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[email protected] Phone# 1-800-334-8736 ___________________________ ATTENTION CATALOGING LIBRARIANS TREN ID# Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) MARC Record # Digital Object Identification DOI # Ministry Focus Paper Approval Sheet This ministry focus paper entitled WE CAN BEAR IT NO LONGER: TOWARD A CONFESSIONAL THEOLOGY WITHIN THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST Written by PAUL A. SMITH and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Ministry has been accepted by the Faculty of Fuller Theological Seminary upon the recommendation of the undersigned readers: _____________________________________ John W. Drane _____________________________________ Kurt Fredrickson Date Received: March 15, 2015 WE CAN BEAR IT NO LONGER: TOWARD A CONFESSIONAL THEOLOGY WITHIN THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY PAUL A. SMITH MARCH 2015 ABSTRACT We Can Bear It No Longer: Toward a Confessional Theology within the Churches of Christ Paul A. Smith Doctor of Ministry School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary 2014 The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the need for members of the Churches of Christ to restore confession in both private and communal worship practices. The major premise is that the men who inspired the movement that gave birth to the modern Churches of Christ either ignored or misunderstood the secular philosophies that influenced their work.