where it all went down, and from whence we emerged
Whether in the diverse Northeast metropolis of New York City, NY, the Deep South seat of Birmingham AL, or the edgy Southwest city of Austin, TX, the Restoration Movement is undeniably birthing new expressions of church in the USA. Recent church plants that are moving beyond the “Churches of Christ” label—both in name and in practice—may actually be faithfully returning to Restorationist roots rather than defiantly departing from them [1]. Such church plants, referred to here as being “Post-Restorationist,” are showing marks of primal Restorationist impulses, especially as witnessed in the life of Restoration Movement leader Barton Warren Stone. It is the intention of this work to explore common impulses between Stone as a church planter and a sample of 21st Century Post-Restorationist church plants, and to put forward some modest projections based on the parallels that are discovered herein.
Such a task as connecting the two very different worlds of Stone’s context and present contexts is inherently problematic. Needless to say, the democratized, revivalist, and populist zeitgeist in which Stone lived and moved is far removed from today’s post-Christian, postmodern, and increasingly globalized society in which Post-Restorationist church planters find themselves [2]. Keeping in mind the radical changes that have taken place in our world over the past century and a half, any substantial connectedness whatsoever between Stone and church planters today should be at least surprising.
On a sidebar, Stone as an apostolic church planter has received very little if any scholarly attention at all [3]. Judging by the content of The Christian Messenger [4], Stone spent much of his time doing the tedious and grueling work of doctrinal debate and dialogue—in his day a necessary endeavor toward the pursuit of unity. Here we depart from Stone’s in-depth doctrinal conversations and seek to look deeply at the practice of Stone—his spirituality and intellect in missiological and ecclesiological action. This will be accomplished through reading the margins, that is, the virtually untreated side of Barton Stone as a vigorous church planter.
Admittedly, in surveying Post-Restorationist church planters, questions may have already been loaded in a way that seeks to prove initial assumptions. Further, the survey of Barton Stone’s life could be tainted as read through the lens of current categories. Such tendencies are acknowledged here. What is more, “Post-Restorationist” (defined below) is a label that will be imposed upon recent church plants in a way that is too broad to capture the nuances of each community. There is no uniform agreement as to the definition of “Post-Restorationist” in describing the church plants mentioned here. Yet broadly defined, “Post-Restorationist” seems to capture the common ethos prevailing among such church plants. The aim here is not to impose commonalities but to reveal an authentic alignment of Barton Stone’s practice with recent church plants coming out of the Churches of Christ. Perhaps in some way, Stone’s life may both affirm and further energize such church planters today. We will begin by considering the life of Barton Stone, not only as a key leader in the Restoration Movement, but also as a prototype church planter.
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[1] Within this work, “Restoration Movement” and “Stone Campbell Movement” are phrases used interchangeably, while particular interest is given to church plants coming from Churches of Christ, or churches planted by leaders with a substantial connectedness to the Churches of Christ tradition.
[2] See Nathan O. Hatch, The Democratization of American Christianity (New Haven: Yale, 1989). Though he paints with broad brushstrokes, Hatch paints a clear picture of the zeitgeist in which Stone lived and worked, speaking directly of Stone’s populist preaching, his rejection of Calvinism, his religious press writings, his restoration of primitive Christianity, and his millennial outlook—all of which Hatch ties back the fervor of the age of democracy.
[3] This is in part due to the polity of the Churches of Christ moving away from a Stoneite apostolic polity to a more Campbellian polity.
[4] Barton Stone, The Christian Messenger, reprint, (Fort Worth: Star Bible Publications, 1978), vols. 1-14.
Filed under: ecclesia |
Tags: post-restorationist, barton stone, restoration movement, church planting, stone-campbell movement, emerging church, missional, Churches of Christ, cane ridge, kingdom of God
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