Cooperation Meetings and the Missionary Society

Introduction

1. The 1830’s were a time of unity, optimism and growth for the church but they were a time when seeds of later controversy were being sown which would eventually destroy the unity of the Restoration Movement. 2. The 1830’s saw the appearance of “cooperation meetings” among churches and the 1840’s the organization of the American Christian Missionary Society (1849) and controversy which continued until the movement has been divided.

I. The Cooperation Meeting

A. In 1831-1832, Alexander Campbell published a series of seven articles on “The Cooperation of Churches” in the Millenial Harbinger.

1. He believed the world would never be evangelized unless churches cooperated in the proclamation of the gospel and these articles were a plea for that cooperation.
2. He argued that the New Testament provided examples of churches cooperating with one another but insisted that the exact details of “how” were left to the discretion of every generation.
3. He suggested, as an example of how churches might work together, that all churches in his home county have an annual general meeting at which plans could be made for evangelizing the area, selecting an evangelist and providing for an evangelist’s support.

B. Following Campbell’s suggestions, churches in many areas began to organize “cooperation meetings” throughout the 1830’s.

1. Such a meeting was held in Wellsburg, Virginia, near Campbell’s home, on April 12, 1834. a. The 13 churches represented there agreed to employ two evangelists, appoint a treasurer to receive funds from the churches for the evangelists’ support and set up a committee of 13 to supervise the evangelists and their work. B. There was opposition to the Wellsburg meeting and a year later it was dissolved. 2. The churches moved slowly in the organization of such cooperation meetings in the 1830’s but after 1840 the movement gained momentum.

C. State-wide cooperation meetings began to be held.

1. A state-wide meeting was held in Springfield, Illinois in 1834.
2. The 1840 Millenial Harbinger carried announcements of cooperation meetings in six states: Illinois, Virginia, Missouri, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana which indicated that such meetings were gaining acceptance.

D. Some preachers viewed the cooperation meetings with misgivings.

1. T.M. Henley, a prominent Virginian, wrote Campbell in 1836 that it seemed to him “like a departure from the simplicity of the Christian institution to have cooperation meetings with Presidents and Secretaries, calling for the Messengers of churches, and laying off districts.”
2. Many, in their opposition, were like Henley who insisted he favored cooperation and proposed an alternative—cooperation through a local church. a. He recommended that if a congregation wished to send out an evangelist but was unable to support him, it could invite other churches to assist. b. There are many examples of churches following the plan of cooperating through one church in the 1830’s and 1840’s.

E. Alexander Campbell, and others, believed the cooperation meetings had not gone far enough.

1. Campbell wrote a series of sixteen articles entitled “The Nature of the Christian Organization” (1841-1843) in which he proposed the establishment of a general organization among the churches. a. He argued that since the church is described as “the body of Christ,” a body must necessarily have organization. b. He admitted that the New Testament did not provide for any general organization of the church but he concluded, therefore, the creation of such an organization was left to the judgment of the churches. c. He proposed that the churches hold a convention and devise a general organization.
2. Walter Scott strongly opposed Campbell’s proposal for a general organization. a. Scott did not agree with Campbell’s conclusion that the churches were “deficient in organization.” b. He insisted that when a church had elders and deacons, it was “already organized” and he claimed that this was the view of the entire brotherhood. c. He also asked, “Who made brother Campbell an organizer over us?”

F. The first brotherhood organization was the American Christian Bible Society.

1. It was organized in Cincinnati, Ohio, early in 1845.
2. D.S. Burnett, a prominent Cincinnati preacher, was its president and wrote its constitution. a. Its purpose, according to its constitution, was “to aid in the distribution of the Sacred Scriptures” throughout the world. b. Its constitution provided for officers, an annual meeting, and the organization of auxiliary societies which would place their surplus funds at the disposal of the society.
3. It received enthusiastic support from most brotherhood periodicals.
4. Campbell opposed it because it had been organized by a few Cincinnati brethren rather than by a general convention of the churches.

II. The American Christian Missionary Society

A. Early in 1849, Alexander Campbell resumed his efforts to persuade the brotherhood of the need for “a more efficient organization” of the churches. B. An editorial consensus among the brotherhood periodicals agreed that a general convention would be held at Cincinnati on October 23, 1849, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Bible society.

1. 156 people, representing ten states, were present.
2. Though Alexander Campbell was not there, his son-in-law, W.K. Pendleton, represented his views thus causing some to suggest that Campbell’s “shadow fell over the sessions.”
3. It was generally understood that one action of the convention would be the organization of a missionary society for the brotherhood.
4. The convention decided that: a. A missionary society would be organized. b. The Bible society would be commended to the brotherhood for its support. c. The two societies would be instructed to work together.
5. D.S. Burnett also wrote the constitution for the new Missionary Society. a. It stated that the object of the missionary society would be “to promote the preaching of the gospel in destitute places” throughout the world. b. It said the society would consist of Annual Delegates, Life Members, and Life Directors; that any church could appoint a delegate to the society’s annual convention by contributing $20; the society would have officers (president, 20 vice presidents, two secretaries, treasurer, managers); there would be an annual meeting of the entire society; and that the society would have an Executive Board to transact business between meetings.
6. The final action of the convention was to authorize a letter to Campbell informing him that he had been elected president of the new missionary society. a. He withdrew his objections to the Bible society since it had been endorsed by a brotherhood convention. b. He accepted the presidency of the missionary society and served in that office for the rest of his life (1849-1866).

C. The first work the society undertook was to send Dr. James T. Barclay and his family to Jerusalem as missionaries.

1. Arriving in Jerusalem in 1850, the work proved discouraging and was discontinued in 1853.
2. Other early activities included sending Alexander Cross, a freed slave, to Liberia and J.O. Beardslee to Jamaica.

D. The American Christian Missionary Society (ACMS) never had the support of the entire brotherhood. Opposition to it arose immediately after its establishment and never was silenced.

1. Jacob Creath, Jr. was the most outspoken critic of it. a. Creath reminded everyone that when he had started the Christian Baptist in 1823, Campbell denounced missionary societies. Creath wrote of Campbell’s change of mind, “If you were right in the Christian Baptist, you are wrong now. If you are right now, you were wrong then.” b. He charged that supporters of the society had “totally abandoned” the rule that “the Bible alone is the religion of Protestants.”
2. Churches, even groups of churches, adopted resolutions opposing the missionary society stating, as did the resolution adopted by the church in Connelsville, Pennsylvania, that the church was “not a missionary society, but emphatically and pre-eminently the missionary society—the only one authorized by Jesus Christ.” And if the church was the divine missionary society, “all other societies for this purpose are not only unscriptural, but they are unnecessary and uncalled for.”
3.  The most important opponent of the ACMS in the pre-civil war years was Tolbert Fanning (1810-1874). a. He spent most of his adult life around Nashville and was the most influential preacher in the South during the 1850’s and 1860’s. b. He founded Franklin College, trained many preachers, and edited several religious journals. c. When the ACMS was founded, he was elected a vice president and supported it throughout the 1850’s but gradually he came to question it. d. In founding the Gospel Advocate in 1855, he stated his chief purpose was to examine the subjects of church organization and Christian cooperation. e. In relation to the ACMS, he wrote in the Advocate, “The Church of God is the only divinely authorized Missionary, Bible, Sunday School and Temperance Society; the only institution in which the Heavenly Father will be honored…and through no other agency can man glorify his Maker.” He continued by saying that it was wrong for Christians to “do the work of the church through merely human agencies.”
4. During the years just before the Civil War, a majority of Southern Christians came to share Fanning’s view but there was no sense of alienation from those who supported the society.