nt believer, although not thatthe water itself has power to save. (They interpret Acts 2:38 literally.)Churches of Christ take communion every Sunday. They believe that the bread and wineare symbolic of Christ's body and blood -- that is, they don't agree with the RomanCatholic doctrine of transubstantiation. Otherwise they don't rigidly define what they dobelieve about this. They use "unleavened bread" and "fruit of the vine" as the communionelements -- usually matzoh and grape juice. (Most mainline Churches of Christ disapproveof members drinking alcohol, and so don't use wine.)Most mainline Churches of Christ are conservative about women's roles in the church, andrestrict them to teaching children's classes or speaking to groups of women only. There'sno such formally-defined role as "women's counselor" or "women's minstry leader" amongmainline Churches of Christ -- that is an innovation of the ICC -- but older women in somemainline Churches of Christ do much of the work a women's ministry leader does in anICC congregation.Most mainline Churches of Christ reject the use of musical instruments during worship asunbiblical. It is primarily this belief that separates the mainline Churches of Christ from theIndependent Christian Churches, many of whom also go by the name, "Church of Christ"and whose beliefs and practices are extremely similar to those of the Churches of Christ.Most do not allow members to divorce and remarry unless the divorce was for adultery or,in some cases, abandonment by a non-believing spouse.This list does not give a full picture of the religious atmosphere of the mainline Church ofChrist, though -- a list of doctrines can't do that. In the past thirty years, many mainlineChurches of Christ have abandoned the rigid beliefs typical of their denomination in the1950s and 1960s, as well.During the early years of the Crossroads movement, though, the mainline Churches ofChrist were known for their absolutism and their gen...
