S. R. Cassius: A CofC Booker T. Washington

I first began to come across writings of a mysterious S.R. Cassius in the late 1990s when doing research on a term paper at Harding Graduate School. I was caught off guard by this man's bold and even daring pen. I began amassing a file on him and then discovered later my friend Edward Robinson, now at ACU, was doing a dissertation on him. Robinson has since published two volumes on Cassius: To Save My Race From Abuse: The Life of Samuel Robert Cassius...

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Rebaptism Reviewed ... David Lipscomb

What follows below is a reproduction of David Lipscomb's article "Rebaptism Reviewed." The article is a response to "Brother Chism" who defended rebaptism. This is one of Lipscomb's fullest discussions of the subject. He takes us on a tour of the examples of baptism in the Book of Acts following a thorough examination of Acts 2.38 and the Great Commission. I think this article is significant enough to simply reproduce it in toto and Lipscomb explain...

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My Savior My God By Aaron Shust

When we say that the message is simple ... do we mean what Aaron means? We trust our Savior! I know ... I KNOW ... I do not understand God's will or purpose. I gave that up a few months after turning 39 when Hades invaded .... I love this song though. It is my ho...

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Nicole C. Mullen: Call On Me

I was coming back from the bowling alley with a truck load of 11 and 12 year old girls. This song came on the radio and they wanted to sit in the truck and finish listening to it. So in honor of my girl and her friends .......

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Alexander Campbell, Rebaptism & Sectarianism

The immersion of Alexander Campbell in 1812 by Baptist preacher Mathias Luce has been long been a troublesome issue for some heirs of the Stone-Campbell Movement. For some like Austin McGary, the founder of the Firm Foundation, Campbell's baptism was downright embarrassing. The cause of that embarrassment is rooted in two historical facts: 1) Alexander (and his father Thomas) was baptized by a Baptist and 2) Campbell did not understand baptism's...

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By Your Side - Tenth Avenue North

Another great song ...

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A Taxonomy of Sectarianism ...

One of the finest human beings known to me is Monroe Hawley. Monroe was a shaper of my thought long before I preached at Southside Church in Milwaukee where he was one of my shepherds (along with Wayne Alexander, Bruce Williams, and Al Gray). His books Redigging the Wells, The Focus of Our Faith, and Is Christ Divided? have blessed me immensely. I can honestly say that neither he nor I agree on every detail but a more gracious saint I have yet...

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1835: Tares Among the Wheat ... Roots of Sectarianism in Churches of Christ

It seems that 1835 was, in hindsight, a pivotal year for the Stoned-Campbell Movement. By 1835 the Reformers of Campbell and the Christians of Stone had united. Campbell had been marked through the infamous Beaver Anathema (1829) ... By the mid-1830s the Movement was growing and in search of an identity. An atmosphere of "bad blood" was being cultivated between "us" and "them." Many decided they had a word for the "brotherhood" to help provide...

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Romans 8 scripture reading

I have brazenly swiped this from Jay Guin ... Nothing but scripture. This is the kind of think that LTC should be promoting ...

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Newsboys, In The Hands of God with lyrics

This is such an encouraging so...

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Re-Baptism: Where Does the Slippery Slope End?

Where does it end? James A. Harding opined that no man since the time of Christ had understood the design of baptism when he submitted to it. Of course by design Harding meant more than Acts 2.38 ... as our recent post makes clear. All that was biblically required was submissive faith in Jesus as the Messiah the Son of God. J.W. McGarvey argued, convincingly, that God requires simply faith and repentance for biblical baptism. Because baptism "belongs...

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Struggling for Faith: Thoughts on Habakkuk

An Intro to the IntroEvery Tuesday morning I meet a group of guys for "Coffee with Bobby." Usually the Sun has not graced the valley with beams of light yet. We have been reading our way through Habakkuk for some time now. What a rich journey! Many of the faith struggles and questions of Habakkuk resonate deeply with me. So what I propose to do here is share some of my interaction with the Prophet Habakkuk. I have written things in my journal and some of that has found its way into this post ... May it bless ... “How long, O LORD, must I call...

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J. W. McGarvey: What is Valid Baptism?

The very mention of the name "J. W. McGarvey" inspires awe among many descendants of the Stoned-Campbell Movement. His name is synonymous with biblical scholarship among us. He courageously took on the liberals of his day in The Authorship of Deuteronomy. But he is most remembered for his Commentary on Acts. A work that some hold to this day to be the best study ever of Luke's second volume. Today he is cited in our intramural conflicts between...

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To Toleion: The Perfect? First Corinthians 13.10

Many have asked me at one time or another to share my thoughts on 1 Corinthians 13.10. It is a critical text in many a debate over hermeneutics and the canon. But I have been hesitant to do so for a variety of reasons: unsure of it myself, to avoid controversy, and lack of time for extended discussion. I have profited greatly from the study of others on this passage and have done some of my own.What follows are not dogmatic axioms but explorations into the deep wells of God’s unfathomable wisdom. I remain open to correction and study.There are...

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Tulsa Workshop Anyone...

I was at the Tulsa Workshop a couple years ago when John Mark Hicks and I spoke together. I didn't make it last year due to other commitments and a small hurricane that entered my life. However next month, March 26-28, I plan on being there ... not on the docket but I certainly plan on just "getting away" for a couple of days and lost in the crowd. Who out there is planning on being at the Workshop? Perhaps we could have a "bloggers" fellowship...

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"In Words Easy to Understand": Restoration Quest for a Readable Bible

Those words, uttered by James Shannon in 1852, capture the near unanimous voice of the 19th century Stoned-Campbell Movement for a Bible in clear, accurate and understandable English. I recently blogged about Alexander Campbell's Living Oracles and his attitudes regarding the King James Version and due to some interest I plan on a few more posts on the quest for a fresh translation of the Bible. When the English Revised Version hit the shelves of...

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Fellowship? A Spiritual Means of Grace, The Distant Voice of James A. Harding

It is important to note that spirituality for James A. Harding was not simply some privatized religion. For him spirituality had deep moments of encounter with God that was quite "public." Spirituality was how one came to know and experience the “most loving Father in the Universe.” Thus “fellowship” was listed, following Acts 2.42, as his second in his “means of grace.” Fellowship was more than simply agreement on some doctrinal issue. Rather...

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