In the 1950s and 1960s, Churches of Christ were the fastest growing religious organization in the United States. The churches flourished especially in southern and western states, including Oklahoma. In this compelling history, historian W. David Baird examines the key characteristics, individuals, and debates that have shaped the Churches of Christ in Oklahoma from the early nineteenth century to the beginning of the twenty-first century. Baird's narrative begins with an account of the Stone-Campbell movement, which emerged along the American frontier in the early 1800s. Representatives of this movement in Oklahoma first came as missionaries to American Indians, mainly to the Cherokees, Chickasaws, and Choctaws. Baird highlights the role of two prominent missionaries during this period, and he next describes a second generation of missionaries who came along during the era of the Twin Territories, prior to statehood. In 1906, as a result of disagreements regarding faith and practice, followers of the Stone-Campbell Movement divided into two organizations: Churches of Christ and Disciples of Christ. Baird then focuses solely on Churches of Christ in Oklahoma, all the while keeping a broader national context in view. Drawing on extensive research, Baird delves into theological and political debates and explores the role of the Churches of Christ during the two world wars. As Churches of Christ grew in number and size throughout the country during the mid-twentieth century, controversy loomed. Oklahoma's Churches of Christ argued over everything from Sunday schools and the support of orphan's homes to worship elements, gender roles in the church, and biblical interpretation. And nobody could agree on why church membership began to decline in the 1970s, despite exciting new community outreach efforts. This history by an accomplished scholar provides solid background and new insight into the question of whether Churches of Christ locally and nationally will be able to reverse course and rebuild their membership in the twenty-first century.

In the pantheon of publications related to women's educational history, there is little research concerning women's education in the context of the Baptist church. In Doing the Word: Southern Baptists' Carver School of Church Social Work and Its Predecessors, 1907-1997, T. Laine Scales and Melody Maxwell provide a complete history of this unique institution. By exploring the dynamic evolution of women's education through the lens of the women's training program for missions and social work at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the authors show how the institution both expanded women's education and leadership and also came into tension with changes in the Southern Baptist Convention, ultimately resulting in its closing in 1997. A touchstone for women's studies and church history alike, Doing the Word reopens a lost chapter in the evolution of women's leadership during the twentieth century-a tumultuous period in which the Carver School, under significant pressure to reverse course, sought to expand the roles of women in leading the church.

The fascinating story of an intriguing -- and little understood -- religious figure in nineteenth-century America Calvinist Baptist preacher William Miller (1782 - 1849) was the first prominent American popularizer of using biblical prophecy to determine a specific and imminent time for Christ's return to earth. On October 22, 1844 -- a day known as the Great Disappointment - he and his followers gave away their possessions, abandoned their work, donned white robes, and ascended to rooftops and hilltops to await a Second Coming that never actually came. Or so the story goes. The truth -- revealed here -- is far less titillating but just as captivating. In fact, David Rowe argues, Miller was in many ways a mainstream, even typical figure of his time. Reflecting Rowe's meticulous research throughout, God's Strange Work does more than tell one man's remarkable story. It encapsulates the broader history of American Christianity in the time period and sets the stage for many significant later developments: the founding of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the tenets of various well-known new religious movements, and even the enduring American fascination with end-times prophecy. Rowe rescues Miller from the fringes and places him where he rightly belongs -- in the center of American religious history.

Things that divide Christians act as a poor witness to the world. On such major schism is that of Baptism. However if we can't agree, the next best witness to the world is the manner of how we disagree. The two views explored here, paedo (or infant) baptism and adult (or believer's) baptism are often so entrenched that discussions can be based around prejudice rather than understanding. This classic book aims to eradicate the former and promote the latter. Do you know why Anglicans, Presbyterians and Methodists baptise babies? Do you know why Baptists find it impossible to understand why they do it? Do you know why most Baptists find it difficult to allow Paedobaptists to take communion or become church members? We owe it to the future health of the church, and its witness, to work out our differences in love before the world. This book looks at the biblical arguments for both views on baptism, show how these have been practised in church history and the place that baptism has in the church today. This book is based on the 1998 extended version of the 1977 classic. Donald Bridge and David Phypers approach this book from two different directions - respectively that of Baptist and Anglican. The common approach they bring is their respect of the others position as regards fidelity to scripture and faith.

Der vorliegende 2. Band der Reihe Baptismus-Dokumentation" gibt einen berblick auf die Ereignisse der Studentenbewegung in Deutschland von 1967 bis 1972 und ihre Auswirkungen im deutschen Baptismus. Aufgezeigt wird insbesondere die Wahrnehmung der 68er Bewegung in der baptistischen Presse und Studentenarbeit sowie die Diskussion in den Gemeinden. Dokumentiert wird die Masterarbeit von Marc Schneider, Absolvent des Theologischen Seminars Elstal (FH).

Wie haben Baptisten in Deutschland ihr Verhalten in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus beurteilt? Der Autor beschreibt und dokumentiert die Diskussionen nach dem Krieg uber Schuld sowie die Entwicklungen bis zum offiziellen Schuldbekenntnis des BEFG. Die 50 veroffentlichten Textdokumente, eingeschlossen sind Vergleichstexte aus anderen Kirchen und Freikirchen, machen diesen Band zu einem wichtigen Nachschlagewerk und regen zugleich an, die gesellschaftliche Verantwortung von Christen heute zu reflektieren."

Baptistengemeinden in Deutschland, seit 1941 im Bund Evangelisch-Freikirchlicher Gemeinden, suchten ihren Weg in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus weitgehend in Anpassung an die politischen Verhaltnisse. Zu den wenigen offentlichen Mahnern gehorte Dr. Jacob Kobberling, der Bekennenden Kirche nahe stehend. Dieser Band dokumentiert zum einen die offiziellen Stellungnahmen des Bundesdirektors Paul Schmidt zu dem Konflikt uber die Weltkirchenkonferenz 1937 in Oxford, seinen Rechenschaftsbericht zum ersten Nachkriegs-Bundesrat 1946 in Velbert sowie das neue Glaubensbekenntnis des Bundes von 1944. Zum anderen werden die Gegenschriften Kobberlings z.T. erstmalig veroffentlicht, jeweils erganzt mit dessen umfangreicher Korrespondenz. Roland Fleischer hat diesen vierten Band der Reihe Baptismus-Dokumentation" erganzt durch eine historische Einfuhrung sowie informative biografische Beitrage zu Kobberling und Schmidt.