About: 250 pastors have expressed interest ir joining Christ’s Church Fellowship (CCF), a new fellowship of churches emerging from the Restoration movement The movement, which began in the mid-1800s with the purpose of restoring New Testament Christianity, has three streams—Churches of Christ, noninstrumental Churches of Christ, and Disciples of Christ—as well as many smaller tributaries.
The CCF logo will soon appear in front of churches around the country, including Cincinnati, Charlotte, and Colorado Springs. In its doctrinal statement, CCF reaffirms “the present ministry of the Holy Spirit,” asserting that “all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are operative today.” According to Restoration theology, such manifestations ended with the apostolic era.
Another CCF distinctive is its proposal for an “apostolic ministry team” to assist local congregations with pastoral counseling, education, missions, and other functions. In contrast, Restoration theology upholds the autonomy and independence of local churches.
“We were all pastors sharing a similar heritage who had come into a fuller expression of the Holy Spirit than we had been taught would ever happen,” said Tom Smith, CCF president and pastor of Fellowship Christian Church in Cincinnati.
The new denomination evolved largely out of the Conference on Spiritual Renewal, an informal network of Restoration pastors who have met in national conferences since 1980 to discuss spiritual renewal. In recent months, CCF leaders have held information meetings in Cincinnati, Charlotte, and Colorado Springs to explain their calling and invite others to join them. Among their recruits are pastors dismissed from their churches after attending renewal meetings.
CCF’s critics from within the traditional Restoration movement oppose both the new denomination’s charismatic spiritual leanings and its church structure. Addressing critics, Grant Edwards, CCF secretary/treasurer and pastor of Fellowship Christian Church in Springfield, Ohio, noted that traditional Restoration churches are antidenominational. “When you start talking about a structure that ties churches together,” he said, “you’re striking at the root of what they’re not.”
By Steve Rabey.
