Among the Early Evangelicals

“It’s not every day that a historian upsets the historiographical applecart with new perspectives that essentially transform the way we understand a given subject, but that is exactly what Gorman has done with this book. For decades, scholars of the Stone-Campbell Movement—myself included—have assumed it was quintessentially American in its inception, framework, and ideology. But Gorman, picking up on the work of the late Hiram Lester, has demonstrated that the transatlantic evangelical missions movement of the late eighteenth century shaped the Campbells’ thinking on virtually all the key issues that defined the Stone-Campbell tradition—restoration of a simple gospel, missions, the unity of all Christians, and the coming millennial age. Kudos to Gorman for such a trailblazing book!

—Richard T. Hughes, author, Reviving the Ancient Faith: The Story of Churches of Christ in America

“Readers of James Gorman’s illuminating Among the Early Evangelicals will learn a great deal not only about the origins of the Stone-Campbell Movement, but also about the shaping of early evangelical Christianity in Britain, Ireland, and America. I recommend Gorman’s book enthusiastically.”

— Thomas S. Kidd, Distinguished Professor of History, Baylor University

“The work of Thomas and Alexander Campbell in creating a new religious tradition that developed into the various branches of the Churches of Christ and Disciples has been seen as a specifically American phenomenon. James Gorman shows that such an estimate is a mistake. On the contrary, their program was rooted in the missions movement of the eighteenth century, culminating in the 1790s, that marked the whole Evangelical world. By the 1790s, there was enthusiasm for discarding denominational obstacles to the spread of the gospel in England, Ireland, and Scotland, and the Campbells imbibed that spirit. This book is a major reinterpretation of the Campbell movement, but it is also more: a case-study that forms a powerful critique of American religious exceptionalism.”

—David Bebbington, Professor of History, University of Stirling

“Thoroughly informed by transatlantic studies and meticulous in his original research, James Gorman has provided the most comprehensive account to date of the Campbells’ crucial interconnectedness with their British evangelical precursors. Moving beyond previous studies, Gorman sets the Campbells squarely in their context, giving new and valuable insights into their passion for unity and restoration. Gorman’s work is an important contribution to Stone-Campbell studies and to the new global historiography of the church.”

 —Douglas A. Foster, Professor of Church History, Director of The Center for Restoration Studies, Abilene Christian University