize it): a candidate who is baptized and received at the same service.
Joining age: children baptized as believers are members at once.
The church's children are baptized as believers at about 10, most within a year or two of it.
Kinds of belonging: members (votes, may hold office); received by the minister.
What it means: being baptized, confirmed, or received is worth +0.1 to the person, +0.05 to family there, and +0.03 to everyone else at the service. It roots them: a rooted household drifts away only 0.6 times as often, and if it does fall away, it has a 25% chance of coming home each Christmas Eve and Easter for ten years.

Giving, and what goes up

How its people give and what else comes in, as Money explains it for every faith.

How it's given: the offering, by a plate passed at each main service, and giving online. A visiting household puts $5 to $25 in the plate. Those who give online give whether or not they come (8% more a month).
Fundraisers: only the modest ones (below).
Owed above: nothing: it has no wider body.

The minister, the staff, and who decides

How the minister comes: advertised and called: the elders votes, consulting the members.
Paid: full time.
Candidates: three apply; trained at college (a little less skilled; they ask 95%); women among them where the congregation ordains them; most married.
Tenure: settled for about 11 years, then may be called elsewhere.
Staff it can hire or name (see Staff and volunteers):
- Bivocational minister ($22,000–$38,000; cares for 75)
- Minister ($55,000–$85,000 + $18,000 benefits, full time; cares for 150)
- Associate minister ($42,000–$62,000 + $15,000 benefits, full time; cares for 100 more)
- Deacon (up to $6,000; from the members; cares for 30 more)
- Choir director / organist / pianist ($15,000–$35,000; leads the music (up to +0.06))
- Caretaker ($18,000–$30,000; slows the building's wear)
- Church secretary ($20,000–$35,000; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once))
- Youth director ($20,000–$40,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
Its boards: the elders (deciding, over everything); the deacons (advising, over the building).
Renovations: The elders votes.
New construction: The members vote.
Calling a leader: The elders votes, consulting the members.
Who votes: members, 16 and over.

Life together

What its Community screen offers it, with the dilemmas only its own faith or family meets; see The congregation in its community.

Ministries of its own: Choir.
Ministries every tradition can run that it's offered: Blood drive, Food pantry, Health clinic, Preschool, Youth group.
Fundraisers of its own: Soup supper.
Shared fundraisers it may hold (only the modest ones): Bake sale, Car wash, Raffle, Rummage sale.
Tenants it can take: A Masonic lodge, A scout troop, A twelve-step group, Another congregation, Dance classes, Parties and receptions.
Auxiliaries: the youth group's summer conference.
Outreach: invitation Sunday, a revival, planting a new church (Community → Evangelism).
Dilemmas of its own faith (besides those every congregation meets): A petition for cushions, The bells, again.
Dilemmas its code of life brings: A raffle for the roof, A recruiter asks for the hall, Champagne at the reception.

What the building needs

required BaptistryBeliever's baptism by immersion needs a baptistry: a tank large enough for an adult, with plumbing to fill and drain it.
required Communion tableThe Lord's Supper is served from a communion table, recalling the table of the Last Supper.
required PulpitWord and sacrament share the focus: a pulpit for preaching alongside the altar.
expected Communion traysThe bread and cup are carried to the pews in trays and passed along the rows.
expected LecternScripture readings are traditionally read from a lectern.
expected Upright pianoThe congregation expects singing led from a piano.
discouraged CrucifixThis tradition uses an empty cross, proclaiming the risen Christ, rather than a crucifix.
discouraged Flag of the churchThis tradition doesn't fly a flag in worship.
discouraged Flaming chaliceThe flaming chalice is another tradition's symbol.
discouraged Hammond organA gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
discouraged IconIcons are not part of this tradition's worship.
discouraged StatueStatues are not part of this tradition's worship space.

What people here feel

Architectural style: Colonial brick +0.052; Modern synagogue +0.034; Gurdwara +0.028; Japanese temple +0.016; Islamic +0.01; Shinto shrine +0.01; Chinese temple +0.004; Dravidian temple -0.002; Nagara temple -0.002; Thai temple -0.002; Jain marble -0.008; Gothic -0.014.
Building fit: up to ±0.15 for everyone, the average fit of the characterful items in its worship rooms (the table below).
Acoustics: it wants a room between ringing and dry, about 2.2 seconds of reverberation: neither bare stone nor a carpeted low room. Up to ±0.05.
Seasonal decor: it keeps the church year: paraments and the season's decor are worth up to ±0.013.
The sermon lands by its topic and the tradition's leaning (below); the minister's preaching adds or costs up to 0.08 more.
Communion: each communion service runs longer; a slow one costs 0.05 for every 10 minutes the service runs over (0.2 at most).

How each sermon lands

The topics its leader can choose from (some are only for one faith or family), and what each is worth.

Fire & Brimstone+0.08
Marriage as God Designed+0.06
Sanctity of Life+0.06
The Last Days+0.06
Faith & Family+0.04
Faith of Our Fathers+0.04
Obedience & Discipline+0.04
Personal Holiness+0.04
Resisting Temptation+0.04
Spiritual Warfare+0.04
The Authority of Scripture+0.04
The Great Commission+0.04
Biblical Stories+0.015
Blessed Are the Peacemakers+0.015
Called by Name+0.015
Doubt & Faith+0.015
Eternal Life & Resurrection+0.015
Grace & Forgiveness+0.015
Gratitude+0.015
Hope & Comfort+0.015
Joy in All Things+0.015
Love One Another+0.015
Sabbath Rest+0.015
Saints & Witnesses+0.015
Servant Leadership+0.015
Songs of the Psalms+0.015
Stewardship & Generosity+0.015
The Church Year+0.015
The Life of Prayer+0.015
The Parables of Jesus+0.015
Care for Creation-0.05
Healing for All-0.05
Interfaith Understanding-0.05
Reading Scripture in Context-0.05
Swords into Ploughshares-0.05
The Prophets' Call-0.05
Wealth & Poverty-0.05
Welcome the Stranger-0.05
Women Who Led-0.05
Racial Justice & Reconciliation-0.075
Radical Inclusion-0.075
Social Justice Call-0.075

Every item, for this tradition

Fit runs from −1 (jars) to +1 (just right); the building fit is the average over the characterful items in the worship rooms. An item with no character (a table, a toilet) has no fit. A rule applies wherever the item is.

Item	Fit	Rule
Seating
Box pew	-0.333
Choir stalls	-0.167
Meeting bench	no fit
Oak pew	no fit
Row of chairs	+0.333
Liturgical furniture
Altar	-0.333
Baptismal font	-0.333
Baptistry	no fit	required Believer's baptism by immersion needs a baptistry: a tank large enough for an adult, with plumbing to fill and drain it.
Bishop's chair	-0.333
Brass eagle lectern	-0.333
Columbarium niches	-0.333
Communion rail	-0.333
Communion station	no fit
Communion table	no fit	required The Lord's Supper is served from a communion table, recalling the table of the Last Supper.
Communion trays	no fit	expected The bread and cup are carried to the pews in trays and passed along the rows.
Confessional screen	no fit
Coptic cross	0
Epitaphios	-1
Flaming chalice	-1	discouraged The flaming chalice is another tradition's symbol.
Foot-washing basins	no fit
Haikal screen	-1
Iconostasis	-1
Immersion font	-0.333
Lectern	no fit	expected Scripture readings are traditionally read from a lectern.
Litany desk	-0.333
Mercy seat	no fit
Octagonal stone font	-0.333
Paraments	no fit
Pulpit	no fit	required Word and sacrament share the focus: a pulpit for preaching alongside the altar.
Readers' desks	no fit
Rood screen	-1
Sanctuary lamp	-0.333
Tabernacle	-0.333
Three-bar cross	0
Thurible and stand	no fit
Music
Brass band stands	0
Chanter's stand	-0.667
Drum kit	+0.167
Electronic organ	0
Grand piano	+1
Hammond organ	-1	discouraged A gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Handbell table	0
Pipe organ	-0.167
Sound system	+0.167
Upright piano	+1	expected The congregation expects singing led from a piano.
Decor
Advent wreath	no fit
Banner	0
Christmas Eve candles	no fit
Cross	0
Crucifix	-1	discouraged This tradition uses an empty cross, proclaiming the risen Christ, rather than a crucifix.
Easter lilies	no fit
Eternal flame	no fit
Flag of the church	-1	discouraged This tradition doesn't fly a flag in worship.
Great dome	-0.333
Icon	-1	discouraged Icons are not part of this tradition's worship.
Memorial plaque	no fit
National flag	0
Painting of Christ	0
Paschal candle	no fit
Plain spire	no fit
Small dome	no fit
Stained glass window	-0.333
Statue	-1	discouraged Statues are not part of this tradition's worship space.
Steeple and bells	-0.333
Votive candle stand	no fit
Furnishings
Alms box	no fit
Coffee pot	no fit
Commercial coffee pot	no fit
Computer	no fit
Crib	no fit
Desk	no fit
Desk chair	no fit
Folding table	no fit
Full-length mirror	no fit
Pillar	-0.333
Prie-dieu	-0.333
Projection screen	+0.333
Vestment cabinet	-0.333
Wooden table	no fit
Utility
A/V rack	no fit
Camera	no fit
Cast-iron boiler	no fit
Central air conditioner	no fit
Commercial HVAC plant	no fit
Commercial stove	no fit
Congregation van	no fit
Ductless heat pump	no fit
Electric wall heater	no fit
Gas furnace	no fit
Hearing loop	no fit
Lift	no fit
Packaged heat pump	no fit
Plumbing stack	no fit
Ramp	no fit
Shuttle bus	no fit
Sink	no fit
Solar panels	no fit
Stairs	no fit
Toilet	no fit
Used school bus	no fit
Wall camera	no fit
Window air conditioner	no fit
Grounds
Evergreen tree	no fit
Flower bed	no fit
Fountain	no fit
Garden bench	no fit
Hedge	no fit
Lychgate	-0.333
Playground	no fit
Shade tree	no fit
Standing cross	no fit

Variants

Chosen when you found the church:

Contemporary: its own services: Worship around the Lord's table, sunday at 10:30 am; Worship around the Lord's table, sunday at 9:00 am; Worship around the Lord's table, saturday at 5:00 pm; its own school, formality, expression, altar call, seating; its own sacraments (and so its own font or baptistry); its own music; its own lifestyle; its own giving; its own leaders

Sources

Henry E. Webb, Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement (2004) (link)
Wikipedia, Christian churches and churches of Christ (link)
Kent E. Fillinger, Noninstrumental Churches of Christ Facing Uncertain Future, Christian Standard (2021) (link)
Kent E. Fillinger, Communion Survey Results: Prepackaged Cups Widely Used, Christian Standard (2022) (link)
Kent E. Fillinger, The Role of Women from the Resurrection to Today, Christian Standard (2020) (link)
Southeast Christian Church, Who we are and Baptism (link)
Christ's Church of the Valley, Our beliefs and Baptism (link)
Christian Standard, 2024 Fast Facts From Christian Standard Church Report (2025) (link)
Justin Horey, We've Become Leaders in Church Planting, Christian Standard (2016) (link)
First Christian Church, London, Kentucky, About us (link)