Christian leaders from all U.S. denominations have engaged in talks over the past year to explore "greater unity" around "our common confession of Jesus Christ." Thirty-six churches—including evangelical, Orthodox, pentecostal, Protestant, and Catholic—have launched Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A. with the goal of creating "a place where our differences could be better understood and our commonalities better affirmed," according to the group's initiating statement.
"We celebrate the unique traditions, gifts, and charisms of our respective faith communities," said the statement. "We also acknowledge that when our differences create unnecessary divisions, our witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ is distorted."
The organization, which has included representatives of para-church ministries (including Sojourners) along with all major Christian denominations, met in Baltimore in September 2001 and in Chicago this spring, and will "offer a common witness" by "celebrating a common confession of faith in the Triune God, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit through biblical, spiritual, and theological reflection," and "promoting the common good of society."
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