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BeProf
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| Joined: | Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 |
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| First Name: | Ed | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Independent Fundamental Baptist - Atheism - Christian & Missionary Alliance |
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Posted: Fri Feb 22nd, 2008 08:56 pm |
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As requested, here's some general info on the denomination I'm a part of. I'm going to stick to the "vital info" kind of stuff, but if any of you have any specific questions, please let me know.
The Christian & Missionary Alliance is an Evangelical and Protestant denomination founded in 1887 by A.B. Simpson, a minister formerly of the Presbyterian church. The C&MA has influenced and been influenced by both the Holiness and Pentecostal movements but it is separate and distinct from both of them. I like to say that we believe in Holiness but not Perfectionism and that we're Charismatic but not Pentecostal. In recent years, we've become more "generically" Evangelical, but there are still a few old timers left who hold on to the distinctives of our denomination - emphases on foreign missions, physical healing, and the deeper Christian life.
One noteworthy connection is the one between the C&MA and the Assemblies of God. The C&MA precedes the Azusa Street Revival that gave birth to the Pentecostal movement. Simpson was an early supporter of that movement, and many early Pentecostal churches, including especially the Assemblies of God, sent their pastors to Simpson's Missionary Training Institute (now Nyack College and Alliance Theological Seminary) to receive training.
Over the years, however, a split developed over the issue of tongues. The AoG wanted to push the point that tongues were the only valid evidence of having received the gift of the Holy Spirit. The C&MA denied this and instead taught that tongues may be *a* sign of being filled with the Holy Spirit, but it is not the only valid sign. Indeed, there may be no immediate sign in particular and if one want to look for evidence of a Sprit-filled believer, one need look no further than their life of holiness and service to God. This led to a pretty serious rift whereby a sizeable minority of C&MA churches splitting from the denomination to join the AoG. There are striking similarities between the theology and polity of those two groups for that reason.
C&MA members that you may be familiar with are:
A.W. Tozer - Noted devotional author and long time C&MA pastor.
Ravi Zacharias - Christian apologist and author.
Stephen Harper - Prime Minister of Canada
Todd Beamer - Of 9/11 "Let's Roll" fame. Passenger on United 93.
Rather than have me blather on about their theology, I'll post our Statement of Faith here. This is essentially our Apostle's Creed. We don't recite it every Sunday, but one must affirm a belief in this statement and what it teaches in order to be a member of a C&MA church.
1. There is one God,(1) who is infinitely perfect,(2) existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.(3) ([1] Deuteronomy 6:4, [2] Matthew 5:48, [3] Matthew 28:19)
2. Jesus Christ is the true God and the true man.(4) He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.(5) He died upon the cross, the Just for the unjust,(6) as a substitutionary sacrifice,(7) and all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood.(8) He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures.(9) He is now at the right hand of Majesty on high as our great High Priest.(10) He will come again to establish His kingdom, righteousness and peace.(11) ([4] Philippians 2:6–11, [5] Luke 1:34–38, [6] I Peter 3:18, [7] Hebrews 2:9, [8] Romans 5:9, [9] Acts 2:23–24, [10] Hebrews 8:1, [11] Matthew 26:64)
3. The Holy Spirit is a divine person,(12) sent to dwell, guide, teach, empower the believer,(13) and convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.(14) ([12] John 14:15–18, [13] John 16:13, Acts 1:8, [14] John 16:7–11)
4. The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice.(15) ([15] 2 Peter 1:20–21, 2 Timothy 3:15–16)
5. Man was originally created in the image and likeness of God: (16) he fell through disobedience, incurring thereby both physical and spiritual death. All men are born with a sinful nature,(17) are separated from the life of God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.(18) The portion of the unrepentant and unbelieving is existence forever in conscious torment;(19) and that of the believer, in everlasting joy and bliss.(20) ([16] Genesis 1:27, [17] Romans 3:23, [18] 1 Corinthians15:20–23, [19] Revelation 21:8, [20] Revelation 21:1–4)
6. Salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all men; and those who repent and believe in Him are born again of the Holy Spirit, receive the gift of eternal life, and become the children of God.(21) ([21] Titus 3:4–7)
7. It is the will of God that each believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit and be sanctified wholly,(22) being separated from sin and the world and fully dedicated to the will of God, thereby receiving power for holy living and effective service.(23) This is both a crisis and a progressive experience wrought in the life of the believer subsequent to conversion.24 ([22] 1 Thessalonians 5:23, [23] Acts 1:8, [24] Romans 6:1–14)
8. Provision is made in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the healing of the mortal body.(25) Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil are taught in the Scriptures and are privileges for the Church in this present age.(26) ([25] Matthew 8:16–17, [26] James 5:13–16)
9. The Church consists of all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, are redeemed through His blood, and are born again of the Holy Spirit. Christ is the Head of the Body, the Church, (27) which has been commissioned by Him to go into all the world as a witness, preaching the gospel to all nations.(28) The local church is a body of believers in Christ who are joined together for the worship of God, for edification through the Word of God, for prayer, fellowship, the proclamation of the gospel, and observance of the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper.(29) ([27] Ephesians 1:22–23, [28] Matthew 28:19–20, [29] Acts 2:41–47)
10. There shall be a bodily resurrection of the just and of the unjust; for the former, a resurrection unto life;(30) for the latter, a resurrection unto judgment.(31) ([30] 1 Corinthians 15:20–23, [31] John 5:28–29)
11. The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent(32) and will be personal, visible, and premillennial.(33) This is the believer's blessed hope and is a vital truth which is an incentive to holy living and faithful service.(34) ([32] Hebrews 10:37, [33] Luke 21:27, [34] Titus 2:11–14)
That last point deserves some explanation. By 'imminent' we don't mean 'just around the corner' we mean that we're a lot closer to it than most people think we are. Simpson believed and taught that once the Great Commission was completed and that there was an established self-sufficient church in every tribe, tongue, and nation that our Lord's return would soon follow. That's why we focus so much on missions. We are, in effect, trying to preach in the Kingdom.
The Canadian C&MA (which is autonomous from the American C&MA... kind of like the Orthodox concept of "autocephalous" churches) has a slightly different Statement of Faith that omits the word "premillennial." Many members of the Canadian C&MA are premillennial but historically the leadership of that church has been amillennial. It's not a source of much controversy at all within the denomination and I was surprised to find that, except for the Senior Pastor and myself, nobody within my local church knew about that particular issue at all when we considered hiring a Youth Pastor ordained under the auspices of the Canadian C&MA.
Finally, while we do affirm a belief in premillennialism in the US, we are *not* necessarily Dispensationalists or Pre-Tribulationalists in the mold of Tim LaHaye and the "Left Behind" crowd. Those views have had certain degrees of popularity in the pews but the pastorate is decidedly not a fan. Simpson himself was a Post-Trib. Historicist in his eschatological views but individual pastors and members are free to believe whatever we like.
Does that about cover it, or would you like to know more?
PS - I believe there was a former member of the C&MA on The Journey Home a while back... I think me may have even been ordained as a Deacon the the Catholic Church now... but I missed it so I can't really comment on it.Last edited on Fri Feb 22nd, 2008 09:04 pm by BeProf
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rbo4u2
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| Joined: | Tue Jan 16th, 2007 |
| Location: | Sunnyvale, California USA |
| Posts: | 324 |
| First Name: | Rich | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Formerly Christian & Missionary Alliance then became Presbyterian |
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Posted: Fri Feb 22nd, 2008 09:42 pm |
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Hello Ed. I hadn't notice before that you are Alliance. As you may have seen, I was in the C&MA (born into it) before I left it around 30 years ago. Your historical outline is interesting and accurate. I'm pleased you picked up on the fact that A.B. Simpson's views on the Second Coming weren't what a lot of the Alliance folk taught. In fact, it was hushed up for many years. I was a close associate of one of the Alliance's historians and he told me that one of the reasons you don't see Simpson's book on Revelation in his Christ in the Bible series, was because it didn't fall in line with the party line. I'd love to pick up one of the original copies of that book. It would be a rare find.
Thanks for the background. Are you currently thinking seriously about crossing the Tiber? There's a lot of good Christians across the great divide.
Rich
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Candlemass
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| Joined: | Tue May 1st, 2007 |
| Location: | Hudson, Ohio USA |
| Posts: | 453 |
| First Name: | Mark | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic, AOG, Baptist, non - denominational, Anglican, CC for life! |
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Posted: Fri Feb 22nd, 2008 10:39 pm |
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Wow, that's more than I ever knew about you from "the fire", including your name! 
____________________
"For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries."--1st Peter 4:3 NKJV
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BeProf
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| Joined: | Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 |
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| Posts: | 59 |
| First Name: | Ed | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Independent Fundamental Baptist - Atheism - Christian & Missionary Alliance |
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Posted: Fri Feb 22nd, 2008 11:14 pm |
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rbo4u2 wrote:
In fact, it was hushed up for many years. I was a close associate of one of the Alliance's historians and he told me that one of the reasons you don't see Simpson's book on Revelation in his Christ in the Bible series, was because it didn't fall in line with the party line. I'd love to pick up one of the original copies of that book. It would be a rare find.
CPI (the now defunct official C&MA publishing house) actually released an edition of Christ in the Bible a few years ago with the Revelation commentary in tact... and an explanatory note that while Simpson's eschatology was dated by modern standards, it wasn't all that out of line with what was going on at the time and it's worth having for background info on his eschatological views on missiology.
I think it was also noteworthy for it's anti-catholicism. Yes, Simpson was anti-catholic but he was certainly no more so than the others of his time and the lack of shrillness of his anti-catholicism in his commentary on Revelation is in stark contrast to the other Historicists of his day.Last edited on Fri Feb 22nd, 2008 11:15 pm by BeProf
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rbo4u2
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| Joined: | Tue Jan 16th, 2007 |
| Location: | Sunnyvale, California USA |
| Posts: | 324 |
| First Name: | Rich | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Formerly Christian & Missionary Alliance then became Presbyterian |
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Posted: Sat Feb 23rd, 2008 02:51 am |
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BeProf wrote:
CPI (the now defunct official C&MA publishing house) actually released an edition of Christ in the Bible a few years ago with the Revelation commentary in tact... and an explanatory note that while Simpson's eschatology was dated by modern standards, it wasn't all that out of line with what was going on at the time and it's worth having for background info on his eschatological views on missiology.
I've been out of the C&MA for so many years, I had not heard that. I still have plenty of friends there, mostly fellow students from Simpson College.
I also knew Simpson was anti-Catholic but not, as you say, as nasty as his contemporaries. I never fully accepted all his teaching but have a great admiration for him. He was a real lover of people.
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EMarshallBuckles
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| Joined: | Mon Nov 19th, 2007 |
| Location: | Rockville (Near Richmond), Virginia USA |
| Posts: | 524 |
| First Name: | Marshall | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Christian Church,Episcopal Church,Baptist denomination,learning about RCC |
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Posted: Sat Feb 23rd, 2008 03:44 am |
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| I hadn't realized that Ravi Zacharias was Christian and Missionary Alliance! He is one awesome preacher!
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BeProf
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| Joined: | Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 |
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| Posts: | 59 |
| First Name: | Ed | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Independent Fundamental Baptist - Atheism - Christian & Missionary Alliance |
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Posted: Sat Feb 23rd, 2008 06:41 am |
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EMarshallBuckles wrote:
I hadn't realized that Ravi Zacharias was Christian and Missionary Alliance! He is one awesome preacher!
Indeed. Our campus church brought Ravi in to speak at Penn State several years ago and he's quite the winsome speaker.
Ravi is licensed and ordained as an Evangelist and was a department chair at Alliance Theological Seminary for several years before launching his current apologetic ministry.
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rbo4u2
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| Joined: | Tue Jan 16th, 2007 |
| Location: | Sunnyvale, California USA |
| Posts: | 324 |
| First Name: | Rich | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Formerly Christian & Missionary Alliance then became Presbyterian |
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Posted: Sat Feb 23rd, 2008 01:48 pm |
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| Now if we could just pray Ravi into the Catholic Church, we'd have a philosopher equal to or, maybe surpass, Peter Kreeft.
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BeProf
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| Joined: | Thu Jan 3rd, 2008 |
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| Posts: | 59 |
| First Name: | Ed | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Independent Fundamental Baptist - Atheism - Christian & Missionary Alliance |
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Posted: Sat Feb 23rd, 2008 05:01 pm |
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rbo4u2 wrote:
Now if we could just pray Ravi into the Catholic Church, we'd have a philosopher equal to or, maybe surpass, Peter Kreeft.
Ah... you guys already have all the smart ones, let us keep one for a change.
And to answer your previous question, I am not actively seeking to enter the Roman Catholic Church. I have gained a deep appreciation for many catholic practices and much of catholic thought through the work of ministries just like this one, but there are still some pretty hefty barriers between me and Rome that (and I'm saying this with all charity) I'm not going to be able to cross short of a God lighting a bush on fire.
Ironically, my membership in the C&MA has been a big catalyst towards my gradual tolerance and finally acceptance of my catholic brothers and sisters as my brothers and sisters in Christ. I wasn't always the hip ecumenist that I am now. I went to Bob Jones and I didn't think they were anti-catholic *enough*. But, after my "wilderness years" in Satanism and Atheism ended I came back to God and found myself in a C&MA church, it was through reading men like A.W. Tozer that I came to realize that maybe... just maybe... there's something to this whole mystic thing.
Tozer, for those of you who aren't familiar with him, was a christian mystic of the first order (IMHO). The man used to, quite literally, get on his face before God in silent prayer and mediation. He would lay prostrate on his office floor for so long that his assistants would have to quietly sneak in and slip a piece of paper under his face so that he wouldn't inhale too much dust from the carpet and aggravate his allergies. The man had no formal education beyond the 8th grade but he was *well* read in both the pre- and post-reformation mystics. His contemporaries used to joke that St. Teresa of Avila was his "girlfriend" because he wouldn't shut up about her. The man could quote St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Francis, John Wesley, and Martin Luther one right after the other and not see any irony or conflict in that at all.
Simpson too had his mystical slant. The C&MA was founded on a principle called, "the deeper christian life." Superficially, it sounds an awful lot like the "entire sanctification" preached by the Holiness Movement, but it's focus is completely different. The Holiness Preachers focused on the what of a holy life. Simpson focused in on the who of a holy life - Jesus. Our personal holiness, or lack thereof, is directly proportional to our personal commitment to yield ourselves to Jesus in everything. Before we can be filled with Him, we must be emptied of ourselves. We must decrease so that He can increase.
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rbo4u2
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| Joined: | Tue Jan 16th, 2007 |
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| First Name: | Rich | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Formerly Christian & Missionary Alliance then became Presbyterian |
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Posted: Sat Feb 23rd, 2008 05:34 pm |
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Yeah...who can forget the Four Fold Gospel? Christ our Savior, Santifier, Healer, and Coming King?
Simpson was a lousy hymnologist musically speaking, but who of us who were in that denomination...excuse me...they didn't like that term when I was a member...
who could ever forget his hymn Himself
HIMSELF
by A. B. Simpson
Once it was the blessing, Now it is the Lord;
Once it was the feeling, Now it is His Word.
Once His gifts I wanted, Now the Giver own;
Once I sought for healing, Now Himself alone.
Once 'twas painful trying, Now 'tis perfect trust;
Once a half salvation, Now the uttermost.
Once 'twas ceaseless holding, Now He holds me fast;
Once 'twas constant drifting, Now my anchor's cast.
Once 'twas busy planning, Now 'tis trustful prayer;
Once 'twas anxious caring, Now He has the care.
Once 'twas what I wanted, Now what Jesus says;
Once 'twas constant asking, Now 'tis ceaseless praise.
Once it was my working, His it hence shall be;
Once I tried to use Him, Now He uses me.
Once the power I wanted, Now the Mighty One;
Once for self I labored, Now for Him alone.
Once I hoped in Jesus, Now I know He's mine;
Once my lamps were dying, Now they brightly shine.
Once for death I waited, Now His coming hail;
And my hopes are anchored, Safe within the vail.
Someone later added a chorus.
All in forever
Jesus will I sing
Everything in Jesus
and Jesus everything
But perhaps his most famous was the song of his heart and the symbol of his ministry and the society (denomination) he founded. Written around 1919
Jesus Only
Jesus only is our message,
Jesus all our theme shall be.
We will lift up Jesus ever,
Jesus only will we see.
Jesus only is our Saviour,
all our guilt He bore away.
All our righteousness He gives us,
all our strength from day to day.
Jesus only is our Sanctifier,
cleansing us from self and sin.
And with all His Spirit's fullness,
filling all our hearts within.
Jesus only is our Healer,
all our sicknesses He bears
and His risen life and fullness,
all His members still may share.
Jesus only is our power,
He the gift of Pentecost.
Jesus, breathe Thy power upon us,
fill us with the Holy Ghost.
And for Jesus we are waiting,
listening for the Advent call;
But 'twill still be Jesus only,
Jesus ever, all in all.
Refrain:
Jesus only, Jesus ever,
Jesus all in all we sing;
Saviour, Sanctifier and Healer,
Glorious Lord and Coming King.
He had some major flaws in his theology, but like you say he was a genuine mystic and love God and the church with all his heart.
Both he and Tozer were great men of God.
My father knew Tozer personally. My dad was his chaffeur during a series of meetings in Ohio before I was born. I also knew Tozer's wife. I met her in a nursing home long after his death. She told me some interesting anecdotes about Tozer. She she told me that after he died that she felt she had lost her pastor, but when she remarried she finally married a husband. That bothered me for a long time. My dad also mentioned to me that after preaching Tozer would retreat to his study and leave the church because he didn't want to mingle with the parishoners ( in Tozer's words) for fear of contaminating himself with their sins. I found that to be objectionable.
But when I look at some of the saints of the Catholic church, especially some of the contemplatives, I see people with clay feet as well who sometimes exhibited a fair amount of irritability towards their contemporaries.
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Candlemass
Member
| Joined: | Tue May 1st, 2007 |
| Location: | Hudson, Ohio USA |
| Posts: | 453 |
| First Name: | Mark | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic, AOG, Baptist, non - denominational, Anglican, CC for life! |
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Posted: Sat Feb 23rd, 2008 05:46 pm |
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BeProf wrote:
And to answer your previous question, I am not actively seeking to enter the Roman Catholic Church. I have gained a deep appreciation for many catholic practices and much of catholic thought through the work of ministries just like this one, but there are still some pretty hefty barriers between me and Rome that (and I'm saying this with all charity) I'm not going to be able to cross short of a God lighting a bush on fire.
We'll plant one in your garden if you like! 
____________________
"For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries."--1st Peter 4:3 NKJV
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