Editing Church of the Brethren (section)

=== 20th century ===
During the early 20th century, the Church of the Brethren invested heavily in foreign missions in India, China, and other nations. They also embraced the American [[temperance movement]].

The denomination's two-hundred year old peace position was tested when delegates at the Goshen Conference in Goshen, Indiana, adopted the 1918 [http://www.brethren.org/ac/statements/1918war.html Statement on War and Violence] nine months after the United States entered the war to address the issue of conscientious objectors. In July of that year, leaders of the conference were threatened with punishment by the US government under the Sedition Act. The church leaders agreed not to retract the statement, but to withdraw it from circulation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.brethren.org/CO/documents/session-3-goshen-conference.pdf|title=The Goshen Conference: Call of Conscience|date=2013|website=Church of the Brethren}}{{dead link|date=July 2022}}</ref>

Discipline for violating church teachings during the church's first two hundred years ranged from setting members "back" from communion to disfellowshipping them as members to, in rare cases, "avoidance" (or [[shunning]]). These practices gradually subsided as the earlier emphasis upon unity of practice (the "order of the Brethren") gave way during the 1920s and 1930s to an emphasis upon individual moral autonomy. [[Martin Grove Brumbaugh]]—a Brethren minister and historian who became governor of Pennsylvania in 1915—played a leading role in disseminating a more progressive vision of Brethren history and practice. His questionable claim that "no force in religion" had been a Brethren teaching since their founding reinforced his calls to relax church discipline.<ref>{{cite book|author=Carl F Bowman|title=Brethren Society: The Cultural Transformation of a Peculiar People|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|year=1995|pages=252–253; 356–357}} See also {{cite book|author=Donald F Durnbaugh|title=Fruit of the Vine: A History of the Brethren 1708-1995|publisher=Brethren Press|year=1997|pages=390–391}}</ref> These changes led to an exodus of many [[conservative Anabaptists|conservative Brethren]] in the 1920s, who organized the [[Dunkard Brethren Church]], which continues to uphold the Brethren practices of [[plain dress]] and [[Christian head covering|headcovering]].<ref name= "DBC2022">{{cite web |title=History |url=https://www.dunkardbrethrenchurch.com/Church-History.html |publisher=[[Dunkard Brethren Church]] |access-date=21 May 2022 |archive-date=April 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418125909/https://www.dunkardbrethrenchurch.com/Church-History.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name= "Bronner2015"/>

During the 1940s and 1950s, acts of global Christian service flourished and energized the denomination. Service work was centered at the [http://www.brethren.org/brethrenservicecenter/ Brethren Service Center] in New Windsor, Md., after Brethren purchased a former college campus there for that purpose. Many Brethren joined [http://www.brethren.org/bvs/ Brethren Volunteer Service] and Heifers for Relief, which incorporated independently in 1953 and eventually became [[Heifer International]]. The Brethren helped establish the Christian Rural Overseas Program (CROP), which was originally housed at Bethany Biblical Seminary, the Brethren seminary in Oak Brook, Illinois. Well-known leaders of the Brethren Service initiatives included [[Dan West (philanthropist)|Dan West]] and [https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Zigler,_Michael_Robert_(1891-1985) M.R. (Michael Robert) Zigler].

[[File:First Brethren panorama.jpg|alt=First Brethren, Nappanee, Indiana.|thumb|300px|[[Nappanee]] First Brethren Church, Indiana, United States.]]
[[File:Bellefontaine Church of the Brethren.jpg|alt=Bellefontaine Church of the Brethren, located at 534 S. Detroit Street in Bellefontaine, Ohio, United States.|thumb|300px|Church of the Brethren, [[Bellefontaine, Ohio|Bellefontaine]], Ohio, United States.]]
From the end of the Second World War to the present, Brethren have continued to be active in service and missions around the world. Differences have also remained, with Brethren individuals, churches, and districts disagreeing about issues including Biblical authority, ordination of women, homosexuality, climate change, and [[ecumenism]].

The 1958 Annual Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, decided that trine immersion would not be required of all members, allowed ordination of women, opened love feast to members of any church, and permitted bread and cup communion outside of love feast.

At the Annual Conference in [[Ocean Grove, New Jersey]], the next year, a group of conservative Brethren responded by forming the Brethren Revival Fellowship (BRF). The BRF describes itself as "a loyal concern movement within the Church of the Brethren." The BRF advocates simple dress, [[Biblical inerrancy]], church discipline, and an [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] understanding of faith. It has been critical of the denomination's involvement in political and social causes, as well as its association with the World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches.

Progressive-leaning groups have also grown.  Groups including the Womaen's Caucus, Voices for an Open Spirit, Open Table Cooperative, and Brethren-Mennonite Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Interests advocate  changes to church doctrine and practice. Proposed changes have include giving the denomination a gender-neutral name, allowing LGBT Brethren to be ordained as ministers and get married, and increasing the political and social mission of the church.

Although a divide exists within the church on these issues, the official position of the church is that the Bible is the Word of God, and that covenant relationships between homosexuals are unacceptable.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.brethren.org/ac/statements/1979biblicalinspirationauthority.html |title= 1979 Biblical Inspiration Authority |publisher= Brethren |access-date= November 15, 2015 |archive-date= November 17, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151117031059/http://www.brethren.org/ac/statements/1979biblicalinspirationauthority.html |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brethren.org/ac/statements/1983humansexuality.html#Homosexual |title=1983 Human Sexuality |publisher=Brethren |access-date=November 15, 2015 |archive-date=November 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117021331/http://www.brethren.org/ac/statements/1983humansexuality.html#Homosexual |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, the church also affirms "[[unity in diversity]]", which generally allows for church districts and congregations to set doctrine.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.brethren.org/about/policies/2008-forbearance.pdf |title=A Resolution Urging Forbearance |publisher=Brethren |access-date=November 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117031511/http://www.brethren.org/about/policies/2008-forbearance.pdf |archive-date= November 17, 2015 }}</ref>