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Memoirs of Deceased Christian Ministers (Corrected and Annotated): The Christian Connexion Library, Volume 9
In the study of Restoration Movement history (falsely called the “Stone-Campbell Movement” by so-called “scholars”), the Christian Connexion is a part most ignore—as though it is a part of our movement that we would like to forget.
In 1879, E.W. Humphreys sent out a request via the Herald of Gospel Liberty for information about any preacher associated with the Christian Connexion (by that point, going by the name “Christian Church) who had passed away—from 1793 to the then-present day. He included a list of names that he had, but requested additional names that others might have. He ended up with 973 names. And it was certainly not a complete list.
Mark Fernald flat-out condemned instrumental music in worship. Abner Jones and James O’Kelly both asked people to leave denominationalism behind and just follow the Bible. Barton W. Stone insisted that baptism was in order to receive the forgiveness of sins. But unfortinately, not all the people followed the Bible (for example, there are a handful of women preachers mentioned).
We present this book to you in a corrected edition (several dates in the book were wrong, and when possible, corrected). An appendix from the original edition, giving names and information about several preachers, has been integrated into the main book, alphabetically. And we have annotated where we felt more information could be supplied from other sources.
Enjoy Volume 9 of The Christian Connexion Library.
In 1879, E.W. Humphreys sent out a request via the Herald of Gospel Liberty for information about any preacher associated with the Christian Connexion (by that point, going by the name “Christian Church) who had passed away—from 1793 to the then-present day. He included a list of names that he had, but requested additional names that others might have. He ended up with 973 names. And it was certainly not a complete list.
Mark Fernald flat-out condemned instrumental music in worship. Abner Jones and James O’Kelly both asked people to leave denominationalism behind and just follow the Bible. Barton W. Stone insisted that baptism was in order to receive the forgiveness of sins. But unfortinately, not all the people followed the Bible (for example, there are a handful of women preachers mentioned).
We present this book to you in a corrected edition (several dates in the book were wrong, and when possible, corrected). An appendix from the original edition, giving names and information about several preachers, has been integrated into the main book, alphabetically. And we have annotated where we felt more information could be supplied from other sources.
Enjoy Volume 9 of The Christian Connexion Library.
490 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 25, 2022
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December 22, 2024
Life is fleeting: while we should live in the hope our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, it is also important for a religious movement to keep some kind of chronicle of those who have advocated for its principles.
To this end E.W. Humphreys collected, wrote, and published Memoirs of Deceased Christian Ministers in 1880, which became the ninth volume of The Christian Connexion Library, and Bradley Cobb has attempted to correct and annotate it for further preservation.
Before reading this volume I had never heard of the Christian Connexion. From what I could gain from the author’s phraseology and terminology, I gather it was a restorationist movement but one which would not want to be directly associated with the Restoration Movement. It would claim Barton Stone as one of its members: indeed, as one of its founders, but felt the Campbells’ emphasis on baptism for salvation meant Campbellism was to be resisted and argued against. It would seem to have been far more prevalent in the northeast and upper Midwest and less so in the southeast. I also gather they insisted on the Scriptures as the only basis for Christian faith and practice, baptism as immersion but not unto salvation, and maintained what most would consider heretical views on the Trinity. Thus I find it all the more ironic and strange how the “Christian Connexion” would merge with the Congregationalists to create the Congregational Christian Churches in 1931, which after another merger in 1957 has become the United Church of Christ. Apparently, since 1989, the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ (Christian Church) have affirmed they are in full communion but maintain separate organizations.
As advertised, this book is the attempt by its original author to collect the names of preachers who were known to work among the “Christian Churches” (of the Christian Connexion) from its beginnings until the time of the author’s writing in 1880. Some chronicles are very fully developed with a lot of biographical detail; some just acknowledge a name and a general area in which that man worked.
Some of the things I noticed from my reading of the listings:
It was fascinating to see people argue and speak against “the Campbellites” using the same kind of framework and terminology which were prevalent among the Disciples. It very much seemed like a sibling rivalry.
People died early and often in the 19th century. This book might be worth reading by those who prove skeptical of vaccines and the value of modern medicine. Time and time again there are reports of men dying in the prime of their lives from “consumption” (tuberculosis), from some disease which is easily treated today, or from some kind of freak accident from which most would recover today.
The number of times preachers in this association died from exhaustion and the work was telling. They were definitely devoted to the work of preaching and teaching. I’m not sure their dedication was the healthiest, however.
It’s humbling to think of how many sermons were preached, lessons taught, etc., and how little was otherwise preserved. The Preacher speaks accurately of the absurdity of our lives.
The work of annotation and correction was no doubt challenging and one can discern a few inaccurate dates and the like in certain places. But it remains an interesting resource regarding a restorationist group operating in North America in the 19th century.
To this end E.W. Humphreys collected, wrote, and published Memoirs of Deceased Christian Ministers in 1880, which became the ninth volume of The Christian Connexion Library, and Bradley Cobb has attempted to correct and annotate it for further preservation.
Before reading this volume I had never heard of the Christian Connexion. From what I could gain from the author’s phraseology and terminology, I gather it was a restorationist movement but one which would not want to be directly associated with the Restoration Movement. It would claim Barton Stone as one of its members: indeed, as one of its founders, but felt the Campbells’ emphasis on baptism for salvation meant Campbellism was to be resisted and argued against. It would seem to have been far more prevalent in the northeast and upper Midwest and less so in the southeast. I also gather they insisted on the Scriptures as the only basis for Christian faith and practice, baptism as immersion but not unto salvation, and maintained what most would consider heretical views on the Trinity. Thus I find it all the more ironic and strange how the “Christian Connexion” would merge with the Congregationalists to create the Congregational Christian Churches in 1931, which after another merger in 1957 has become the United Church of Christ. Apparently, since 1989, the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ (Christian Church) have affirmed they are in full communion but maintain separate organizations.
As advertised, this book is the attempt by its original author to collect the names of preachers who were known to work among the “Christian Churches” (of the Christian Connexion) from its beginnings until the time of the author’s writing in 1880. Some chronicles are very fully developed with a lot of biographical detail; some just acknowledge a name and a general area in which that man worked.
Some of the things I noticed from my reading of the listings:
It was fascinating to see people argue and speak against “the Campbellites” using the same kind of framework and terminology which were prevalent among the Disciples. It very much seemed like a sibling rivalry.
People died early and often in the 19th century. This book might be worth reading by those who prove skeptical of vaccines and the value of modern medicine. Time and time again there are reports of men dying in the prime of their lives from “consumption” (tuberculosis), from some disease which is easily treated today, or from some kind of freak accident from which most would recover today.
The number of times preachers in this association died from exhaustion and the work was telling. They were definitely devoted to the work of preaching and teaching. I’m not sure their dedication was the healthiest, however.
It’s humbling to think of how many sermons were preached, lessons taught, etc., and how little was otherwise preserved. The Preacher speaks accurately of the absurdity of our lives.
The work of annotation and correction was no doubt challenging and one can discern a few inaccurate dates and the like in certain places. But it remains an interesting resource regarding a restorationist group operating in North America in the 19th century.
Displaying 1 of 1 review