A History of Christian Doctrine #3 - Online Christian Library

A History of Christian Doctrine
attributes which are biblically based. Our liturgies try
to provide a model for using inclusive language. Also,
we are committed to providing a safe environment for
theological exploration and open spiritual experience:
there are no “heresies” in our worshipping community.
We are all exploring greater understanding of the
divine and our relationship to the world, each other,
ourselves, and that which is greater than ourselves
(who can be called She, He, It or Them): whatever
provides a meaningful connection.
The twentieth century also saw the rise of the ecumenical
movement, the attempt to unite various
branches of Christendom in fellowship and ultimately in
organization. The worldwide movement began with the
World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh in 1910. The
foremost example of ecumenism today is the World
Council of Churches (1948), which we discuss in the next
section. The sister organization in the United States is the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
(NCCC). The NCCC is the successor to the Federal
Council of Churches of Christ, founded in 1908.
In addition, there are other significant examples of
ecumenism that we will discuss in subsequent chapters,
including the National Association of Evangelicals,
Catholic-Protestant dialogue, the Pentecostal/Charismatic
Churches of North America, and the Charismatic movement
itself.
The World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a “fellowship
of churches which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as
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