In Search of the Narrow Way: Churches of Christ – Past, Present, and Future

By Dr. Michael A. Brown

Upon this rock I will build my church. What Bible student has not encountered Jesus powerful words? What group of Christians can really be considered the church that Jesus promised to build? How does God view a divided Christianity? What group is really in the narrow way?

In Search of the Narrow Way is an easy-to-read overview of the quest to be the church of the Bible. Dr. Brown captures major shifts in Church History from the ancient church to the Churches of Christ of the Stone-Campbell Movement. Readers will be informed, challenged, and encouraged by this insightful work. Come and take the fascinating journey of seeking to find the narrow way.

Dr. Michael A. Brown has researched and written an illuminating historical work on the Churches of Christ. In Search of the Narrow Way is presented in clear, readable style that a layman can understand. This work will help church members strengthen and share their faith.

Sylvia Brown-Roberts

Author of Behind Church Doors

This is a beautifully written work. I am inspired by Dr. Browns boldness and dedication to the pursuit of truth!

Eric Brown Editor

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jul 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781475934366

Dr. Michael A. Brown

DR. MICHAEL A. BROWN, is the Senior Evangelist for the Westview Church of Christ in Huntsville, Alabama. He earned his doctorate degree from Harding School of Theology. His previous publications are, Faithful Legacy, and Get Thine House in Order. He currently makes his home in Huntsville, Alabama.

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Copyright © 2012 by Dr. Michael A. Brown

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Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-1-4759-3435-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-3436-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012911314

iUniverse rev. date: 07/12/2012

Contents

DEDICATION

INTRODUCTION

BEGINNING OUR JOURNEY

THE ECCLESIOLOGY OF THE ANCIENT CHURCH

THE WORSHIP OF THE ANCIENT CHURCH

THE ROAD TO APOSTASY

THE REFORMATION MOVEMENT

THE BIRTH OF BLACK CHRISTIANITY

THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT

THE RESTORATION MOVEMENT AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS

THE CHURCH OF CHRIST – PRESENT AND FUTURE CHALLENGES

About the Author

APPENDICES

THE TROUBLE WITH CHURCH HISTORY

CAPTURING CHURCH HISTORY

THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST AND BIBLE INTERPRETATION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Endnotes

DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to the memory of my late father, Fitzhugh Brown, who always encouraged me to appreciate the value of history. My appreciation for the love and support of my father and mother, Mrs. Mary Brown, is unyielding.

This work is also dedicated to the memory of my late wife, Linda Michele Brown, for her tireless support of my ministry and her perpetual encouragement of my every academic pursuit. Though gone from this life, her beautiful, loving spirit continues to abide with me.

A special thanks is given to our children, Marvin, Eric, and Rhonda, and our daughter-in-law Cynthia, for the constant support and encouragement they provide.

Finally, I am appreciative of and indebted to the many wonderful individuals who have contributed to this remarkable field of study.

INTRODUCTION

The greatest institution known to humanity is the church that Jesus established. This is because the church is our place of union with God. The church is described in terms of the Bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:22-23). She is the spiritual body of Christ; the people for whom Jesus sacrificed His life to save, cleanse, and make whole. Yet, her beauty is not confined to these facts. It reaches much deeper than this. The church is really representative of a broader and deeper concept - the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God is a term describing God’s saving and redeeming in-breaking into the world. The all-encompassing theme of the Bible is the fallen nature of humanity and its need for salvation. The coming of Jesus into this world was the inauguration of this kingly reign of God, and the return of Jesus will culminate with the full manifestation of this kingdom. At that time the spiritual body will share in the glories of the Son as He is manifested as Lord and King to all creation. These are all reasons why the church is so beautiful in plan and in purpose. These are also reasons why we need to examine our understanding of the church, the path that members of it have trod, the divided state of the church, and the mindset all Christians must have toward one other.

What follows is an examination of the church of Jesus Christ. This work is submitted to help contemporary Christians better understand and hopefully appreciate our Christian roots. More specifically, this work is provided to help members of the Churches of Christ - and related groups born of the American Restoration Movement - more clearly recognize our place and purpose in the broad swath of Christianity. I hope to provide an objective, biblical, and historical understanding of who we are as members of the Churches of Christ. In addition, I hope to provide timely personal commentary on some particularly troublesome doctrinal areas facing us as members of the Churches of Christ.

Having known membership in this fellowship from a pre-teen, I have always been interested in questions that you may have asked as well. At a young age, I wanted to know about people in other churches, their different worship traditions, titles, and organizations. I wanted to understand why we (at least many congregations of that era) considered people in other churches, who seemed so sincere in their love for the Lord, as lost souls. I wanted to know why such loving grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins were viewed as being outside of God’s family because of the church they belonged to. As a teenager, I became more curious as to why those in different churches were deemed unbelievers – especially as the subject of dating and marriage grew more important. As a college freshman, I became fascinated with the subject of Church History and have spent nearly forty years investigating the subject. No, I have not attempted to condense decades of research into one small volume. This book is an attempt to provide an easy-to-read layman’s version of the subject matter – particularly for members of the Churches of Christ.

However, I do not want to have you think that there are no larger issues being addressed in this work. We have much to consider regarding the larger context of issues that have impacted the church… and yet impact her to this day. For example, the country’s political landscape has always had a bearing on the church. Such impacts will be pointed out along the way.

The reader should note that this work is not designed to comprehensively cover the history of the church of Jesus Christ. I doubt that any one book can do justice to fully covering the history of this marvelous spiritual body. Only the reading of several academic sources and journals can provide us with this information…and even then not perfectly. Also, the work is not designed to be an exhaustive volume on the history of the modern-day Churches of Christ. Again, you will need to read several books and journals in order to attain this information. I am extremely grateful for the growing number of contributions in our brotherhood that are helping to paint this beautiful mosaic. Perhaps most important, this work is not a subversive attempt to overthrow the faith or disregard the teachings and traditions that we as members of the Churches of Christ hold so dear. I am a proud member of the Churches of Christ and I am intent on being so for as long as I inhabit this earth.

A word of caution is offered: it is never easy to unearth the skeletons of the past. These tend to force a rather uncomfortable look at ourselves. I truly understand this sentiment. Having been raised in the traditional, conservative context of the Churches of Christ, I was initially disturbed to learn of some of this material. It challenged my understanding of who we are in the broader context of Christian history. However, I now have a much deeper appreciation for membership in this body of believers and a greater appreciation for those of different Christian traditions. Malcolm X eloquently stated, Of all of our studies, history is the best qualified to reward our research.¹ What a poignant statement this is – especially as pertains to the subject of Church History. Perhaps it is normal to consider our church background, teachings, and traditions as the norm for Christianity. Perhaps it’s only natural to think that the way things are now is the way they have always been. The study of Church History quickly changes this perception. It challenges us to broaden our thinking and run down a rabbit hole that seemingly has no end. I think Malcolm is right on this one. This study of history is best qualified to reward our research. I hope to offer you a taste of that reward. I also hope to offer you a way forward as you wrestle with the matter of church history and our place among the long path of people seeking to serve the Lord. I think you will find this a rewarding adventure.

BEGINNING OUR JOURNEY

Let us first examine this matter from the perspective of what the Bible claims about the church. God’s intention from the beginning was the establishment of a people on earth dedicated to glorifying His name.

His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Ephesians 3:10-11)

This fact is bolstered by prophecies from Daniel, Isaiah, and Daniel - each of which spoke of the day when the God of heaven would establish a people on earth for his glory (Daniel 2:31-45; Isaiah 2:2; Joel 2:28).

Perhaps Daniel’s prophecy is most poignant here. Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king into whose service the exiled Daniel was committed, had a troubling dream of a great image. None of the king’s dream interpreters could tell him the meaning of the dream. God gave Daniel to understand and reveal the meaning. It was a dream revealing the succession of four kingdoms. The image was constructed of four types of materials. The head of gold represented the Babylon Empire - the ruling nation of the ancient world from 625-539 BC. The breast and arms of silver represented the Medo-Persian Empire that came to power in 539 BC. The belly and thighs of brass represented the Greek Empire which came to power in 330 BC. The legs and feet of clay and iron mixture represented the Roman Empire which came to power in 30 BC. It was in the reign of the Roman Empire that God would establish His kingdom on Earth. We must remember that the kingdom is not primarily territory. It is reign and realm. The prophets said that in the days of the Roman Empire God would break into the realm of time and begin a saving and redeeming reign in the lives of men and women that would voluntarily choose to follow Jesus.

Isaiah’s prophecy offers us additional insight into the formation of God’s kingly rule in the lives of men and women. Where Daniel spoke of the ruling empire during the heavenly kingdom’s earthly inauguration, Isaiah spoke of the city in which the inauguration would appear. Jerusalem (Mount Zion) would be where God would inaugurate this kingly reign. It would be during the last days before Jesus ascended to heaven that He would have His disciples await this great event (Luke 24:44-53; Acts 1:1-14). Isaiah prophesied the inclusion of all nations into the kingly reign of God, and this materialized in the early days of the church (Acts 2:5-12; 10:34-35). Jews and Gentiles were called into relationship with God by means of the gospel. Isaiah also prophesied that this kingly reign of God, as manifested in the spiritual body, the church, would occur in the last days. This is understood as the last age - the final age before the end of time. The miraculous events of the first Pentecost after Jesus’ ascension marked the kingdom’s inauguration on earth.

Joel’s prophecy, written with apocalyptic language, was connected to the events of this particular Pentecost celebration (Acts 2:16-21). Though the application to the events of that day is variously interpreted, Peter’s application of the prophecy of Joel cannot be missed.

There are many other prophecies concerning the church, but these few show that God both planned and prophesied the church to come into existence.² The mere fact that we have these and related prophetic utterances regarding the church is enough to dispel the popular thinking that the church is of little importance. The institution, as designed and planned for by the Lord, should never be viewed as unimportant. The people who comprise it are important, because these are the people for whom Christ sacrificed himself. God had always planned to redeem, reconcile, and recreate humanity through Christ in the church. The church is neither optional nor trivial as regards our union with God. We cannot have a relationship with the Lord and not be in the church - which is also known as His spiritual body. Since the church is the only place of redemption, reconciliation, and recreation, it is vital that we be in it. However, it is just as vital that we understand what it is, how to get in it, and what it means to be in it.

Let us first understand the Bible’s concept of the church. We cannot effectively do this without reflecting on the concept of kingdom. The term kingdom of God carries the primary thrust of God’s kingly power, supreme power, absolute ownership, and supreme authority. Furthermore, the Bible speaks of this kingdom in more than one way.

First, there is the Universal Kingdom. In this sense the kingdom is over all that was, is, and will be (Psalms 103:19; Jeremiah 10:10-13; 1 Chronicles 29:9-11). There is not a person or thing - past, present, or future - that is not subject to the kingdom rule, supreme authority, and absolute ownership of God. This is why we preach repentance as a responsibility to all humanity. All are under the authority of God. All are answerable to Him. This is the message that Paul declared so boldly when he wrote to the Roman Christians (Romans 3:23). If all are declared to be sinners, then all must have been responsible to live by the demands of the Holy One. Paul made this same powerful declaration to those who heard him on the Areopagus (Acts 17:30-31). No one is outside of the bounds of God’s reign. We must understand that even Satan is under the sovereign rule of God. Satan has a kingdom. It is a rule of murder and deceit. He has subjects. We read about their wicked activity and witness it every day. Satan’s kingdom fights against the Lord’s people. However, he is under God’s sovereignty. Therefore, his power is checked. He can only go so far.