- Sermon - Mickey Anders

I am pleased to be the guest speaker for today. Your pastor invited me to come and tell you about some of the important events that took place about 200 years ago at the founding of this movement which ultimately resulted in your denomination, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

First, I guess I should tell you a little about myself. I was born in Port Tobacco, Maryland on December 24, 1772. Some say that my father was upper class because he owned land and sixteen slaves. We did have many prominent men in my family. I watched as my older brothers left home to fight in the Revolutionary War, and even heard the sound of artillery as General Green and Lord Cornwallis met in combat only 30 miles from my home.

From the time I was able to read, I took a great delight in books. When I was sixteen, I officially inherited land from my father. I decided to invest the proceeds from that land in a liberal education to qualify myself for a barrister. I attended a log cabin college named Guilford Academy in North Carolina. To accomplish this, I stripped myself of every hindrance, denied myself of strong food and lived chiefly on milk and vegetables, and allowed myself but six or seven hours' sleep out of the twenty-four.

While I was at Guilford, religion began to lay a claim on me, which I strongly resisted. I associated with those students who made light of divine things, and joined with them in making fun of the pious. But my conscience would allow me no peace.

But I was at last converted, not by the famous preacher James McGready, who came to Guilford for a revival, but by a young preacher named William Hodge. He spoke on "God is love" and that got to me. I had heard many preachers thunder divine damnations, but this simple thesis on the love of God seemed to be a new doctrine to me. I determined to become an ambassador of the love of God.

In preparation for ministry, I studied the works of a Dutch Reformed theologian Herman Witsius, particularly about the Trinity. But I was not familiar with the method of doing theology that defined Christian truth by holding in tension seemingly contradictory propositions. It all seemed unintelligible to me. If God preordained everything according to the doctrine of predestination, then it seemed to me that God was the author of sin.

When I began to study what I called "many abstruse doctrines," I became much depressed. I broke off my study of theology and resolved to engage in some other calling.

I spent 1795 teaching languages in an academy in Washington, Georgia. But after that my compulsion for ministry was rekindled, though I continued to resist it. But I finally made my way back to North Carolina, where I was licensed to preach by the Orange Presbytery and accepted an assignment to minister in the southern part of the state.

But I did not feel qualified for such a solemn work. I slipped away for a while, leaving the preaching to my partner. But a pious old lady told me I was doing a Jonah. And I guess I was.

It was not until I came to Kentucky that I finally settled into being a preacher. I accepted two charges in Bourbon County, Concord and Cane Ridge, so I resolved to settle down and quit my wandering ways. And that was when I really applied myself to reading and study. And the church did well with some 80 additions to the two churches in the first few months. After two years of ministry, it came time to be ordained by the Presbytery of Transylvania.

The fact is that Calvinism almost did me in. Calvinism was all-pervasive at that time, but I had difficulty accepting some of the popular views of Calvinism. They said that you could not become a Christian without first waiting for a miracle. I now saw that a poor sinner was as much authorized to believe in Jesus at first, as at last – that now was the accepted time, the day of salvation.

All along the Westminster Confession of Faith had been a problem for me. Facing my ordination, I renewed my study and tried to make myself accept the doctrines of the Presbyterian Church. But I must confess that I stumbled over the doctrine of the Trinity. I also had problems with the idea that God elected some people for salvation while appointed others to hell, which they called the doctrines of election and reprobation. Predestination was a hard pill for me to swallow. But now I would have to face my superiors who would question me about these beliefs.

I decided not to accept ordination and confided my misgivings to two pillars of the Presbytery. Even they could not remove my doubts, so they asked how far I was willing to go in accepting the Confession. I replied that I would accept it as far as it conformed to the word of God. They decided that would do. So at my ordination when they asked whether I would accept the Confession, I answered loudly so that all could hear: "I do, as far as I see it consistent with the word of God." It was very unusual to respond in that manner, but they accepted it.

The biggest thing that ever happened in my life was the Cane Ridge revival of 1801, when I was 28 years old. It was the most ecumenical thing I ever saw, and that really was strange because on the frontier we were used to sectarian bigotry. But at Cane Ridge, about 30 or 40 Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist preachers worked together with more harmony than could be expected. They forgot their confessions and creeds and preached the gospel.

Some military men present told me that they estimated 30,000 people present at Cane Ridge. The crowd was made up of all kinds, from the governor of the state to prostitutes, blacks as well as whites, the blackleg and the robber as well as the devout worshiper. It was a large open air meeting, or really several meetings spread over an extended area, with several preachers discoursing at one time.

The woods were filled with hundreds of vehicles and tents, creating a vast campground. And there were several days when incredible manifestations of the Spirit took place. I believe they were miracles, but many called them "exercises." When the Sprit fell, some people laughed and sang, others got the jerks and danced, falling and sometimes even screaming and barking. I did not personally experience any of these, but I was impressed with their authenticity.

Some people became amazingly acrobatic, for they would stand in one place and jerk backward and forward with their head almost touching the ground. The dancing was heavenly, as if accompanied by angels, and would continue until the subject fell over exhausted.

The singing was the most incredible, for it came not from the mouth or nose but from the breast. The sound emanated from deep within, and it was heavenly. Even a doctor friend of mine admitted it was the most unusual thing he had ever seen.

It was a revival where the gospel was preached and where sinners turned to God, and that was the best news of all.

But the Presbyterians were not happy with all of the preaching at Cane Ridge because there was anti-Calvinism in the air. Most of us were preaching that "Christ died for all men," but Calvinism says that Christ died only for "the elect." Soon the Presbytery brought charges against preachers like Richard McNemar and John Thompson. The charge against them was that they were preaching contrary to the Confession of Faith.

During their trial in 1803, five of us Presbyterian preachers drew up a protest that we delivered to the Moderator. It was our declaration of freedom from ecclesiastical control, and it proclaimed the right of free believers to interpret the Scriptures for themselves and to base their faith upon the Bible alone, apart from human opinions.

We concluded that our only recourse was to relieve the synod of the disagreeable task of trying us by withdrawing ourselves from its control, and we bade them adieu.

But we had no intention of withdrawing from the Presbyterians, we only wanted the freedom to interpret the Scripture for ourselves. So we formed our own Presbytery, which we called the "Springfield Presbytery." It consisted of the five churches where we were serving as pastors. We had no intention of going independent.

Afterwards the synod sent a committee to us in an effort to reclaim us, but one of the committee was converted to our side! After that, they sent committees to our churches to read the bull of suspension and to declare our pulpits vacant.

Soon after that, I went before my congregations to explain why I could no longer preach among them as a Presbyterian. I decided that my labors should be directed to advance the Redeemer's kingdom, irrespective of party (or denomination). I relieved them of their salary obligation to me, tearing up the contract in their presence. I assured them that I would continue to preach among them, though not on the same basis as before.

I also felt it necessary at that point in my life to liberate all my slaves. With no salary and no laborers, I turned to my little farm as a means of livelihood and continued to preach far and wide, almost as much as before. I was a poor man, but I was free.

But as we studied the Bible, we could find neither precept nor example in the New Testament for the likes of presbyteries and synods. And we realized that our own Presbytery made us a party separate from others. It savored of a party spirit. Along with all man-made creeds, we threw it overboard and took the name Christian.

Within a year of its creation, the Springfield Presbytery was laid to rest. So on June 28, 1804, we published The Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery. It was at that time we determined to take no other name than "Christians."

That is the date that represents the beginning of the Stone-Campbell Movement and is as good a date as any for the origin of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It was a charter for a new kind of church, one that based its faith and order upon the Bible alone.

Because of its historic significance, I ask you to forebear with me will I read to you the most important sections of it:

"The Presbytery of Springfield, sitting at Cane-ridge, in the county of Bourbon, being, through a gracious Providence, in more than ordinary bodily health, growing in strength and size daily; and in perfect soundness and composure of mind; but knowing that it is appointed for all delegated bodies once to die; and considering that the life of every such body is very uncertain, do take, and ordain this our last Will and Testament, in manner and form following. viz:"

" (First of all): 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.

"Item. 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.

Item. We will, that our power of making laws for the government of the church, and executing them by delegated authority, forever cease…

Item. We will, that candidates for the Gospel ministry henceforth study the Holy Scriptures with fervent prayer, and obtain license from God to preach the simple Gospel… without any mixture of philosophy, vain deceit, traditions of men, or the rudiments of the world.

Item. We will, that the church of Christ resume her native right of internal government –try her candidates for the ministry, as to their soundness in the faith, acquaintance with experimental religion, gravity and aptness to teach; and admit no other proof of their authority but Christ speaking in them…

Item. We will, that each particular church… choose her own preacher, and support him by a free will offering…

Item. We will, that the people henceforth take the Bible as the only sure guide to heaven… for it is better to enter into life having one book, than having many to be cast into hell.

Item. We will, that preachers and people, cultivate a spirit of mutual forbearance; pray more and dispute less; and while they behold the signs of the times, look up, and confidently expect that redemption draweth nigh.

Signed by Robert Marshall, John Dunlavy, Richard McNemar, B.W. Stone, John Thompson, David Purviance.

By 1811, there were more than 16,000 in our Christian Church in the west. I met Alexander Campbell, who was sixteen years younger than me, in 1824. Over time I realized that the movement Campbell started had much in common with our movement. In 1832, we held a four day meeting at Georgetown and in Lexington regarding a union of the Christians and Reformers. At the end of the meeting, I joined hands with the Reformer John Smith to seal our union. It would be the beginnings of a new society where the Bible alone was the rule by which our faith and lives should be formed, abandoning our party names, and cleaving to the good old name Christian.

So this movement began as a Freedom Movement. We dreamed of an uncoerced faith, a faith based on the Bible and not on the opinions of humans. We have handed to your generation a wonderful gift. I hope and pray that you will preserve the very best intentions of what we began.

Endnotes:

This presentation was adapted from The Stone-Campbell Movement by Leroy Garrett and The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement.