Restoration Movement History

Restoration Movement History explores the people, ideas, and events that shaped the Stone-Campbell/Restoration Movement and its ongoing influence on the church today. Discover articles on key moments, core convictions, significant leaders, documents, and the movement’s theological and cultural development. You’ll find historical context, biographies, and thoughtful reflections that help readers understand where the movement came from and how its story continues to inform ministry and discipleship. This hub is for anyone who wants a deeper grasp of Restoration Movement roots and legacy.

May 17, 2020

Jeremy Jernigan

Building Bridges

By Jeremy Jernigan The church landscape in America is different than ever before. Most formal denominational groupings seem to be on the decline. At the same time, the rise of multisite churches creates opportunities for mini denominations. It begs the question: What truly makes a denomination? Said differently, What truly unites us? Is it a shared history, a shared creed (or set of distinctives), a shared leadership structure, or something else? No matter how we or others feel about denominations, many of them started with a pursuit for greater unity. I’m a second-generation preacher who grew up in the Christian

May 17, 2020

Scott Kenworthy

The Starfish Effect: Why Our Decentralized Approach Is Our Strength

By Scott Kenworthy A few years ago, I attended the International Conference on Missions with a friend from a different church tradition. As we entered the exhibit hall filled with hundreds of missionaries promoting their various initiatives, I said to my friend, “This is the strength of our movement.” When we left the same hall a couple hours later, he turned around, took one last look, and commented, “That is the weakness of your movement.” Where I saw innovation, entrepreneurship, and bold risk-taking for the sake of the gospel, he saw chaos and the lack of a centralized strategy. So,

May 17, 2020

Michael C. Mack

The Churches of Our Movement Were Made for This

By Michael C. Mack I believe the Restoration Movement is a strong and vibrant movement with a bright future. Here are four reasons I believe that’s true. First, our movement is in good hands. Every feature writer this month is under the age of 45, and many are in their 20s and 30s. We sought younger writers to make a point. As one young writer, Josh Ross, put it, “In the kingdom of God, the movement is before us, not behind us.” While we often look back at the rich history of our movement, it’s time to look to the

May 17, 2020

Austin Gohn

We’re a Renewal Movement

By Austin Gohn In the fall of 2010 on the campus of Lincoln Christian University, my friend Cody began to feel an urgency about prayer. The “prayer rooms” hidden away in the dark corners of our chapel had become little more than a favorite spot for campus couples. Uncertain of what else to do, Cody declared “squatter’s rights” in an unused room at the geographic heart of our campus, despite the amorphous stain on the carpet and a cartoonish illustration of Christ’s ascension. And we started to pray. Just over a year later, a near constant flow of students buzzed

May 14, 2020

Christian Standard

A Biographical Study of Barton W. Stone (Part 3)

We continue this week with the third installment of Frederick D. Kershner’s biographical study of Restoration Movement father Barton W. Stone from 1940. (Part one and part two are available here.) _ _ _ “Stars” April 27, 1940; p. 7 There was a group of young ministers, of which Stone was probably the center, which reacted against the high Calvinism of their fathers after the Cane Ridge revival. Stone, McNemar, Marshall, and three or four others withdrew and organized the Springfield Presbytery. They published an apology, some part of which was comprehended in the autobiography of Barton W. Stone. The

May 7, 2020

Christian Standard

A Biographical Study of Barton W. Stone (Part 2)

We continue this week with our second installment of Frederick D. Kershner’s look at Barton W. Stone from 1940. Though Kershner wrote his profile on Stone in three installments, we shared only a portion of part one last week; today we share the rest of the article originally published April 20, 1940. _ _ _ “The Message of Barton Warren Stone” April 20, 1940; p. 7 BARTON WARREN STONE[’s] . . . life may be summarized under the following outline: Early period (1772–1799). Cane Ridge Revival (1799–1801). The Springfield Presbytery (1802–1804). Independent career (1804–1831). Union with the Campbells (1831). Later

April 30, 2020

Christian Standard

A Biographical Study of Barton W. Stone (Part 1)

In 1940, Christian Standard published a lengthy series of articles called “Stars” by Frederick D. Kershner, then serving as dean of the School of Religion at Butler University in Indianapolis. In introducing the series on March 9 of that year, Kershner wrote, “We shall strive to interpret the ongoing of a great movement in the life of the church through the contribution of six of its most significant advocates. . . . We shall be occupied only secondarily with the mere details of biography. . . .” Those six Restoration Movement “advocates” included: •  Thomas Campbell . . . “who

April 2, 2020

Christian Standard

Influenza Pandemic of 1918-19: “Our Ministry, Especially, Has Been Smitten”

With coronavirus, or COVID-19, continuing to infect and kill people in the United States and around the world, we thought it an appropriate time to reflect on the 1918-19 influenza pandemic that caused at least 50 million deaths worldwide, with about 675,000 occurring in the United States. Last week we shared a Christian Standard editorial from Nov. 2, 1918 (click here to read it). This week we opt for a somber editorial from January 4, 1919. (By the way, in our last column we reported there had been 475,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide resulting in more than 21,000 deaths. As

March 5, 2020

Christian Standard

Regret for a Preacher Turned Sociologist

This editorial from 1910 is—more than anything else—a comparison and commentary on the career choices of Disciples of Christ minister turned sociologist James P. Lichtenberger. The editorial also shares a rather amusing anecdote. Lichtenberger (1870—1953), a native of Illinois, preached in churches from 1896 to 1908 before earning a doctorate in philosophy from Columbia University in 1909, according to the website of the American Sociological Association (www.asanet.org). Lichtenberger served as a professor with the University of Pennsylvania the balance of his career, and in 1922 was president of the American Sociological Society (later changed to Association). Lichtenberger penned Divorce: A

February 20, 2020

Christian Standard

Studying Scripture with Alexander Campbell (Part 2)

Today we conclude this two-part article from 1940 explaining the “four aspects” of Alexander Campbell’s Bible study. Today’s article covers aspects three and four. _ _ _ Alexander Campbell’s Contribution to Bible Study (Part 2) By Howard Elmo Short, B.D. (Hartford);Minister, Church of Christ, Cuyahoga Falls, O.;February 10, 1940; p. 5 . . . There is no finer contribution that Mr. Campbell has made to Bible study than this insistence upon original thinking. How often we read, leafing through, just to find the “pet” verses which prove the point we are arguing at the moment! The admonition of Mr. Campbell

February 13, 2020

Christian Standard

Studying Scripture with Alexander Campbell (Part 1)

Restoration pioneer Alexander Campbell’s Bible study methods might be of interest to readers and leaders. A notation above the headline of this article indicated this was “a paper read before a Bible-study conference of the churches in the Akron (O.) area some months ago.” We will break this into two parts, plus edit it a bit for length. Part one will cover the first two of “four aspects of Mr. Campbell’s Bible study.” _ _ _ Alexander Campbell’s Contribution to Bible Study (Part 1) By Howard Elmo Short, B.D. (Hartford);Minister, Church of Christ, Cuyahoga Falls, O.;February 10, 1940; p. 5

February 6, 2020

Christian Standard

We're All in This Together

This article acknowledging the contributions of “denominationalists” received much positive feedback from readers in the weeks following its publication 55 years ago. _ _ _ Our Debt to Denominationalists By James G. Van BurenFebruary 6, 1965; p. 9 We are, much more than we sometimes realize, indebted to denominationalists. By “we” I mean those of us committed to the Restoration ideal, who delight in designating ourselves as “undenominational” and as “Christians only.” By “denominationalists” I mean those who have not been aware, as far as we know, of the sinfulness of denominational divisions and who would be considered by us

January 16, 2020

Christian Standard

Plainspoken Advice from a Veteran Minister, Circa 1900

We focus today on two short articles by J. M. Land, a man who preached several decades on either side of the Ohio-Indiana line, up until his death in 1905. Land usually shared obituaries or news items during the time he wrote for Christian Standard, spanning from 1873 to 1901, but he also wrote more than a dozen mainly shorter articles like the two we share today. The first piece by Land offers observations on how older ministers and younger ministers should relate with one another, and the second shares advice for how an incoming minister can resolve an inherited

January 2, 2020

Christian Standard

An 'Independent' Objection

In this editorial from the December 27, 1970, issue of Christian Standard, the late Edwin V. Hayden registered an objection to the term “Independent Christian Church.” _ _ _ We’re Still FriendsIsn’t it wonderful that we can be brotherswe can even be friendswithout agreeing with one another in some rather strong opinions? Consider, for example, the convenient use of the term, “Independent Christian Church,” to designate folk who generally concur in the historic position taken by CHRISTIAN STANDARD. Some of our best friends use the term pragmatically, arguing that it is brief, generally understood, and generally applicable. It communicates what

December 19, 2019

Christian Standard

‘The Gift of God to Godly Men’

Here is a Christmas sermon by a quiet and godly man who preferred to preach with his pen. _ _ _ So Christmas Comes By Orrin Root Editor, Bible School Literature,The Standard Publishing Company, Cincinnati, O.;December 24, 1949; p. 11 O little town of BethlehemHow still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, The silent stars go by; Yet in thy dark street shineth The everlasting light; The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight.” Still indeed must have been the little town of Bethlehem in the depths of that night long

December 12, 2019

Christian Standard

Mark Twain’s Connections to Stone, Campbell

Most devotees of American literature know of Mark Twain’s connections to Hannibal, Mo., but few people in the Stone-Campbell Movement likely are aware of Twain’s connections—through his life in Hannibal—to the movement’s namesake pioneers, Barton W. Stone and Alexander Campbell. Donald Tingle shared some research on this topic 40 years ago. _ _ _ Mark Twain was a part of early restoration history Tom Sawyer, Barton Stone’s Grandson By Donald S. TingleJuly 29, 1979; pp. 15, 16 Some of you may stop at Mark Twain’s boyhood home in Hannibal, Mo., on your way to or from the North American Christian

November 14, 2019

Christian Standard

‘The Church of the Air’

In the week following the historic stock market crash of 1929, we ran this front-page story on an early foray into Christian broadcasting at a radio station in Wichita Falls, Texas. We know little of radio evangelist Paul Henry Packard, and we do not know how many months or years his program was broadcast (though a March 1933 news item indicates Packard would soon move to Kentucky). In 1929, radio was still in its infancy. Less than 10 years earlier, in 1920, KDKA in Pittsburgh became the first commercially licensed radio station. _ _ _ Hungry for Pure Gospel Broadcasting

November 7, 2019

Christian Standard

“The Sovereignty of Jesus” (Keynote Sermon at the Centennial Convention)

The signature gathering marking the 100th anniversary of Thomas Campbell’s Declaration and Address took place in Pittsburgh in October 1909. It was called the Centennial Convention of the Disciples of Christ. Here is a summary of the keynote sermon from Oct. 11, opening night of the convention. I. J. Spencer, minister with Central Christian Church in Lexington, Ky., preached on “Centralization in Christ; or, The Sovereignty of Jesus.” _ _ _ The Keynote Sermon By I. J. Spencer;Oct. 16, 1909; p. 11 I thought at first of love as a fitting theme for a “keynote sermon,” but Christ is greater

October 24, 2019

Christian Standard

A ‘Rip Van Winkle Faith’ Won’t Work

In 1974, Christian Standard introduced a column called “Reflecting on the News!” The concept was straightforward, allowing much latitude for the writer. Today’s article by John Greenlee from October 1974 references “the expression of concern which came this summer from Lausanne, Switzerland.” That seems a rather vague reference to a newsworthy event, especially 45 years hence. Here’s a little background. The International Congress on World Evangelization—sometimes called Lausanne I, the Lausanne Congress, or Lausanne ‘74—was held July 16-25, 1974, in Lausanne, Switzerland. The gathering was called by a committee headed by Billy Graham and drew more than 2,300 evangelical leaders

September 26, 2019

Christian Standard

Absurd and Mundane Ads from Oct. 1, 1904

When people see copies of Christian Standard from 90-plus years ago, they invariably comment on the advertising. There are a number of ads for patent medicines—such as Dr. Shoop’s Restorative (page 25)—typically alongside ads for such brands as Ivory Soap and Royal Baking Powder, and occasionally Coca-Cola and Oldsmobile. This issue from 115 years ago (Oct. 1, 1904) is fairly typical, though with very few products recognizable today. There were more than 50 ads in the issue, some of them rather small . . . no larger than a classified ad (though typically with bolder type). Several mention the World’s

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