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| Charis Alliance | |
|---|---|
| Orientation | Anabaptist |
| Theology | Schwarzenau Brethren |
| Origin | 2015 |
| Official website | charisalliance |
| Part of a series on the |
| Schwarzenau Brethren (the German Baptists or Dunkers) |
|---|
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| Background |
| Doctrinal tenets |
| People |
| Groups |
Defunct groups |
| Related movements |
Charis Alliance is a Christian denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren tradition. The word charis is Greek in origin, meaning "grace." [1]
For the early history see Church of the Brethren.
The Brethren (at the time called German Baptist Brethren) suffered a three-way division early in the 1880s, and the more progressive group organized the Brethren Church in 1883. Led by charismatic leader Henry Holsinger, they maintained the standard Brethren doctrines, but wanted to adopt new methods, and desired more congregational autonomy and less centralization. These more progressive Brethren moved into the direction of the mainstream of Christian evangelicalism in America. Several events in the late 19th century and early 20th century, including the Bible Conference movement, emphasis on foreign missions, and the rise of fundamentalism, affected the church. The Foreign Missionary Society of the Brethren Church was formed on September 4, 1900, in Winona Lake, Indiana.
But, also in the early 1900s, two different viewpoints began to emerge. As Robert Clouse writes about this event "the Progressives showed considerable agreement in what they opposed, but were less united in what they wished to create." [2] The Brethren Church had rejected classical liberal theology in 1921 with "The Message of the Brethren Ministry", written by J. Allen Miller and Alva J. McClain. However the aggressive approach of fundamentalism, led by Louis S. Bauman and McClain, conflicted with the drawn out approach of traditional Brethrenism. The fundamentalists desired strongly worded statements of faith, the traditional Brethren stressed non-creedalism. The classic dispensationalist belief held by the fundamentalists largely disregarded the Sermon on the Mount as a law for an earlier age, while the traditional Brethren statement "the New Testament is our Rule of Faith and Practice" placed a high emphasis on this passage in Matthew 5–7.
This tension finally erupted in 1936–37 with a growing controversy at Ashland College. Although the school was under the control of the Brethren Church, it was transitioning from a Christian denominational school to a secular school with a more regional focus. Because of a push to enlarge non-Brethren representation on the board of trustees and establish a "double standard" of conduct for regular college students and pre-seminary students, Bauman and Charles Ashman, Sr. (1886–1967) resigned from the Ashland College board of trustees on June 1, 1937. The next day, professors Alva J. McClain and Herman Hoyt were fired from Ashland Seminary due to increasing tension between the college group and the seminary group. At a prayer meeting in the home of J.C. Beal that evening Grace Theological Seminary was born, where after prayer Bauman announced "I want to give the first gift to the new school." [3]
In the next two years two groups emerged in the Brethren Church: those sympathetic with Ashland College and those sympathetic with Grace Seminary. Traditional Brethren, in part because of their drawn out approach and in part due to their distaste for fundamentalist theology, sided with Ashland College, while the fundamentalists led by Bauman and McClain, sided with Grace Seminary. In 1939, the Grace Seminary group formed the National Fellowship of Brethren Churches. [4] [5] [6] The Fellowship incorporated in 1987 as the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. [7]
Another division occurred in 1992, involving a coalition of fundamentalist pastors who were troubled by the continuing "neo-evangelical" drift that they perceived taking root within the larger body of the FGBC, ultimately resulting in the formation of the Conservative Grace Brethren Churches, International (CGBCI). The immediate issue of dissension concerned the question of open membership in regard to individuals who had not been baptized by trine immersion (the historic Brethren standard, which the Brethren traditionally believe is taught in the language of Matt. 28:19). The Conservative pastors (so called because they desired to "conserve" Biblical truth) ultimately saw the broader issue as one involving Biblical Fundamentalism vs. an unduly pragmatic neo-evangelicalism, and ultimately withdrew from the larger body as a matter of conviction.
In 2015, delegates from ministries in all the countries who associate with the Grace Brethren gathered in Bangkok, Thailand and formed the Charis Alliance. The Global Charis alliance adopted the Charis Commitment to Common Identity. [8]
The denomination has a confession of faith based on evangelical theology and the Believers' Church beliefs. [9]
According to a denomination census released in 2023, it claimed 200 churches in the United States and Canada. [10]
Evangelicalism, also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes the centrality of sharing the "good news" of Christianity, being "born again" in which an individual experiences personal conversion, as authoritatively guided by the Bible, God's revelation to humanity. The word evangelic comes from the Greek word for 'good news'.
Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and American Protestants as a reaction to theological liberalism and cultural modernism. Fundamentalists argued that 19th-century modernist theologians had misunderstood or rejected certain doctrines, especially biblical inerrancy, which they considered the fundamentals of the Christian faith.
Dispensationalism is a theological framework for interpreting the Bible which maintains that history is divided into multiple ages called "dispensations" in which God interacts with his chosen people in different ways. It is often distinguished from covenant theology. These are two competing frameworks of Biblical Theology that attempt to explain overall continuity in the Bible. Coining of the term "dispensationalism" has been attributed to Philip Mauro, a critic of the system's teachings, in his 1928 book The Gospel of the Kingdom.
The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent influenced other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is historically distinguished by its emphasis on the doctrine of a second work of grace, which is called entire sanctification or Christian perfection. The word Holiness refers specifically to the belief in entire sanctification as a definite, second work of grace, in which original sin is cleansed, the heart is made perfect in love, and the believer is empowered to serve God. Churches aligned with the holiness movement additionally teach that the Christian life should be free of sin. For the Holiness movement, "the term 'perfection' signifies completeness of Christian character; its freedom from all sin, and possession of all the graces of the Spirit, complete in kind." A number of Christian denominations, parachurch organizations, and movements emphasize those Holiness beliefs as central doctrine.
The Schwarzenau Brethren, the German Baptist Brethren, Dunkers, Dunkard Brethren, Tunkers, or sometimes simply called the German Baptists, are an Anabaptist group that dissented from Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed European state churches during the 17th and 18th centuries. German Baptist Brethren emerged in some German-speaking states in western and southwestern parts of the Holy Roman Empire as a result of the Radical Pietist revival movement of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, where people began to read and study their Bibles on their own- rather than just being told what to believe and do.
The Brethren Church is an Anabaptist Christian denomination with roots in and one of several groups that trace its origins back to the Schwarzenau Brethren of Germany.
Conservative Grace Brethren Churches, International (CGBCI) is a biblically conservative and fundamentalist group that separated from the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches in 1992.
The conservative holiness movement is a loosely defined group of theologically conservative Christian denominations with the majority being Methodists whose teachings are rooted in the theology of John Wesley, and a minority being Quakers (Friends) that emphasize the doctrine of George Fox, as well as River Brethren who emerged out of the Radical Pietist revival, and Holiness Restorationists in the tradition of Daniel Sidney Warner. Schisms began to occur in the 19th century and this movement became distinct from parent Holiness bodies in the mid-20th century amid disagreements over modesty in dress, entertainment, and other "old holiness standards". Aligned denominations share a belief in Christian perfection, though they differ on various doctrines, such as the celebration of the sacraments and observance of ordinances, which is related to the denominational tradition of the specific conservative holiness body—Methodist, Quaker, Anabaptist or Restorationist. Many denominations identifying with the conservative holiness movement, though not all, are represented in the Interchurch Holiness Convention; while some denominations have full communion with one another, other bodies choose to be isolationist.
John Clement Whitcomb Jr. was an American theologian and young Earth creationist. Along with Henry M. Morris, he wrote The Genesis Flood, which influenced many conservative American Christians to adopt flood geology.
Harold John Ockenga was a leading figure of mid-20th-century American Evangelicalism, part of the reform movement known as "Neo-Evangelicalism". A Congregational minister, Ockenga served for many years as pastor of Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts. He was also a prolific author on biblical, theological, and devotional topics. Ockenga helped to found the Fuller Theological Seminary and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, as well as the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE).
Grace Theological Seminary (GTS) is a conservative evangelical Christian seminary located in Winona Lake, Indiana. GTS is now part of Grace College & Seminary and is associated with Charis Fellowship, before 2018 known as the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. Alva J. McClain, the first president, and Herman A. Hoyt, the second president, founded the seminary in 1937. Its mission statement is: "Grace Theological Seminary is a learning community dedicated to teaching, training, and transforming the whole person for local church and global ministry." The seminary received school accreditation by the North Central Association and has been awarded accreditation by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.
Robert G. Clouse was an American religious academic who was a professor at Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana.
Louis Sylvester Bauman was a Brethren minister, writer, and Bible conference speaker, holding influential leadership in the Brethren Church and the "Grace Brethren" movement which evenly divided the denomination in 1939. He served in several pastorates, in particular the First Brethren Church of Long Beach, California where he was pastor for thirty-four years (1913–1947).
David A. Rausch (1947-2023) was an author and Professor of History at Ashland University in Ohio.
Grace College & Grace Theological Seminary is a private evangelical Christian college in Winona Lake, Indiana. It has seven schools: The School of Ministry Studies, The School of Arts and Humanities, The School of Science and Engineering, The School of Behavioral Sciences, The School of Business, The School of Education, and The School of Professional & Online Education (SPOE). Grace Theological Seminary, which began as the parent institution, now exists as part of the School of Ministry Studies and is also located on the Winona Lake campus. Since 2011, several commuter campuses have also started. While the college and seminary are historically affiliated with the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, known as Charis Fellowship since 2018, the student body and faculty of both institutions have diverse denominational backgrounds.
The Winona Lake Historic District is located along the Eastern shore of Winona Lake in Kosciusko County, Indiana. Historically, it is perhaps best known as a major center within the evangelical Bible Conference Movement during the first half of the twentieth century, though these gatherings were just one part of the larger history of the town of Winona Lake, an area which has been a Chautauqua site, resort spot, and conference center. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Kosciusko County, Indiana, since 1993.
Alva J. McClain (1888-1968) was the co-founder and first president of Grace Theological Seminary and Grace College. He served in that capacity from 1937 until his retirement in 1962, when he was named president emeritus. He was part of the Brethren church.
Herman A. Hoyt (1909-2000) was an American biblical scholar. He was one of the founding professors at Grace Theological Seminary in 1937. In 1962, he became president of Grace College and Seminary, a position he held until his retirement in 1976. His area of specialty was New Testament and Greek, but over the years he taught Hebrew, Old Testament, theology, and homiletics. A prolific writer, his work included major expositions of the books of Romans, Hebrews, and Revelation, along with Brethren ordinances and beliefs and eschatology.
Ecclesiastical separatism is the withdrawal of people and churches from Christian denominations, usually to form new denominations.
Brethren is a name adopted by a wide range of mainly Christian religious groups throughout history. The largest movement is Anabaptist.