Disciples and Moral-Ethical Issues
Disciples Traditions:  From their origins as a rural people and their belief in the sovereignty of individual choice, Disciples were slow to develop a collective social consciousness.  Socially isolated and concentrating on missionary efforts along with their own growth as a movement, they assigned lower priority to the moral-ethical questions in the society around them.  The rapid industrialization of America during the final decades of the nineteenth century spawned a wide range of social issues that awakened a new moral concern among Disciples.  Disciples debated whether the role of the church was to evangelize persons or to engage actively in efforts to change the social environment.  Their decision was to attempt both.
            Following the 1968 adoption of the covenantal Design, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) had a representative means for speaking as a church and proceeded to do so regularly.  The church has spoken more than 300 times through formal resolutions on the moral-ethical issues of the day.  However, these declarations never presume to speak for all Disciples, which is frequently misunderstood.  Resolutions on moral-ethical issues call the church to study and engagement, but do not impose universally held positions on its members.  That is one aspect of Disciples' tenacity in defending the freedom of individual opinion.  Hearkening back to the impetus for their own founding, Disciples are still a people quick to challenge any source of authority that does not begin with an act of individual choice.
            Disciples in 1993 developed a "process of discernment" to address those particularly controversial issues clearly devoid of consensus.  The idea of discernment was to move the church toward serious study, reflection, and active conversation.  In this way, the process could become a resource for every manifestation of the church, helping guide it toward a common course of action in its pursuit of faithfulness.
            Disciples have clearly developed a social awareness and are prone to speak forthrightly on issues in the socioeconomic, political, and international arenas.  On matters of personal morality, Disciples hold a deep confidence in the ability of individuals to form judgments for themselves.  The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) will not provide a systematic blueprint for your personal behavior.  It will, however, insist that you carefully study the moral and ethical teachings of Christ and assume full moral responsibility for your personal decisions.  (from
"A Handbook for Today's Disciples in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)" by D. Duane Cummins)

The Board Chair Speaks:
God's Blessing  unto you and your families. 
            Where has the time gone? It's hard to believe that summer is almost over and children will be returning to school. We've had a busy summer at our church doing God's work. There were lots of opportunities for everyone to help out somewhere. Many more are coming up!
            As we approach fall, which will be here sooner than we think, we are looking toward the coming year. Is it possible that God is calling you to step up and fill a leadership role in the church? Or to just help out in some small way? There are many uses for our talents and our gifts, what is the Lord telling you. Or maybe we just need to spend more time with the Lord, in conversation and in Prayer.
            I recently spent a few days at a lake in Texas. It was a wonderful time in the morning, amid all God's wondrous sights to spend some time talking to our Lord. But you don't have to be looking over a calm glassy lake to spend time with God daily. Perhaps it's at your kitchen table or in a favorite chair before you start your day, but finding the time to spend with him will make everything seem so much brighter.
            We are all Jesus' disciples, even our children and youth. How are you serving the Lord?
     Yours in Christ, Suzanne Lara, Board Chair