 The
Proclaimer
"What Is A Campbellite?"
As you recall, a
couple of weeks ago I published an email that I received in response to one
of the articles I wrote in the newspaper. I also published my response to
the email. This has developed into a series of questions by this
individual. Because I had several folks comment to me on how much they
enjoyed reading my response to the email, I thought it might be beneficial
to publish the questions that followed and my responses to them.
The man I am corresponding with has admitted
enormous prejudices against the “Church of Christ.” Consequently, I don’t
know what impact my responses to his questions will have on him. But I know
that many are asked similar questions by friends, family and acquaintances
and I thought my responses to these “real life” questions might be of
benefit to some. Not only so, this teaching may help you understand more
accurately the teaching of the New Testament on these subjects.
As you recall, I had something to say
concerning his calling me and other members of the church of Christ
“Campbellites” in his first email. He replied with the question, “What is
your definition of a Campbellite?” The following is my reply:
Alexander Campbell, and his father Thomas, lived in the late
18th and early 19th
centuries. These men (and others such as Barton W. Stone, James O'Kelly,
Walter Scott, etc.) came from Europe to America as Protestants in different
denominations. In an attempt to overcome written creeds that they thought
divided believers in Christ, they independently made an attempt to
exclusively use the Bible as their creed. Their desire was to restore New
Testament Christianity by simply adhering to what the Bible teaches thus
unifying all believers in Christ.
They were not successful in this
noble effort because the vast majority of folks in the denominational world
simply did not want nor see the need to limit themselves to what the Bible
teaches. Unfortunately, the same is true today.
The term "Campbellite" became a some what
derogatory term used to refer to those who embraced the same goal as
Alexander Campbell and others, i.e., to restore New Testament Christianity
by simply following the Bible. It was derogatory because as these folks
explained their desire to come out of denominationalism and restore the
church of the New Testament, those who rejected their plea accused them of
simply starting another denomination by following Campbell. Hence, the term
“Campbellite.”
Let me assure you that I am not a follower of
Alexander Campbell or any other man. I am a follower of Jesus Christ. The
congregation where I preach is not associated with any denomination or any
group, convention or conclave of churches on the face of the earth. The
Rice Road church of Christ is totally autonomous and is not subject to any
ecumenical council, convention or headquarters. We are NOT a part of any
denomination, but simply a group of Christians who live in the same
geographic location who have purposed to work and worship together to the
glory of God. We are just Christians who make up a local congregation
of Christ’s church
Your concept of the church of Christ appears
to be the common denominational concept. Generally, most teach that since
all who believe in Christ are saved, the particular denomination they belong
to is superfluous to God. In other words, all the different denominations
make up Christ's church and there is a sort of “unity in diversity.” I’m
not certain this is your concept, but I suspect it is.
This concept is foreign to the Bible. To begin
with, as you know, denominations did not arrive on the scene until the 16th
century and grew out of Luther's protestation of the corruption in the
Catholic Church. While Luther had no intention of starting another church
but rather wanted to reform Catholicism, the result was, nevertheless, the
beginning of Protestantism and denominationalism. Other protestant leaders
of the reformation movement included John Calvin, John Wesley, John Knox,
John Smyth and others who started denominations based upon their own
beliefs.
You might wonder what makes Campbell any
different than these other men? The difference is that these men started a
denomination with its own written creed outlining their beliefs, with an
organizational structure uniting and overseeing congregations who accepted
this written creed. That’s what a denomination is.
I am not a protestant, for I have no desire to
protest Catholicism. I simply want to restore the church belonging to
Christ that is described in the New Testament. I believe this can be done
if we will teach and practice exactly what first century Christians taught
and practiced under the direction of inspired apostles. We must not teach
or practice anything not authorized in the New Testament (Col. 3:17).
It matters not to me what Alexander Campbell
taught or practiced. In fact, I believe he taught and practiced things that
are not authorized in the New Testament. His motives were noble, but he was
not the only one that has had them. I believe there have always been
individuals that desired to serve the Lord and subjected themselves
exclusively to what God authorizes in the New Testament. I pray that you
are one of those individuals.
As far as my being a "Campbellite" (or the
people I worship with), I am not a follower of Campbell. If you want to
call me that, I don't really care – it's not so. If you had not asked the
question, I wouldn't have brought it up. What is important,
however, is that you understand my desire is to teach and follow exactly
what the New Testament authorizes and be exactly what God wants me to be - a
disciple of Jesus Christ.
I hope this information
helps some.
Sincerely,
Clark Dugger
The Proclaimer
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