The Crux of the Matter: Crisis, Tradition, and the Future of Churches of Christ

by Jack Reese, Douglas A. Foster, Jack R. Reese

'In general, this book is about attitudes and postures, about the big picture.... We want to suggest ways we can focus our conversations on the core issues that drive our faith and practice and which can transform both what we discuss and how we discuss it. Moreover, we want to equip leaders with ways of dealing with conflict and looking at Scripture that reflect the crux of the Christian faith.' - From the Introduction

Genres: Theology, Ecclesiology, History

267 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2001

Reviews

[James]

This book is about the Churches of Christ. It goes through history of the Restoration Movement, particularly where we inherited certain characteristics, and how that history has significantly shaped what the Church of Christ is today in America. It’s fascinating and educational to read about and sheds a lot of light on our own movement (ICOC), because the churches of Christ are precisely where we came from. The book discusses issues such as acapella singing, the Lords supper - it doesn't talk about the doctrinal issue (you can read an endless stream of debate on any of the topics which centrally define the churches of Christ), yet it describes how some seemingly peripheral issues (such as singing acapella and no hand clapping, and autonomous congregations led by elders), became what defined the church. This happened mostly because of divisions (with the Christian Churches, for example), and because of our exclusive stance. However, the younger generation is quite different from the generation that built the Church of Christ in the 50s and 60s, and the culture is much different as well.

For example, the younger generation wants to have more vibrant worship services and consider traditional worship to be antique and boring. As a result they might be more open to going to another church, and precise doctrine is not as big a concern. So there ends up being a lot of tension between generations, and on doctrinal issues as well. The book's ultimate conclusion is a recommitment back to the cross, which is the center of Christianity. Overall a good read - very intriguing and helps me understand some of the issues that are still going on the ICOC, although not to quite a dramatic effect. I'm glad we inherited certain characteristics from the churches of Christ (bible centered, committed to restoration), and glad we don't have others (worried about seemingly peripheral issues, not having a bitter attitude towards one another in public debate). Overall this is a good book, but it was slow at first. I recommend to anyone who is interested in church history and wants to understand out roots better.

[David Blankenship · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent early 21st century viewpoint of Churches of Christ about why they were shrinking and why what many were taking as the road ahead was not the best way. Neither holding fast to dead tradition, nor simply giving in to where the culture was taking them, was to be the way and history has proved this to be true. Only by going back to Jesus were we to find real hope.

Almost 20 years later, I'm not sure that things have changed much; many who stayed are content to think of themselves as the 'faithful remnant' resisting all change and continue to decline and fade into irrelevancy. Many others who wanted change have already left Churches of Christ for other bodies. Today I would guess that the tone of this book would have been much more alarmist, out of necessity, but this is still a good primer to our movement and the problems within it.

[Cimuchowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deals primarily with how the church should value its history (its Restoration roots) and yet stay centered on the Cross of Christ.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read SEP 2002