Nashville Tension — 1892 General Christian Missionary Convention

May 20, 2014

The Nashville Tennessean, in an article entitled “ALL DELIGHTED,” described the proceedings of the General Christian Missionary Convention’s 1892 annual meeting (October 21, 1892, p. 8). This was a highwater mark in the tension within the Stone-Campbell Movement (or, American Restoration Movement). The missionary societies held their convention in the capital of its opposition. There […]


J. D. Tant, Rebaptism and the “New Paper” (1938-1939)

March 19, 2013

1938-1939 were significant years for the Churches of Christ. In 1938 E. W. McMillan, one time chair of the Bible department at Abilene Christian College, began preaching for the Central Church of Christ in Nashville, TN and in January 1939 assumed the editorship of the Christian Leader which was now under new management (Clinton Davidson). The […]


A Stone-Campbell “Father” on the Ku Klux Klan

December 31, 2011

Houston Chronicle (1921) To the Editor of the Chronicle. I desire to reply through your columns to some questions that have been propounded to me by private letter as follows: “I read both the News and The Chronicle. Will you please state through one of these papers or both, for my information and that of […]


R. C. Bell: A Lament Over A Theological Shift Among Churches of Christ

March 7, 2011

R. C. Bell (1877-1964) attended the Nashville Bible School from 1896-1901. James A. Harding took Bell with him as a faculty member at the newly founded Potter Bible College in 1901. Later Bell would teach at several different colleges among Churches of Christ and eventually ended up at Abilene Christian College as a beloved teacher. In 1959, […]


Rebaptism and the Division of the McGregor, Texas, Church (1897)

November 22, 2010

The story of the division of “The Christian Church of McGregor” in McGregor, Texas, near Waco, is of particular significance for several reasons. Organized on August 25, 1883, it divided on September 23, 1897. The division resulted in two groups: “The First Christian Church of McGregor” and “the Church of Christ” (the capital letters are […]


Rebaptism and the Division of the McGregor, Texas, Church (1897)

March 4, 2010

The story of the division of “The Christian Church of McGregor” in McGregor, Texas, near Waco, is of particular significance for several reasons. Organized on August 25, 1883, it divided on September 23, 1897. The division resulted in two groups: “The First Christian Church of McGregor” and “the Church of Christ” (the capital letters are […]


Privilege or Silence: Women in Churches of Christ (1897-1907) V

September 17, 2009

This is my last post on the historical situation of women in the assemblies of Churches of Christ from 1897 to 1907.  You may access the whole series from my serial page. The Texas Tradition While the mid and deep South seemed united in the Tennessee perspective, Texas reflected some considerable diversity, even among conservatives who […]


Silence or Privilege: Women in Churches of Christ, 1897-1907

September 16, 2009

  Last January I began a series surveying the privilege of women to speak or their restricted silence within assemblies of Churches of Christ from 1897 to 1907.  I never completed the series because Discipliana (the journal of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society) was interested in publishing an article on the topic.  That article […]


Struggle for the Soul of Churches of Christ (1897-1907)

June 25, 2009

When the division between Churches of Christ and the Christian Churches was recognized by the religious census of 1906, the theological perspectives among the Churches of Christ were fairly diverse. While there was an ecclesiological consensus to separate from the Christian Churches, there was considerable diversity between the three major representative “traditions” among Churches of […]


David Lipscomb (1910)

April 16, 2009

Towards the end of 1909 David Lipscomb fell seriously ill and was unable to write for the Gospel Advocate. When he returned to writing in 1910 he had much to say as he approached his 80th year of life. What is Most Important To Him.  In the first issue of 1910, Lipscomb summarized his primary interest […]