Restoration Movement Q&A 4

Answers from Pat Magness

Does the Restoration Movement Matter? Answers from Pat Magness.

Pat Magness is professor of humanities and English at Milligan College in Tennessee and a member of the Publishing Committee at Standard Publishing.

Do you feel as strongly about being a part of the Restoration Movement today as you did fifteen years ago?  What, if anything, has changed?

Yes, I remain strongly committed to the Restoration Movement and even more deeply involved in a variety of ministries. In addition to the connections in my local congregation, I feel increasingly connected to the Restoration Movement through my work on the boards of Christian Missionary Fellowship and Pioneer Bible Translators. Also, I have had the opportunity to participate in the work of the Restoration House in New England and I have been privileged to participate in unity efforts through the Great Communion task force. Another strong connection to the Restoration Movement comes through my work at Milligan College and my ties to Christian churches in a number of places, from Idaho to Georgia. One more change that I have experienced in the last fifteen years is my increasing awareness of and involvement in the international expressions of the Restoration Movement, from visits with Bible translators in Papua New Guinea to a Christian library in Prague and to Christian colleges in Ghana and Thailand.

Is your commitment to the Restoration Movement primarily doctrinal or familial, or both?

Certainly there is a familial element to my commitment to the Restoration Movement. A few years ago I attended the 150^th anniversary celebration of the Belmont Ridge Christian Church in southeastern Ohio, a congregation that was founded by my great-great grandparents. I have vivid memories of attending church services and Sunday school there with my grandparents who are now buried in the adjacent cemetery. My father and mother both went to CBS (now CCU), and a photograph of Alexander Campbell always held a prominent place on the wall in my childhood home. Sometimes I was allowed to hold the decaying books used by my great grandfather when he was a student under Alexander Campbell at Bethany College. Both my parents placed a high value on the principles of the Restoration Movement, and their lives and commitments were a powerful example for me.

At the same time, my commitment is much more than familial. I have certainly explored other traditions and questioned my own and found much to admire in groups that are (for example) more organized and structured, more clearly committed to peace and justice. I remain, however, committed to the congregational model. I think it is through the local congregation that we see most clearly the functioning of the church as a body. Emphasis on scripture and the practices of baptism by immersion and of weekly observance of the Lord”s Supper are a central part of my beliefs and identity. Perhaps because I am, as a literature teacher, a reader by profession, I have learned a great deal by reading works from Christians from many traditions. I must recognize that they have contributed a great deal to the maturing of my faith, and I want to honor their faith while also remaining a part of the Restoration Movement.

If you moved into a new town and there was a strong and growing Evangelical church, and a weak and declining Christian church, which would you likely attend?

I am sure that I would join the Christian church. Actually, I have moved a number of times in my adult life and I have always sought to participate in a Christian church. The way this question is posed, I think I would have an extra motivation to join the Christian church and work to restore its vitality. It sounds like the Evangelical church has all the help it needs, and I would choose to go where I could serve.

Do you believe the Restoration Movement is just as valid in a postmodern environment as it was in the environment of the modern age? Why or why not?

Sweeping generalizations about modernism and post-modernism always make me a bit suspicious, even my own sweeping generalizations””but I will try to generalize. As I understand it, the Restoration Movement is historically tied to the rationalism of modern era. Our early leaders were influenced by Locke and his ideas on the “reasonableness of Christianity.” I remember Dr. Dean E. Walker defining love as “intelligent good will.” I found myself resisting a definition that seemed so cold and intellectual. I also resisted an entirely rationalistic description of Christian faith, and future historians will probably place my generation of baby boomers in the postmodernist era. Is the restoration plea still valid? I hope so. We will probably have to do less proof-texting and more proof-in-the-pudding, living out of our faith. If we live out our commitments to the priesthood of all believers, to Christ as the source and focus of our faith and unity, to the church as the body of Christ living out his will together, to the scripture as our authority in faith and practice, then our proclamation should still be powerful. Many things have already changed in the strategies of the Restoration Movement. Alexander Campbell, for example, relied on debates, while I don”t remember debates as a tool for evangelism in my lifetime. Perhaps what we need is a readiness to embrace the many Christians and Christian groups who have grown tired of denominationalism and are ready for unity. We are now called on to live up to our claim to love and value unity.

How important are the ordinances of baptism and the Lord”s Supper?  Do you think your view on these two issues is more conservative than your parents (and/or your children), less conservative, or about the same?

Baptism and the Lord”s Supper are both extremely important to me, growing in significance to me as I grow in understanding. There was probably a time when I regarded them as “oughts” and “musts”; today they are far more important than commands or obligations. Baptism means participation””sharing””in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ; the Lord”s Supper offers me the means to share in a meal instituted by the hands of Jesus, and when I share in the meal I am aware that Jesus is our host as well as our savior. Every aspect of the Lord”s Supper has become precious and meaningful to me. I love to rise early on Sunday and bake unleavened bread for the communion meal. One beautiful August Sunday, I was also able to take in grape juice that we had made from the grapes growing in our yard.  Sharing the body of Christ with the body of Christ, discerning the body, remembering his death, proclaiming his death until he comes again, anticipating the heavenly feast””all these ideas and more cluster together in the celebration of the Lord”s Supper. It is for me the high point of worship.

To you, what is the most compelling element of the Restoration Movement?

Certainly one of the most compelling elements is the focus on Christ, as reflected in the old slogan “No creed but Christ.” This focus on Christ also urges us toward unity, to be one as Jesus is one with God. Another aspect of the Restoration Movement that appeals to me is the respect for congregations and for each believer as a priest before God. Sometimes we create a hierarchy and sometimes we have denied various groups of people their role as priests before God, but our ideals push us to respect and honor every person as a child of God.