Occasionally you hear someone speak of members of the church being called “Campbellites.” Personally, I have only been called a “Campbellite” a few times, since in our age of religious ecumenism, name calling is not as common as it once was. Where did this name come from? Simply put, it is a nickname based on the erroneous idea that Alexander Campbell, along with his father Thomas, founded the churches of Christ.

The Campbells were very influential in the restoration movement. Unknown to most denominationalists, however, is the fact that they did not originate the restoration plea or the restoration movement. The restoration plea, the plea to return to the old paths of the New Testament church, was a plea heard down through the ages, even before the Protestant Reformation. Several restoration movements began in the United States, including one led by James O’Kelly of North Carolina. This group left the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1793, calling themselves first “Republican Christians,” and then just Christians. Abner Jones and Elias Smith, both Baptists, led another independent movement in New England, as they sought to be Christians only. Barton W. Stone and several other Presbyterian leaders began another movement in Kentucky, as they dissolved the Springfield Presbytery in 1804, “taking the Bible as the only sure guide to heaven.”

Thomas Campbell preceded Alexander to America in 1807. When Alexander arrived in 1809, both had begun to realize the necessity of restoring the New Testament order. The elder Campbell wrote “The Declaration and Address,” in which he said, “Nothing ought to be admitted as of divine obligation, in the constitution and management of the church, but what is expressly enjoined by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles upon the New Testament church, either in express terms or by approved precedent. … Nothing ought to be received into the faith or worship of the church, or be made a term of communion among Christians, that is not as old as the New Testament.”

In time, Alexander Campbell became the foremost spokesman for the restoration plea, editing first The Christian Baptist, and then The Millennial Harbinger, as well as founding Bethany College. Perhaps his greatest achievements were in helping to unite the various groups of non-denominational Christians, and in showing clearly and forcefully the distinctions among the biblical dispensations and between the Old and New Testaments. He was a noted and eloquent speaker, being one of the few preachers to speak to both houses of congress in joint session. He also held several well-publicized debates, including a monumental debate with English atheist Robert Owen.

How then did “Campbellite” come into use? It began as a derisive term for New Testament Christians from jealousy and hatred of sectarians who could not conceive of the church in non-denominational terms. It is a name based solely on prejudice. Alexander Campbell did much to promote the church and the restoration movement, but we do nothing in faith or practice with Campbell as our authority. Our sole source of authority is the Bible. If we do anything because the Campbells taught it, and not the Bible, then we must give it up. Campbellite”?  No. “Christian”? Yes.