Here are a some generalizations/observations that I’ve been thinking about as I’ve watched this discussion take shape.

1. We can no longer talk about a capella Churches of Christ as a uniform group. A “split” has already occurred and created two breeds of Churches of Christ. One group I’ll call “Restorationist” churches of Christ. They are committed to restoring the “ancient order of things” by adhering to the pattern they believe they’ve found in the New Testament. For these churches, a capella worship, weekly communion, and many other things are non-negotiable salvation issues. If you don’t adhere to the “pattern,” then you are not a member of the true church.

The second group I’ll call “Heritage” Churches of Christ. These churches acknowledge their heritage and want to preserve a capella worship and weekly communion, and many other things, not because they’re salvation issues, but because they are important family traditions that shouldn’t be whimsically discarded or because they still have deep theological meaning and can help us stay connected to the Story. They might be open to adding an instrumental service if it makes sense for their mission. It just isn’t an issue anymore. There are a growing number of Churches of Christ that fit into this category. Heritage Churches of Christ have rejected the exclusivism that characterized Churches of Christ in the 20th century and are open to partnerships with other churches, including but not limited to the Independent Christian Churches. There is very little fellowship/partnership occurring between Restorationist and Heritage Churches of Christ. This is mainly because the convictions of the Restorationist churches won’t allow it.

There are also a fair number of Churches of Christ that find themselves caught in between these two groups. They’re trying to stay connected to both and finding it extremely difficult to do so. Eventually, they’ll sort themselves into one group or the other.

Now that I’ve defined my terms, I can get on with my other generalizations/observations.

2. Restorationist churches tend not to have much to say about political/social issues.
3. Heritage Churches of Christ say more than Restorationist churches about political/social issues, but not nearly as much as Independent Christian Churches do.
4. Independent Christian Churches tend to be more politically and socially conservative than Heritage Churches of Christ.
5. Independent Christian Churches are also more theologically conservative than most Heritage Churches of Christ. Restorationist churches will think this statement is absurd because they regard instrumental music as a “liberal” sin.
6. Independent Christian Churches do a pretty good job of expressing their conservative views in a spirit of love.
7. I have a hunch that the loving conservatism in Independent Christian Churches has something to do with their accelerated growth in the last 15 years.

My perspective is limited and I may be way off on some or all of these. They’re conversation starters, not absolute declarations. I’m open to loving debate and correction on all of them.