The Metropolitan Spiritual Churches of Christ (MSCC) is a

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

descending from the

spiritual church movement The spiritual church movement is an informal name for a group of loosely allied and also independent Spiritualist churches and Spiritualist denominations that have in common that they have been historically based in the African American communit ...

. Formed in 1925 within

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, the MSCC is divided into 7 dioceses led by diocesan prelates. The current presiding prelate for the denomination is Bishop James D. Tindall Sr.

History

In September 1925, the first congregation—Metropolitan Spiritual Church of Christ—was established in Kansas City, Missouri by Bishop William F. Taylor (not to be confused with Bishop William Taylor, missionary) and Elder Leviticus L. Boswell. Previously, Taylor served within the

Christian Methodist Episcopal Church The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (C.M.E.C.) is a Methodist denomination that is based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology. Though historically a part of the black church, the Christian Methodist Episcopal church ...

, and Boswell served within the

Metropolitan Community Church The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), is an international LGBT-affirming Christian denominations, LGBT-affirming mainline Protestant Christian denomination. The ...

; Boswell was ordained as an elder within the

Church of God in Christ The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is an international Christian perfection#Holiness Pentecostalism, Holiness–Pentecostal Christian denomination, and a large Pentecostal denomination in the United States. Although an international and multi ...

. Leaving their established religious communities to establish a

Spiritualist Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at least ...

movement, one member claimed the MSCC "provided in part an 'umbrella group for gays.'" In 1926, the Metropolitan Spiritual Churches of Christ began ordaining women ministers. Following the death of Bishop Taylor, a succession crisis occurred, and in 1942 the MSCC merged with the Divine Spiritual Churches of the Southwest, based in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. This merger created the United Metropolitan Spiritual Churches of Christ, though the

united and uniting church A united church, also called a uniting church, is a denomination formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations, a number of which come from separate and distinct denominationa ...

schismed into two separate denominations: the United Metropolitan Spiritual Churches of Christ, and the Metropolitan Spiritual Churches of Christ in Kansas City. In 1974, the MSCC held its 49th congress under the leadership of Bishop Taylor's successor, Bishop Clarence H. Cobbs. Under Bishop Taylor's administration, Cobbs founded the First Church of Deliverance in May 1929. By 1979, Lucretia L. Smith became the first female presiding bishop of the denomination.

Doctrine

As a part of the spiritual church movement, the Metropolitan Spiritual Churches of Christ syncretizes certain tenets of

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes in ...

Pentecostalism Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

, and

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

. The MSCC also teaches the

foursquare gospel The Foursquare Church is an international Pentecostal Christianity, Christian denomination founded in 1923 by evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson. It lies within the evangelical tradition. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California, Unit ...

and some of its churches use Catholic iconography and statues, though ritual items and belief systems vary through each congregation; once, the denomination officially practiced seances, however the MSCC "has attempted to disassociate itself from certain aspects of the larger Spiritual movement (.e.g., seances) and particularly

Voodoo Voodoo may refer to: Religions * West African Vodún, a religion practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...

."{{Refpage, page=148

References

Christian denominations in the United States Spiritualism in the United States