Keith Huey, Ph.D.
Rochester University
Professor of Religion
ANTEBELLUM ORIGINS
Rochester University was established in 1959 by members of the Churches of Christ, a heritage that originated in the early 19th century. This impulse developed in the frontier regions of Eastern Ohio, Western Virginia, and Kentucky, and was led by two erstwhile Presbyterians: Barton W. Stone (1772-1844) and Alexander Campbell (1788-1866). At first, these movements were billed as the “reformation” of Christianity, a corrective to clerical domination and unbiblical practices. Campbell himself, however, believed that stronger medicine was required, and he advocated a sweeping “restoration” that would erase every creed, clerical distinction, and denominational label. They worked in separate circles, but those circles were eventually merged in the winter of 1831-32. The early, most iconoclastic followers identified themselves with generic, non-denominational names: besides the Churches of Christ, the Stone-Campbell movement gave birth, eventually, to the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, and the Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ).
The seeds for this movement were sown among the Reformed churches in the British Isles. They had been governed by foundational doctrinal statements, especially the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647). Throughout the 18th century, however, such statements had been the targets of anti-creedal protest. For instance, John Abernethy (1680-1740), a Belfast Presbyterian minister, insisted that creeds and confessions had been derived from fallible human decisions, and he urged his audiences to interpret the scriptures for themselves. Meanwhile, Anglicans were transformed by the Evangelical revivals of George Whitefield (1714-70) and John Wesley (1703-91), and numerous para-church organizations (such as missionary societies and anti-slavery societies) were formed by the end of the century. For leaders like William Wilberforce (1759-1833) and the Clapham Sect, these ventures were unavoidably ecumenical, with little regard for creedal or clerical distinctions.
Amid the currents of the fledgling American republic, these inclinations were greatly magnified. The tone was set by leaders such as James O’Kelly (1735-1826), who, in protest against the ecclesiastical authority of Bishop Francis Asbury, withdrew in 1792 from the Methodist Episcopal Church. First known as “Republican Methodists,” these churches eventually adopted the generic label of “Christians,” and during the late 1790s they became influential throughout the regions of North Carolina and Virginia. Meanwhile, in New England, Abner Jones (1772-1841) and Elias Smith (1769-1846) disavowed their Baptist identities and became the leaders of yet another “Christian” movement. Declaring their independence from the sectarian baggage of clerics and creeds, these preachers urged their audiences to embrace the simple, unadorned doctrines of the New Testament.
When Barton Stone was examined for ministerial ordination with the Transylvania Presbytery, he was expected to subscribe to the Westminster Confession. He was reticent, however, about that requirement, and ultimately proposed a prodigious caveat. He received the Confession in 1798, but only to the degree that it was “consistent with the word of God.” In addition to his Presbyterian training, he was also enthralled with the fervor of revivalism, and he played an important role in the frontier manifestations of the Second Great Awakening. His ministry began at Cane Ridge, Ky. (near Lexington), and his congregation hosted the landmark Cane Ridge Revival in 1801.
In Presbyterian circles, the ecumenical (and boisterous) revivals were frequently viewed with suspicion. Stone had already placed conditions on his doctrinal fidelity, and did very little to reassure his superiors. In 1803, under the looming threat of ecclesiastical discipline, he withdrew from the Synod of Kentucky; furthermore, in September of 1803, he joined with five similarly disaffected ministers, and they formed the alternative “Presbytery of Springfield.” This arrangement was short-lived: the following June, these ministers dissolved their corporate existence altogether with the Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery. This document, a classic statement of anti-clerical and anti-creedal sentiment, encouraged its readers to exercise their “native right of internal government” and to find “free course to the Bible.” Like the “Christians” who followed O’Kelly, Jones, and Smith, Stone’s adherents began to call themselves “Christians,” and they spread rapidly throughout the region. In 1826, Stone began to edit a journal called The Christian Messenger, and a loose, unofficial, and variegated party was born.
While Stone’s popularity radiated from central Kentucky, a similar movement was forming in the Ohio Valley. This was the movement of Alexander Campbell, a recent Irish immigrant who settled near the town of Wellsburg, Va. in 1809. Campbell had been raised in the Antiburgher Seceder branch of the Presbyterian Church, and his father, Thomas (1763-1854), had served with a church in County Armagh. Thomas, who came to western Pennsylvania in 1807, had already expressed his growing discomforts with creedal definitions, and was known to fraternize outside the Antiburgher fold. Those tendencies had created tensions in his home country; in Pennsylvania, however, they ultimately led to his dismissal from the Antiburgher Seceder ministry.
In 1809, Thomas formed an independent “Christian Association” in Washington, Pa., “for the sole purpose of promoting simple evangelical Christianity [sic].” His principles were outlined in a document called the Declaration and Address, where he lamented the fractured condition of the Christian community. He particularly condemned the divisive consequences of creedal orthodoxy, and he urged his readers to be satisfied with the elementary doctrines that are “expressly taught, and enjoined upon them, in the word of God.” He subsequently encouraged his readers to approach the Bible without ecclesiastical interference, using their own rational thinking to draw the proper conclusions. They should embrace the straightforward commandments (“express terms”) of scripture, and should conform to the early Christian examples (“approved precedents”) that are described in the New Testament. Nothing else, insisted Thomas, could be required from any Christian confession.
Upon his arrival in 1809, the younger Campbell became an enthusiastic advocate for the principles his father had proposed. He soon moved in Baptist circles since he shared their disdain for infant baptism. That affiliation, however, began to unravel in 1816, when he addressed the Redstone Baptist Association with a “Sermon on the Law.” In this presentation, he affirmed the divine origins of the Old Testament, but he denied the binding authority of its commandments and examples. This precipitated strong disapproval, and Campbell eventually shifted to the friendlier circle of the Mahoning Baptist Association; moreover, from 1823-30 he edited a popular journal called The Christian Baptist, where he vented his frustrations and publicized his perspectives.
Propelled into the limelight by his journal and with public debates, Alexander quickly surpassed his father’s influence and became an outspoken advocate for anti-clerical, anti-creedal, New Testament Christianity. He protested against parachurch organizations such as missionary societies, Bible societies, and moral societies, because he regarded them as centralized bureaucracies for clerical power. He also began to advocate a sacramental function for baptism, and this conviction served to alienate him further from his prior Baptist connections. Nonetheless, his intellectual, rhetorical, and administrative talents were immense, and his influence spread rapidly throughout the Ohio Valley. By 1830, his movement of “reformers” had become a separate fellowship altogether, and he abandoned his Baptist affiliation.
In time, Campbell moderated his contentious reputation, and he broadened his circle of influence. He earned widespread Christian support in 1829, when he debated the renowned skeptic Robert Owen; shortly after, in 1830, he discontinued his Christian Baptist and began the Millennial Harbinger, a journal that was relatively irenic in tone. Moreover, following his 1837 debate with the Catholic bishop John Purcell, he became a Protestant hero. With the establishment of Bethany College (in 1840), he assumed the mantle of a genteel educational reformer. For many, however, his identity had been formed during the Christian Baptist years, and a large percentage of his movement retained the iconoclastic spirit of that earlier publication. Though Campbell retained a heroic place in the narrative, his early supporters were largely unable to appreciate his later moderation. A crucial point of departure came in 1849, when, despite his earlier rejection of parachurch organizations, he sanctioned the formation of the American Christian Missionary Society (ACMS) and became its first president.
A combined institution, however, had been born in the winter of 1831-32, when leaders from Campbell’s movement were gathered with Barton Stone’s associates. Held in Lexington, Ky., that meeting affirmed their mutual aims and formally brought them together. Campbell was not directly involved, and many churches declined to ratify the decision; without a centralized structure, this meeting could never produce an official merger. Nonetheless, it did mark the beginning of a singular fellowship, and Stone’s effects gravitated northward while Campbell’s influence swept southward. Many of the Stone-Campbell churches were known as “Churches of Christ,” but Stone’s partisans frequently retained the label of “Christians.” Campbell’s preference, meanwhile, was frequently expressed by those who called themselves the “Disciples of Christ.” These names would eventually mark significant lines of division, but they initially named the constituent parts of a singular movement.
INTERPRETING THE ORIGINS
In many quarters, the Stone-Campbell churches were willing to claim that they had, indeed, restored the faith and practice of the primitive New Testament Christian communities. This interpretation has been central, ever since, to the self-understanding of many conservative members, and is best reflected in the four volumes of Earl West, who published The Search for the Ancient Order. Likewise (but from a more critical perspective), Richard Hughes and C. Leonard Allen have placed the Stone-Campbell movement in the larger context of American antebellum primitivism. Without question, both Stone and Campbell hoped to establish Christian churches that adhered, simply and exclusively, to the authority of scripture. This aspiration was completely consistent with the broader Reformed tradition, and was frequently expressed by American predecessors such as O’Kelly, Jones, Smith, and others.
Aside from restorationist motives, however, there were other forces that fashioned this movement from the soil of the New American Republic. This was particularly true for Campbell, and is evident in the title of his Millennial Harbinger. He was enthusiastic about the prospects of Anglo-Saxon civilization, and was intrigued by the perceived decline of Catholicism. In keeping with the impulse of American “Manifest Destiny,” he believed the Bible foretold a millennial age, the “ultimate amelioration of society.” Simple Christianity, shorn of sectarian baggage, could deliver a global renovation of politics and religion. Thomas Campbell had been a gifted educator for his family, and Alexander was always marked by his brief experience (1808-09) at the University of Glasgow. For his part, therefore, the younger Campbell advocated for a state-sponsored “common school” education that utilized the Bible as a textbook. This millennial impulse was also central to the creation of Bethany College.
More recently, many have interpreted the earliest movement as a “unity movement.” This perception has been valuable, as Churches of Christ and the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ have softened their disputes with one another, and have begun to reconcile past divisions. Toward this end, observers have emphasized Thomas Campbell’s pleas for unity in the Declaration and Address, and they have honored the merger of 1831-32 (which was realized in spite of potentially divisive obstacles). This approach is well-represented by Leroy Garrett’s historical portrait, entitled The Stone-Campbell Movement. It is also prominent in numerous other works, including A Life of Alexander Campbell by Doug Foster. The early ecumenical efforts, however, were exceedingly narrow, and were easily overshadowed by the movement’s contentious reputation. Despite its edifying intentions, this interpretation fails to account for the frontier spirit that pervades the Stone-Campbell narrative.
With this in mind, it is important to observe that the Stone-Campbell impulse was driven by a surge of antebellum populism. This has been described by Nathan Hatch in The Democratization of American Christianity. Winfred Garrison proposed a similar thesis, long ago, and connected the movement’s anti-clerical emphases with its frontier context. Aside from the sharp diatribes of the early Campbell Christian Baptist, the movement’s most provocative statement was surely co-authored by Stone (and his colleagues) when the Springfield Presbytery issued its Last Will and Testament. At once, this document declared total independence from the ecclesiastical oversight of the Synod of Kentucky, and it also renounced its own pretensions to congregational oversight. As such, it matched the broader frontier spirit of religious liberty and clerical disdain. Once again, it is easy to find kinship between Stone, Campbell, and the “Christian” churches of O’Kelly, Jones, and Smith.
EMERGENCE OF CHURCHES OF CHRIST
The Stone-Campbell churches prospered, with nearly 200,000 adherents by the start of the Civil War. Technically speaking, the war did not create a division in the movement; the conflict, however, served to magnify some familiar tensions. The ACMS, a point of controversy since its inception, became a symbol of northern arrogance and perfidy. Moreover, some churches, mostly northern, began to use musical instruments in their worship assemblies, and this “innovation” added fuel to the fires of division. Throughout the Deep South and in Texas, the movement’s churches were inclined toward a non-society, a cappella position. Under the leadership of Tolbert Fanning (1810-74) and David Lipscomb (1831-1917), who published the Gospel Advocate from Nashville, these congregations were generally known as “Churches of Christ.” Before and after Emancipation, this influence would persist in the African American communities, as well, as they began to establish their own traditions.
In the mold of Campbell’s early iconoclasm, the Churches of Christ were strongly resistant to the encroachments of mainstream Protestant theology. A new provocation, however, arose by the end of the 19th century, when they became agitated by the issue of “higher criticism.” This academic discipline, largely built on liberal German scholarship, posed a challenge to traditional concepts of biblical inspiration, and was wholly incompatible with the movement’s trademark biblicism. This controversy, paralleled in other Protestant fellowships, was forcefully engaged by persuasive conservative voices. from the College of the Bible in Lexington, John W. McGarvey (1829-1911) exerted the most effective opposition. In spite of such protests, many ministers became sympathetic toward the trend of “theological liberalism,” and they gained a significant coalition. In Ohio and northern Kentucky, especially, the “Disciples” found capable representation in the Christian Standard of Isaac ErretT (1820-88). Division existed de facto, and was soon recognized by the national census of 1906, where the Churches of Christ were listed as a separate denomination with 160,000 members.
The Disciples would later suffer another rupture, when a confederation of conservative “Christian Churches” withdrew from their midst and formed a separate fellowship. Without an official corporate structure, however, the Churches of Christ have retained a tenuous statistical continuum ever since the census publication. First, their journals provided a degree of communication and cohesion: in addition to the Gospel Advocate, the Texas-based Firm Foundation was established by Austin McGary (1846-1928) in 1884, and G. P. Bowser (1874-1950) started the Christian Echo for African American churches in 1902. In time, these papers have been joined by many others. Second, these churches have been linked by a vibrant collection of liberal-arts colleges, where members could collaborate and students could receive a “Christian education.” The Nashville Bible School (now known as Lipscomb University) began in 1891, and Abilene (Texas) Christian College was founded in 1906. Two others, Harding College (Searcy, Ark.) and Freed-Hardeman College (Henderson, Tn.), were founded in 1919. Unable to find a home in these White institutions, Black churches eventually established Southwestern Christian College (Terrell, Texas) in 1948.
In the early 1900s, the Churches of Christ existed as a relatively marginalized, counter-cultural sect. By the end of two World Wars, however, the pressures of patriotism had become too great, and the movement was driven toward the mainstream of American Protestant culture. They retained their distinctive opposition to instruments, and they held aloof from the broader Protestant spectrum; nonetheless, in sociological terms, the Churches of Christ had become, by the 1950s, a respectable conservative denomination. The 1950s and 1960s were particularly heady days, and they enjoyed an explosion in numbers. To answer the call for additional ministers, new preaching schools and colleges were established, especially in the South. North Central Christian College (now Rochester University) was a rare northern exception, a reflection of Detroit’s booming auto industry. Graduate programs were also added to the religious curriculum at George Pepperdine College (1944, in Los Angeles), Abilene (1953), and Harding (1954, in Memphis). Through the generous donations of numerous churches, the Herald of Truth radio ministries were launched in 1952, and television programs were added the following year. Moreover, missionaries flowed from these new institutions, and a newspaper called The Christian Chronicle (founded in 1943) kept the churches informed about the projects that were being achieved. By 1970, the Churches of Christ numbered close to two million members.
This prosperity, however, was no guarantee for peace or continued growth. A small coterie challenged the biblical authorization for Sunday schools: these “non-class” churches, mostly in Texas, withdrew to form their own fellowship during the 1920s. There was also a “noninstitutional” protest, which reacted against the growing influence of the colleges and the Herald of Truth. Akin to the 19th-century arguments against para-church institutions, this perspective was forcefully argued by Foy E. Wallace, Jr. (1896-1979), who edited various periodicals such as the Bible Banner (1938-49). Meanwhile, the Churches of Christ suffered from persistent racial divisions and a lukewarm engagement with the Civil Rights Movement. Characterized by the rigid conservatism of leaders such as Marshall Keeble (1878-1968), R. N. Hogan (1902-97), and others, African American congregations have continued to develop in parallel with their White counterparts.
As the Churches of Christ moved into the second half of the twentieth century, their growth began to stagnate. Many churches sought to distance themselves from a notoriously disputatious heritage, and they began to adopt new points of emphasis. For example, Mission magazine appeared from 1967 to 1987, dealing frankly with cultural topics such as racial injustice, militarism, and feminism. During the 1980s, another movement radiated from the Boston Church of Christ, placing radical emphasis on evangelism and discipleship. Eventually organized as the International Churches of Christ, this movement became a separate fellowship in 1993, and has endured its own tumultuous journey.
Predictably, strong reactionary forces have tried to preserve the “sound doctrines” of the previous generation. In their quest to distinguish themselves from mainstream American Christianity, these churches have been represented by journals such as The Spiritual Sword, which began in 1969, and Contending for the Faith, which started in 1970. They rigorously defend an exclusivist, non-instrumental platform, and they continue to wield considerable (though waning) influence. To a significant degree, however, the Churches of Christ have moved in the opposite direction: many have embraced a broad range of Evangelical associations, and some have pursued the model of non-denominational “community churches.” The most interesting variable, here, could come from other parts of the world, especially in Africa, India, and Latin America. Only time can tell what role the “Global South” will play, but the Churches of Christ have enjoyed considerable growth in those regions.
DOCTRINAL DEVELOPMENTS
Despite their debt to Barton Stone, the Churches of Christ have been primarily marked by the early, iconoclastic legacy of Alexander Campbell. They have favored his original mission to overturn denominational creeds and to restore the ostensible purity of primitive Christianity. In many Churches of Christ, the earliest centuries of Catholic development have been rejected as a time of “apostasy,” and the reformations of Martin Luther and John Calvin have been faintly praised as a partial move in a first-century direction. For them, therefore, the restorative work of Stone and Campbell should be viewed as an essential moment in Christian history.
When these churches interpret scripture, Campbell’s influence is most evident. His approach to the Old Testament, as proposed in his 1816 “Sermon on the Law,” has been a powerful force. In accordance with this view, the Old Testament is “fulfilled” and is not authoritative for the “Christian dispensation.” This attitude has led, quite logically, to a disproportionate focus on the New Testament, especially the Epistles and Acts. For many Churches of Christ, this limited canon is sufficient to find a biblical pattern of “direct commands” and “approved precedents,” as Thomas Campbell proposed in his Declaration and Address. Acts 2:38, for instance, is frequently cited as an obligatory commandment from Peter, who said, “repent and be baptized, every one of you.” Meanwhile, in Acts 20:7 we are told that Paul broke bread “on the first day of the week,” and this example is treated as a normative precedent for every Christian believer. In this quest for a coherent, authoritative, first-century pattern, the Churches of Christ have been optimistic about the clear-cut authority of scriptural data and have attempted to define their doctrines with scientific certitude.
This interpretive method undergirds a nexus of distinctive practices in the Churches of Christ, beginning with baptism. In keeping with a literal translation of the Greek word baptizo (and the presumed example of the first-century church), it has been important for Churches of Christ to define baptism as a full bodily immersion. More distinctively, however, the purpose of baptism has been defined as a means for receiving grace and forgiveness. It is not understood to be a meritorious act in its own right; nonetheless, it represents an essential, visible, and salvific moment of obedience. Once again, Acts 2:38 has been determinative here, along with Acts 22:16, 1 Peter 3:21, and other “direct commands.” This doctrine has been foundational for all three branches of the Stone-Campbell movement and has been a trademark for the Churches of Christ.
With an appeal to approved New Testament precedents, the Churches of Christ have also insisted that first-century churches were autonomous and were individually governed by a plurality of elders. Along with Stone and Campbell, they have rejected the concepts of regional bishops and authoritative councils, wherever clerical power might be centralized. As noted above, this persuasion has led some Churches of Christ to be suspicious about missionary societies, colleges, and radio programs. On the other hand, it has also allowed for remarkable freedom of expression and is largely responsible for the bewildering diversity that presently characterizes the movement.
Most famously, perhaps, the Churches of Christ are known for their insistence on a cappella music. Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 are frequently cited, because they command “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” without any mention of instruments. In the absence of a command or a precedent, the practice of “instrumental music” has been judged to be sinful, and the issue is frequently treated as a litmus test for obedience. David Edwin Harrell has convincingly argued that this issue was exacerbated by 19th century sectional and sociological forces, but it continues to persist in the 21st century. Many churches, in recent years, have abandoned the traditional position; it is typical, nonetheless, for most congregations to sing without instrumental accompaniment.
Normally, the Churches of Christ have reserved public leadership roles for their male members only. With their customary emphasis on Pauline epistles, they have appealed to biblical passages such as 1 Corinthians 14:34 and 1 Timothy 2:11-15, where feminine roles would seem to be clearly and sharply curtailed. Egalitarian advocates, by contrast, have argued that gender equality is an essential feature of the Kingdom of God, and they have challenged the hermeneutical assumptions that support the traditional biblical arguments. The interpretive stakes are significant and the issue has been hotly contested; male leadership, however, continues to be normative in most of the congregations.
In recent years, Churches of Christ have been forced to reconsider their historic interpretive assumptions. Some have concluded that the traditional, pattern-seeking strategy has neglected crucial biblical themes, leaving Churches of Christ in a theologically shallow position. This concern was expressed as early as 1965 by Thomas H. Olbricht (1929-2020), who dared to suggest that Campbell had led the movement in “the wrong direction.” Moreover, subsequent critics have observed that the genre of biblical literature does not lend itself to systematic, “patternistic” manipulation. These suggestions have received a predictably mixed reaction, as traditionalists rightly recognize the threat that a “new hermeneutic” would pose for most of the doctrines articulated above. The Churches of Christ remain stridently conservative, but that consensus is eroding. It will be strenuously tested in future years, as they confront LGBTQ issues, environmental concerns, and more.
EVALUATION
The Churches of Christ have inherited a vibrant heritage and a unique historical narrative, but their distinctive doctrinal identity seems to hang on a time-bound hermeneutical scaffold. More than two hundred years have elapsed since Thomas Campbell’s Declaration and Address, and it is philosophically difficult, in the world of the 21st century, to appeal to the clear-cut authority of biblical patterns. Traditionalists will surely continue to defend the old paths, and they will not be dissuaded by disapproval of the majority. Their mission, however, will be increasingly difficult, and their ranks seem destined to dwindle.
Progressives will continue to press for hermeneutical changes, but it will be difficult to do this without a change of affiliation. Many congregations have already erased the “Church of Christ” label from their stationery, and some are frankly indifferent about the historic ties they have severed. If they care about the past, they might salvage an ecumenical vision from the earliest days of the movement, or they might be inspired by the millennial “amelioration of society.” These kinds of options, however, can be pursued in other contexts, and there are plenty of places more amenable than the Stone-Campbell heritage. The most one can say, at this point, is that the Churches of Christ are still producing innovative ministers, capable scholars, and creative forms of mission. They clearly constitute an important and unfinished chapter in American church history.
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