The history of the Disciples of Christ is contemporaneous with a century of phenomenal progress and achievements. Socially, intellectually and religiously the world has been made over during the past one hundred years. Towns have become cities, and cities have grown to mammoth proportions. Natural forces have been discovered and harnessed to the tasks of humanity, working revolutions in the methods of commerce and industry. The greater part of the world's knowledge is less than a century old. All the sciences are new. Convictions regarding religious truth have undergone radical changes. A new feeling with reference to the mission and message of the church has arisen. The interest in dogma has yielded to the popular demand for instruction in righteousness. The ascetic tendency has given place to a profound interest in the problems of social life. Our fathers could scarcely have conceived a program of such practical activity as we know to be in full operation to-day. The beginning of the modern missionary movement dates but a little way back of the event whose centennial we are celebrating. The Sunday-school as a definite factor in church life is less than a century old. The Young Men's and Young Women's Christian Associations, the various organizations for social uplift, and

P. J. RICE.

the several young people's societies in the churches, are all expressions of the change which has taken place.

      The early years of the nineteenth century may be roughly characterized as a period when the spirit of liberty, equality and fraternity was in the throes of a deadly conflict with the spirit of dogmatism, ecclesiasticism and sectarianism. In the midst of this conflict, the movement of the Disciples had its beginning. On the one hand, it may be regarded as a child of the times, arising in response to the growing spirit of democracy and of an awakening interest in religion.

      On the other hand, it may be said [411] that it arose out of a revulsion of feeling against prevailing conditions. The "Declaration and Address" furnishes abundant evidence that it was this latter sentiment that moved the heart of its author. In the section where he resided, after his immigration to the New World, the lines which separated the various religious bodies from each other were clearly drawn. Doctrinal shibboleths were in the ascendency, and loyalty to party standards was everywhere the basis of fellowship. The followers of Christ were strangely intolerant, and the spirit of dogmatism ran high. There was the constant clash of contending parties, each equally zealous for what it regarded as the final expression of the truth, and each determined to overthrow the heresies of all the others.

      Against these "sad divisions," which occasioned backbitings," "evil surmisings" and "angry contentions," the soul of the saintly Campbell felt called upon to enter earnest protest. He believed that such conditions prevented the exercise of the very functions which the church had been commissioned to perform, and felt that he must do all in his power to arouse the churches to a sense of the waste and the ruin of sectarianism.

      The reformation which he inaugurated centers about three dominant ideals. It originated in a plea for the union of Christians; it proposed to attain union by the restoration of primitive Christianity, and it had for its ultimate object the evangelization of the world. It was, therefore, idealistic, practical and purposeful. It presented a great plea, a fascinating program and a glorious objective. In the three fields thus indicated, the Disciples have wrought with greater or less efficiency. A century is a cycle of sufficient duration to measure the effects of any movement, and it is therefore with a degree of interest that we inquire with reference to the progress and achievements of this movement. Standing so close to it, both in point of time and personal relation, it is difficult to estimate it justly. It is but natural that we should rejoice in the triumphs which indicate the divine pleasure in the service we have rendered. But we should be unworthy the heritage into which we have entered if, in the midst of our exultation, we should fail to exhibit a proper spirit of humility. If the world should detect in us any tendency to self-satisfaction or complacency, any disposition to blind our own eyes to the services others have rendered in the promotion of objects which are dear to us, it would be justified in refusing to regard us seriously. The best apologetic we can offer to the world is an honest attempt to relate this movement to the progress of the century, estimating it not for purposes of self-glorification, but in view of all the facts and forces which may properly come within the scope of our inquiry.

      The Disciples have presented an earnest plea for the union of Christians. The "Declaration and Address" was a clarion call to the followers of Christ to bury their differences and unite for the conquest of the world in the name of Christ. The immediate response to this call was meager indeed. There appears to have been little desire for union and no readiness to minimize the importance of the doctrinal pronouncements which had grown up and become sacred with the years. Only a very few people could be found who were willing to champion this worthy cause, and most of these were personal friends of Thomas Campbell. Such was the temper of the church a century ago. How different it is to-day. Then nobody desired union, now everybody longs for its fuller realization; then division was defended as natural and necessary, now it is denounced as the "scandal of Christendom;" then it was thought to be advantageous, now it is decried as the greatest hindrance to the work of the church; then denominations held themselves aloof from each other--refusing to co-operate in any manner--now their people mingle freely and rejoice in the fellowship that is ever widening and deepening like the river as it flows toward the sea.

      The forces that have produced this change of sentiment are many. New visions of the world and its almost limitless needs have arisen before us. The cry of the ignorant and the oppressed of every nation has been heard, and the conscience of the church has [412] been aroused to a sense of the urgency and importance of her mission. In our efforts to discharge that mission we have been compelled to lay aside the petty peevishness of our party contentions. The people of the Orient, among whom we have been sending missionaries, have had little patience with our sectarian divisions. New generations have arisen, one after another, who have refused to be shut in by the narrow walls of prejudice that circumscribed their ancestors. Catching larger glimpses of truth, and beholding with clearer vision the eternal purposes of God, they have arisen to heights where the old artificial boundary lines are scarcely discernible. The changes that have taken place in theology have wrought havoc with all the creeds until they no longer serve as formidable barriers to union. Christians have been meeting each other on the fields of service, and feeling the warm beat of love and devotion to Christ which is common to all; a sense of mutual esteem and appreciation has arisen which doctrinal divergencies can not smother. However potent these silent forces may have been, they needed a voice to give them their highest efficiency, and this the Disciples have furnished.

      The Disciples have also been ardent advocates of a return to primitive Christianity. This was the program by which they hoped to accomplish the union of Christians.

      Alexander Campbell, who soon became the leader of the movement, having spent some time in the University of Glasgow, was familiar with the philosophy of John Locke and the so-called covenant theology. With these intellectual predilections he developed a system of doctrine which fitted admirably into the needs of this Western world. Over against the loose and fragmentary handling of the Word he placed the principles expanded in "The Sermon on the Law," with its clear distinction between the covenants, and consequent emphasis of the New Testament over the Old. Over against the mysticism of the times he placed the doctrine that "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." The distinction between the covenants afforded an opportunity for the exaltation of Christ to a place of supremacy over all who had gone before him.

      Having set themselves to restore the primitive church, the reformers immediately began to inquire into its nature and constitution. Gradually they were led to certain definite conclusions which have formed a considerable part of the Disciples' doctrinal propaganda throughout their history. They determined that the church should be known only by such names as did honor to her divine Head, and were sanctioned by New Testament usage; that the manner of its organization should conform to the pattern shown in the New Testament, which they conceived to be congregational in form, with evangelists, elders and deacons selected because of peculiar fitness to serve as ministers in

V. E. RIDENOUR.

these several capacities; that there were but two ordinances, baptism, administered according to apostolic precedent, and the Lord's Supper, standing as the perpetual memorial of the sufferings of the Messiah, to be observed on every first day of the week. Following the examples of conversion recorded in the Book of Acts, the reformers concluded that people become Christians and members of the body of Christ, which is the church, by believing in Jesus Christ, repenting of their sins, openly confessing their faith and submitting to the ordinance of baptism. Thus the principle of restoration, becoming operative in the hands of our fathers, gave added authority to the Scriptures, especially of the New Testament, increased glory and prestige to the name of Christ, re-established the apostolic church according to methods of interpretation which they employed and developed a clearly defined doctrine of salvation.

      There is a position which insists upon belief in doctrines as the essence and test of Christian life. It is forever [413] framing convictions into creeds and seeking to impose them upon the minds of men. "It is," says Phillips Brooks, "always sacrificing stability to progress or progress to stability." This is essentially the position of sectarianism. The position of the Disciples as expressed in the phrase, "In faith unity, in opinion liberty, in all things charity," is its direct opposite.

      The achievements of the Disciples in the fields of evangelism and missionary service have been notable. From the very beginning they have manifested an aggressive spirit. The Christian Association of Washington announced as its "soul purpose" the promotion of "simple evangelical Christianity." It agreed to administer such funds as might be committed to its keeping for the support of ministers who should be "sent forth to preach at considerable distance." The message of the evangelists who went forth as exponents of the plea was simple, positive and direct. They preached a gospel consisting of definite facts, commands and promises, and it made a powerful appeal to the common people, who accepted it with eagerness and in turn became its defenders and advocates. Many of the early preachers, like the minute-men of Revolutionary fame, left the plow in the field to respond to the call of conscience and duty. They became preachers of surprising power and effectiveness. Every service was a mission in which the simple gospel was presented, and the people were urged to accept it. It is not surprising, therefore, that the movement has grown with great rapidity.

      For a long time, the Disciples were distinctly a rural people spending a greater part of their energy in sparsely settled communities and in the smaller towns. Although we are celebrating the Centennial of the movement, we have very few city churches whose history covers more than a half century. Indeed, many of the cities wherein we now have strong churches were, at the time the churches were established, little more than rural communities. The fact that we are represented in them is not due to any settled policy on our part to evangelize them, but is incidental to the rapid growth of the urban populations. We did not go to the cities, but the cities grew up around us. During the past few decades, however, there has been a growing disposition to recognize the urgent religious needs of the cities, and their vast importance as centers of influence, and efforts have been made to evangelize in them.

      From the beginning the Disciples have been interested in education. Numerous institutions of learning of various grades have been established and equipped. Provision has been made for the instruction of the young people assembled in our great universities. Schools have been established also in the South for the education of the negroes and the mountain whites in Kentucky and Tennessee. A literature of considerable proportions has been produced. Alexander Campbell made large use of the press, and since his death periodicals, almost without number, have sent forth an increasing volume of literature, some of it worthy, some of it worthless and some of it worse than worthless. Numerous books, mostly of an apologetic character, have been published, but only a few have circulated extensively outside the ranks of our own people. Hospitals, orphanages and homes for the aged tell of the philanthropic spirit of this people and their desire to be a blessing to the needy everywhere.

      Not content with the conquest of the home field, the Disciples have been eager participants in the enterprise of world-wide missions. As early as 1849 a society was organized to engage the churches in missionary service, both at home and abroad. Not much was undertaken in foreign fields until about the beginning of the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The Christian Woman's Board of Missions was organized in 1874, and the Foreign Christian Missionary Society came into existence the following year. Since that time the Disciples have prosecuted vigorously the work of missions, both at home and abroad. Millions of dollars have been collected and disbursed for the evangelization of the darkened portions of the earth. Schools, hospitals and orphanages, as well as churches, have sprung up in the wake of our missionaries, who have penetrated the remotest [414] regions of heathendom. They have borne their testimony for Christ in England, Scandinavia and Turkey, in India, China and Japan, in Australia, Africa and Tibet. They have followed the flag to the islands of the sea, they have gone into the cities of Mexico and South America with the evangel of life, and have sought to keep pace with the march of empire as it westward takes its way in our own land.

      The Disciples have been participants also in all modern movements looking toward the promotion of learning, the enlistment of the young, the relief of human suffering and the reformation of society. As opportunity has been presented, and as we have had ability, we have co-operated in every enterprise that has had for its object the fuller realization of the kingdom of God in the life of the world. Our work has been largely among the common people. We do not number many names of those who have arisen to places of distinction in scholarship, in statesmanship, or in the marts of trade, but we have not wanted for great leaders, who, with high resolve and unfaltering courage, have served both the church and the State with credit to themselves, and honor to all with whom they have been connected. In every sphere of human activity, we are represented to-day by men and women of unquestioned character and recognized ability.

      We turn from the first century of our history with a profound consciousness of the responsibilities which the progress and the achievements of the past have laid upon us. With Tennyson we doubt not "through the ages one increasing purpose runs." We understand that purpose to be God's, and believe that in proportion as we make it our own, we shall be able to bring to consummation this movement, so rich in fruits and so plentiful in buds of promise. "Because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved."

[CCR 411-415]