Restoration Movement History

Key Documents Restoration Movement History

‘Nothing to Offer Except the Book’

CS Archive from September 8, 1923 _ _ _ The lead article in the Sept. 8, 1923, Christian Standard—an issue from 95 years ago—was “The Mission of the Church,” and it carried the subhead, “The Annual ‘President’s Address’ Delivered before the International Convention of Disciples of Christ at Colorado Springs, Col., Sept. 4, 1923.” The article/speech was written and presented by Thomas W. Grafton, minister of Third Church, Indianapolis, Ind., who served as president of that convention. I can’t begin to recap Grafton’s presentation—which ran almost three pages—or to pinpoint nuanced wording that may (or may not) have troubled some

August 16, 2018

The Restoration Movement: Its Vitality, Quirks, and Needs in the 21st Century

Editor’s Note: Starting today, every Thursday we will post an article about the Restoration Movement from our Christian Standard archives. While some will be more recent stories, many others will be excerpts from older issues, going back to 1866, that are currently not available on the web. It’s “Throwback Thursday” . . . Christian Standard-style! Today we go back to December 2006 to an article by LeRoy Lawson, which started as a presentation in the Publishing Committee’s 50th annual meeting in October that year. The Publishing Committee provided editorial oversight to Standard Publishing (the longtime owners of Christian Standard)

July 31, 2018

Southwest Indiana Restoration Preaching Rally

Here is a poster for the upcoming Southwest Indiana Restoration Preaching Rally.

July 4, 2018

Mark A. Taylor

A Brief History of Restoration Movement Media and Christian Standard Media

Compiled by Shawn McMullen Christian Standard and The Lookout have a rich history within the Restoration Movement. Christian Standard was first published in 1866; The Lookout was first published as the Young People’s Standard in 1888 and changed to its current name in 1894. Under the umbrella of Standard Publishing, the magazines served Christian churches and churches of Christ across the United States and around the world for a century and a half. Ownership and leadership have changed through the years, but the purpose of the publications has remained the same—to strengthen churches and their leaders through biblical teaching and the promotion of the Restoration

June 23, 2018

Paddling Together in the Same Direction

By Victor Knowles In our American Restoration Movement, we have been paddling in separate streams for more than 100 years. Like Paul and Barnabas, we had a “sharp disagreement” (Acts 15:39) over issues like instrumental music and missionary societies. We too “parted company” and had our own journals to spread the good news (Gospel Advocate and Christian Standard), started our own Bible colleges and Christian universities to prepare gospel workers (Lipscomb University and Johnson Bible College—now Johnson University), and developed our own lectureships and conventions to encourage and equip Christians (Pepperdine Bible Lectures and the North American Christian Convention). Since

June 16, 2018

Biographies Restoration Movement History

Cam Huxford: A Portrait of Faithfulness

By Jerry Harris What is faithfulness? Where does it come from? What builds and strengthens it? What sustains it over time? While all church leaders would like to be described as faithful, for many it’s an elusive target. That’s why it’s important to know the story of Thomas Campbell Huxford—or just Cam—and his wife, Sarah. Their life and ministry together have been an incredible living illustration of faithfulness. Faithfulness Begets Faithfulness Cam grew up in a small Christian church in a town of less than 500 in coastal South Carolina. His father, also named Thomas Campbell Huxford as was his

June 15, 2018

Michael C. Mack

Why I, Too, Love the Restoration Movement

By Michael C. Mack Like Rick Chromey, I love the Restoration Movement . . . but for very different reasons. Rick grew up in an independent Christian church. I had never heard of these churches until I was 27. In his article, “Why I Love the Restoration Movement,” Rick says he is thankful for his upbringing in the church; I’m thankful for a church, and a movement of churches, that exist to carry out the mission of Jesus to go and make disciples. I am an example of someone whose life was forever changed because a church in our

June 14, 2018

Why I Love the Restoration Movement

By Rick Chromey “I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am, I did not make it, no it is making me.” Rich Mullins, “Creed” I grew up in a small independent Christian church in remote central Montana. I cut my teeth in a wooden pew, sandwiched between my grandmother and brother, listening to sermons, learning hymns, and loving the saints. I washed Communion cups as a preschooler, passed offering plates as a child, and led song services and served Communion to shut-ins as a teen. I loved my church family. They made me who I

June 1, 2018

Key Documents Restoration Movement History

‘Our Position’ Revisited

By Jerry Harris When Isaac Errett wrote “Our Position,” a need existed within the Restoration Movement to define in succinct terms the soaring rhetoric of Barton W. Stone’s The Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery, Thomas Campbell’s The Declaration and Address, and Alexander Campbell’s “Sermon on the Law,” which had so eloquently defined the position of a movement intent on the restoration of first-century Christianity. Errett argued that while creeds are sectarian and create division, and therefore are sinful, we are free to identify those areas where we find ourselves in agreement with the larger evangelical framework, those areas

May 31, 2018

A New Critical Juncture in the Restoration Movement

By Jerry Harris The Restoration Movement has faced critical junctures at least twice in its history. The first time was after the Civil War. Deep wounds remained as the nation endeavored to reconstruct itself. Death had silenced the great leaders of our movement: Barton Stone in 1844, Thomas Campbell in 1854, John T. Johnson in 1856, Walter Scott in 1861, Alexander Campbell in 1866, and “Raccoon” John Smith in 1868. Division came from many voices that tore at the fabric of the simple principles of unity based in the restoration of the church of the New Testament. It was into

August 4, 2017

To Be Restored: “˜Not the Only Christians”

By Trevor DeVage Messy . . . that is part of what I love about the early church. It was full of messy and unlikely people who were chosen to usher in Christ”s message to the world. Open the book of Acts and you”ll notice that these church pioneers shared in all things, cared for one another, added to their number daily, broke bread regularly, and carried the message of hope continually. They were all ordinary and messy men and women just like you and me. And out of this mess, Christ reached the world with his message. I love

August 3, 2017

Now More Than Ever: Embracing the DNA that Created a Movement

By Rubel Shelly Did you ever agree to something””only to regret it later? As I begin writing this piece, that feeling hovers over me. I will not characterize the Stone-Campbell Movement as others would. (Some have already been offended that I call it the Stone-Campbell Movement rather than the Restoration Movement; it is a movement of ideas and ideals, not particular historical characters, they say. Others were offended that I dared call it a “movement” at all; it is theological rediscovery and return, not a human program.) See? I told you I didn”t feel good about this. I”m in trouble

June 20, 2017

Misplaced Loyalty? (A Healthy Commitment to the Restoration Movement)

By Jeff Faull Attitudes toward the Restoration Movement from within the movement are greatly varied. They range from a blind, unquestioning loyalty to the movement””its founders, champions, and slogans””to a lack of interest and an assessment that our historic plea and positions are irrelevant, all the way to an overt disdain and intentional distancing from our heritage and history.Â Myriads of articles have been written about the ongoing decline of denominational loyalty. The editors of Christianity Today even put a tombstone under the headline “Are Denominations Dead?” on their June 2010 cover, highlighting a piece on waning tribal commitment by

June 20, 2017

In Wayne”s Own Words

By Barry Cameron Wayne B. Smith is fondly remembered for many things: his humor, passion for preaching, love for fellow ministers, and hope-giving encouragement. He also is remembered for a willingness to state his position on hot-button issues. But don”t take our word for it. Acts 4:12 says, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Everyone knows that name: Jesus. Almost everyone in the Christian church knows another name as well. It”s a name that evokes smiles and stories in the hearts

June 20, 2017

The Restoration Ideal Still Works

By Ben Merold The Missouri River””the “Big Muddy”””runs past the city of Omaha, Nebraska. If we wanted to get pure, unpolluted water from this river, we have two basic choices. We might, as Omaha has done, install a filter to remove the mud that has accumulated in the water during the river”s meandering path south and east. But that treats only a small portion of the water, and the great body of the river runs on as muddy as before. If, however, we go to the source, we would find pure water that comes fresh from the wellspring. Similarly, if

June 20, 2017

Tyler McKenzie

Irresistible Unity: Restoring Unity to the Restoration Movement

By Tyler McKenzie I love the principles of the Restoration Movement. I was raised in one of our churches, educated at one of our schools, and lead one of our churches. I know all the one-liners: “¢ Where the Bible speaks, we speak. Where the Bible is silent, we are silent. “¢ We have no creed but Christ, no book but the Bible, no name but Christian. “¢ We”re Christians only, but not the only Christians. “¢ In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; in all things, love. But the most compelling principle to me has always been our commitment to

June 19, 2017

A Plea for the Restoration Movement

By Jerry Harris It”s foolish to want all Christians to be in unity if we can”t be unified in our own brotherhood. We need to fight for relationship in all the issues that could potentially divide us. Otherwise, no one should take this Restoration Movement seriously. The first-century church had more difficult challenges that threatened deeper divisions than we do now. We must learn the same lessons of living out the fruit of the Spirit that they did. We can”t allow ourselves the prideful position of proving ourselves right over the greater need of loving each other. If we can

May 9, 2017

Mark A. Taylor

Our Future: with Unity?

By Mark A. Taylor If you led a workshop on the future of the Restoration Movement, you”d likely mention many positive signs about our tribe. Here are some I included when I was asked to speak on that topic: “¢ Our churches are doing dynamic ministry, trying new approaches, and succeeding with new strategies. We”re a creative bunch. “¢ Closely related to the above, our lack of hierarchy leaves our leaders free to try new ideas without needing permission from anyone. And new ideas abound among us. We”re an entrepreneurial bunch. “¢ Leaders from our group are publishing widely, with

May 2, 2017

Mark A. Taylor