Alexander Campbell (1788-1866) is recognized as one of the leading figures in the Restoration Movement. However, his influence did not come as a result of him preaching for a large congregation or because he lived in some big city. Instead, he lived “among the hills of Western Virginia” as Moses E. Lard wrote in the excerpt below. In fact, Lard suggested that the place in which Campbell resided was surprisingly advantageous to him and his work.
“Besides, we can not but think that the very location he chose for his home was specially designed for him in the providence of God, and that it had no small influence on the great work he did. He sat down among the hills of Western Virginia, on the little stream of Buffalo, amid a hardy, simple population, who had no more power to appreciate him than they had to compute the distance from their respective doors to the most distant star. Here he lived in comparative seclusion to the day of his death, dwelling in the same house in which he had married his first wife, and in which his children were born. True, in the course of time, he collected around him a few highly cultivated and gifted friends, as professors in his beloved college. These accomplished brethren were his life-long friends, and helped him much. Still must it be said that for the most part he dwelt alone, far away from the great marts of trade and centres of literature and fashion. Whether these could ever have had any influence on him or not, we, of course, are not able to say; but of this we feel glad, that he dwelt remotely from them. The pride of his life was thus passed in the lap of his own romantic hills.
“Here on the Lord’s day, for many a year, in a rude, untidy little meeting-house, he wasted the splendors of his great mind. His dozy congregation often numbered not more than fifty. They had wound down their hill-side paths to hear him preach. Many of them passed the time as unconsciously as did the bodies of the dead, which slept in the yard close by. Others lent him a drowsy ear, as incapable of appreciating his masterly inductions as were the kine that browsed on his pastures.
“The week he would pass in his study, amid his choice books, illumining and spicing the pages of his immortal Christian Baptist, or enriching with his riper and more sober thought his great Harbinger. Many a piece of a day he spent wandering beside his winding Buffalo, or clambering over its neighboring woody slopes. Here, often seated on a log, or perched like the wild mountain bird on some lone rock, he would pass unconscious hours deep wrapped in thought, or searching the meaning of some dark text in his Greek Testament. If he passed a teamster stuck in the mud, he clapped his burly shoulder to the wheel, and shouted to the team, as if he had been bred to the cart and its toils. If he passed a ragged orphan boy, he stopped him, asked for his mother, gave him his secret penny, and then wept over him tenderly as did the Savior with the stricken Martha and Mary. Such were the scenes amid which he ripened and mellowed for the work to which God in his mercy called him.
“If the flocks of Midian were the most fitting school in which to train Moses for his immortal mission, were not the oak-covered hills and deep shadowy vales of Bethany the very spot in which to nurse this great restorer of the gospel to the age in which we live? We can not but think that one greater than he had much to do in fixing even his home where it stood. Being here alone he was left free to prosecute his studies and pursue his thoughts in his own original way, with no interference from those great local and religious forces which are constantly at work in large cities. He thus studied Christianity in the light of nature, because in the light of his own unperverted mind. Never could he have succeeded otherwise.” (The Reformation for Which We Are Pleading, p. 159-160).
Though there are lessons in this that could apply to all Christians, I want to focus here on lessons for those who have dedicated their lives to preaching the gospel. There is a temptation to judge our work by the size of the congregation with which we labor or by the size of the city in which we do our work. There is certainly nothing wrong with preaching for a large congregation or working to spread the gospel in a big city. However, there are a few points that would be good for us to consider from the example of Campbell as he lived among “the oak-covered hills and deep shadowy vales of Bethany.”
- Do not measure your worth by the attendance – Campbell was arguably the most influential preacher in the Restoration Movement, yet he preached for a small congregation that “often numbered not more than fifty.” Furthermore, Lard noted that those who were in attendance often “passed the time as unconsciously as did the bodies of the dead” in the nearby cemetery. We may sometimes be discouraged by low numbers or the apparent disinterest in our audience. Yet we need to remember that the work of preaching the gospel is important, no matter how many are present to listen or how well those who are present are listening. Our responsibility is simply to “preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:2) – planting and watering the seed and allowing God to give the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6).
- Find ways to broaden your influence – Even though Campbell lived among those who had “no more power to appreciate him than they had to compute the distance from their respective doors to the most distant star,” he did not allow that to stop him. He may have “lived in comparative seclusion,” but he had an enormous influence through the journals he published (Christian Baptist and Millennial Harbinger). As we work to sow the seed (cf. Luke 8:5) and let our light shine before others (cf. Matthew 5:16), we can have an impact on those we meet every day. However, in the day and age in which we live, we can also have an impact on people we encounter online. We can use the internet to help spread the gospel more broadly than Campbell could through his journals. Rather than becoming discouraged that our efforts are not reaching as many people as we would like, we can use the tools that are available to us to potentially reach any number of people around the world.
- Use quiet times to develop – The world is filled with distractions. The more connected we are to society, the more potential there is for society to affect the way we think. This was true in Campbell’s day as well. Yet in his rural surroundings, he was able to give deep thought to the Scriptures. On his own he was “free to prosecute his studies and pursue his thoughts in his own original way” without being overly influenced by the thinking of others. Sometimes it is difficult to find times of seclusion like this; yet when we have these times, we sometimes fail to appreciate and take advantage of them. The psalmist looked forward to the “night watches” so he could “meditate on [God’s] word” (Psalm 119:148). In writing to Timothy, Paul emphasized one’s personal responsibility to study and learn the Scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15). If we find ourselves with the quiet time that comes with seclusion, let us determine to use it for good.
If we are laboring with a small congregation in an obscure location, Satan would love for us to become discouraged about it so that we either become ineffective in our work or abandon it altogether. Yet we need to recognize the advantages to laboring for the cause of Christ in such a location.
There is much good that can be done in large congregations and in big cities. However, those are not the only conditions in which much good can be done. Let us be determined to do the best we can in the Lord’s service, no matter where we live and work at the present time.
