Important Documents
Some important documents are helpful in understanding some of the logic and thinking of early leaders in the Restoration or Stone-Campbell Movement. Here are a few of the most important:
1. The Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery (1904):
The Springfield Presbytery was an organization of dissatisfied Presbyterian ministers who chose to withdraw from the Presbyterian Synod in Kentucky. However, after a short lived existence, and not wanting to create yet another sectarian group, they officially put their organization to death so they could merely be a part of the body of Christ. Barton W. Stone had a major role with this group and was very possibly the author of the document.
2. The Declaration and Address by Thomas Campbell (1909):
The Declaration and Address was presented at a meeting of the Christian Association of Washington. This association included Thomas Campbell and some of his fellow church leaders who were increasingly dissatisfied with the sectarian spirit of the church. The Christian Association of Washington was soon disbanded and turned into the Brush Run Church. However, this document became "the" document that best sums up the sentiment and philosophy of those who started the Restoration Movement. It is a "must read" if you want to understand the core of our heritage as a church movement. Go to: http://www.therestorationmovement.com/_states/wv/declaration.htm.
3. The Gospel Restored:
An Evangelist by the name of Walter Scott created a "five-finger" exercise to share the gospel as he traveled from town to town. Walter Scott has sometimes been called one of the "big four" of the founders of the Restoration Movement (with Stone and the two Campbells). He was a great speaker and theologian, and presented many of the thoughts others were sharing in clear, systematic terms. Scott was known for naming Jesus the Messiah the "Golden Oracle". While he developed the five-finger exercise to show the process early Christians followed, he wanted to make clear that people weren't saved by following steps, but rather through Jesus: the "Golden Oracle."
Some important documents are helpful in understanding some of the logic and thinking of early leaders in the Restoration or Stone-Campbell Movement. Here are a few of the most important:
1. The Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery (1904):
The Springfield Presbytery was an organization of dissatisfied Presbyterian ministers who chose to withdraw from the Presbyterian Synod in Kentucky. However, after a short lived existence, and not wanting to create yet another sectarian group, they officially put their organization to death so they could merely be a part of the body of Christ. Barton W. Stone had a major role with this group and was very possibly the author of the document.
2. The Declaration and Address by Thomas Campbell (1909):
The Declaration and Address was presented at a meeting of the Christian Association of Washington. This association included Thomas Campbell and some of his fellow church leaders who were increasingly dissatisfied with the sectarian spirit of the church. The Christian Association of Washington was soon disbanded and turned into the Brush Run Church. However, this document became "the" document that best sums up the sentiment and philosophy of those who started the Restoration Movement. It is a "must read" if you want to understand the core of our heritage as a church movement. Go to: http://www.therestorationmovement.com/_states/wv/declaration.htm.
3. The Gospel Restored:
An Evangelist by the name of Walter Scott created a "five-finger" exercise to share the gospel as he traveled from town to town. Walter Scott has sometimes been called one of the "big four" of the founders of the Restoration Movement (with Stone and the two Campbells). He was a great speaker and theologian, and presented many of the thoughts others were sharing in clear, systematic terms. Scott was known for naming Jesus the Messiah the "Golden Oracle". While he developed the five-finger exercise to show the process early Christians followed, he wanted to make clear that people weren't saved by following steps, but rather through Jesus: the "Golden Oracle."
Walter Scott travelled extensively, sharing the New Testament pattern for following Christ everywhere he went.
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