September 25, 2024

Cassius’ Weapons of Choice

Cassius' Weapons of Choice

Samuel Robert Cassius (1853-1931) was born into slavery in Virginia and lived in Washington, D.C., during the Civil War. As an adult, he moved to Indiana, where he heard the “Restoration plea” and obeyed the gospel. He spent most of his life living, working, and preaching in Oklahoma.

In the book To Save My Race from Abuse, Cassius’ biographer described his preparation for a debate with a Primitive Baptist in which Cassius was to affirm “that the Church of Christ, of which I am member, is apostolic in faith, doctrine and practice” (To Save My Race from Abuse, p. 41). Unfortunately, his opponent backed out, and the debate never happened. In the following quote, Cassius adapted the imagery of the armor of God (cf. Ephesians 6:10-17) to describe his readiness to defend the truth in debate.

“I carried two large solid rocks—one in each hand. In my right hand I had the four Gospels, in my left the Acts of the Apostles, and belted about my waist I had all of the pistols of Paul, James and Peter, and between my teeth I carried the sword of the Spirit.” (ibid. p. 41)

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June 26, 2024

“Raccoon” John Smith: A “Civil Campbellite”

"Raccoon" John Smith: A "Civil Campbellite"

“Raccoon” John Smith (1784-1868) stopped at an inn while traveling and preaching in Alabama. As the landlady began preparing his breakfast, they struck up a conversation. When she learned that he was from Kentucky, she asked him about the “strange sort of people” she heard about “up there in Kentucky called Campbellites” (The Life of Elder John Smith, Williams, p. 393).

“Yes, madam,” replied he, “there are some in my own neighborhood.”

“You have seen some of them then?” said she.

“Yes, madam, but they don’t like that name.”

“Well, how do they look?” said she. “Do tell me, sir” (ibid. p. 394).

The reason she was anxious to learn what these “Campbellites” were like was because of the stories she heard about them. As she explained to Smith, she was told about them taking anyone who wanted to join them and putting them under the water, sometimes even taking them by force and dragging them down to the water. She told of one legend in which the “Campbellites” chased a man for five miles, plunged him in the water, and then abandoned him to find his own way home. Upon hearing all this, Smith asked what she imagined these people would look like. She said they must have “a sort of wild, fierce, fanatical look about them” (ibid. p. 394). To this, he replied:

“Madam…look right at me, and you will see one! But don’t be afraid,” continued he, seeing her start, and then blush with confusion, “I am a civil Campbellite, and will not chase you into the water”  (ibid. p. 394).

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March 6, 2024

The Church of the Chaldeans

Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

When we study “church” history, we are limited to what has been recorded in the past and preserved until the present. Because of this, there are religious groups from various times and places that we know little or nothing about. I recently learned about one of these groups while browsing Barton W. Stone’s journal, The Christian Messenger. An excerpt titled, A Christian Church among the Arabs, Turks & Persians, described a “Christian Church” in the Middle East.

“On the shores of the River Tigris, there exists a Christian Church, the members of which call themselves Chaldeans, and trace their origin to the time of the Apostles. It is supposed that they number 500,000 souls. But little is known of these people. The Papists attempted to make an impression on them some years ago, but failed, and that because of the Bible, of which they had many manuscript copies. Since it has been discovered that these Bible Christians have no printing establishments among them, and no books, the British & Foreign Bible Society, are making arrangements to provide them with printed copies of the Bible.” (Excerpt from The Christian Messenger, Volume 2)

The quote above was published in 1827. This “Christian Church” in the area of the Tigris River called themselves Chaldeans, numbered half a million people, and claimed to trace their origin to the apostles in the first century.Continue Reading

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December 20, 2023

Safe and Sane Solutions

Sommer: Safe and Sane Solutions

Few preachers associated with the Restoration Movement fought so strongly and effectively against innovations and apostasy than Daniel Sommer (1850-1940). His efforts were motivated by a profound respect for the word of God, and his ability to defend the truth as he did was possible because of his diligence in studying the Scriptures. This respect and diligence can be seen in the quote below from Allen Sommer – the son of Daniel Sommer – as he recalled the memory of his father.

“When he was home, as a child I remember going to bed at night leaving Father seated at a writing table with the Book open before him, and a piece of heavy paper or card-board bent around the coal-oil lamp chimney, to shade his eyes … there he was—reading and writing—always writing and reading … And when I sleepily drifted into the room next morning, there he was—reading that Book, and writing … always writing and reading. I wondered if he’d been there all night … Sometimes he’d pause, lift his massive head and shoulders and gaze straight ahead. I wondered then what he saw. Later I concluded he was turning over in his mind a scripture, looking under, around, and behind, for safe-and-sane solution…” (Faith and Facts Quarterly, Volume 48, Number 2, p. 19).

Daniel Sommer had such a habit of Bible study that his young son wondered if he ever went to sleep or stayed up all night with the word of God open before him. This diligence is commendable. We all need to strive to maintain such a habit of studying the Scriptures. Yet there was more involved in the study done by Sommer than just the time he spent in it. His young son noticed the time, but as Allen Sommer grew up, he realized that his father’s approach to the Scriptures – looking for a “safe-and-sane solution” to the issue at hand – enabled him to teach and defend the truth so effectively.Continue Reading

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September 20, 2023

Looking Over the Preacher’s Shoulder

Davis: Looking Over the Preacher's Shoulder

James L. Davis (1865-1947) spent several years laboring to preach the gospel in Kentucky around the turn of the twentieth century. He enjoyed great success in many places he preached despite fierce opposition to his teaching. In his short autobiography, Davis described an older man who had been warned about his preaching and wanted to make sure he caught him when he said something in error.

“From there we went to Bethel where we had been badly misrepresented, and begun to preach the Gospel with very few to hear, but we succeeded in establishin’ the truth there with fifty-one additions.

“From there we went to Friendship and begin preachin’ the Gospel where this same pastor as above had labored hard to keep us out. We went there and he fled—Proverbs, 28:1. We begin preachin’ with very few to hear us. One of the old elders was so poisoned agin us that he did not think we preached the truth, and he asked the liberty to stand by my side and would look at the Scriptures as I would read it. He only had to stand a few discourses until the old man, with tears in his eyes, confessed that he wa’ wrong, that his mind had been confused by the modern pastors, and thus he remained my friend till his death.” (The Mountain Preacher, p. 14)

Because Davis had been misrepresented, this older man did not believe he would be teaching the truth. However, what he did was commendable. Rather than refusing to listen to Davis’ preaching, he listened carefully to see where he was wrong. When he realized that Davis was preaching the truth and that others had wrongly accused him of false teaching, he accepted his message and became friends with him.Continue Reading

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June 28, 2023

What Cane Ridge Can Teach Us About Modern-Day Revivals

Cane Ridge Revival

[Note: I was invited to speak at the Cane Ridge Meeting House on June 17, 2023, to discuss the Cane Ridge revival and how it compared with other modern-day revivals, such as the one that occurred at Asbury University a few months earlier. A recording of this lecture will be included at the bottom of this article. This article is based on my notes from that lecture.]

The Cane Ridge Meeting House in Bourbon County, Kentucky, was the site of a revival in 1801. This momentous occasion has been called “America’s Pentecost.” The event helped launch a movement – often called the “Restoration Movement” or the “Stone-Campbell Movement” (named after Barton W. Stone and Alexander Campbell). Barton W. Stone preached at the Cane Ridge church and played a leading role in the revival that occurred in that place.

From time to time, we hear of “revivals” happening today. Recently, a “revival” at Asbury University drew national attention. What should we think about such events? The revival at Cane Ridge that occurred over two hundred years ago has some lessons that can help us answer that question.Continue Reading

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March 15, 2023

Cold, Empty Churches

Empty church

Corydon E. Fuller, in Reminiscences of James A. Garfield, described a period in which he (the author) was working with a school in Hambden, Ohio, in 1851. In this “little village” that “enjoyed no past, and had no hope in the future,” there were two churches which he described in this way:

“The two churches stood like gladiators over against each other, shabby in their weather-beaten habiliments, faded and tattered by winter’s storms and summer’s heat. Without, they were forbidding and repulsive; within, the fires had grown cold upon their altars, and the worshipers had departed, save a few fossils who had come down from a former generation.” (Reminiscences of James A. Garfield, p. 39)

No additional information is given about these churches and how they got into this condition. However, any church could find itself in this condition in the future, no matter its current state.

The churches Fuller described were once active in their work and worship. Yet over time, their services had “grown cold,” and most of the “worshipers had departed.” Whether one condition led to the other or both happened concurrently, they were related (and can also be in our churches today).Continue Reading

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