Cross Denominational Mission
The Congregational
churches are Protestant Christian churches practising congregationalist
church government, that is where each congregation independently and
autonomously runs its own affairs. Many Congregational churches claim
their descent from the original Congregational churches formed on a
theory of union published by the theologian Robert Browne in AD1592 and
arising from the Nonconformist religious movement in England during the
Puritanical reformation. In Great Britain, the early congregationalists
were called Separatists or Independents to distinguish themselves from
the similarly Calvinistic Presbyterians, and some congregations still
call themselves "Independents".
History and Origin
According
to the congregationalist theory of the history of the Christian Church,
the early disciples of Jesus had little or no organization.
Congregationalists believe that in the centuries after the spread of
Christianity, attempts to gain influence over all the churches were
made by leaders in centres like Rome, Antioch, Alexandria, Byzantium,
and Jerusalem. Thought to be complete by the year AD1000, the bishop of
Rome claimed authority over all Christendom, and many churches
throughout the western part of Europe submitted to his authority. The
churches of eastern Europe, Asia, and Egypt likewise had been
gathered under a hierarchy of bishops, but retained their independence
from the Pope in Rome, favouring instead their own Metropolitans, and
Pope.
Congregationalists view sympathetically the various dissident
movements among the western churches, that were suppressed throughout
the Middle Ages. By the sixteenth century, political and cultural
changes had created a climate in which the Roman church could no longer
suppress the protests of men such as John Wycliffe, John Hus, Martin
Luther, and John Calvin against alleged church abuses. These reformers
advocated a return to the simplicity and sincerity they saw described
in the New Testament Church, which congregationalists believe is
fulfilled in the congregationalist model of church governance.
It
is difficult to identify a specific beginning because Congregationalism
is more a movement than a single denomination, given its distinguishing
commitment to the complete autonomy of the local congregation. The idea
that each distinct congregation fully constitutes the visible Church
can be traced to John Wycliffe and the Lollard movement which followed
after Wycliffe was removed from teaching authority in the Roman
Catholic Church. The early Congregationalists shared with Anabaptist
theology the ideal of a pure church, which made adult conversion
important for full membership, unlike other Reformed churches. As such,
the Congregationalists were a reciprocal influence on the Baptists,
differing from them in that they counted the children of believers in
some sense members of the church unlike the Baptists did.
In
England, the Roman system of church government was taken over by the
king (Henry VIII), who declared himself to be the head of the Church,
the Church of England (Anglican). Robert Browne, Henry Barrow, John
Greenwood, John Penry, William Brewster, and John Robinson were notable
people who, in defiance of royal command, established churches separate
from the Church of England. Later, the Westminster Confession of Faith
(AD1646) was officially declared the statement of faith for both the
Church of England (Anglican) and Church of Scotland (Presbyterian). The
Congregationalists created their own version of the Westminster
Confession called the Savoy Declaration in AD1658. The early
Congregationalists sought to separate themselves from the Anglican
church in every way possible, even having no 'church' buildings:
they met in one another's homes for many years.The
underground churches in England (the name used was "non-conformist")
and exiles from Holland provided about a third of the 102 passengers on
the 'Mayflower', which sailed from London in July 1620. They became
known in history as the Pilgrim Fathers.
Congregrational History in the United States
The
Pilgrims sought to establish at Plymouth Colony a Christian fellowship
like that which gathered around Jesus Himself. Congregationalists
include the Pilgrims of Plymouth, and the Puritans of the Massachusetts
Bay Colony, which were organized in union by The Cambridge Platform in
AD1648. These settlers had John Cotton as their most influential
leader, beginning in AD1633. Cotton's writings persuaded the Calvinist
theologian John Owen to separate from the Presbyterian church, after
which he, among others, became very influential in the development of
Congregationalist theology and ideas of church government. Jonathan
Edwards, considered by some to be the most important theologian ever
produced in America, was also a Congregationalist.
The history
of Congregational churches in the United States is closely linked with
that of American Presbyterianism, especially in New England where
Congregationalist influence spilled over into the Presbyterian churches
farther west. Some of the first colleges and universities in America,
including Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Williams, Bowdoin, Middlebury, and
Amherst, all were founded by the Congregationalists, as were later
Carleton, Grinnell, Oberlin, Beloit, and Pomona.
Without higher
courts to ensure doctrinal uniformity among the congregations,
Congregationalists have been more diverse than other Reformed churches.
Despite the efforts of Calvinists to maintain the dominance of their
system, some Congregational churches, especially in the older
settlements of New England, gradually developed sentiments toward
Arminianism, Unitarianism, Deism, and transcendentalism. By the 1750s,
several Congregational preachers were teaching the possibility of
universal salvation, an issue that caused considerable conflict among
its adherents on the one side and hard-line Calvinists and sympathizers
of the First Great Awakening on the other. The first Unitarian church
in America was established in Boston, Massachusetts in AD1785 (although
in a former Anglican parish) and by AD1800, all but one Congregational
church in Boston had Unitarian preachers teaching the strict unity of
God, the subordinate nature of Christ, and salvation by character.
Harvard University, founded by Congregationalists, itself became a
source of Unitarian training. Eventually, the Unitarian churches,
prompted by a controversy over a theological appointment to Harvard,
separated from Congregationalism in AD1825; most of its descendants now
hold membership in the Unitarian Universalist Association, founded in
the 1960s by a merger with the theologically-similar Universalists,
another group dissenting from Calvinist orthodoxy.
So the
Congregational churches were at the same time the first example of the
American theocratic ideal (and subsequent evangelicalism) and also the
seed-bed from which American liberal religion and society arose. Even
so, many Congregationalists in the several successor denominations to
the original tradition consider themselves to be Reformed first,
whether of traditional or neo-orthodox persuasion.
In AD1931 the
Congregational Churches and the General Convention of the Christian
Church, a body from the Restoration Movement tradition of the early
19th century, merged to form the Congregational Christian Churches. The
Congregationalists were used to a more formal, less evangelistic form
of worship than the Christian Church members, who mostly came from
rural areas of the South and the Midwest. Both groups, however, held to
local autonomy and rejected binding creedal authority.
Congregational Churches in Australia
In
AD1977, most congregations of the Congregational Union of Australia
merged with all Churches of the Methodist Church of Australasia and a
majority of Churches of the Presbyterian Church of Australia to form
the Uniting Church in Australia. Those congregations that did not join
the Uniting Church formed the Fellowship of Congregational Churches or
continued as Presbyterians. Some more ecumenically minded
Congregationalists left the Fellowship of Congregational Churches in
AD1995 and formed the Congregational Federation of Australia.
Congregational Churches in Canada
In
AD1925, the United Church of Canada was founded by the merger of the
Canadian Congregationalist and Methodist churches, and two-thirds of
the congregations of the Presbyterian Church of Canada (in French:
Église Presbyterienne du Canada). In AD1988, a number of UCC
congregations separated from the national church, which had approved
the ordination of gay and lesbian ministers who were not celibate. Many
of the former UCC congregations joined together as the new
Congregational Christian Churches in Canada.
Congregational Churches in Ireland
The Congregational Union of Ireland was founded in the early 1800s and currently has 30 member churches.
Congregational Churches in United Kingdom
In
AD1972, about three quarters of English Congregational churches merged
with the Presbyterian Church of England to form the United Reformed
Church (URC). However about six hundred Congregational churches have
continued in their historic independent tradition. Under the Act of
Parliament that authorised the merger between what had become by then
the Congregational Church of England and Wales and the Presbyterian
Church of England, certain assets were divided between the various
parties.
In England there are three main groups of continuing
Congregationalists. These are the Congregational Federation, which has
offices in Nottingham, the Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational
Churches, and about 100 Congregational churches that are loosely
federated with other congregations in the Fellowship of Independent
Evangelical Churches, or are unaffiliated.
In AD1981, the URC merged
with the Re-formed Association of Churches of Christ and, in AD2000,
just over half of the churches in the Congregational Union of Scotland
also joined the URC. The remainder of Congregational churches in
Scotland joined the Congregational Federation.
Wales traditionally
has a large share of Congregationalists among the population, most
Congregationalists being members of Undeb yr Annibynwyr Cymraeg (the
Union of Welsh Independents), which is particularly important in South
Wales. Among its leaders up to the end of the 20th century was R Tudur
Jones.
The Congregational Federation, Undeb yr Annibynwyr Cymraeg,
and the URC enjoy good relations and share certain aspects of church
life together including their joint involvement in the Council for
World Mission.Congregational Churches in the United States
In
the early 20th century, some Congregational (later Congregational
Christian) churches took exception to the beginnings of a growth of
authority in bodies outside the local church, such as mission
societies, national committees, and state conferences. Also, some
congregations opposed liberalizing influences that appeared to mitigate
traditional views of sin and subsequent corollary doctrines such as the
substitutionary atonement of Jesus. In AD1948, some adherents of these
two streams of thought started a new fellowship, the Conservative
Congregational Christian Conference, the first major fellowship to
organize outside of the mainstream Congregational body since AD1825,
when the Unitarians formally founded their own body.
In AD1957, the
General Council of Congregational Christian Churches (CCCC) in the U.S.
merged with the Evangelical and Reformed Church to form the United
Church of Christ.
About 90% of the CC congregations affiliated with
the General Council joined the United Church of Christ. However, some
local churches abstained from the merger. Most of these congregations
became members of either the CCCC or the National Association of
Congregational Christian Churches, which came into being as a result of
failed protest efforts against the UCC merger, the arguments for which
revolved around governance concerns rather than theology;
Congregational Christian-heritage churches of all theological
persuasions belong to this group, much like the UCC. A few other
congregations chose not to affiliate with any particular association of
churches, or only with regional or local affiliates.
Missionary Activity
The
London Missionary Society was effectively the world mission arm of
British Congregationalists - it sponsored missionaries including Eric
Liddell and David Livingstone.
As thinking developed, particularly
in the context of decolonisation and independance, the churches wanted
to recognise the gifts of the world's people, the London Missionary
Society transformed into the Council for World Mission - a worldwide
ecumenical missionary organisation.
Notable Independents and Congregationalists
There
are many, many people influencial in their day who have been
congregationalists. The contribution that they, and their
congregational beliefs through them, have made to our world is
considerable. I've included just a few names here, but there are many
others:-
Lady Mary Abney - benefactor to Isaac Watts . Margaret
Bondfield - first female Cabinet Minister in the UK. Constance Coltman
- first woman ordained by the Congregational Union of England and Wales
(1917). Francis Crick - Biologist. Oliver Cromwell - English
military leader, politician, and dictator. Walt Disney - animator &
entertainment media mogul. Philip Doddridge - hymn-writer. Eric Liddell
- Olympic runner, missionary, subject of film 'Chariots of Fire'. David
Livingstone - missionary and explorer of Africa. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
- expository preacher and leader in the British evangelical movement.
Rev Dr Medhurst - Translator of the Bible into its first Chinese
edition. John Milton - poet. James Pierpont - founder of Yale
University. Samuel Ryder - originator of golf's Ryder Cup and
garden-seed entrepreneur.
Links
National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (US)
Typical Congregational Church - Alderholt Chapel
Congregational