Sermon for October 20th, 2024
John 17:20-24
20 “I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Acts 2:37-42
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” 40 And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
American Reformations: The Stone-Campbell Movement
A ship was sailing past a remote island and discovered a man who had been stranded there alone for several years. They went ashore to rescue the man and noticed he had built three huts for himself. They asked him, "What is the first hut for?" He said, "That's my house." "Ok, so what's the second hut for?" "That's my church." "Ok, so what's that other hut over there for?" "Oh... that. That's the church I used to go to."
The history of Christianity—especially Protestant Christianity—is in many ways a story of disagreements, schisms, and fragmentation; churches splintering away from each other, often on the basis of small or insignificant beliefs and practices. This of course seems contrary to what Jesus would have wanted, as he prayed in his final prayer for his disciples that they might be one. There are, however, some bright spots in that history—for example in the book of Acts, where the very first believers were one in purpose and practice.
I’d like to shine a light on another one of those bright spots, as we continue our series on the spread of Reformed Christianity to America in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Last week we talked about the Revival movement known as the “Great Awakening” in the 18th century. Today, we’ll be talking about the Stone-Campbell movement in the early 19th century. Over the past year, we’ve had the pleasure of worshiping together a few times with First Christian Church. The Christian Church, also known as the Disciples of Christ, is a product of the Stone-Campbell movement.
There’s also a direct link between Stone-Campbell churches like First Christian, and Presbyterian churches like ours: Three of the four “founders” of the Stone-Campbell movement (who we’ll talk about in just a while) were of Scottish descent, and the two for which the movement is named (Barton Stone and Thomas Campbell) were ordained ministers in the Presbyterian Church. Like good Presbyterians, and like John Calvin and John Knox before them, they believed that the church should be continually reforming itself according to the Word of God. Their lives, and the movement they started, are a remarkable testimony to this core principle of the Reformation.
Barton Stone was the pastor of the Cane Ridge Presbyterian church in Kentucky where, in 1801, he helped to orchestrate a revival that included the local Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist congregations. The revival drew an estimated crowd of 20,000 people, or 10% of the entire population of Kentucky at the time.
Two years later, perhaps because of his success working across denominational lines, but also due to a growing disillusionment with denominational infighting, Stone withdrew from the Presbyterian church, and along with several other congregations formed the Independent Springfield Presbytery. When this organization started to grow like crazy, Stone and other pastors feared that they were just recreating another denomination, so they disbanded, and published a letter called the “Last will and testament of the Springfield Presbytery.” While they were quite serious, it is also a remarkably clever, witty, and delightfully subversive document. I won’t read the whole thing, but here are a few lines:
The Presbytery of Springfield . . . being . . . in more than ordinary bodily health, growing in strength and size daily; and in perfect soundness and composure of mind . . . do make and ordain this our last Will and Testament.
We will, that this body die, be dissolved, and sink into union with the Body of Christ at large; for there is but one body, and one Spirit, even as we are called in one hope of our calling.
We will that our name of distinction, with its Reverend title, be forgotten, that there be but one Lord over God's heritage, and his name one.
We will, that our power of making laws for the government of the church, and executing them by delegated authority, forever cease; that the people may have free course to the Bible, and adopt the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
We will, that our weak brethren, who may have been wishing to make the Presbytery of Springfield their king, and know not what is now become of it, betake themselves to the Rock of Ages, and follow Jesus for the future.
We will, the Synod of Kentucky examine every member who may be suspected of having departed from the Confession of Faith, and suspend every such suspected heretic immediately, in order that the oppressed may go free, and taste the sweets of Gospel liberty.
To understand the humor in that last statement, you have to know that Synod of Kentucky (the Presbyterian governing body) had been harassing Stone and his fellow pastors, examining them and suspending their licenses for any minor disagreements with the Westminster Confession of Faith. Basically, Stone and company said, “bring it on…you should suspend EVERYONE who disagrees with you: We’d be happy to have them.”
From this point on, Stone and his followers referred to themselves simply as “Christians” since that’s the only name given to the followers of Jesus in the New Testament. They firmly believed that for God’s kingdom to come on earth, denominations and divisions had to go.
Meanwhile in Pennsylvania, a Scots-Irish Pastor named Thomas Campbell was also struggling with his Presbyterian affiliation. Among other things, he invited members of other Christian denominations to his church, and people who had not yet been baptized… and served them all communion, which was at odds with Presbyterian policy at the time. For what it’s worth, today the Presbyterian church (finally) agrees with Campbell, and the Lord’s Supper is open to anyone, regardless of religious affiliation, age, or any other distinction.
But because of this and other disagreements at the time, Campbell eventually left the Presbyterian Church. He affiliated for a time with the Baptists, but once again found their doctrines too restrictive, and not grounded in scripture. In 1809, Thomas Campbell was joined by his son Alexander, who had been studying theology at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Together, father and son developed a distinctive approach to ministry that sought to model the church after the earliest church in the New Testament. They believed that where the scriptures speak, we speak; and where the scriptures are silent, we remain silent. They taught that in essential things (things commanded by scripture) all Christians should be in unity; In non-essential things (matters where the scriptures are silent) Christians should enjoy liberty; and that in all things, Christians should practice love.
Thomas and Alexander Campbell eventually joined forces with a young and dynamic Scottish preacher named Walter Scott. Scott had a simple but effective approach to evangelism: When he arrived in a town, he would round up all the children, and ask them to hold up the five fingers on their hand. He would use each finger to teach the process of salvation described in Acts 2, beginning with faith in Christ, repentance from sins, baptism, forgiveness of sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. When the children had learned this, he would send them home to invite their parents to church.
The Campbells and Scott were often called Reformers, but they called themselves simply “Disciples.” Like the followers of Barton Stone, they had no creeds or doctrines other than what they found in scripture. And in 1832, the Stones and the Campbells brought their movements together with a handshake, in one of those rare and beautiful displays of Christian unity.
Stone, Scott and both Campbells were also prolific writers, and spread their message through the publication of several newsletters, where they debated theological ideas in a civil and balanced way. This tradition continued long after they did, leading to a famous saying that “The Stone-Campbell movement doesn’t have bishops… instead it has editors. One of those publications, started by the Disciples of Christ and continuing to the present day is a little magazine you may have heard of: It’s called “The Christian Century,” and some of it’s more distinguished contributors have included Martin Luther King Jr., Albert Schweitzer, W. E. B. DuBois, C. S. Lewis, T. S. Eliot, Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Thomas Merton, Mary Daly, Billy Graham, Wendell Berry, and N. T. Wright, among others.
