“The past two years have been amazing, and I can’t remember the last time I felt so spiritually alive. God is constantly surprising us.”
–Melissa Jerkins of Immanuel Austin
To end our exploration of Stoneite commonalities on a lighter note, there is an old Restorationist joke that says the Churches of Christ don’t have bishops, just editors. The editor Barton Stone with his prolific journal, The Christian Messenger, had a strong influence on the Restoration Movement and was inspiration for numerous other Restorationist editors. So if Churches of Christ have editors, Post-Restorationists have bloggers. Post-Restorationist bloggers continue the Stoneite way of popular print that can reach the crowds. All of the surveyed church planters keep a weblog. For DF, Newton’s blog and podcast are more internally purposed for DF. But undoubtedly these mediums are reaching well beyond the church community. Kester Smith of IA also keeps a blog, and his offerings can often be found at Next-Wave E-Zine. And Ben Cheek of MetroSoul is the mastermind behind the popular website rUrevolutionary.com, getting hundreds of thousands of hits in its first year of existence. The gospel according to the Post-Restorationists is being received by a virtual audience around the globe.
It is as Leonard C. Allen cleverly puts it in the title of an essay: the Stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Refreshingly, the life of Barton Warren Stone is being revisited in the Restoration Movement. His legacy—a rich one marked by simplicity, discipleship, and missional-apostolic church planting—has resurfaced in an unusual way among church plants that are often considered to have moved outside the Restoration Movement. Yet just as it is impossible to deny one’s biological DNA, Post-Restorationists cannot deny their ecclesiological DNA. Although many of the Stoneite parallels may be implicit in these church plants, it seems there is an explicit and substantial connectedness with Post-Restorationists to the way of Barton Stone that should be acknowledged and embraced by the Churches of Christ heritage.
On many levels, these Post-Restorationist church plants are blazing a trail for a future of the Churches of Christ branch of the Restoration Movement. And they seem to be having fun doing it. Many of those surveyed report an excitement in what is going on, and Melissa Jerkins (IA) captures the Post-Restorationist spirit: “The past two years have been amazing, and I can’t remember the last time I felt so spiritually alive. God is constantly surprising us.” Like Stone, rather than longingly looking backwards to a bygone era of yesterday’s glory, Post-Restorationists are excitedly looking forward to the continued inbreaking of the kingdom of God.
If Barton Warren Stone would be unsettled to have been construed in such a light as this, let us give him the last word. Perhaps this pastoral imagery Stone once wrote now returns full circle to resonate with the stories of an emerging Post-Restorationist movement:
I have seen sheep pent up in a lean pasture, looking through the crevices of their enclosure at a flock grazing on a rich field at liberty—I have seen their manifestations of anxiety to be with them, in their bleating, and running along the fence to find a place of escape. At length, one made the leap and many followed.
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“at length, one made the leap and many followed.”
that’s a strange word-picture. the grass is always greener on the other side, but if sheep follow other sheep, how will they know where they are going? won’t they all go astray?
imho, due in large part to an unbiblical leadership model, restorationists are often helpess and harassed like sheep without a shepherd. no wonder they are tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching. just look at us now…
shepherdless flocks seems to be a recurring problem among restorationists past and present. whether we like it or not, in his grace Christ gave pastor-teachers to the church for edify and equip her for service-work. of course Christ himself is the One True Shepherd, but isn’t he pleased to tend his flock by means of human under-shepherds?
tru dat. good point on the image. as I’ve heard it said, “architecture always wins.” i agree that our unbiblical leadership structures have been a huge part of our struggle. unfortunately, one is left with few options beyond leaving the structure altogether in order to explore structural alternatives. i have great respect for those that leave to explore, and just as much respect for those who work within the structures for change, be it slow, hard work.