Institutionalism

Since the mid 20th century churches of Christ in the United States have been divided over issues about authority of the local church and its work. These issues are commonly described as "institutional" because of the relationship between a congregation and human institutions such as orphan homes, nursing homes, colleges, etc. There are more issues involved, including whether or not a church can sponsor social activities as a part of the work of the church and whether or not one church can oversee the work of another church, in part or in whole. The following lessons are designed to address these issues and what the Bible says about them.