Churches of Christ have long been known for their commitment to Scripture. That commitment has shaped preaching, worship, and the shared life of congregations for generations. It reflects a deeply held conviction: that the church is not guided by human preference or tradition alone, but by the word of God.

In the previous articles, we have considered how Scripture is engaged within two overlapping contexts in Churches of Christ, and how those who teach and lead often move between them in the ordinary work of ministry. These patterns are not abstract. They shape how decisions are made, how authority is

In the previous article, we considered how Churches of Christ have come to engage Scripture within two overlapping contexts—one primarily academic, the other primarily congregational. That distinction helps clarify how the same commitment to Scripture can be expressed through different patterns of study and application within the life of

Churches of Christ have long understood themselves to be a people shaped by Scripture. From their beginnings in the American Restoration Movement, they have sought not merely to honor the Bible, but to take it seriously as the governing authority for faith and practice. That commitment has produced a deep

This was presented at LeadersConnect at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama, on June 18, 2024, by Shawn D. Mathis, PhD. Introduction The responsibility of elders in the Church of Christ is traditionally framed in terms of local oversight: shepherding the congregation, guarding doctrine, and ensuring the spiritual well-being of the

At a lecture in 2018 at Faulkner University, I said something that has stirred no small amount of controversy: many churches are not declining because the gospel is weak—they are declining because leadership is. I stand by that. For too long, we have comforted ourselves with a narrative that

Alexander Campbell is often remembered as a religious reformer, a restorer of primitive Christianity, or a controversial frontier voice in the American religious experiment. Yet to leave him there is to miss something essential. Campbell was, at his core, an intellectual of unusual discipline and reach—a man whose theological

There is a quiet but decisive error that has come to shape much of modern engagement with the Bible. It is rarely stated outright, yet it governs the way Scripture is approached, interpreted, and applied. The Bible is often treated as a repository of religious ideas, a collection of moral