Alexander Campbell tossed his communion token on the Table and walked out. As a Presbyterian in the early 19th century, he was accustomed to being issued a little silver token by the church to exchange at the Lord’s Table for communion. But there was something about that practice that bothered him. Wasn’t this the Table of Christ, after all? And not of the church? The invitation of Christ to all persons rang clearly in Campbell’s ears and he could no longer be a part of barring people from the Table.

Thomas Campbell, Alexander’s father, was already in America by the time that the communion token was left on the Table back in Scotland. He, too, was re-thinking the nature of the church and how we all relate to Christ and to one another. Finally, Thomas concluded:

“the church of Christ upon earth is essentially, intentionally,
and constitutionally one.”

In 1809 he published a “Declaration and Address” which outlined his belief that all Christian practice should be based upon scripture, without human opinion detracting from clear biblical principles.

Barton Warren Stone was living out his ministry on the western frontier of Kentucky in the early 1800s. Like the Campbells, Stone was moved by the wave of spiritual awakening that was sweeping across the land. He had heard of open-air meetings being held where the Holy Spirit was said to be manifest in a powerful way. He was curious, attended one of the meetings, and was forever changed. Stone returned to his little church at Cane Ridge, Kentucky and organized what would become the watershed meeting of this revival period.

From the beginning, the leaders of this new way of being church believed strongly in the oneness of the body of Christ. Stone’s motto was “Christian union is my polar star.” Unity was the guiding force of what we now call the ‘Stone-Campbell movement.’ The ideals held by our founders call for a focus on scripture, the open communion table for all who will come, and a harmony within the Christian community that moves us toward unity with all people of faith.

Today the Stone-Campbell movement exists in three distinct groups of churches. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the U.S. and Canada is considered part of mainline Protestantism and is expressed locally, regionally, nationally and globally. Churches of Christ (sometimes called a capella because they do not use instruments in worship) and Christian Churches/Churches of Christ (sometimes called independent Christians) have thousands of congregations across North America and the whole world.

As in the beginning, the Lord’s Table remains at the center of faith and practice. Every Sunday thousands of congregations around the globe spread the feast of the Table and then step to the side so that Christ alone can invite every person to receive his love and forgiveness. When all is said and done, that’s who Disciples are.