No Creed But Christ - Restoration MovementThe forum for members of the restoration movement including Disciples of Christ, Church of Christ, and Independent Christian Churches.
Hello, DL! Sorry to see that you had some bad experiences with the ICOC, but I'm very glad that you're willing to look into the RM. The one thing that takes a religion and turns it into a cult is control; whatever its intentions, the ICOC ultimately became a cult. RM churches are not, as a rule, cults, but since they are autonomous (self-ruling), I'm sure there are some individual exceptions.
The one RM offshoot you don't mention is the Christian church. Very similar to the churches of Christ, except that the majority of CoC denominations are non-instrumental while most Christian churches use instruments. You'll also find that the typical Christian church, while not exactly pentecostal, is more spirit-led than the CofC and has the stronger sense of worship. The CofC is very left-brained, and stronger in bible study. These are just my observations (opinions), of course. I know very little about the DoC so I won't comment there.
A couple of questions about the Restoration Movement
Hi – new guy here.
I have done just a little bit of reading into the Restoration Movement. I find the founding principles interesting. Both my wife and I were involved in the International Church of Christ for a short time before we were married.
The things we liked about the ICOC seem to be directly related to what I am seeing in the Restoration Movement, but the ICOC at the time we were involved seemed to over emphasize a heavy handed shepherding element that over took all the very positive elements we really enjoyed.
Since then we have searched for a Christian community that has all the wonderful aspects of the ICOC but not what we perceived as negatives. I did not know that the ICOC grew out of this Restoration Movement until I came here and started reading about it.
So my questions are – besides the Churches of Christ and Disciples of Christ what other name can I look for in my location for a Church community that is involved in the Restoration Movement?
And, what are the Restoration Movements views on the more demonstrative gifts of the Spirit?
I have done just a little bit of reading into the Restoration Movement. I find the founding principles interesting. Both my wife and I were involved in the International Church of Christ for a short time before we were married.
The things we liked about the ICOC seem to be directly related to what I am seeing in the Restoration Movement, but the ICOC at the time we were involved seemed to over emphasize a heavy handed shepherding element that over took all the very positive elements we really enjoyed.
Since then we have searched for a Christian community that has all the wonderful aspects of the ICOC but not what we perceived as negatives. I did not know that the ICOC grew out of this Restoration Movement until I came here and started reading about it.
So my questions are – besides the Churches of Christ and Disciples of Christ what other name can I look for in my location for a Church community that is involved in the Restoration Movement?
And, what are the Restoration Movements views on the more demonstrative gifts of the Spirit?
Thanking you in advance.
-dl
Hi DL
Welcome to CF - hope you find the site helpful and enjoyable.
FWIW - my wife and I came out of the pre-ICOC church, having become Christians in a vibrant, active church we absolutely loved. It had been revived by some brothers and sisters who came out of the Crossroads cofC in Gainesville, FL. For about 5 years, we thrived; it was an awesome experience of growth in so many areas. Over time, Kip's influence began to have overarching effect on many in our church and other churches and we began to experience some significant changes as the Boston cofC grew in influence and began what would be the eventual split between the regular cofC to the "Boston Movement" - which eventually lead to a complete split you knew as the ICOC.
We got caught up in part of all that, volunteering to be part of a church planting. Not good. Not good at all. We really struggled in our faith for a couple of years, but God being ever faithful helped us through it. There are a plethora of helpful sources out there to help with the variety of issues people who have been hurt by that movement recover. Just holler if you want/need some yourselves. NP.
If there are no cofCs in your area, you can check out the Christian church (variant of disciples of Christ and probably the largest RM group next to the cofC). I'm unfamiliar with other RM groups besides those two. I'd say Crawfish's comments are pretty spot-on with my experience as well. Every congregation has its own "personality" - some being rather stolid and old-fashioned, others being vibrant and exciting, others somewhere in between.
From my experience, neither group could be considered "pentecostal" in the sense of extreme demonstrative gifts of the Spirit. I know of none, for example, that speak in tongues or anything like that; but clapping and raising of hands, etc. I'd more associate with the Christian church than the cofC.
Not sure how much that helps, but more than glad to field any other questions you might have too.
God bless!
__________________ Psalm 57:11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
A couple of questions about the Restoration Movement 
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