Restoration Movement
The Restoration Movement (also known as the American Restoration Movement or the Stone–Campbell Movement, and pejoratively as Campbellism) is a Christian movement that began on the United States frontier during the Second Great Awakening (1790–1840) of the early 19th century. The pioneers of this movement were seeking to reform the church from within[1] and sought "the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after the church of the New Testament."[2]: 54
This article is about the Stone–Campbell Restoration Movement and Christian churches that have a historical and/or theological connection to it. For other uses, see Restorationism (disambiguation).
The Restoration Movement developed from several independent strands of religious revival that idealized early Christianity. Two groups which independently developed similar approaches to the Christian faith were particularly important.[3] The first, led by Barton W. Stone, began at Cane Ridge, Kentucky, and identified as "Christians". The second began in western Pennsylvania and Virginia (now West Virginia) and was led by Thomas Campbell and his son, Alexander Campbell, both educated in Scotland; they eventually used the name "Disciples of Christ". Both groups sought to restore the Christian church based on visible patterns set forth in the New Testament, and both believed that creeds kept Christianity divided. In 1832 they joined in fellowship with a handshake.
Among other things, they were united in the belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; that Christians should celebrate the Lord's Supper on the first day of each week; and that baptism of adult believers was necessarily by immersion in water.[4]: 147–148 Because the founders wanted to abandon all denominational labels, they used the biblical names for the followers of Jesus.[4]: 27 Both groups promoted a return to the purposes of the 1st-century churches as described in the New Testament. One historian of the movement has argued that it was primarily a unity movement, with the restoration motif playing a subordinate role.[5]: 8
The Restoration Movement has since divided into multiple separate groups. The three main groups are: the Churches of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and the independent Christian Church/Church of Christ congregations. Additionally, there are the International Churches of Christ, the International Christian Church, the Churches of Christ in Europe, and the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada,[6][7][8] and the Churches of Christ in Australia. Some characterize the divisions in the movement as the result of the tension between the goals of restoration and ecumenism: the Churches of Christ and unaffiliated Christian Church/Church of Christ congregations resolved the tension by stressing restoration, while the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) resolved the tension by stressing ecumenism.[5]: 383
Name[edit]
Because the Restoration Movement lacks any centralized structure, having originated in a variety of places with different leaders, there is no consistent nomenclature for the movement as a whole.[9] The term "Restoration Movement" became popular during the 19th century;[10] this appears to be the influence of Alexander Campbell's essays on "A Restoration of the Ancient Order of Things" in the Christian Baptist.[10] The term "Stone-Campbell Movement" emerged towards the end of the 19th century as a way to avoid the difficulties associated with some of the other names that have been used and to maintain a sense of the collective history of the movement.[10]
The Restoration Movement has been characterized by several key principles:
Thus, the church "should stress only what all Christians hold in common and should suppress all divisive doctrines and practices".[14]
Several slogans have been used in the Restoration Movement, which are intended to express some of the distinctive themes of the movement:[15]
Independent Christian churches and churches of Christ have both organizational and hermeneutic differences with the Churches of Christ.[76]: 186 For example, they have a loosely organized convention, and they view scriptural silence on an issue more permissively.[76]: 186 Nonetheless, they are much more closely related to the Churches of Christ in their theology and ecclesiology than they are with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).[76]: 186
The development of the unaffiliated Christian Church/Church of Christ congregations as a separately identifiable religious body from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was a lengthy process.[80]: 185 The roots of the separation can be found in the polarization resulting from three major controversies that arose during the early 20th century.[80]: 185 One, which was a source of division in other religious groups, was "the theological development of modernism and liberalism."[80]: 185 The early stages of the ecumenical movement, which led in 1908 to the Federal Council of Churches, provide a second source of controversy.[80]: 185 The third was the practice of open membership, in which individuals who had not been baptized by immersion were granted full membership in the church.[80]: 185 Those who supported one of these points of view tended to support the others as well.[80]: 185
The Disciples of Christ were, in 1910, a united, growing community with common goals.[90] Support by the United Christian Missionary Society of missionaries who advocated open membership became a source of contention in 1920.[80]: 185 Efforts to recall support for these missionaries failed in a 1925 convention in Oklahoma City and a 1926 convention in Memphis, Tennessee.[80]: 185 Many congregations withdrew from the missionary society as a result.[80]: 185
The North American Christian Convention was organized by the more conservative congregations in 1927.[80]: 185 The Christian Standard served as a source of cohesion for these congregations.[80]: 185 From the 1960s on, newer unaffiliated missionary organizations like the Christian Missionary Fellowship (today, Christian Missionary Fellowship International) were working more on a national scale in the United States to rally Christian Church/Church of Christ congregations in international missions.[80]: 9 By this time the division between liberals and conservatives was well established.[90]
The official separation between the independent Christian churches and Churches of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is difficult to date.[5]: 407 Suggestions range from 1926 to 1971 based on the events outlined below:
Because of this separation, many independent Christian churches and Churches of Christ are not only non-denominational, they can be anti-denominational, avoiding even the appearance or language associated with denominationalism holding true to their Restoration roots.
Reunion efforts[edit]
Efforts have been made to restore unity among the various branches of the Restoration Movement. In 1984 a "Restoration Summit" was held at the Ozark Christian College, with 50 representatives of both the Churches of Christ and the unaffiliated Christian Church/Church of Christ congregations.[101]: 642 Later meetings were open to all and were known as "Restoration Forums."[101]: 642 Beginning in 1986 they have been held annually, generally in October or November, with the hosting venue alternating between the Churches of Christ and the Christian churches and churches of Christ.[101]: 642 Topics discussed have included issues such as instrumental music, the nature of the church, and practical steps for promoting unity.[101]: 642
Efforts were made in the early 21st century to include representatives of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).[101]: 642 These efforts followed the "Stone-Campbell Dialogue," which was a series of meetings beginning in 1999 that included representatives of all three major U.S. branches of the Restoration Movement.[101]: 642 [102]: 720 The first full meeting in 1999 included six representatives from each of the three traditions.[102]: 720 Meetings were held twice annually, and in 2001 were expanded to include anyone associated with the Restoration Movement who was interested in attending.[102]: 720 Also, special efforts were made in 2006 to create more intentional fellowship between the various branches of the Movement.[103][104] This was in conjunction with the centennial anniversary of the "official" recognition of the split between the Christian Church and the Churches of Christ by the U.S. Census in 1906.[103][104] One example of this was the hosting by Abilene Christian University (ACU) of the annual Restoration Unity Forum for 2006 as part of the university's annual Bible lectureship.[105] During the program Don Jeanes, president of Milligan College and Royce Money, president of ACU, jointly gave a presentation on the first chapter of the Gospel of John.[106] The 2004 ACU Lectureship included a forum with leaders from the Churches of Christ and the ICOC that included apologies from both groups.[107][108]
Churches outside North America[edit]
Restoration Movement churches are found around the world, and the World Convention of Churches of Christ provides many national profiles.[109] Their genealogies are representative of developments in North America. Their theological orientation ranges from fundamentalist to liberal to ecumenical. In some places they have joined with churches of other traditions to form united churches at local, regional or national level.
A group in Nottingham withdrew from the Scotch Baptist church in 1836 to form a Church of Christ.[110]: 369 James Wallis, a member of that group, founded a magazine named The British Millennial Harbinger in 1837.[110]: 369 In 1842 the first Cooperative Meeting of Churches of Christ in Great Britain was held in Edinburgh.[110]: 369 Approximately 50 congregations were involved, representing a membership of 1,600.[110]: 369 The name "Churches of Christ" was formally adopted at an annual meeting in 1870.[110]: 369 Alexander Campbell influenced the British Restoration Movement indirectly through his writings; he visited the Britain for several months in 1847, and "presided at the Second Cooperative Meeting of the British Churches at Chester."[110]: 369 At that time the movement had grown to encompass 80 congregations with a total membership of 2,300.[110]: 369 Annual meetings were held after 1847.[110]: 369 The use of instrumental music in worship was not a source of division among the Churches of Christ in Great Britain before World War I. More significant was the issue of pacifism; a national conference was established in 1916 for congregations that opposed the war.[110]: 371 A conference for "Old Paths" congregations was first held in 1924.[110]: 371 The issues involved included concern that the Christian Association was compromising traditional principles in seeking ecumenical ties with other organizations and a sense that it had abandoned Scripture as "an all-sufficient rule of faith and practice."[110]: 371 Two "Old Paths" congregations withdrew from the association in 1931; an additional two withdrew in 1934, and 19 more withdrew between 1943 and 1947.[110]: 371 Membership declined rapidly during and after the First World War.[110]: 372 [110]: 372 [111]: 312 The Association of Churches of Christ in Britain disbanded in 1980.[110]: 372 [111]: 312 Most association congregations (approximately 40) united with the United Reformed Church in 1981.[110]: 372 [111]: 312 In the same year, 24 other congregations formed a Fellowship of Churches of Christ.[110]: 372 The fellowship developed ties with the unaffiliated Christian Church/Church of Christ congregations during the 1980s.[110]: 372 [111]: 312
Historically, Restoration Movement groups from Great Britain were more influential than those from the United States in the early development of the movement in Australia.[112]: 47 Churches of Christ grew up independently in several locations.[112]: 47 While early Churches of Christ in Australia saw creeds as divisive, towards the end of the 19th century they began viewing "summary statements of belief" as useful in tutoring second generation members and converts from other religious groups.[112]: 50 The period from 1875 through 1910 also saw debates over the use of musical instruments in worship, Christian Endeavor Societies and Sunday schools. Ultimately, all three found general acceptance in the movement.[112]: 51 Currently, the Restoration Movement is not as divided in Australia as it is in the United States.[112]: 53 There have been strong ties with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), but many conservative ministers and congregations associate with the unaffiliated Christian Church/Church of Christ congregations instead.[112]: 53 Others have sought support from non-instrumental Churches of Christ, particularly those who felt that "conference" congregations had "departed from the restoration ideal."[112]: 53 The Fellowship of Churches of Christ and some Australian and New Zealand Churches advocate a "missional" emphasis with an ideal of "five fold leadership." Many people in more traditional Churches of Christ see these groups as having more in common with Pentecostal churches. The main publishing organs of traditional Churches of Christ in Britain are The Christian Worker magazine and the Scripture Standard magazine.
There are believed to be more than 1 million members of the Churches of Christ in Africa.[95]: 212 The total number of congregations is approximately 14,000.[113]: 7 The most significant concentrations are in "Nigeria, Malawi, Ghana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, South Africa and Kenya".[113]: 7
India has historically been a target for missionary efforts; estimates are that there are 2,000 or more Restoration Movement congregations in India,[114]: 37, 38 with a membership of approximately 1,000,000.[95]: 212 More than 100 congregations exist in the Philippines.[114]: 38 Growth in other Asian countries has been smaller but is still significant.[114]: 38