4. The Lord's church compared to denomination
The Protestant denominations can be traced to a specific theologian or group and represents their opposition to teachings they disagreed with. The Lord's church on the other hand, and the intent of those involved in the Restoration Movement was to reproduce the church found in the New Testament as it was established by Christ through the apostles on the day of Pentecost. While denominational bodies may have some degree of pride in their history and heritage, the Lord's church seeks to promote the scriptures first and foremost. Differences between what the scriptures teach and what took place in the Protestant Reformation are clear when we consult the Bible.
Isaiah and Micah both spoke of the establishment of the "mountain of the Lord's house in the top of the mountains" (Isa 2.2, Mic 4.1). The establishment of this new kingdom would begin in Jerusalem (Isa 2.3) and be characterized by a new law (Jer 31.31-33). Before his departure from the world, Jesus told his disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they received power from on high (Lk 24.49, Acts 1.4).
On the day of Pentecost, fifty days after his crucifixion, the apostles received the power of the Holy Spirit and Peter preached the first Gospel sermon. Remission of sins in the name of Christ was preached for the first time as the church has 3000 added on that day (Acts 2.41). Persecution arose in Acts 7-8 forcing disciples to leave Jerusalem. We see a congregation established in city of Samaria as Philip carries the Gospel there preaching Jesus. Acts 13-28 detail the growth of the church and the preaching in the gentile world primarily by the apostle Paul. Reading the book of Acts and epistles we see that each of these congregations functioned independently as they all taught the same message and practiced the same things.
The scriptures state that Christ is the head of the church (Col 1.18). The church teaches and follows the word that was revealed in the first century as we find warnings throughout the New Testament not to deviate from the doctrine that was delivered (Jude 3) and other passages. Local congregations were to be organized with elders, or bishops, who are charged with overseeing the flock spiritually. Other roles defined in the New Testament include preachers or evangelists, teachers, deacons and members (Eph 4.11, Heb 13.7, 1 Pet 5.1-3). The doctrine and teaching was to follow the same pattern everywhere as Paul states that there is one faith (Eph 4.4-5). Warnings also exist in the scriptures not to change the word of God which prohibits doctrinal statements or alterations by humans (Prov 30.6, Rev 22.18-19). We're reminded that all scripture is inspired by God (2 Tim 3.16) and as such is not subject to editorial modifications that church leaders may think are necessary. Leaders of the Protestant Reformation argued in favor of their opinions about the scriptures while Restoration Movement teachers and preachers realized that God's word is the only standard for all things in the church and we need to conform to scriptural teaching.