I have noticed from the agendas for the first two of these meetings that there has been a short presentation on our common Stone-Campbell heritage. I have heard that at A&M, if they do something two years in a row it becomes a "tradition", so I guess we have a tradition of visiting about our common history at these meetings. Let me admit though, before I go on, that I do not consider myself particularly well qualified to fill the shoes of those who have spoken before me. But, I am honored that my congregation's leaders have thought well enough of me to assign me this duty. So, I hope you can indulge me for about ten minutes and I will try not to let them or you down.

Our common heritage. Of course, our common heritage really goes back to that scene about 1973 years ago in Galilee that we read about in John 6 where many of the disciples began to abandon Jesus and he turned to the twelve and ask if they wished to leave him as well. And Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." Or, maybe as well, the scene near Caesarea Philippi where Jesus asked them, "And who do you say that I am?" And Peter, yes, good old Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Yes, indeed, that is our true heritage, thanks be to God.

But it is also beneficial and fun to look at some later times, the work and struggle of Jesus' followers in later ages. So today, I have a bit about our Stone-Campbell roots and I am calling it "Thomas Campbell: the Old-Light, Anti-Burgher, Seceder Presbyterian."

Thomas Campbell was born in Ireland the son of a Scottish military man named Archibald Campbell. Archibald had been a Roman Catholic but had converted to the Church of England and he remained a solid Anglican throughout the remainder of his 88 years even though his three sons became Seceder Presbyterians. Tradition has it that in 1759 at the battle of Quebec General Wolfe died in the arms of Archibald Campbell. The fact that Archibald was so close to the General makes me believe he was a man of some respect in the Army even though he was not a nobleman. This is a clue as to how forceful his personality must have been. This will be a significant point in a moment.

Young Thomas was Archibald's eldest son, born in 1763, four years after the battle of Quebec. As he grew up he was very devout. He loved the Scriptures and he used to take long walks through the meadows and woods in solitude meditating and praying. During one of these walks, he experienced a flood of emotion and happiness as if the Spirit had entered into his life and he felt an irresistible call to ministry. Now, this is where old strong-willed Archibald the Anglican soldier comes in and this is where it may be difficult for us to understand how really hard it was for the young man, just in his late teens. Not only was the boy dabbling with Presbyterianism, but he was wanting to go to Glasgow University to become a Presbyterian minister! The old man absolutely forbade it! Can we image how stubborn both of them must have been? It was one strong will against another, and this test of determination must have had a strengthening effect on Thomas' personality. Does the word "providential" come to mind? But finally the old man relented and Thomas got his wish and was packed off to Glasgow for divinity studies. There is no record that this was ever really blessed by Archibald but at least it didn't cost the old Scotsman much money because an interested neighbor paid Thomas' way.

After the prescribed courses of study and examination he completed his probationary preaching under the authority of the Presbytery of Ireland, not Scotland. In 1798, at the age of 35 he was called to the pulpit of a new church at the little community of Ahorey in Northern ireland. Our hero threw himself into his ministry there but struggled to reconcile his calling to the fractured faith community of that time and region. Remember that Thomas was one who LOVED the scriptures and we know that he must have loved scriptures like John 17 and Ephesians 4 where Christian unity was so earnestly desired and prayed for. The congregation he served looks to us like a parody of Christian factionalism, not that we have a whole lot to brag about ourselves. It was called an Old-Light Anti-Burgher Seceder Presbyterian church.

Here's the breakdown of the terminology After 1712 Seceder Presbyterians selected their own ministers. Anti-Seceder Presbyterian ministers were assigned by higher church authorities.

After 1747 local public officials in Scotland, known as Burghers, assumed for themselves or were asked to assume the power to decide whether local congregations would be Seceders or Anti-Seceders. Congregations opposed to this governmental power were called Anti-Burgher.

New-Light Presbyterians believed that Scripture should be used to shed new light onto the proper interpretations of the Westminister Confession. Old-Lights, of course, were against this.

Now, as a faithful minister and a lover of scripture, don't you know that Thomas Campbell saw the foolishness of all this division and discord? In fact he, early on, began to work to break down barriers. He traveled to Scotland in 1805 and begged the Synod of church leaders to unite just the Burgher and Anti-Burgher factions just in Ireland. After all Scottish Burghers had no authority in Ireland anyway! No go Tommy boy. Just get back to Ahorey and shut up!

Two years later, in 1807, he decided to relocate to America for health reasons. But you know the old saying. You can't run away from yourself. Wherever you go, there you are. And Thomas Campbell was still chaffing under the stress of man-made divisions in the faith. Soon after he began his ministry on the frontier in Pennsylvania he, an Anti-Burgher Presbyterian offered communion to some OTHER Presbyterians and even preached without official permission to some congregations that invited him. A fellow minister by the name of Wilson ratted him out for these high crimes and, lo and behold, after several hearings and debate our man Campbell decided to take a hike.

The rest is history that we don't have time to go into, but this little story serves to illustrate just how much God-given time and love and effectiveness can be wasted when we divide ourselves over issues that amount to little or nothing in the overall sweep of history. How silly it can look from the greater perspective of a few generations. So what is different now than then?

Well, for starters, we live in a world where a huge part of our population considers all Christians to be a bunch of self-deluded hobbyists at best, somewhat like so many trekkies at a Star Trek convention. And many others consider all Christians as dangerous ideologues.

We live in a world where hundreds of Christians every week are killed because of their faith.

We live in a world where young people are driven to lives of ruin by a constant barrage of violence and moral deprivaty in the culture and in entertainment.

We live in a world where the only hope is the Gospel and the only Gospel the world sees is us, the followers of Jesus. What did the Lord say twice in John 17 in his longest prayer? He prays for the Father to make us one, so that the world might believe!

Yes, the hope of this Unity in Spirit is what gripped our predecessor Thomas Campbell and surely it must grip us as well. It was Jesus' prayer.
It was Thomas Campbell's prayer. And it must be our prayer!

Dan Richard is a Stone-Campbell Movement Historian and an Elder at the Central Christian Church.