C. Leonard Allen

What a joy and a peace it is to find brotherhood and a like-minded spirit with "giants" of the churches of Christ past. I particularly found much in common with T.B. Larimore and his refusal to engage in partisan squabbles, as well as with K.C. Moser and his dismay over the way Christ's saving work had been traded in for a saving plan. I think back to the letter I wrote to Maywood and imagine Moser would have wrote much the same thing. I very much enjoyed Robert Richardson's views on the show more Spirit and on formalism, and I'd like to read more from him. And, of course, it was very good to read Stone and Campbell's views, particularly regarding who is a Christian. Allen has done a great job collecting these and many others, and has wrapped them all together with great insight into the way a faith tradition cleans up its ragged edges and smoothes over the voices that don't further the mainstream story. show less

In a world and a community in which individuals are more often critiqued than praised, challenged rather than lionized, it is good to celebrate heroes of faith and honor their legacy.

Such was the goal of the Carroll B. Ellis Symposium at Lipscomb University in 2023 which has led to the compilation of Faithful Defiance: Marshall Keeble’s Life and Legacy (galley received as part of early review program), edited by C. Leonard Allen, and featuring many prominent scholars within Churches of show more Christ.

For those who are not at all familiar with him, Marshall Keeble was a powerful and prominent Black preacher in Black Churches of Christ in the twentieth century. His preaching was well regarded and renowned, and many thousands were baptized as part of his ministry. Keeble was also highly involved in the Nashville Christian Institute (NCI), a center of education for Black students. His legacy has been well secured by his “boy preachers,” the many young men whom he directly influenced through his preaching and work with the NCI.

This is an excellent work which bears witness to Keeble’s life, work, and legacy and the context in which he lived and worked. After an introduction, the work features discussions of the contexts of the Restoration Movement until the late 19th/early 20th centuries, the role of the Black preacher in churches, and the forces which shaped them. Many chapters are then presented regarding Keeble’s life and ministry: his early years, his life as a preacher, his later years, and the challenges he experienced on account of being a Black man in pre-civil rights America. Keeble’s legacy is then considered, both in terms of his own deeds and in terms of the many he influenced, focusing particularly on Fred D. Gray, noted civil rights lawyer, and W.F. Washington, a prominent preacher among historically Black Churches of Christ. The work also features an appropriate conclusion, an appendix regarding the relationship Keeble had with Willie Cato, a white man who assisted Keeble, and a great appendix presenting some of Keeble’s own writing.

Some might be offended at speaking regarding “Black” or “historically Black” Churches of Christ, but as this book well establishes, such was, and is, the historical reality, and it was and is a historical reality perpetuated by the White Christians within Churches of Christ who were more than happy to help sponsor and support Marshall Keeble and others in preaching among Black people, but often bitterly resented and derided any attempt at integrating churches and proved quite fearful of White people becoming enamored with Black preaching and close association and fraternization between White and Black believers.

The authors do quite well in terms of honoring and respecting Keeble for the choices he made: as making the firm commitment to the preaching of the Gospel, who no doubt did not appreciate the way he was often treated, but made the decision to prioritize his ministry and thus in many ways accommodated himself to the white supremacist posture of the White Christians, even (or despite) how such accommodation was lauded as him knowing “his place” and not attempting to “rise above” it. He may not have spoken out explicitly against segregation, but he certainly communicated to his fellow Black people how important it was to help one another and themselves, and deeply influenced many of his students, who would go on to resist segregation and white supremacy in their own careers and ministries.

I highly recommend this book as an opportunity to learn more about the life and work of brother Keeble, and to appreciate his ministry, work, and witness. At the same time, we must also lament and mourn the white supremacist environment which he had to navigate, and repent of all such attitudes and behaviors. We do well to celebrate all of brother Keeble’s work in the Lord; but anyone who would want to “celebrate” Keeble as one of the “good Black preachers” because he “knew his place” and/or did not explicitly speak out against segregation, especially as opposed to those who “agitated” for civil rights, have a lot for which they need to repent, because that kind of attitude never glorified or honored Jesus Christ. show less

The Restoration Movement has aspired to restoring the ancient order of things in order to maintain the unity Jesus sought for His people according to His ways and truth. The challenge has been, from its inception, the impetus to insist on and emphasize one of these two aspects to the contrary of the other: to insist on the ancient order of things to the point of sectarian dogmatism, or to insist on seeking unity to the point of abandoning almost any sort of distinctiveness. Churches of show more Christ have tended toward the former; Disciples of Christ (Christian Church), the latter.

I would imagine Leonard Allen believes he is seeking a more middle way in In the Great Stream: Imagining Churches of Christ in the Christian Tradition (galley received as part of early review program, but full book read): seeking to remain faithful to the ancient order of things in part by upholding many aspects of Christian tradition and trying to find a place within it. But the pitfalls and the inner inconsistencies only become more apparent through the endeavor.

The author detailed his heritage in Churches of Christ and sets forth his understanding of the Restoration Movement in its historical context. It would seem the author considers the endeavor to represent a historical failure, since it did not foster true Christian unity through a dissolution of all the sects. And, indeed, according to Campbell’s original theory, it would be deemed a failure: the sects remain; unity has proven elusive, even for those who affirm restorationist principles; Christ’s reign has not been brought forth by our efforts.

But can the principle of restoring the ancient order of things and becoming simply Christians still be valuable and upheld? The author attempts to contextualize this impulse, along with the Anabaptists and other reform movements who see “Christendom” as a problem, as streams within the tradition, while also affirming Christendom and all it entails in the Catholic/Orthodox/mainline Protestant developments therein.

At the same time, the author also casts aspersions against any kind of “a-traditional” attempt at understanding much of anything religious or historical. One cannot truly be against tradition; one will simply switch out one set of traditions for another.

To this end, the author makes his case for Churches of Christ to take a less pessimistic view of the Christian tradition and to draw strength from it. As could be expected, he is a big fan of the creeds, and has bought into the perspectives and concepts which have led to the creeds themselves and their central place in Christian tradition. He would have Churches of Christ also consider much from the early church and its way of believing, living, and discipling Christians. And he would like members of Churches of Christ to better embody the full mantra of “Christians only, but not the only Christians.”

There are many ways in which members of churches of Christ have become a bit too dogmatic and sectarian in their ways. A healthy dose of humility in terms of judgment has always been warranted. Much can, and should, be learned from the experience of early Christianity; we may have our disagreements with some of the practices which were developing in the first couple of centuries, but those should matter no more or less than plenty of other aspects of disagreement which continue to exist, and our experience of Christianity would be all the richer because of it.

But the critique of creeds remains salient: not in terms of the truth of their substance but in terms of their purpose and emphasis. They are sectarian documents written to define who is excluded from who is included. Yes, members of churches of Christ should be better informed regarding the nature of God in Christ through the Spirit (I also agree with the author’s concern regarding how the Holy Spirit has been relegated to obscurity among the brethren). The history of the disputes should be better known and expressed, because the way to faithful understanding of who God is in Christ is found the way they found it, by seeing how alternative perspectives invariably led into conflict with what the Scriptures taught.

But to dogmatically assert exact formulations are the only way to discuss such things, and maintaining right conceptions on such things represent the primary point of Christian unity, comes without any basis from anything God has made known in Christ, and suffers from the same defects as does dogmatic confidence in the condemnation of those with whom we might disagree on various religious matters.

And that ultimately represents the real challenge with how fully we might embrace the “Christian tradition”: the one thing most of us can agree on is how the Christian tradition is a hot mess. It is up to all of us to consider what all has been said and done, and by faith entrust ourselves to Jesus as Lord and seek to follow His way as we can best discern it from Scripture.

Part of that should involve a compassionate, charitable attitude towards others, and always remembering how judgment belongs to the Lord. But that judgment is a double-edged sword: He will justify or He will condemn. Thus, it is not for us to step into His space and condemn those who profess to serve Him; before Him they will stand or fall. But that also means it is not for us to step into His space and presume His grace and mercy for ourselves or others.

In the end, churches of Christ by necessity will stand somewhat awkwardly and at variance within the “greater Christian tradition,” because the restoration impulse is a critique of the way most of that tradition has expressed itself. That’s not to say Christians in churches of Christ have nothing to learn from others; but if there was no need to restore the ancient order of things, and everything was well and good in whatever other churches people were a part of beforehand, then the Restoration Movement is a satanic and demonically inspired assault against the ways of God in Christ. If there is any validity in the appeal to restore the ancient order of things, then not all is well within the greater Christian tradition, and therefore we can, and should, stand at some remove from much of it. It may not be for us to condemn others, but we must be careful in what we endorse as well. show less

There is a lot of unease these days regarding the Holy Spirit. Some faith traditions seem to act as if the Holy Spirit has not been doing a whole lot since the end of the first century. Other faith traditions seem to be almost entirely and only about the Holy Spirit.

Leonard Allen came out of a tradition resembling the former, and his exploration into the nature and work of the Spirit is manifest in Poured Out: The Spirit of God Empowering the Mission of God.

The author began by considering show more what happened to the Spirit and compared and contrasted the many traditions regarding the faith and the Spirit. He goes beyond the rationalist/Pentecostal contrast to also consider institutional or “Christendom” and the more radical traditions as well. He then considered the Trinitarian nature of God and the Spirit within the Trinity. He then considered the Spirit’s involvement and work in the Kingdom and the metaphors involved therein, the mission and work of God and the Spirit’s role within it, and how the Spirit is active in forming Christians as disciples. He spoke of how the Spirit is at work in glorifying God and refreshing Christians for mission, yet also how the Spirit strengthens in spite of the groaning and corruption within the creation. He concluded with words regarding going out on mission and living in the mission of God according to the Spirit.

The author is certainly reacting to his raising, but it would be challenging to argue he has become a Pentecostal or has gone to the other extreme. This is a great resource to consider in terms of coming to a more balanced understanding of the Spirit and His work. show less