thumb|Early leaders of the Restoration Movement (clockwise, from top): Thomas Campbell, Barton W. Stone, Alexander Campbell, and Walter Scott

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 American 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 and sought "the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after the church of the New Testament."

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. 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 outlined 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 observe the Lord's Supper on the first day of each week; and that baptism of adult believers was necessarily by immersion in water. 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.

Name

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. The term "Restoration Movement" became popular during the 19th century; this appears to be the influence of Alexander Campbell's essays on "A Restoration of the Ancient Order of Things" in the Christian Baptist. 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.

Principles

The Restoration Movement has been characterized by several key principles:

  • Christianity should not be divided; Jesus intended the creation of church.
  • Creeds divide, but Christians should be able to find agreement by standing on the Bible (from which they believe all creeds are but human expansions or constrictions)
  • Ecclesiastical traditions divide, but Christians should be able to find common ground by following the practice (as best as it can be determined) of the early church.

Several slogans have been used in the Restoration Movement to express some of the distinctive themes of the movement:

  • "Where the Scriptures speak, we speak; where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent."
  • "The church of Jesus Christ on earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one."
  • "We are Christians only, but not the only Christians."
  • "In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; in all things love." Beginning with the Renaissance, intellectual roots become more straightforward to discern presently. At the heart of the Reformation was an emphasis on the principle of "scripture alone" (sola scriptura). This, along with the emphasis on individuals' rights to read the Bible and interpret it for themselves, and a movement to reduce rituals in worship, contributed to the intellectual background of early Restoration Movement leaders. The branch of the Reformation movement, which was represented by Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin, contributed an emphasis on "restoring biblical forms and patterns."

thumb|left|upright|[[John Locke by Herman Verelst]]

The rationalism of John Locke provided another influence. Reacting to the deism of Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, Locke sought a way to address religious divisions and persecution without abandoning scripture. To do this, Locke argued against the right of government to enforce religious orthodoxy and turned to the Bible to supply a set of beliefs that all Christians could agree upon. The core teachings which he viewed as essential were the messiahship of Jesus and Jesus's direct commands. Christians could be devoutly committed to other Biblical teachings, but in Locke's view these were non-essentials over which Christians should never fight or try to coerce upon each other. Unlike the Puritans and the later Restoration Movement, Locke did not call for a systematic restoration of the early church. One of the basic goals of the English Puritans was to restore a pure, "primitive" church that would be a true apostolic community. This conception was a critical influence in the development of the Puritans in Colonial America. It has been described as the "oldest ecumenical movement in America":

During the First Great Awakening, a movement developed among Baptists known as Separate Baptists. Two themes of the movement were the rejection of creeds and "freedom in the Spirit." The Separate Baptists saw scripture as the "perfect rule" for the church. However, while they turned to the Bible for a structural pattern for the church, they did not insist on complete agreement on the details of that pattern. The group originated in New England but was especially strong in the Southern United States, where the emphasis on a biblical pattern for the church grew stronger. In the latter half of the 18th century, Separate Baptists became more numerous on the western frontier of Kentucky and Tennessee, where the Stone and Campbell movements would later take root. The development of the Separate Baptists on the southern frontier helped prepare the ground for the Restoration Movement. The membership of both the Stone and Campbell groups drew heavily from the ranks of the Separate Baptists. Separate Baptist restorationism also contributed to the development of Landmarkism in the same region as the Stone-Campbell movement and at about the same time. Under the leadership of James Robinson Graves, the Landmark Baptists sought to define a blueprint of the so-called "primitive" church, believing that any deviation from that blueprint would prevent a person from being part of the "true" church.

James O'Kelly was an early advocate of seeking unity through a return to early Christianity. In 1792, dissatisfied with the role of bishops in the Methodist Episcopal Church, he created a schismatic movement of his own. O'Kelly's movement, centered in Virginia and North Carolina, were originally called the "Republican Methodists". In 1794, they adopted the name "Christian Church". During the same period, Elias Smith of Vermont and Abner Jones of New Hampshire led a movement espousing views similar to those of O'Kelly. They believed that members could—by looking to Christian scriptures—be Christians without being bound to human traditions and the denominations brought by immigrants from Europe. While the Campbells resisted what they saw as the spiritual manipulation of the camp meetings, the Southern phase of the awakening "was an important matrix of Barton Stone's reform movement" and shaped the evangelistic techniques used by both Stone and the Campbells.

Stone movement

thumb|upright|left|[[Barton W. Stone]]

Cane Ridge revival

thumb|Interior of the [[Cane Ridge Meeting House|original meeting house at Cane Ridge, Kentucky]]

In 1801, the Cane Ridge Revival in Kentucky planted the seed for a movement in Kentucky and the Ohio River valley to disassociate from Christian denominationalism. In 1803, Barton W. Stone and others withdrew from the Kentucky Synod and formed the Springfield Presbytery. The defining event of the Stone wing of the movement was the publication of Last Will and Testament of The Springfield Presbytery at Cane Ridge, Kentucky, in 1804. The brief document announces their withdrawal from Presbyterianism and their intention to be solely part of the broader Christian Church. The writers appeal for the unity of all who follow Jesus, suggest the value of congregational self-governance, and declare the Bible as the source for understanding the will of God. They denounced the "divisive" use of the Westminster Confession of Faith

thumb|upright=0.6|[[Alexander Campbell (clergyman)|Alexander Campbell]]

Thomas' son Alexander came to the U.S. to join him in 1809. The Mahoning Association came under attack. In 1830, The Mahoning Baptist Association disbanded. The younger Campbell ceased publication of the Christian Baptist. In January 1831, he began publication of the Millennial Harbinger.

Alexander Campbell was also deeply influenced by Enlightenment thinking, in particular the Scottish School of Common Sense of Thomas Reid and Dugald Stewart. This was formalized at the Hill Street Meeting House in Lexington, Kentucky, with a handshake between Stone and "Raccoon" John Smith. According to the 1906 U.S. Religious Census the combined membership of the movement made it the 6th largest Christian group in the country at that time.

From the beginning of the movement, the free exchange of ideas among the people was fostered by the journals published by its leaders. Alexander Campbell published The Christian Baptist and The Millennial Harbinger. Stone published The Christian Messenger. Fanning's student William Lipscomb served as co-editor until the American Civil War forced them to suspend publication in 1861. After the end of the Civil War, publication resumed in 1866 under the editorship of Fanning and Lipscomb's younger brother David Lipscomb; Fanning soon retired, and David Lipscomb became the sole editor. While Lipscomb was the editor, the focus was on seeking unity by following scripture exactly, and the Advocates editorial position was to reject anything that is not explicitly allowed by scripture.

The Christian Oracle began publication in 1884. It was later known as The Christian Century and offered an interdenominational appeal.

The ACMS was not as successful as proponents had hoped. It was opposed by those who believed any extra-congregational organizations were inappropriate; hostility grew when the ACMS took a stand in 1863 favoring the Union side during the Civil War. A convention held in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1869 adopted a plan intended to address "a perceived need to reorganize the American Christian Missionary Society (ACMS) in a way that would be acceptable to more members of the Movement." It established a General Christian Missionary Convention. Some congregations, however, are documented as having used musical instruments in the 1850s and 1860s.

Early leaders of the movement had a high view of scripture and believed that it was both inspired and infallible. Dissenting views developed during the 19th century. In addition to rejecting the plenary inspiration of the Bible and supporting the use of instruments in worship, Pinkerton also supported "open membership" (recognizing as members individuals who have not been baptized by immersion) and was a strong supporter of the temperance and abolition movements.

Factors leading to the separation

Disagreement over centralized organizations above the local congregational level, such as missionary societies and conventions, was one important factor leading to the separation of the Churches of Christ from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).<!--Expand – what were these cultural factors after Civil War?-->

As the 19th century progressed, a division gradually developed between those whose primary commitment was to unity and those whose primary commitment was to the restoration of the primitive church. and missionary movements, primarily in the North, also contributed to the separation of the unaffiliated Christian Church/Church of Christ congregations. In the Christian Churches, many women spoke in public on behalf of the Christian Woman's Board of Missions and Woman's Christian Temperance Union. In contrast, the Churches of Christ largely discouraged women from joining activist women's organizations and speaking in public about any issue. In 1889 the Erie, Illinois, Christian Church confirmed the leadership role of women by ordaining Clara Babcock as the first known woman Disciple preacher.

Formal recognition in 1906

The United States Census Bureau began a religious census in 1906. Special Agents were used to collect information on those groups which had little or no formal organizational structure, such as the churches associated with the Restoration Movement.This, however, was simply the recognition of a division that had been growing for years, with published reports as early as 1883.

For Lipscomb, an underlying theological concern was the adoption of German liberal theology by many among the Disciples wing of the Restoration Movement. He saw them as taking a direction very different from the principles enunciated by Thomas and Alexander Campbell.

After the separation from the Churches of Christ, tensions remained among the Disciples of Christ over theological liberalism, the nascent ecumenical movement and "open membership." While the process was lengthy, the more conservative unaffiliated Christian Church/Church of Christ congregations eventually emerged as a separately identifiable religious body from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

  • A "commitment to the priesthood of all believers".

{| class="wikitable" | align=center

|+ Relative Size of Restoration Movement Groups in 2000 During the first half of the 20th century the opposing factions among the Christian Churches coexisted but with discomfort. The three missionary societies were merged into the United Christian Missionary Society in 1920. They thought that others in the Disciples fellowship had increasingly liberal views on issues such as the lordship of Christ, the authority of the Bible, and tolerance of homosexuality. was established. It is a fellowship of autonomous congregations, about half of which are formally associated with the Disciples of Christ. In 1993, membership dropped below 1 million. In 2009, the denomination reported 658,869 members in 3,691 congregations. The states with the largest absolute number of adherents were Missouri, Texas, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.

Subsequent development of the unaffiliated congregations

Independent Christian churches and churches of Christ have both organizational and hermeneutic differences with the Churches of Christ. Support by the United Christian Missionary Society of missionaries who advocated open membership became a source of contention in 1920. Rather, the independent congregations are a network with each congregation participating at its own discretion in various means of service and fellowship with other congregations (see Sponsoring church (Churches of Christ)). Churches of Christ are linked by their shared commitment to restoration principles. The remaining congregations may be grouped into four categories which generally differ from the mainstream consensus in specific practices, rather than in theological perspectives, and tend to have smaller congregations on average. The remaining three groups, whose congregations are generally considerably smaller than those of the mainstream or "non-institutional" groups, also oppose institutional support but differ from the "non-institutional" group by other beliefs and practices: One source estimates total U.S. membership at 433,714 in 1926; 558,000 in 1936; 682,000 in 1946; 835,000 in 1965; and 1,250,000 in 1994. This discipling movement developed in the campus ministry of Chuck Lucas.

The Crossroads movement later spread into some other Churches of Christ congregations. One of Lucas' converts, Kip McKean, moved to the Boston area in 1979 and began working with the Lexington Church of Christ. Time magazine ran a full-page story on the movement in 1992 calling them "one of the world's fastest-growing and most innovative bands of Bible thumpers" that had grown into "a global empire of 103 congregations from California to Cairo with total Sunday attendance of 50,000".

A formal break was made from the mainline Churches of Christ in 1993 when the movement organized under the name "International Churches of Christ." Later meetings were open to all and were known as "Restoration Forums." The first full meeting in 1999 included six representatives from each of the three traditions. 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. 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. The 2004 ACU Lectureship included a forum with leaders from the Churches of Christ and the ICOC that included apologies from both groups.

Timeline

Churches outside North America

Restoration Movement churches are found around the world, and the World Convention of Churches of Christ provides many national profiles. 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. James Wallis, a member of that group, founded a magazine named The British Millennial Harbinger in 1837. The Association of Churches of Christ in Britain disbanded in 1980. Churches of Christ grew up independently in several locations. The most significant concentrations are in "Nigeria, Malawi, Ghana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, South Africa and Kenya". with a membership of approximately 1,000,000.

  • Abner Jones (1772–1841)
  • Thomas Campbell (1763–1854)
  • Elijah Martindale (1793–1874), active in Indiana
  • Amos Sutton Hayden (1813–1880)
  • James A. Garfield (1831–1881), first Restoration Movement member to be elected United States President, the others being Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) and Ronald Reagan (1911–2004)
  • Marshall Keeble (1878–1968) His successful preaching career notably bridged a racial divide in the Restoration Movement prior to the American Civil Rights Movement.
  • Caroline Neville Pearre
  • John Oakes
  • William Robinson

References

Bibliography

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  • . Holds artifacts and records relating to the Restoration Movement.