The Kiwi Church

Chris Miller-McLemore spent the 2006 fall semester in New Zealand. In his HELM Leadership Fellows covenant, he examined Christianity in New Zealand and wrote this reflection.

When I came to New Zealand, I was curious as to what Christianity, and in general, churches similar to the Disciples of Christ, were like. I decided to learn about this by attending church services here, and talking to members of these churches about the history of the church in New Zealand. I was particularly curious about this because I had read that New Zealand was a fairly secular country, with a much smaller percentage of the population involved in religious activity than countries throughout the rest of the world. I had a particularly good contact here in Lyndsay and Lorraine Jacobs, who have worked to help spread and connect Churches of Christ in New Zealand for many years, and also Disciples of Christ churches in the US for 12 years. Through them, I learned about the Churches of Christ in New Zealand, and began attending a local Church of Christ. 40 of these congregations are present in New Zealand today, and an active Asian contingent exists as well. The Churches of Christ here are the equivalent of Disciples of Christ churches back home, but I learned that, while they share many similarities in principle, some interesting differences exist in their history and practice.

First, and most obviously, the Churches of Christ in New Zealand are known by a different name as our Disciples of Christ churches back home. This is because the Churches of Christ here are descended from the English tradition, and did not go through the same history of breakup that occurred among Disciples of Christ churches in the States. Another major difference in the history of the Churches of Christ in New Zealand is the much smaller presence of actual clergy who lead churches, and the more pronounced emphasis on leadership by lay people of the congregations. This began in the early history of the church, when most congregations were established by migrants to New Zealand, rather than missionaries or clergy members. Also, British Churches of Christ used a similar system of reliance on lay people for leadership, and this easily transferred to New Zealand. The first Church of Christ was established in 1844, but the first full time minister was not employed until 1866. Even though there are many employed ministers today, emphasis on leadership by all members of the congregation is still very prominent.

Another important difference between Disciples of Christ churches in the States and Churches of Christ in New Zealand is in the makeup of the Churches of Christ. All Churches of Christ in New Zealand go under the title 'Associated Churches of Christ,' and this group is further split into two subgroups. This is because of a movement in the second half of the 20th Century which aimed to unite the various Christian churches of New Zealand. Churches of different denominations across New Zealand gathered and organized a strategy to group together under a united name and set of beliefs. This plan gained a large amount of support in the Churches of Christ in its early stages, but when voting occurred in the congregations of the different Churches of Christ, only a small number actually decided to enter into the union. Therefore, of the 40 congregations in New Zealand, 28 are solely Churches of Christ, which encompass similar views and beliefs as our Disciples of Christ churches. However, the other 12 congregations are known as United Churches of Christ, which are a combination of the Churches of Christ, Methodists, Presbyterians, and also Anglican churches. Also, there are also another 140 or so United congregations in New Zealand which do not include the Church of Christ.

In practice, Churches of Christ in New Zealand are mostly similar to Disciples of Christ churches in the States. However, one major exception that I noticed between the church I attended and most Disciples of Christ churches I have attended in the past was a general flexibility in worship schedules. Whereas most churches I have attended in the States have had a very set order of worship that did not change from week to week, the church I attended here had a very flexible worship schedule, and apparently this is the case for the majority of the Churches of Christ here. Also, the order of worship that was most frequently used by the church I attended put communion first, followed directly by offering, and finished by a sermon from the minister. This is directly opposite to the order in which these events take place in every Disciples of Christ worship service that I have ever attended, and was quite strange the first time I experienced it in a church service.

Even though these differences in history and practice occur, there is a strong sense of the similar values and beliefs with which I am associated. Views on such major issues as the role of women in the church and the acceptance of gays and people of different background are very similar to the beliefs proclaimed by the Disciples of Christ, and it was nice to find this here. Choosing to learn about the differences between Disciples of Christ churches and Churches of Christ was very interesting, and also educational because I learned that there are many other ways to congregate and worship besides those that I had previously been exposed to. During my time living and traveling around New Zealand, I grew much more confident in my ability to get accustomed to and familiar with new and unfamiliar surroundings, and it was great to know that the church could still be present through that time as well.