Soldier On! w/Leroy Garrett — Occasional Essays

Essay 117 (4-13-06)

CHRISTIAN UNITY AND WORLD PEACE (2)

On the right side of the cenotaph is the engraving of Thomas Campbell (died in 1854) in all his Irish handsomeness. The quotation under his likeness, taken from his Declaration and Address, reads, "The Church of Christ upon earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one."

Here we have the principle of the essential oneness of the church. It borrows from Paul’s mandate, "Is Christ divided?" (1 Cor. 1:13). The church, the body of Christ, cannot be other than one. Our plea should be, therefore, since the church by its very nature is one, to reclaim and to realize that unity, which is the Spirit’s gift to the church. A gift to be received!

The quotation from Campbell goes on to say in his Declaration and Address that the Church of Christ on earth "consists of all those who profess their faith in Christ, and who obey him in all things according to the scriptures." Here we have the principle of catholicity – that the church is made up of all those who are in Christ. Wherever God has a child, you and I have a brother or sister – irrespective of color, race, nationality, or doctrinal differences.

This principle of catholicity pervaded the thinking of these men as they continued their search for Christian unity. In his maturer years Alexander Campbell, Thomas Campbell’s son, said that while Christian unity had long been his "darling theme" he was some time in discovering the basis of that unity. He first sought it in what he called "the restoration of the ancient order," but learned that there was no agreement on what made up the "ancient order."

Rather than a "detailed restoration" he at last proposed "a catholic rule of unity," which advocated unity on what all Christians hold in common "in faith and morals." Liberty of opinion would be allowed on marginal issues. This proposal was at last expressed in a magnificent motto:

In essentials (which all Christians believe in common) unity.

In opinions (lesser issues on which we differ) liberty.

In all things love.

There is a Scripture that appears again and again in Thomas Campbell’s Declaration and Address that might serve as "the purple passage" of the Stone-Campbell heritage, for it embodies a royal principle for the unity of all believers. It is Romans 15:7: "Therefore receive one another, even as Christ as received you."

This is the principle of accepting each other on the same basis that Christ has accepted us. Were we not sinners when Christ received us? Were we right about everything? Was it not in love, grace, and mercy that Christ received us with all our hangups. This is the way we are to receive all other believers. This is unity.

On the back side of the monument is the likeness of Alexander Campbell , with a most thoughtful quotation from his writings, "The soul and spirit of all reformation is free discussion."

Here we have the principle of freedom, without which there can be no unity – free discussion, freedom to read and interpret the Bible for oneself,, freedom to differ, freedom from legalism, sectarianism, obscurantism. Free in Christ!

Alexander Campbell well defines his pilgrimage of freedom in a reference to his younger years when he was not free.

I was once so straight that I was like the Indian’s tree, I leaned a little the other way. I was once so strict a Separatist that I would neither pray nor sing praises with any one who was not as perfect as I supposed myself to be.. In this unpopular course I persisted until I discovered the mistake, and saw that on the principle embraced in my conduct, there never could be a church or congregation on earth.

This plan of making our own nest, of fluttering over our own brood, of building our own tent, and of confining all goodness and all grace to our noble selves and the few who are like us, is the quintessence of sublimated pharisaism. I am assured that such sectarianism is the offspring of hell.

The reformer could at last rejoice that he was free of such bondage. He came to see that no sectarian can be a true follower of Christ, and that a sectarian church can never be a united church.

The quotation from Alexander Campbell points to still another unity principle – the principle of the ongoing reformation (or renewal) of the church. It is reflective of a motto of the ancient church – Ecclesia semper reformanda – the church always reforming.

These pioneers of our heritage realized that the work of reformation or restoration never ends. We never arrive at perfection in this world. Even the churches in the New Testament were far from perfect, and they too were urged to keep on repenting, which is what reformation is about.

Notes

There are two books by the author that we continue to stock for the convenience of our readers. The Stone-Campbell Movement: The Story of the American Restoration Movement, Revised Edition (1994), by Leroy Garrett, is $37 plus $4 postage. Make the check to Leroy Garrett and post to 1300 Woodlake Dr., Denton, TX 76210. We will send the book upon receipt of check.

A Lover's Quarrel: My Pilgrimage of Freedom in Churches of Christ, an autobiography by Leroy Garrett is $15, postpaid. This book is about many people and issues in Churches of Christ in second half of the 20th century. The chapter on "Becoming An Editor & Landing In Jail" has proved to be the most interesting, and perhaps the most incredible.

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