# WHAT IS A CONGREGATIONALIST?

By Douglas Horton

(Dr. Douglas Horton has been minister of the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches since 1938. He was a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, is a trustee of Princeton University and of Union Theological Seminary, and is chairman of the board of the American University at Cairo.)

## What is a Congregationalist?

He is a member of a Congregational Christian Church, which, in turn, is a member of the world-wide fellowship of Congregational Christian Churches.

## What is the Congregational Christian Creed?

If a creed is an attempt to define one's faith in the living God, Congregationalists have been among the greatest creed makers of history -- for each particular congregation is accustomed to write its own creed. A few churches use the Apostles' Creed. Other churches have given up the use of this creed, chiefly because one or two of its phrases are believed to be untrue. Congregationals remain Puritans, with a passionate regard for truth. They do not adopt a creed unless they are persuaded that it is all true. The Catholic Faith which they hold is fundamentally a belief in any creed but in the living person of Jesus Christ. Not

## Is a Congregationalist a Catholic?

Yes, though not in the sense that he recognizes the sovereignty of the Pope. He is a Catholic in the sense that he holds what he regards as the Catholic Faith, that universal faith which is common to all Christians and which binds together the "Holy Catholic Church." He holds the Roman to be one of the true branches of the Church.

## Does he Believe in the Apostolic Succession?

Yes. He does not believe that this succession is chiefly visible in the line of Popes, nor in the Anglican or other episcopal lines, nor in the lines of elders or other office-bearers of the Church. Rather, he sees the entire Church of Christ as the succession from the Apostles. He believes that the humblest Church member, as well as the most distinguished of prelates, can carry the riches of the Church's belief to succeeding generations.

## What Sacraments do Congregational Christians Observe?

Two: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism is the rite by which the Church takes a child (or adult) to itself. The mode is usually that of "sprinkling", though other forms may be used if desired. The Holy Communion is the ritual meal at which Christ is the host and through which the Church's faith is confirmed and increased. In some Congregational Christian Churches, the people receive the communion at the altar rail; in most, the elements of Communion are brought by the deacons to the people in the pews.

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## Do Congregationalists Believe in the Virgin Birth?

Probably the majority do not. Undoubtedly many do. It is regarded as a subject for historical research. The fact of Christ, and not the manner in which he was born, is held to be of dominant importance. It is, indeed, the reference to the Virgin Birth in the Apostles' Creed which unfits the latter for use in many churches.

## Do They Believe in the Holy Trinity?

Fully. They believe in God the Father, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, infinite in wisdom, goodness and love. They believe that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. They believe in the Holy Spirit to such an extent that they are extremely sensitive to the dangers which lie in unchangeable laws and ceremonies which prevent new responses to the Spirit's call.

## What is the Congregational Christian View of Sin and Salvation?

The view of most Christians. Sin is opposition or indifference to the will of God. God, however, as Jesus revealed Him, is willing to forgive. When, therefore, a person repents in faith, God accepts him -- and when God has accepted a person, he need have no fear of the future in this world or the next. He is "saved."

## Do Congregationalists Believe in Heaven and Hell?

Certainly not as places of bliss and of torment. They do believe that physical death is not the end of life, that the justice of God cannot finally be escaped, and that it will be heaven to be with God and hell to be without Him.

## What is Their Attitude Toward the Bible?

The Bible is regarded as revealing God in a way which will never be superseded. Once one knows that God is love, as Christ shows Him to be, all subsequent knowledge is simply an elaboration of this fundamental truth -- and it is this knowledge that God imparts to men through the pages of Scripture.

Congregationalists apply scientific methods to study of the Bible. As a result, they feel they know what God is saying in the Bible better than did their fathers who lived in a pre-scientific age.

## Do Congregationalists Favor Birth Control?

On this matter, they have made no official statement. They believe that marriage is a holy estate, whether or not it results in the birth of children. In general, however, they do believe that the use by man of the brains which God has given him to invent means of preventing conception is not contrary to God's will.

## What is Their Attitude Toward Divorce?

Though the Congregational Christian Churches have never made a joint official pronouncement on divorce, it is safe to say that they regard the current divorce habits of the American people as a

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scandal. Congregationalists are endeavoring to meet this disorder
by giving youth better training in the Christian understanding of
marriage. They do not oppose legal divorce after a couple have
entered into the tragedy of spiritual divorce.

## How and Why did the Congregational Movement Start?

The Congregationalists were one of several groups within the
Church of England during the controversial days of the early seven-
teenth century. They desired that the bishops should have less,
and the people more power over the churches. New England offered
them an opportunity to stay nominally within the English Church
(for they did not wish to separate) and yet be free from what they
regarded as the persecution of the bishops. The tie with the
Church of England was broken when, with the coming of Charles II,
strict conformity to the Book of Common Prayer was demanded.

## What Type of Worship is Used in the Congregational Christian Churches?

Worship usually is a moderately formal order of prayers (silent
and spoken), hymns, Scripture reading and preaching designed to ex-
press adoration of God, confession of sin, thanks giving and commit-
ment to God's will.

## What Distinguishes the Congregationalist
from Members of Other Protestant Denominations?

His emphasis upon the place of the congregation in the life
of the Church. It is in congregations that the Church is visible
in its succession from age to age. It is in the congregation that
the Sacrament is celebrated and the preaching of the Word is heard.
The congregation is the point at which God is most likely to reveal
His will to a worshiping people. In a congregation, all hearts are
brought close to each other in brotherhood by being brought close
to Christ.

## What is the Place of Women in Congregationalism?

Here the Congregational view differs from many others. So
far as ecclesiastical status is concerned, no distinction is made
between men and women. In a situation in which an ordained woman
can give better service than an ordained man, the Congregational
Churches give ordination to a woman of the proper spiritual qualif-
ications. Only about four per cent of the Congregational Christian
ministers are women and of these, less than a third are pastors of
churches.

## How is a Congregational Christian Church Governed?

Ideally, by the mind of Christ through the people who consti-
tute the congregation. When any problem arises, the people seek --
through prayer, study and mutual consultation -- to understand His
mind concerning it. Though their spiritual shortcomings and ig-
norance too often stand in their way, these obstacles do not excuse
them from seeking the will of Christ and following it.

As in many large American denominations, there are county and
state associations of churches and a national association -- the

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General Council; but these have no power over the internal life of
any of the congregations. This is the reason the Congregational
Churches are sometimes known as Free Churches. The freedom of the
congregation is inviolable, because the congregation is better
able to consult the mind of Christ about itself than is any out-
side group. No minister beloved by his people can be removed by
external pressure. No church can be disbanded except by the wish
of its people. The relation between Christ and "two or three
gathered together" in His name is sacred.

## What Kind of Discipline is Used by the Congregational Christian Churches?

The chief discipline is brotherly persuasion. Theoretically,
public censure is possible and, in extreme cases, the withdrawal
of fellowship from an offender. The latter procedure has been im-
voked only when the well-being of the Church itself seems at
stake. Since the Church's interest is in redemption, a Congre-
gational Christian Church recons from any discipline which tends
to separate an offender from its ministries.

## What is the Congregational Attitude to the Condition of Society?

Like other Christian groups, Congregationalists are committed
to helping humanity. They were leaders in the abolition of slavery.
They set up and supported hundreds of schools for Negroes south of
the Mason-Dixon line, when they were most needed. The Congrega-
tional is the oldest foreign missionary society founded in North
America -- one of those that have been called "the greatest inter-
national peace agencies on earth."

The Council for Social Action of the Congregational Christian
Churches educates the people of the churches to the social needs
of the day. Congregationalists as children of the Reformation be-
lieve that the Church stands under the constancy of God
and must be willing to reform itself, if need be, in every age.

## What Attitude Does the Congregationalist Take to the Jew?

That of a brother. Congregational ministers and Jewish rabbis
in many cities exchange pulps regularly, and there are happy
friendships between them. Both have a strongly ethical emphasis
in their religious teaching; both stand for the establishment of
justice and human brotherhood. The Congregationalist considers
that fraternity with non-Christians expresses his Christian belief.

## In the Congregationalists' View, for What Purposes Does the Church Exist?

Congregationalists hold that the mission of the Church of
Christ is to proclaim the gospel to all mankind, to exalt the wor-
ship of the one true God and to labor for the progress of knowledge,
the promotion of justice, the reign of peace and the realization
of human brotherhood. An official statement of 1913 reads: "Depend-
ing, as did our fathers, upon the continued guidance of the Holy
Spirit to lead us into all truth, we work and pray for the transfor-
mation of the world into the kingdom of God; and we look with faith
for the triumph of righteousness and the life everlasting."