Who are We?
Who are we?
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a church centered on Jesus Christ and grounded in the Bible. We have no "creeds" or tests of fellowship. An old phrase, "no creed but Christ," summarizes the general understanding of our simple, New Testament faith.
We do not accept or practice heavy-handed doctrines or dogmas, believing that Christians are empowered and guided by the Holy Spirit to read, study and apply God's word in scripture. We celebrate and encourage diversity of opinion, focusing on the centrality of Christ as the essential element of Christian faith. In Christ, all are equal and equally loved by God.
We center our life and worship on communion. When Christ broke the bread and gave the cup, we believe he was defining a new community centered in fellowship around the Table of Grace and lived in God's eternal love expressed at that table. Communion is served at every Sunday service of worship. The table is also central to our identity as a community of faith. The table symbolizes welcome to all humanity; God's compassion for each person, God's mercy for all sinners and God's love for you.
We practice believers baptism by immersion, understanding that to be a biblical model of Christian baptism. This simply means that one is baptized as an older adolescent or adult only after she or he is able to make an informed and conscious choice to accept Jesus Christ as Lord, Savior and friend. Baptism then is done by full, bodily immersion into water for the forgiveness of sins and participation in the death, burial, resurrection, and eternal life of Jesus Christ. We do, however, believe that baptism is an act of God, not of humanity and therefore we accept, by transfer of membership, accepted forms of Christian baptism, including infant baptism.
Although not to be considered a creed, we use as a guideline and framework, the Preamble to the Design for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Many Disciples use it as a way of expressing their understanding of the faith.