The Declaration and Address was written by Thomas Campbell in 1809. It was first published in Washington, Pennsylvania, in 1809. It was the founding document for the Christian Association of Washington, a religious association that was a precursor to the Restoration Movement. In many ways, Thomas Campbell was before his time. He had an ecumenical spirit long before the ecumenical movement began. The Declaration and Address is a testimony to his appeal for Christian unity.

Historical background

Thomas Campbell

Thomas Campbell (1763–1854) began his career as a Presbyterian minister. After serving in Ireland for a while, he migrated to the American frontier in 1807. A number of his associates from Ireland lived in Pennsylvania, and the Presbyterian church accepted his request to be stationed in Pennsylvania. He had high expectations for the American frontier; he felt it represented a new life and a new era for the church. As such, he was often seen as an unorthodox minister. His position as a minister under the Presbyterian Synod of Pennsylvania only lasted 2 years. He was reprimanded for certain "irregularities", including offering communion to Presbyterians outside of his Synod's jurisdiction.North, James B. Union in Truth: An Interpretive History of the Restoration Movement. Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing Co., 1994.

Campbell continued his ministerial practices despite the Synod's disciplinary actions. Both his conflict with the Presbyterians and his desire for a united church led him to organize the Christian Association of Washington. This organization's main purpose was promoting It was Campbell's hope that the Association would instigate a religious reformation. While this did not occur immediately, the Association did lead directly to the Restoration movement and the formation of the Disciples of Christ, who have been a continuing force for reformation and ecumenism.

Christian Association of Washington and beyond

The Christian Association of Washington consisted of Thomas Campbell and 21 of his associates. During their second meeting, the committee decided that a document should be drafted outlining the purpose and function of the Association.McAllister, Lester G. “Christian Association of Washington.” In The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement, ed. Douglas A. Foster, Paul M. Blowers, Anthony L. Dunnavant, and D. Newell Williams, 173-174. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2004. The Declaration and Address was drafted by Campbell and read at a special meeting in September 1809. Ideally, this association, which promoted "simple evangelical Christianity", would also create similar associations elsewhere. The founders' vision was that a grassroots movement would spring up and spread from the Eastern states to the vast expanses of the Western frontier, ushering in a brand new age for the church.

These grand expectations were never fulfilled. The Christian Association of Washington quickly abandoned the title "association" on May 4, 1811, becoming the Brush Run Church. The Declaration and Address had passed with little notice from the greater world. Similarly, the Christian Association of Washington was simply not accepted in the religious realm. Since their experiment failed to produce the desired results, Thomas Campbell (along with his more influential son Alexander) felt that they needed to become an independent church for their dreams to be realized. In many ways, this left the Declaration portion of the Declaration and Address obsolete, but the Address still maintained its rhetorical strength. Thus ended the short life of the Christian Association of Washington.

Content

The Declaration and Address of the Christian Association of Washington is divided into the Declaration, the Address, and the Appendix. The document is written in the style of early 19th century American religious literature, making it difficult for many to read. Paragraphs sometimes stretch on for pages at a time, while the text is unfortunately void of any subheadings. This makes Knofel Staton's 1976 paraphrase of this document particularly helpful.

Declaration The Declaration was intended to describe the form and function of the Christian Association. It begins with a brief statement revealing their personal religious conviction. It is clear that Thomas Campbell, as well as the founders of the Christian Association, believed that scripture revealed one divinely inspired truth from which the early church could be recreated. They felt "divinely bound" to see that truth was given to the masses. This was the reason they founded the Christian Association of Washington. In the Declaration, Campbell described the function of the Christian Association in 9 points, outlined below in both Campbell's original text (modified for readability) and Staton's paraphrase.

Thomas Campbell's Declaration and Address Knofel Staton's paraphraseStaton, Knofel. The Paraphrase of Thomas Campbell's Declaration and Address. Joplin, MO : College Press, 1976. I. That we form ourselves into a religious association under the denomination of the Christian Association of Washington—for the sole purpose of promoting simple evangelical Christianity, free from all mixture of human opinions and inventions of men. 1. That we form a religious association free from all opinions to be called "The Christian Association of Washington". II. That each member... subscribe a certain specified sum, to be paid half yearly, for the purpose of raising a fund to support a pure Gospel Ministry, that shall reduce to practice that whole form of doctrine, worship, discipline, and government, expressly revealed and enjoined in the word of God. And also for supplying the poor with the Holy Scriptures. 2. That each member designate whatever sum of money he can for (1) supporting a preaching ministry that will put into practice whatever the Bible says about doctrine, worship, discipline, and government (2) giving Bibles to the poor. III. That this society consider it a duty, and shall use all proper means in its power, to encourage the formation of similar associations; ... to correspond with, and render all possible assistance to, such as may desire to associate for the same desirable and important purposes. 3. (Not included in Staton's paraphrase) IV. That this society by no means considers itself a church... nor do the members, as such, consider themselves as standing connected in that relation... but merely as voluntary advocates for church reformation; and, as possessing the powers common to all individuals, who may please to associate in a peaceable and orderly manner... 4. That we do not consider ourselves a church, but merely as an association concerned with church reformation. V. That this society, formed for the sole purpose of promoting simple evangelical Christianity, shall... countenance and support such ministers, and such only, as exhibit a manifest conformity to the original standard in conversation and doctrine... only such as reduce to practice that simple original form of Christianity, expressly exhibited upon the sacred page; without attempting to inculcate any thing of human authority, of private opinion, or inventions of men, as having any place in the constitution, faith, or worship, of the Christian church—or, any thing, as matter of Christian faith, or duty, for which there cannot be expressly produced a thus saith the Lord either in express terms, or by approved precedent. 5. That we exist for just one purpose—to promote simple evangelical Christianity. Let us support those ministers who will preach and practice pure New Testament Christianity without imposing anything for which there is not a clear "Thus saith the Lord." VI. That a standing committee of twenty-one members of unexceptionable moral character, inclusive of the secretary and treasurer, be chosen annually to superintend the interests, and transact the business, of the society... 6. That we select a committee of 21 members to manage the business. VII. That this society meet at least twice a year, viz. On the first Thursday of May, and of November, and that the collectors appointed to receive the half yearly quotas of the promised subscriptions, be in readiness... to make their returns to the treasurer, that he may be able to report upon the state of the funds... 7. That we meet at least twice a year. VIII. That each meeting of the society be opened with a sermon, the constitution and address read, and a collection lifted for the benefit of the society—and that all communications of a public nature be laid before the society at its half yearly meetings. 8. That each meeting be public and opened with a sermon, the reading of our constitution and address, and an offering.IX. That this Society, relying upon the all-sufficiency of the Church's Head; and, through his grace, looking with an eye of confidence to the generous liberality of the sincere friends of genuine Christianity; holds itself engaged to afford a competent support to such ministers as the Lord may graciously dispose to assist... in promoting a pure evangelical reformation, by the simple preaching of the everlasting Gospel, and the administration of its ordinances in an exact conformity to the Divine standard as aforesaid... 9. That we rely upon Jesus as the Church's head and depend upon Christian friends to donate monies to support preachers who will preach the eternal Gospel and administer the ordinances in exact conformity with the Bible.

Address The Address is the bulk of Campbell's argumentation, culminating in 13 propositions approximately two-thirds of the way through it. It is here that Thomas Campbell writes his argument calling for the unification of the catholic (universal) church. The Address begins with the following:

"To all that love our Lord Jesus Christ, in sincerity, throughout all the Churches, the following Address is most respectfully submitted. Dearly Beloved Brethren, That it is the grand design and native tendency of our holy religion to reconcile and unite men to God, and to each other, in truth and love, to the glory of God, and their own present and eternal good, will not, we presume, be denied, by and of the subjects of Christianity."

Campbell then spends considerable time describing the current crisis facing the church. Continuing with this theme of uniting "men to God, and to each other, in truth and love", he argues that a divided church is hardly a proclamation of the gospel. "Campbell discourses on ecclesial schism as outright sin, and presupposes that the urgent summons to Christian unity is not his own but belongs to the whole church."Blowers, Paul M. and William Richardson. “Declaration and Address.” In The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement, ed. Douglas A. Foster, Paul M. Blowers, Anthony L. Dunnavant, and D. Newell Williams, 263-266. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2004.

He continues, "Are not such the visible effects of our sad divisions, even in this otherwise happy country. Say, dear brethren, are not these things so? Is it not then your incumbent duty to endeavor, by all Scriptural means, to have those evils remedied. Who will say that it is not?" This task of uniting the church falls not on the shoulders of the Christian Association of Washington, but on the church at large. If this is done, then the church will certainly begin a new era. In many ways, the Declaration and Address has Zionist expectations of biblical proportions. Campbell believed that God ordained America as a new promised land, in which God's kingdom be renewed, for "then should our eyes soon behold the prosperity of Zion; we should soon see Jerusalem a quiet habitation." If the Churches unite as one, then they will be able to take the gospel to the vast expanses of the unreached west.