Hello all:
I received my copy of the Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement today.
I’ve not had a lot of time to look at it, as I still having a never ceasing flow of homework coming at me, but I had time to check out the entries on the Exodus Movement and the Ottumwa Brethern.
I looked for the Ottumwa article because I had heard of them before but knew nothing about them. I found a pleasant surprise - many of the leaders of this conservative movement of the Disciples/Independents lived and worked right here in Portland. Northwest College of the Bible was a school started by members of the movement, and they have a small publishing company here that I didn’t even know about. When I have time I’m going to do some more research on this group.
If you don’t have a copy of the Encylopedia, I highly recommend it. Quite a bit of the Stone-Campbell Symposium was about the Encyclopedia, since the speakers there were the three editors of it. It has tons of interesting information about our movement and the churches that make it up. I can’t wait to sit down and read it cover-to-cover.
-Clarke
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June 1st, 2006 at 10:58
It is an excellent resource. Between that and the Search for the Ancient Order series, you can have a substantial chunk of restoration history at your finger tips.
A little short on the ICOC section mainly due to the decision to exclude articles dealing with individuals who are still alive. Since we are relatively new, we don’t have as much history. Maybe in the second edition.
Phil
June 3rd, 2006 at 7:51
I want to get that myself. Do you find it to be user-friendly? Is it easy to look things up? Does it cross-reference? Thanks.
Brian (DOC)
p.s. - This is a good site.
June 5th, 2006 at 10:28
Brian:
Its fairly user friendly, it has a decent index.
It does cross-reference some, but not tons.
There are several articles that I think should be in here that aren’t. Doug Foster mentioned at the Symposium that No Bible Class Churches of Christ aren’t in the book, and that was an inadvertant accident.
Northwest College of the Bible isn’t in the encyclopedia, and I think it should be. Its mentioned under the Ottamwa Brethern article, but it needs its own article I think.
Also, the Preacher School movement in Churches of Christ is not mentioned either, and I wanted to read about that.
I went to look up Pre-Millennialism and was refered to Eschatology instead. I haven’t read the whole article yet, its pretty long.. Hope that helps.
-Clarke
June 17th, 2006 at 6:16
There are lots of things that did not make it into the Encyclopedia. I wrote the article on R. L. Whiteside, one of the most theologically important individuals in our 20th century history, but he was an afterthought. I have a long list of entries that are omitted.
However, it is still a great piece of work and truly a labor of love. There will be no money made off the book. Plenty of headaches for sure but no dough.
Shalom,
Bobby Valentine
June 21st, 2006 at 6:51
Bobby:
Interesting info. I’ve read that many feel the Encyclopedia is slanted towards mainline protestantism…is that why people like Whiteside were an afterthought?
It is a great book, I’m very glad to have it. I have a feeling it will be very helpful as I start my studies in Church History.
-Clarke
July 6th, 2006 at 7:03
Here is a quick run down of entries that did NOT make it. Some I was very surprised by. There is no entry for
1) Harding Graduate School
2) IBC (now Heritage Christian University though all the small Independent Christian Church Colleges made the cut)
3) Lockney Christian College
4) Gunter Bible Collge
5) Southern Christian University
6) The American Bible Union has no seperate entry
There are no entries for the following persons:
1) J. N. Armstrong (there is a photo in the Harding College article)
2) N. L. Clark
3) T. M. Allen
4) E.M. Borden
5) J.M. Barnes
6) James Challen
7) Claude Witty nor the Murch-Witty Unity Meetings (which really surprised me!)
8) John R. Howard
9) J. D. Thomas (though a number of contemporary Disciples are included and Thomas warranted one)
10) M. C. Kurfees
11) B. A. Hinsdale
12) Yater Tant
13) L. S. White
14) T. W. Brents
In the beginning essay on historiography David Edwin Harrell’s Churches of Christ in the 20th Century is not mentioned at all.
There are some great lacuna in the ESCM. Some major ones. There is an article on gays and lesbians but not some of these. But no book is perfect and this was certainly a labor of love on Foster’s part and the others. I am grateful but sometimes I have scratch my head and say “what was the logic in not including this??”
Shalom,
Bobby Valentine
http://stoned-campbelldisciple.blogspot.com/