BACK TO THE FOUNTAIN-HEAD STUDIES ON THE RESTORATION OF NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY JOHN WADDEY Gospel Light Publishing Co. 431 E Antioch Street P.O. Box 38 Delight, Arkansas 71940 (870) 379-2412 DEDICATION To Earl I. West and J. Marvin Powell, men who sought out and recorded the thrilling history of our back to the Bible movement, this book is dedicated. Their work blessed my life and my work in the kingdom of Christ. Copyright 2010 by Gospel Light Publishing Company Additional copies may be ordered from the publisher or from the author. John Waddey 12630 W. Foxfire Dr. Sun City West, AZ 85375 CONTENTS Preface 7 Introduction 9 I. WHAT IT MEANS TO RESTORE NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY 1. Church History, A Rewarding Study 11 2. Back to the Fountain-Head 13 3. Restoring a Thing of Value 15 4. What Do We Mean by the Restoration of Christianity? 16 5. To Restore Original Christianity 17 6. The Church: Her Apostasy, Reformation and Restoration 21 7. The Thrilling Story of Our Origins in America 27 8. John Wesley's Contributions to Our Restoration Movement 29 9. The Restoration Plea 32 10. Another Look at Our Plea 35 11. Purposes of Our Restoration Efforts 37 12. The Goal of Our Restoration Movement 39 13. Premises For Restoration 40 14. Necessary Steps to Restoring New Testament Christianity 44 15. Foundation Pillars of Our Restoration Plea 47 16. Great Slogans of our Restoration Movement 49 17. The Greatness of the Movement to Restoration New Testament Christianity 52 18. The Success of the Restoration Movement 57 19. Reformation by Restoration 60 20. Restoring Baptism to Its Proper Biblical Place 61 21. The Rebaptism of Samuel Rogers 64 22. Restoring the Ancient Landmarks 66 23. Restoration of the Sacred Name Christian 69 24. Restoring the Unity Christ Prayed For 73 25. Can the Church of Christ Trace Her Lineage to the Apostles? 76 26. Did the Church of Christ Exist During the Dark Ages? 77 27. Another Restoration Movement 79 28. A Sixteenth Century Restoration Movement 82 3 29. Did Alexander Campbell Found the Church of Christ? 86 30. What if Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone Had Never Lived 88 31. Campbellites: Two Uses of the Word 90 32. Is the Church of Christ a Denomination? 91 33. The Pioneers Who Went Before Us 94 34. Church Planting in Pioneer Days 96 35. The Spring Creek Church of Christ, A Historical Sketch 98 36. The Faith of Our Fathers 101 37. Restoration Preaching: Then and Now 103 38. Walter Scott's Five Finger Exercise 108 39. Hindrances to the Restoration of Christianity 109 40. Josiah's Restoration and Ours 111 41. Hezekiah, Who Sought To Restore the True Worship of God 115 42. Understanding First Century Christianity 119 43. Contributions of Our Restoration Movement 121 44. Our Past Is Key To Understanding our Present Problems 123 45. Good Reasons for Studying Our Restoration History 125 46. Churches of Christ, A Historical Sketch 127 47. Shakerism and the Restoration Movement 130 48. Lessons From a Lost Cause 133 49. The Broken Fellowship 135 50. The Origin of Modern Day Churches of Christ 138 51. Respecting the Silence of the Scripture is Essential to Restoration 139 52. The Missionary Society: What It Was, Why It Was Wrong 141 53. The Missionary Society: Did You Know? 144 54. Instrumental Music, Did It Really Matter? 146 55. Wise Men Listen to the Voices of History 149 56. A Painful Lesson From the Past 152 57. How the Liberals Captured the Disciples of Christ 155 58. Nineteenth Century Parallels to Our Present Problems 158 59. Valuable Lessons From the Past 165 60. A Scene That Made Grown Men Cry 167 61. A Bible Basis for Fellowship 168 62. Avoiding the Ditches 172 63. As Long As We Have the Pattern 174 64. A Movement Based on A Dream 175 65. The Need for a Continuing Emphasis on Restoration 177 4 66. Restoration: That Is Our Business 180 67. Duties of Those Who Would Write Our History 182 68. Would You Have Been a Pioneer in Our Back to the Bible Movement? 183 69. When Was the Restoration of the Church Completed? 185 70. Maintaining our Restoration 187 71. Who Will Lead the Remnant? 190 II. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF GREAT MEN OF GOD WHO CLEARED THE PATH THROUGH THE WILDERNESS 72. Barton W. Stone, A Great Servant of God 195 73. Alexander Campbell, A Man Admired by All 200 74. Alexander Campbell and His Lunenburg Letters 211 75. Walter Scott, Orator of the Early Years of Our Movement 217 76. Aylette Raines, A Preacher of Righteousness 219 77. B. F. Hall, Trailblazer 224 78. John T. Johnson and the Church in Athens, Tennessee 236 79. John Mulkey, Early Tennessee Preacher 237 80. Dr. Chester Bullard, Pioneer Preacher of Southwestern Virginia 242 81. Our Benjamin Franklin, A Man Who Overcame and Prevailed 248 82. David Lipscomb, A Simple Man Who Accomplished Great Things 250 83. David Lipscomb, A Man Who Stood in the Gap 252 84. The Greatness of David Lipscomb 254 85. J. W. McGarvey, Scholar Extra Ordinaire 256 86. A Tale of Two Preachers 257 87. Theophilus B. Larimore, A Man Who Would Not Fight 260 88. Ashley Sidney Johnson and Johnson Bible College 262 89. H. Leo Boles, Who Towered Above His Peers 268 90. Gus Nichols, A Preacher Par Excellence 278 III. LITTLE KNOWN MEN WHO SERVED WELL 91. Willson G. Barker and Buffalo Institute 283 92. James C. Bass 285 93. James Becket 286 94. E. H. Boyd 287 95. David Buck 288 5 96. W. D. Carnes, Pioneer Preacher and Educator in East Tennessee 290 97. Will T. Cullum 294 98. Jeriel Dodge, Bell Maker and Gospel Preacher 297 99. Landon Duncan 302 100. Anthony McKnight Ferguson 306 101. Isaac Hartsell 306 102. Josephus Hopwood, Educational Pioneer 307 103. Daniel Mclnturff 311 104. William Maupin 312 105. Samuel Millard 314 106. James Miller and the Boone's Creek Church 317 107. John Taylor, Our Ancestor in the Faith 320 108. Josiah Showalter 322 109. Joseph Thomas, The White Pilgrim 326 110. James Ireland Tipton 329 111. John Wright 330 112. Elder D. T. Wright 333 IV. MEN WHO LOST THEIR WAY 113. Sidney Rigdon Who Left Christ's Church for Mormonism 337 114. Dr. John Thomas, Heretic 341 115. Jesse B. Ferguson, A Man Who Make Shipwreck of His Faith 344 116. D. S. Burnet, Architect of Apostasy 348 117. L. L. Pinkerton, First Liberal of the Restoration Movement 351 118. A. I. Myhr and the Tennessee Missionary Cooperative 362 119. Robert H. Boll, Champion of Premillennialism 367 120. Daniel Sommer, the Pillar That Leaned Too Far to the Right 371 121 W. Carl Ketcherside, Father of the Change Movement 373 122. Leroy Garrett, An Intellectual Who Leaned Far to the Left 380 Books that Tell the Story of our Movement to Restoration NewTestament Christianity 382 6 PREFACE This book is not the result of a specific literary project completed in a particular period of time. It is the result of a long period of preparation and growth. First there came the years of extensive reading about the history of our Restoration Movement...that continues to this day. Then there were the many visits to the historical sites sacred to our back to the Bible movement. There were occasional sermons on Restoration themes and illustrations used in classes. There were articles written on various aspects of this biblical plea. Then came the presentation of a series of lessons on "What it Means to Restore the Ancient Faith of Christ." There was a start on a book made some 25 years ago that never saw completion. Now all of these ingredients have come together with the accumulated material, the time and the resources to create the book you have in your hands. Rather than a continuous narrative from the beginning of our movement to the present, it is an extended collection of sermons and essays on Restoration themes that have been arranged in a way to tell the larger story of a people striving to be Christians only. They tell of their triumphs and failures, their conflicts and growth, their heroes and their adversaries. When one writes of things of the past, it is rare that one finds or produces anything totally new. The best he can do is to present the old information in a new and interesting format. He can arrange the information in a way that provides continuity and clarity. Nor can the average author remember every source for every bit of information he relates. He might have read the same story in half a dozen different places or heard it from multiple teachers. So as you read the following lines, you will find some chapters with extensive citations and some with few or none. The author makes no claim of originality for the material, just a desire to tell the story of the determined effort of dedicated Christians to restore the faith and worship of the church to her original purity. That message first swept across the American nation in the 19th and twentieth centuries and then was carried around the world by faithful servants of God. It is an old story but one that is yet thrilling. It is an unending story, as the restoration message continues to take root and flourish in other nations even as it has done here. The observant reader will find some duplication in the many chapters of this book. To tell the story in so many different settings will inevitably require the repetition of the plea as it echoed from valley to valley and from heart to heart.