Chalice

Communion

"At the table of the Lord we celebrate with thanksgiving the saving acts and presence of Christ" -- From the Preamble of the Design for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Sharing in the Lord's Supper is at the heart of what members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) do when they gather for worship. Generally each week there will be the singing of hymns, prayers, the reading of scripture, and a sermon. But without the Lord's Supper (or communion, as it is often called), worship would be incomplete. A marked characteristic of Disciples is an emphasis upon the importance of the Lord's Supper as a basic part of weekly worship.

While the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox church bodies had preserved such an emphasis, most other groups regularly observed the Lord's Supper only monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually. The Disciples movement, however, stemming as it did from impatience with sectarian church divisions on the American frontier in the early 1800s, from its beginning sought to stress the fundamental place of the Lord's Supper in worship and to observe it each Lord's Day.

The early leaders of the Disciples movement sought to cut through the many layers of tradition which separated various church bodies from one another by recovering the essential faith and practices of the early church as seen in the New Testament.

In regard to the Lord's Supper, two scripture passages caught their attention. In Acts 2:42, following the account of the birth of the church at Pentecost, the writer says that "they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." The "apostles' teaching" was regarded as being the equivalent of a sermon from scripture and "the breaking of bread" as an expression for sharing in the Lord's Supper. In Acts 20:7 the writer was regarded as referring to the custom of gathering each Sunday for the Lord's Supper when commenting, "On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them...."

Modern-day Disciples, though less interested in arguing from proof-texts, still call attention to the earliest recorded traditions of the church which clearly indicate that the sermon and the Lord's Supper were integral to Sunday worship. Today, through a renewed interest in the history of worship in the early church, there is general agreement among Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans, and Protestants that preaching from holy scripture and sharing in the Lord's Supper have been a regular part of Sunday worship from earliest times.

The observance of the Lord's Supper reaches back to the upper room where Jesus met with his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion. At that moment, before he was taken prisoner, tried, and nailed to a cross, Jesus sought through vivid imagery and dramatic action to express the meaning of his life and the events in which he was involved. What he said and did is recorded in the first three Gospels as well as in the Apostle Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians. Paul writes:

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11: 23-26)

From these accounts we see that Jesus sought to focus the meaning of his life for his followers in these words and actions which could be repeated again and again as they continued to gather in his name. Even before the New Testament scriptures were written down and collected in a book, Christians were gathering regularly to remember Christ by repeating his words and actions given in the upper room. Those words now recorded in the New Testament call each generation to continue what Jesus instituted for his followers. Because Jesus commanded his followers to continue this practice, Disciples call the Lord's Supper one of Jesus' ordinances.

At first Christians partook of the bread and cup as a part of a common meal known as a love feast. Soon, however, the meal was discontinued and the bread and cup became the focal point of their regular worship service.

Today, among Disciples congregations, a communion table will be found in the sanctuary located in a prominent place, indicating the importance of the Lord's Supper in their worship.

Often across the front edge of the table are the words "Do This in Remembrance of Me," calling attention to the unique purpose of this particular table.

Remembrance is at the heart of the Lord's Supper. However, it is a special kind of remembrance. A review of the words of institution given us by the Apostle Paul reminds us of the meaning of Christian remembrance about the Lord's Table.

The remembrance is one of action. "Do this in remembrance of me," Jesus commands. Communion is not simply a guided meditation of the mind. The congregation acts out the high drama of Christ's meaning for Christians. Jesus, in giving his disciples this special meal, took four actions which are still repeated by his followers today. He took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, and shared it with the disciples. He repeated these actions in like manner with the cup. A part of present-day remembering includes participation in these actions which, as the Apostle Paul says, "proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." Remembrance involves the eye, ear, nose, tongue, hands---the whole person. In the act of remembering we become personally involved in reenacting something of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The action of the Lord's Supper is one of thankful remembrance. Before Jesus broke the bread and shared the cup, he gave thanks. This was much like a common table grace given before the partaking of a meal. In Jewish tradition that thanksgiving took the form of recalling with gratitude the great saving deeds of God. The remembrance has the aura of the victory---God has won over every human foe. In this sense it is a joyous celebration of the redeeming power of God.

By the use of broken bread and poured out wine Jesus clearly intended to remind his followers of his sacrificial death upon a cross on behalf of all the world. In the prayers of thanksgiving at the Lord's Table grateful reference is made to the gift of bread which reminds us of Christ's body broken for us. We refer to the gift of wine which, like Christ's blood, was poured out for many. We rejoice that we share in Christ's effective sacrifice for our salvation. We celebrate the love of God experienced in Christ Jesus and know that nothing in all the world can ever separate us from that love.

It is apparent, then, that the remembrance of God's love known in Christ goes far beyond thoughts of Christ's crucifixion alone. His whole life of loving care for others comes to mind---his incisive teachings his merciful healings, his acceptance into fellowship of the unloved and unlovely, his championing of the powerless and oppressed, his unbreakable love for friends, and his forgiveness even of those who killed him. Beyond the agony of the cross we recall the good news of Easter---that life, for Christ and for us, does not end with the grave but finds fulfillment in eternal fellowship. Bright hope touches the dim recesses of the heart with new confidence that every evil shall be vanquished and God's purpose for creation shall be fulfilled.

Ultimately, then, we celebrate with thanksgiving every loving act of God. With Christ as the clue to the way God works redemptively in all of life toward creation we gratefully recall those personal events in our own lives which reveal the touch of the Master's hand.

Because the whole theme of celebrating the Lord's Supper is one of thanksgiving, many church bodies refer to this celebration as the Eucharist, taking its name from the Greek word for thanksgiving.

Traditionally the Disciples of Christ have been hesitant to speak of the Lord's Supper as a sacrament. They believed that some who regarded the Lord's Supper as a sacrament attributed supernatural powers to the elements of bread and wine. It may be true that Jesus said that "he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life (John 6:54)," but Jesus often spoke in lively metaphor. The meaning for us is expanded when we understand that Jesus spoke in these symbolic terms.

Although impatient with theological conjectures explaining how communion elements become Christ's body, there has been little doubt among Disciples as to the reality of the living Christ's presence among those who share in the Lord's Supper. The Lord makes himself known to persons in a variety of circumstances. Characteristically he is known in the sharing together of the Lord's Supper. If a sacrament is, as some say, "an outward and visible sign of the Lord's invisible grace," Disciples have no particular problem with speaking of the Lord's Supper as a sacrament.

Somehow the act of remembering in the Lord's Supper is more than pious thoughts about the Jesus of long ago. Through these actions the Lord makes himself known as a present living reality to his people. It happens today much as it happened to those disciples of long ago, who, despondently walking along toward Emmaus in the days following Christ's crucifixion, invited a stranger to have supper with them. "When he was at the table with them," Luke writes, "he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight" (Luke 24:30-31). In the breaking of bread Christ still gives himself to his people.

Ultimately worshipers discover that the Lord's Supper is not so much something they do as it is something that God does for them. Through these actions God's love is expressed; here God speaks and acts afresh in human lives. Each time believers share in the Lord's Supper they open up a fresh opportunity for the Lord to be made known to them.

To those who gather at this table the Lord speaks meaningfully about their sins. At one point in our lives we are baptized, consciously accepting Jesus as the Christ, our Lord and Savior and vowing to follow him. We meant it then and we still mean it. But we are ever conscious of failing to live up to our vows. Our self-centeredness, our pride, our natural bent to sinning have continued and we know ourselves to be guilty of harming others and betraying our Lord. We are penitent but often continue to carry the weight of a guilty conscience.

The time of communion within the Lord's Supper is a weekly occasion to let Christ lift the burden of guilt from our shoulders and to free us by his grace for a more loving existence. Matthew's gospel says that when Jesus took a cup at the last supper he told his disciples, "Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:27-28). When we share in the Lord's Supper we hear afresh Christ's promise of forgiveness that was sealed by his death on a cross for each of us. The very lifting of the communion cup to our lips can be a sign for us that our lives are freed from guilt. We are forgiven. We are freed to love even as Christ loves us.

Persons outside the Disciples tradition sometimes question the weekly observance of the Lord's Supper on the basis that it may become little more than a thoughtless ritual. To partake less frequently with more deliberate and searching preparation would seem to make it more meaningful. Those leading worship among the Disciples seek to lift up its meaning afresh each week through a brief meditation. In reality the weekly observance keeps its freshness largely because a worshiper comes to the table each time in a different frame of mind with new experiences, aspirations, and needs to share with the living Christ. There would seem to be no more reason to question the weekly meeting with one's Lord about his table than it would be to question daily prayer with him.

Within the Disciples of Christ it is customary to say that Christ is the host at the communion table. It is the Lord's Supper, and we come at his invitation. Therefore no other person has the right to offer that invitation or to bar anyone from sharing in it. Leaders of the service often recite the words of Paul ( 1 Cor. 11:27-30) where the apostle urges that worshipers examine themselves and become aware of the body of Christ so they can eat and drink the bread and wine. The general practice among Disciples, as in other churches, is for persons not to partake until they have confessed faith in Christ and been baptized.

Christians of any persuasion are free to share in the Lord's Supper. This is in keeping with the Disciples' concern for the unity of the church. They believe the Lord's Supper should be seen as a means of reconciling Christians to one another so as to bring about the unity of Christ's church. It seems scandalous to many that Christians who give a common loyalty to Christ cannot as yet all come about a common table to share in Christ's sacred meal. It is not surprising that it was a Disciples minister who initiated the annual observance of World Communion Sunday, the first Sunday in October, as an occasion each year when all Christians could sense their bonds of kinship about their separate tables.

One of the issues which divides Christians concerning the Lord's Supper is the question of who has the authority to preside at the table. Generally among the churches of the world only ordained ministers are authorized to offer the prayer of thanksgiving. Even then there are such disagreements in regard to the proper ordaining of ministers that some church bodies do not recognize the ordination of others. Some Christians are instructed not to partake of the Lord's Supper from non-recognized ministers. Ministers may not be permitted to share the communion elements with members of some other branches of the church. Such is the present disarray of Christ's followers in regard to the central act of Christian worship.

Early in their history, the Disciples of Christ developed a new pattern for religious leadership in their congregations. Lay elders, members of the congregation chosen by the people themselves, were given the responsibility of presiding at the table and offering the communion prayers. Thoughtfully chosen, they are set apart for ministerial functions such as praying at the Lord's Table and pastoral care of members. Their authority to lead in the observance of the Lord's Supper remains a puzzling question to some church bodies.

To the Disciples the simple and thoughtful expressions of grateful remembrance offered by the elders each Sunday seem appropriate and satisfying. The elders are their representatives, people like themselves, who gather from a week of work to lift thankful hearts to God in remembrance of the saving work of Christ. Ties of common experience closely bind member to member, and Christ is known afresh as each week this ordinance is observed in the Christian Churches throughout the world.

Baptism

Disciples typically are baptized when they can express as a personal choice their desire to become part of the Body of Christ. Disciples call the practice "believer's baptism." As the believer is immersed, she is baptized in the name of the Trinity. It is customary for the minister to use the words "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

Infant dedication is a common Disciples tradition. A baby is brought into the environment of a loving church where parents and congregation pledge themselves to nurture the child in the love of Christ. An infant so dedicated "confirms" that dedication with a faith-response usually during the early teenage years, about the same time when many Disciples are baptized.

Most Disciples today recognize other forms of baptism as valid. A person baptized in another Christian tradition wishing to join a Disciples congregation is simply asked: "Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and proclaim him Lord and Savior of your life?" The person who answers, "I do," is welcomed into the congregation.

Salvation

The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.  Then he brought them outside and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"  They answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." – Acts 16: 30-31

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. – John 3: 16-17

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?"  Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." – Acts 2: 37-38

"The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, "No one who believes in him will be put to shame." – Romans 10: 8b-11.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. – Ephesians 2: 8

. . . Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. – Acts 2: 21

So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.  All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them.  I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture." – John 10: 8-9

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." – John 14: 6

There is salvation in no one else [Jesus], for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved. – Acts 4:12

History

Some key persons and dates in the church's development:
Presbyterian minister Barton W. Stone was born in Port Tobacco, Maryland, December 24, 1772.  He died in Hannibal Missouri, November 9, 1844.  Stone was educated as a school teacher and entered the ministry through the Presbyterian Church. He served a church in Cane Ridge Kentucky, and after hosting the historic Cane Ridge Revival of 1801, (also see pages on the Cane Ridge Meeting House and Shrine ) he and several others formed the Springfield Presbytery denouncing all human creeds and appealing to the Bible as the only rule of faith and practice.

They soon dissolved the Springfield Presbytery, and published the Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery, one of the documents the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) considers key in its development.  They dissolved their denominational ties to enter into unity with "the body of Christ at large."   They called themselves, simply, "Christians."

Thomas Campbell was born in County Down, Ireland, February 1, 1763. He died in Bethany, Virginia (now West Virginia), January 4, 1854. He came to America from Scotland in 1807.  He was chastised by Pennsylvania church authorities for refusing to use Presbyterian creeds as terms of communion. In 1808 he and others founded the Christian Association of Washington, Pennsylvania. That group adopted the  motto, well-known by Disciples, "Where the scriptures speak, we speak; where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent." 

Campbell and others were called "Reformers," for their desire to restore the Church's first century roots. This way of life came to be known as the "Restoration Movement." 

Near Washington, Pennsylvania, Campbell and his son, Alexander, and the Christian Association established the Brush Run Church, which, in 1815, became part of a nearby Baptist Association. 

Reformers and the Baptists differed on key issues.  By 1830, the Reformers cut their last ties with the Baptist Association and became known as "Disciples." 

Thomas Campbell's passion for Christian unity is summed up in his proclamation that :   "The church of Christ upon earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one." This statement is the first and key proposition of Thomas Campbell's Declaration and Address, a work called by some the "Magna Charta" of the movement that preceded the denomination known as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Alexander Campbell was born September 12, 1788 in the County of Antrim, Ireland. He was raised as a Presbyterian. He attended the University of Glasgow, Scotland.

In 1809, Alexander arrived in America from Scotland, and joined his father, Thomas, in western Pennsylvania.  He carefully read and fully endorsed the principles of Thomas' Declaration and Address.  Biographer Nathaniel Haynes says that Thomas and Alexander Campbell were "one in their aims, spirit and work."

The younger Campbell was a prolific writer.  In 1823, he founded the periodical The Christian Baptist.  After the Reformers dissolved ties with the Baptists, Campbell founded a new publication called The Millennial Harbinger.  He was a talented debater, and in 1829 drew attention to the Restoration Movement in a widely known debate with social reformer Robert Owen. In 1837, he engaged the Roman Catholic John B. Purcell, archbishop of Cincinnati, in a widely publicized eight day debate on the traditions and beliefs of the Catholic Church. 

His public speaking skills, writing, and articulation of the place of reason (but not pure rationalism) in Christian faith propelled him into the leadership of the "Disciples of Christ."

A dedicated scholar and educator, Alexander Campbell founded Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1840 and served as the school's first president.

1832

The "Christians" and the "Disciples of Christ" agreed on basic beliefs and aims and united with a formal handshake in Lexington, Kentucky, and created a new Christian movement on the American frontier.

1832-1968

The "Christians" and the "Disciples of Christ" functioned and grew as a "movement," often referred to as the "Stone-Campbell movement." During this period, Disciples often described the relationship of the Christians and the Disciples of Christ as a "brotherhood." In 1960, the Commission on Brotherhood Restructure started the task of designing a new form of organization. Throughout the 20th century, American Asian, Hispanic and African American Disciples congregations multiplied. 

1968-

A representative assembly meeting in Kansas City overwhelmingly approved the Provisional Design for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Church historian D. Duane Cummins writes: "Approval of the Provisional Design marked the passage of the Disciples into denominational maturity. Officially named the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), they became a church."

Beliefs & Practices

Jesus Christ is the son of the Living God, and offers saving grace to all

All persons are God's children

Beliefs and practices usually associated with Disciples include:

Open Communion. The Lord’s Supper, or Communion is celebrated in weekly worship. It is open to all who believe in Jesus Christ.
Freedom of belief. Disciples are called together around one essential of faith: belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Persons are free to follow their consciences guided by the Bible, the Holy Spirit study and prayer, and are expected to extend that freedom to others.

Baptism by immersion. In baptism the old self-centered life is set aside, and a new life of trust in God begins. Although Disciples practice baptism by immersion, other baptism traditions are honored.

Belief in the oneness of the church. All Christians are called to be one in Christ and to seek opportunities for common witness and service.

The ministry of believers. Both ministers and lay persons lead in worship, service and spiritual growth.

Practices

It is no simple task to summarize what members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) believe. In his book We Call Ourselves Disciples, General Minister and President Emeritus Dr. Kenneth Teegarden explains:

"Disciples always have opposed...the use of creeds to exclude persons from the church. It was (the) use of creeds as 'tests of fellowship' that the Disciples' founding fathers fingered as the major cause of division among Christians...(So) unlike most other churches, we Disciples do not have an official doctrinal statement we can refer to when someone asks, 'What does the Christian Church believe?'"

"For many years, The Christian Evangelist,a forerunner of our present journal The Disciple, carried a maxim in its masthead: 'In essentials, unity: in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity.' It expresses the cherished conviction that liberty should be allowed in the nonessential areas into which most creedal statements roam."

A widely-known slogan among Disciples claims "No Creed but Christ." That conviction is borne out in the manner in which persons come to be a part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Dr. Teegarden goes on to say:

"Standing before a congregation of Disciples to confess faith in Jesus Christ and become part of the church, a person is asked only one question. It is usually phrased, 'Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and do you accept him as your personal Savior?' The person who responds, 'I do,' might have recently completed a church membership course. If so, the instruction will not have been to transmit a system of doctrines. In fact, a person who is comfortable with a dogmatic approach would be disappointed in the Christian Church."

"We Disciples have beliefs and practices in common with all sorts of Christians. These apparent similarities sometimes are superficial, sometimes fundamental. We baptize by immersion, so we look like Baptists. We have Communion every Sunday, so we look a bit like Roman Catholics. We stress the ministry of the laity, so we look a little like Quakers. Our congregations call their pastors rather than accepting assigned ministers, so in that respect we look like Presbyterians. We rely heavily on preaching and teaching, so we look somewhat like Methodists. We have congregational government, so we look a lot like the United Church of Christ."

While Disciples honor no human-made creed, the preamble to a document called The Design for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) poetically and prayerfully expresses our shared affirmations in this way:

"As members of the Christian Church, we confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and proclaim him Lord and Savior of the world.
In Christ's name and by his grace we accept our mission of witness and service to all people. 
We rejoice in God, maker of heaven and earth, and in the covenant of love which binds us to God and to one another.

Through baptism into Christ we enter into newness of life and are made one with the whole people of God.

In the communion of the Holy Spirit we are joined together in discipleship and in obedience to Christ.

At the table of the Lord we celebrate with thanksgiving the saving acts and presence of Christ.

Within the universal church we receive the gift of ministry and the light of scripture.

In the bonds of Christian faith we yield ourselves to God that we may serve the One whose kingdom has no end.

Blessing, glory and honor be to God forever. Amen."