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Commentary: Christian Churches Together an impressive gathering

André Gingrich Stoner

I recently had the privilege of attending the annual meeting of Christian Churches Together as an observer and representative of Mennonite Church USA. This is a truly remarkable movement bringing together leaders from varied parts of the Christian church, who have often been at odds with one another, “to strengthen our Christian witness in the world.” The group includes leaders of large African-American denominations, moderators of evangelical and mainline Protestant churches, and Pentecostal, Catholic and Orthodox bishops.

At the gathering, which was March 28 through 31 near Atlanta, Ga., representatives of 34 denominations and national organizations made the historic decision to formally organize as Christian Churches Together in the USA. Eight additional churches considering participation were present as observers. Mennonite Church USA leadership is continuing to gather information and counsel from our 21 area conferences as well as others about our participation in this movement.

Beginning with the first night of the gathering, I was surprised at how relaxed, cordial and easy the interaction was, considering the diversity of the groups represented and the number of leaders in the room. Apparently, this has not always been the case. It was obvious to me that important relationships have been formed during the past five years of visioning and planning.

This is a group of people who have grown to accept and value each other as brothers and sisters in the Christian faith. I particularly enjoyed an evening of sharing and celebrating stories of what God has been doing in our various denominations, as well as praying together in groups of three for personal needs and challenges.

I observed people graciously listening to each other and discussing their differences and commonalities. The group worked at decision-making by consensus, which facilitated open listening among participants.

The official formation of Christian Churches Together was delayed last year because of insufficient involvement of Racial/Ethnic churches. Many meetings and conversations have ensued, with the result that two of the very large Black Baptist Conventions are participants and the largest Black Pentecostal denomination was present as an observer and anticipates becoming a full participant. CCT leadership is committed to ongoing efforts to broaden participation.

Significant attention was given to the issue of poverty, a priority which emerged out of the Evangelical/Pentecostal family group at a previous meeting. Time was spent in Bible study and hearing stories and testimonies from people who had experienced poverty. While some shared a concern that CCT not be perceived primarily as an issue-oriented group; those gathered came to consensus that addressing poverty is “central to the mission of the church and essential to our unity in Christ.” It appointed a three-person task force to explore how the unique resources, gifts and call of CCT can be brought to bear on this issue.

I am encouraged and deeply moved by what God is doing in bringing the different parts of the body into relationship with each other. I continue to believe that participation in CCT by Mennonite Church USA would be a modest but significant step in that process. Photo available.

André Gingrich Stoner is director of Interchurch Relations for Mennonite Church USA. The vision of CCT began with a diverse group of Christian leaders gathered in the fall of 2001 who expressed a longing for an expanded Christian conversation in the United States. They stated: “We lament that we are divided and that our divisions too often result in distrust, misunderstandings, fear and even hostility between us. We long for the broken body of Christ to be made whole, where unity can be celebrated in the midst of our diversity. We long for more common witness, vision and mission.”