Articles for tag: Alexander Campbell

May 31, 2018

Jerry Harris

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

March 8, 2018

Christian Standard

Our Heavenly Father’s Favorite Thing

The True Story of a Defeated Pastor, a Dying Church, and God’s Redemption of Both   By Ken Idleman  Both the Old and New Testaments reveal something about God that we tend to either quietly doubt or glibly take for granted. We can find it buried in the historical narrative of the book of Jeremiah, who speaks for God, revealing both his heart for and goodwill toward his people: This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says . . . “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and

February 3, 2018

Jerry Harris

Marshall Keeble and What He Taught Me

By Jerry Harris I, like so many independent Christian church preachers, had the opportunity to study the history of the Restoration Movement in Bible college. My experience was a droning professor in a 7 a.m. class. My goal then was simply to survive it, achieve the best grade possible, and then move on to more interesting things. Biographical sketches of our movement’s pioneers held little interest for me at the time, and for the most part, it stayed that way for many years. It wasn’t until our church launched a multisite location in Hannibal, Missouri, that an interest in our

August 3, 2017

Christian Standard

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

Christian Standard

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.  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 19, 2017

Jerry Harris

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

April 25, 2017

Mark A. Taylor

Our Future: as Evangelicals?

By Mark A. Taylor Are members of Christian churches and churches of Christ properly categorized as Evangelicals? We addressed this topic in the first year I served as editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD*, and now as I close my tenure, I wonder if anyone is still asking the question. The two who answered in 2003 wrote passionately and convincingly and came to completely opposite conclusions. William R. Baker described James DeForest Murch”s decision to boldly identify himself with the growing Evangelical movement in the 1940s and afterwards. “Not since Isaac Errett, founding editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD, had anyone from the Restoration

October 8, 2016

Christian Standard

Patriotism, Idolatry, and Evangelism

By Rubel Shelly In my opinion, the United States of America is a wonderful, though imperfect, country. One could even call it exceptional in many ways among all the nations of the world, but I refuse the designation “American exceptionalist.” An American woman can love her country and be deeply patriotic because she appreciates its uniqueness and marvelous history. She might point to such things as its abundant natural resources and favorable climate. More likely, she would talk even more about the freedoms of speech, press, and religion. There is the protection under law its citizens enjoy. She could reference its

September 2, 2016

Christian Standard

DCHS Building Dedication Set for Sept. 10

BETHANY, WV””The Disciples of Christ Historical Society has completed its move into a new facility in historic Bethany. DCHS”s new home is located adjacent to the grounds of the Alexander Campbell study and mansion and across the street from the Campbell cemetery. The building was completed by renovating the Renner Visitor Center and adding an extensive archives room housing artifacts, portraits, institutional records, books, and journals from the early 19th century Restoration Movement to the present. A reading room, study carrels, and conference room provide space for research and meetings. Also, an outdoor hospitality area””the Peter and Lynne Morgan Gathering

July 8, 2016

Christian Standard

City Planning

By Jennifer Johnson My friend Abby and I love to visit museums. Recently we spent the afternoon at the Philadelphia Art Museum, looking at our favorites””the modern art wing and anything by Van Gogh””and enjoying lunch in the café. Next month we”re planning a girls” trip to the ballet. Abby is 7. To say she”s a little brighter than her peers is like saying the current American political scene is a little dysfunctional. In addition to sampling the best culture of Philadelphia, Abby also loves going to New York City, just a short train ride away. She especially loves Broadway

December 11, 2015

Christian Standard

Beyond Information

By Tom Lawson We”re still living with the aftermath of the Protestant Reformers who cleansed worship spaces of every piece of art. But doesn”t the Bible give us examples and a mandate to use all the arts in worship? In 1524, the great Grossmünster cathedral in Zürich was just a shell of its former glory. The statues had been smashed and all the artwork had been removed. Initially, even congregational singing had been discarded, along with the statues and frescoes. What was left was a nearly empty room, except for a towering pulpit, for plain and unadorned Christian worship. In

June 12, 2015

Christian Standard

In All Things, Charity

By Richard J. Cherok People and movements frequently search for pithy statements to encapsulate ideas they deem worthy of remembering. Within United States history, for instance, citizens were once called upon to “Remember the Alamo” or vote for “Tippecanoe and Tyler too.” Whatever the slogan or motto, it is meant to strike an emotional chord and evoke a precise belief or action. One such statement within the Restoration Movement goes something like this: “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” Though often expressed with variant wording, this slogan has become one of the movement”s most enduring mottoes.

March 24, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Bookin” It

By Mark A. Taylor I remember a conversation 30 years or more ago about book publishing by writers in the Christian church and church of Christ. “Evangelical publishers won”t publish books by Christian church writers,” a Standard Publishing salesman said. “And if Standard Publishing publishes books by Christian church writers, Christian bookstores won”t sell them.” I don”t know if that was true then, but I can promise you it”s not true today. Last year we published essays about book writing by Mark Atteberry, Arron Chambers, Dave Ferguson, Anne Milam, Daniel Overdorf, and Jamie Snyder. Each of them is a leader among Restoration Movement churches.

January 29, 2015

Christian Standard

Playing Your Cards Right

By Jeff Faull We do not always handle theological conflict fairly. Have you heard””or used””any of these arguments? Since the days of the O.J. Simpson trial, the phrase “playing the race card” has become commonplace. Accusing someone of arbitrarily “playing the race card” usually means they have bypassed the true merits of either position and trumped the validity of everything else with an accusation of racism, whether legitimate or not. To be certain, racism still exists and sometimes it”s fair to display the “race card,” but other times it is unfairly used to silence an exploration of the real issues

November 19, 2014

Christian Standard

Swords, Plowshares, and Evangelicals

By Jim Tune The Sermon on the Mount has been speaking to me in fresh ways lately. In the tradition of Alexander Campbell, I am trying to read these passages without viewing them through any particular Evangelical, sociopolitical, or theological lens. You can imagine how difficult this is to do. My biases rise up in protest””especially when I read what Jesus taught about peacemaking and loving enemies. Please don”t send me any hermeneutical treatments of the subject. I”ve read them all. But in times of honest reflection, I find myself pushing back when it comes to all the Evangelical escape

September 6, 2014

Christian Standard

Why Would You Be the President of the NACC?

By Tim Harlow I made a joke the final day of the North American Christian Convention when I appointed my friend Mike Baker as next year”s president. I knighted him with a sword (because Mike and I are weird that way), and then I said, “But I”m keeping the sword””because you might be tempted to fall on it sometime this year.” In case you are wondering, there is no pay involved in being the president. Actually it”s the opposite; your church or organization will likely have to spend money on it, and it will cost you in many ways. Is

June 12, 2014

Christian Standard

John Polkinghorne: A Bottom-Up Thinker

By C. Robert Wetzel   It must have been sometime in the mid-1980s that I saw the notice that Dr. John Polkinghorne would be giving a lecture at the University of Birmingham. What I did not know when I set out for the university that day was the special occasion that brought John Polkinghorne to Birmingham. He was to give an address on the topic of science and religion to the Joseph Priestly Society, the national professional organization of chemists. Polkinghorne was himself a nationally recognized mathematical physicist who had shocked his colleagues at University of Cambridge when he announced

March 17, 2014

Christian Standard

A Phrase for Today?

By Paul Blowers Slogans are rare in the New Testament. One thinks of the Corinthians’ slogan, “All things are lawful,” which Paul carefully revised to “All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful” (1 Corinthians 10:23)1. It was a wise admonition on the apostle’s part and played a key role in his instructions to the Corinthian church. Stone-Campbell Christians of the 1800s loved their slogans too, and many of those slogans stuck around well into the 20th century. They provided public shorthand for the principles, ideals, and aspirations of the movement’s followers, though sometimes they could also be

March 16, 2014

Christian Standard

“˜Not the Only Christians”

By Robert Oldham Fife As the sun arose on a spring morning in 1945, I stood at the gates of Dachau, one of Hitler”s horrendous concentration camps. It had been liberated only a few hours. I will not here attempt to describe the horror, but will say only that what you may have read in disbelief is true. Other soldiers and I could talk only in shocked whispers as we gazed upon the scene. I did not know at the time that imprisoned within those very gates was a now famous Lutheran pastor, Dr. Martin Niemöller. After years of harsh

Help Keep Christian Standard Free & Accessible with a Tax Deductible Donation

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Does Your Church Want to Support Christian Standard?

Would your church consider including support for Christian Standard in its annual missions budget? Your support would help us not only continue the 160-year legacy of this unifying ministry, but also expand the free resources, cooperative opportunities, and practical guidance we provide to strengthen churches in the U.S. and around the world.

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Secret Link