Category Archives: Restoration Movement

Until I change my mind, this will be the last post of this series. John Calvin, of course, died centuries before the founding of the Restoration Movement. And in many respects the Restoration Movement was a reaction against his teachings. … Continue reading →

I’ve mentioned “Raccoon” John Smith before. Smith was one of the most effective missionaries of the early Restoration Movement. He was not a prolific writer, preferring to spend his time on horseback, traveling from town to town preaching the gospel. … Continue reading →

20th Century Church of Christ theology owes a great deal to James R. Graves, of Nashville. Graves was never a member of the Churches of Christ. Rather, he was a staunch opponent of “Campbellism.” However, the more conservative elements of … Continue reading →

James A. Harding was a highly influential evangelist and a contemporary of Lipscomb, McGarvey, and Larimore. Harding may fairly be characterized as leading the charge to complete the division of the instrumental churches from the a cappella churches. Daniel Sommer … Continue reading →

Two famous Restoration personalities of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries reveal an attitude toward disagreements on doctrinal matters that is highly instructive. J. W. McGarvey is considered by many to be the greatest intellectual of his age within … Continue reading →

One of my readers prevailed on me to add a section on Walter Scott (not the Sir Walter Scott famous for being included in the Authors card game). Scott is of near-equal importance to the founding of the Movement as … Continue reading →

Carl Ketcherside is a fascinating study. He was Daniel Sommer’s star pupil. A brilliant man and perhaps the best writer produced by the Churches of Christ. He first became prominent through his periodical, The Mission Messenger, through which he pursued … Continue reading →

H. Leo Boles was perhaps the most influential of the 20th Century Gospel Advocate editors. A disciple of David Lipscomb, Boles wrote for or edited the Advocate for 40 years, until his death in 1946. However, Boles is most famous … Continue reading →

Beginning shortly after the Civil War and continuing for 50 years, David Lipscomb and E. G. Sewell edited the Gospel Advocate, which was plainly the most influential periodical among Southern Churches of Christ until the last 20 years or so. … Continue reading →

Daniel Sommer was a student of Benjamin Franklin. Sommer lived a long and influential life, carrying on his mentor’s work–so much so that Sommer can properly be said to have been the father of two major divisions within the Restoration … Continue reading →