No love for the Restorationists, Tom?
RESTORATIONIST
44.5% Churches of Christ
43.1% Christian Churches and churches of Christ
12.4% Disciples of Christ
I actually just lost track and hit post too early! I even called out the “Seven Sisters” and only posted six, lol. Thanks for posting.
EDIT: Even as I have become interested in theology and done a lot of research … I’m still not sure I understand the differences between the first two!
Each of these three groups trace their heritage to the unified Stone-Campbell movement of the 1830s. After the Civil War, divisions began to arise over various issues, especially the establishment of missionary societies and the use of instrumental music in worship services. By 1906, the movement had primarily split into two groups, the Disciples of Christ and the Churches of Christ, the latter of which mostly rejected instrumental worship and the sponsorship of institutions (i.e., bible colleges, missionary societies, etc.)
Both groups were still fully congregational, but the 20th century saw the more institutionally-focused Disciples of Christ move toward a more liberal theology. Conservatives reacted by organizing through groups like the North American Christian Convention, which met annually from 1951 and 2018. By the 1960s, the rift had grown to the point where both sides were pushing for a reorganization, which came officially in 1968. Liberal churches within the Disciples of Christ officially restructured under a denominational structure, while conservatives left to remain non-denominational (i.e., "the Christian Churches.")
In many places, the Christian Churches eventually folded back into the (non-instrumental) Churches of Christ. But those that remained separate are still distinguished by their practice of instrumental worship. From what I can know, the non-instrumental branch is dominant in the South while the instrumental branch is more heavily focused in the Midwest. However, there are some areas where both groups are still relevant as seperate entities (i.e., Tennessee and Kentucky.) I remember my grandma's small town (of 300 people!) having both an instrumental and non-instrumental Church of Christ literally on the same block, LOL. One really only now sees the Disciples of Christ in cities/suburbs.
