Hello all:
I’ve been thinking alot lately about why our movement is important. I’ve done some writing on this subject before (Restoration Churches in the Future and The Restoration Plea in the 21st Century,) but I want to revisit it again.
As I visit various places online, I see different people from the three (or four, depending on your point of view) streams talking about how the movement is irrelevant, how Restoration doesn’t matter, or how they are going to leave the church (and the movement) for something else all together. I couldn’t disagree more with these positions. While my position has changed somewhat from what it was in the past, I still think that the goals and pleas of the Restoration Movement are achievable and necessary.
Our original emphesis on uniting Christians is important and needs to be recaptured. Alexander and Thomas Campbell had a dream of uniting Christians of various backgrounds together. It took a while, but they were very successful. A quick browse through Restoration History finds lots of Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists and other Christians seperating themselves from their churches and becoming “Christians Only.” The movement saw a lot of growth when it embraced all who call on Christ as a brother or sister. Through the inclusiveness, a lot of minds were changed. At the same time, we need to be careful not to give up our core beliefs….and I don’t mean instrumental music or our eschatalogy.
The bible being the guide to faith and practice is one of our trademarks… or at least we believe that it is. We hold the Bible in high regard and look to it as the word of God. While we’ve discovered that patternism can be destructive, we can still be people of the book…and we need to be. Leaving man-made creeds behind, written or unwritten, is an important part of the bible being our guide. The message of the bible is as effective today as it has always been. It will work if we don’t abuse it.
Discipleship is important. Like unity, it is a message that was more widely present in the past and that needs to be recaptured. We, and the rest of the world, must rediscover what it really means to be a Christian. The members of our movement can do that, and I believe we can do it well.
Finally, we must evangelize the world. Our movement has fielded a lot of missionaries, and we still have plenty out there today, but we need more. Also, our own country is quickly becoming a white field ready to be harvested. God sows, we must reap. Unity and inclusiveness, holding the bible as our guide, and being true disciples of Jesus will help bring us a long way towards evangelizing a world that wants reality and not fakeness.
I really do think that the Restoration Plea is acheivable. I believe that we really can be united through Christ, even if there is not 100% agreement on all issues. I think that to make it there, we must be willing to be inclusive and invite those that we disagree with into our mist….interaction and communication will help change minds…standoffishness will not. Gospel Meetings might not work today like they worked 50 years ago. Our methods might change, but our principles should stay the same. Alexander Campbell probably wouldn’t recognize any of the streams of our movement today. We’ve strayed. But we can return. That is the wonderful thing about restoration.
-Clarke