The Eddyville congregation claims the biblical name “church of Christ” (as found, for example, in Romans 16:16) for several reasons.  Among these reasons are the following:

First, we claim the name “church of Christ” in order to express our desire of simply being a non-denominational part of the only church established by Christ.  The New Testament indeed teaches that Christ only established one church.  Christ Himself indicated this in Matthew 16:18, in telling Peter that his confession was the “rock” upon which Jesus would build His church (“church” is singular).  1 Corinthians 12:13 further says: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.”  Ephesians 4:4 also claims that there is “one body.”  We seek to be part of that one church, and strive to avoid any perception of being part of a man-made church.  Therefore, we take the name “church of Christ” to express our goal of being part of the one church Christ established.

Second, we claim the name “church of Christ” to express the biblical truth that Christ is the only legitimate ruler of His people.  As passages such as Ephesians 1:22-23 teach, Christ is the head of the one worldwide church.  The Eddyville church has local congregational leadership patterned after the New Testament example, but has no true “head” besides Christ Himself.  We claim no other individual or group as authority over our faith.  The teachings of Jesus Christ are the only accepted religious authority for today, and we make a concerted effort to avoid contrary creeds, traditions, and opinions of men.  We therefore claim the name “church of Christ” in order to clarify that Christ is the only head and authority of our congregation.

Third, we claim the name “church of Christ” because of the biblical teaching that God is displeased with those who claim human names for their faith.  Such teaching is perhaps found most clearly in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, where Paul expresses his disappointment in the Corinthian practice of dividing themselves by claiming names such as Paul, Apollos, and Peter (verse 12).  In 1 Cor. 1:13, Paul indicates that this practice is not pleasing to God for 3 reasons: (1) Christ is not divided, and so men should not divide themselves away from Him.  (2)  Only Christ was crucified for His people.  (3)  New Testament baptism is in the name of Christ rather than the name of men.  We therefore take the name “church of Christ” in order to avoid association with what God considers to be divisive human claims.

Perhaps other matters could be mentioned, but we believe these items sum up the basic biblical principles for adopting the name “Eddyville church of Christ.”