I have the '99 edition of Encarta (Microsoft Reference) and they have an extensive explanation of the a capella churches as well as the Christian churches/churches of Christ. Here is the article on the Christian churches:

Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, conservative Fundamentalist congregations separated from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). In 1906 some Disciples with a distinctively southern regional base separated to found the Churches of Christ. Many northern conservatives remained with the parent group, but by 1925 they concluded that biblical criticism and open membership (accepting transfers from other churches who had been baptized without immersion) endangered the denomination's traditional interest in restoring New Testament Christianity. That year they formed the Christian Restoration Association and began the Restoration Herald to resist Modernism. Liberal elements still controlled policy in national organizations, however, especially in foreign missions. In 1927, therefore, conservatives established an opposition caucus, the North American Christian Convention. This group in effect constituted a separate fellowship after 1927. Dissident churches withheld funds from the Disciples' national programs, conducted independent missionary efforts, and supported dozens of evangelical schools, notably Milligan College and Cincinnati Bible Seminary. In 1968 the Disciples inaugurated a complex reorganization process. Conservatives objected to the provisional design because it perpetuated liberal leadership and further threatened local church autonomy. Therefore, the right-wing bloc left the national organization and in 1971 asked to be listed as a separate communion, acknowledging irreconcilable differences that belied professed interests in ecumenism. This communion assumed the name Undenominational Fellowship of Christian Churches and Churches of Christ. Its governing body, the North American Christian Convention, meets annually, has a full-time staff, and wages a vigorous campaign to preserve Fundamentalist standards in belief and conduct. In the late 1980s constituents numbered nearly 1.1 million, with almost 6600 clergy in nearly 5600 independent churches located primarily in the Midwest.

Contributed By: Henry Warner Bowden

Further Reading

"Christian Churches and Churches of Christ," Microsoft. Encarta. Encyclopedia 99. ) 1993-1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

------------------ The reason I posted this is just because I was intensely interested in the fact that the secular world has (even a limited) understanding of our movement.

What do you think?

-- Anonymous, August 26, 2000