CONCLUSION
Upon the third Sunday in November, while the congregation in Cane Ridge
meeting-house was singing the opening hymn, Hiram Gilcrest entered,
and, walking slowly down the aisle, seated himself upon the steps of
the pulpit platform. All eyes were turned upon him, and for a moment
there was a perceptible pause and break in the singing. Then Mason
Rogers lined out the fifth stanza, and the congregation sang with
redoubled zest.
"Let us pray," said Barton Stone, coming forward with uplifted hands at
the conclusion of the hymn; but Gilcrest arose, and, arresting him,
stood facing the assembly. "Brethren," he said, "before we pray, allow
me a few words. I have been a professor of religion for over forty
years, and for twenty years of this time I was identified with this
church. My walk was orderly, my conversation seemly. I gave tithes of
all that I possessed, I was instant in season and out of season, and
ever jealous for the well-being of the church. In things outward and, I
thought, in things spiritual, I was a Christian; and though I was as
self-righteous as any Pharisee, I was not a hypocrite, for I was
self-deceived. In all these years I was as Simon the sorcerer, still
'in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity,' having neither
part nor lot in true Christianity. But, brethren, the Lord in his mercy
did at last reveal unto me the dark places of my soul wherein lurked
pride, prejudice, vindictiveness, and all uncharitableness; and, like
the publican, I cried, 'God be merciful to me, a sinner!'
"For several years I have had at times an idea that in the position
taken by this church in 1803, you were perhaps right and I wrong. A
sermon by a strange preacher in a distant county last June further
tended to convince me of this; but still I struggled with stubborn
hardihood against the truth that was threatening to crush me. It was
reserved for the Lord's own stroke to smite the rock and bring forth
the sweet waters of repentance and confession. To-day I am here not so
much because I have surrendered one jot or tittle of my former
doctrinal tenets, as because of the conviction that no system of dogma,
however true and logical, is of importance compared to this, that the
professed followers of Jesus Christ should be a united people. I now
see that whether the doctrines formulated by Calvin or those
promulgated by Arminius be true, the acceptance of either
interpretation of these disputed points does not constitute the vital
essence of salvation. They are but matters of opinion, instead of the
one supreme article of saving faith--belief in the redeeming efficacy
of the sacrifice upon Calvary.
"As I now understand the position taken by this congregation in 1803, I
see that so far as it may be considered a distinctive religious
movement, it is distinctive only in its denial of the binding authority
of human organizations, and in its renunciation of humanly devised
creeds as unscriptural and as opposed to the simplicity and unity of
Christian people. Therefore, leaving out of the question all matters of
opinion upon doctrinal theology, and standing, as you do, upon the one
sure foundation-stone, faith in and reliance upon our crucified
Redeemer, I come to you to-day, begging forgiveness for my opposition
and vindictiveness, and asking that my own and my wife's name be
replaced upon your church book, and that we be restored to your
fellowship."
Before he had finished, Barton Stone was beside him grasping his hand,
but too overcome to utter a word. The congregation sat a moment in
breathless silence, tears of sympathy and thankfulness in the eyes of
even the most stolid. Then Mason Rogers, striding down the aisle, and
facing the people, with one arm thrown over the shoulders of his old
friend and comrade, lifted up his voice in thanksgiving. He prayed in
his own homely words, but with fervency and fire as though his lips had
indeed been touched with "a live coal from the altar."
"Amen!" and "Amen!" were the exclamations from all parts of the
building. Then, in a clear, full voice, he started the hymn:
"I'm not ashamed to own my Lord,
Nor to defend his cause."
The congregation quickly joined in; and as the melody of noble old
"Arlington" resounded through the building, the people left their
seats, and, filing down the aisle, each in turn grasped the hand of the
returned brother, and welcomed him again into fellowship.
Thus, like a sincere and peace-loving Christian, Hiram Gilcrest once
more took his place among his brethren, humbly and lovingly, with never
again a trace of his former spirit of prejudice and dogmatic
intolerance.
As for the various other characters of this story, little more need be
said.
Barton Stone labored for many years in various fields of usefulness in
Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana and Missouri. In 1843 he returned for a
last visit to Cane Ridge. He was then an old man, bent and palsied, and
so feeble that he had to be helped into the pulpit; but his eyes
kindled with the old-time light, his bent form straightened with
something of the old-time vigor, and his voice became full and vibrant
as he stood facing that assembly where many seats were now occupied by
the children and grandchildren of those who in this old meetinghouse
forty years before had as a church renounced all human authoritative
voice in matters of religious worship, and had resolved that
henceforward the Bible should be their only rule of faith and practice,
and belief in Jesus as the Christ their only creed. Stone preached this
last sermon from the text of Paul's farewell to the brethren at
Ephesus, "And now behold I know that ye all among whom I have gone
preaching the kingdom of God shall see my face no more." He was truly
the old man eloquent as, standing for the last time in that pulpit, he
reviewed the past, spoke approvingly of the present, and admonished to
future zeal. He died in 1844 in Missouri, and the following spring his
remains were brought to Kentucky by the members of Cane Ridge Church,
and reinterred in the old churchyard.
Cane Ridge meeting-house is still used as a regular place of worship.
Its log walls have been weather-boarded, its clapboard roof replaced by
one of shingles, and its rough-hewn puncheon benches have given way to
more comfortable seats. The quaint little window over the pulpit and
the slaves' gallery opposite have been removed, and more modern heating
appliance substituted for the old fireplace. Otherwise, the building is
the same as it was one hundred years ago.
To one who knows the history of its venerable walls and of those who
rest in its old-fashioned graveyard, where, underneath the arching
boughs of walnut and pine, oak and maple, there sleep Barton Stone and
many others who took part in the first great religious movement of the
nineteenth century, it is indeed a hallowed place. "What Geneva was to
Calvin, Wittenberg to Luther, Edinburgh to Knox, and Epworth to the
Wesleys,"[3] this beautiful nook of Bourbon County is to that great
reformatory or restoratory movement inaugurated in 1803, whose plea was
and still is the restoration of the simplicity, the freedom and the
catholicity of apostolic Christianity; and whose dominant effort has
ever been for the union of God's people upon the only efficient
platform of Christian union, faith in Jesus the Christ, the Son of God.
[3] J. T. Sharrard.
Mason Rogers and his bustling, kind-hearted wife lived to a ripe old
age, happy in home, children and children's children, and in the
affectionate regard of all who knew them. The warp of their daily life
was plain and homely, but the bright threads of integrity and
loving-kindness running through it, made it into a beautiful pattern,
approved of all men.
Henry Rogers, after finishing his course at Transylvania, dedicated his
splendid talents to the ministry, winning many souls to Christ,
enduring many trials, encountering much opposition from those professed
Christians in whom the spirit of sectarian intolerance still held sway.
Bravely he endured, and nobly he deserved, at the end of his long life
of unselfishness, the plaudit, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"
The strong bond of friendship between the Gilcrest, Rogers and Logan
families was made still closer and stronger when John Calvin Gilcrest,
at the close of the war of 1812, returned to Kentucky and married Susan
Rogers.
For Abner and Betsy Logan, the years as they sped onward brought an
ever-increasing measure of happiness; for their love for each other had
that steady, faithful, fireside quality which endures, and fills the
daily life with peace and charm long after the first blaze of passion
has sunk into the smouldering glow of sympathetic affection.
Where once had stood their first humble log cabin, there arose in the
course of a few years the new "Crestlands," a stately mansion of brick
with spacious rooms, broad halls and pillared porches. This noble,
historic homestead is to-day occupied by the fifth generation of
Logans. Its founder, Abner Logan, realized his ideal; for his home
became a center of peace and order, love and content--a radiating
point, ever widening into increasing circles of beauty and usefulness;
and the name, "Crestlands," is still a synonym for hospitality,
integrity and Christian culture in that green and beautiful portion of
"God's Country" called Cane Ridge.
THE END.
APPENDIX
(SEE CHAPTER XXVI.)
In June, 1804, the several ministers of the new organization met at
Cane Ridge meeting-house, and drew up the "Last Will and Testament of
Springfield Presbytery." A copy of this quaint and remarkable document
is here subjoined:
THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF SPRINGFIELD PRESBYTERY
The Presbytery of Springfield, sitting at Caneridge, in the county
of Bourbon, in more than ordinary bodily health, growing in strength
and size daily; and in perfect soundness and composure of mind; but
knowing that it is appointed for all delegated bodies once to die;
and considering that the life of every such body is very uncertain,
do make and ordain this our last Will and Testament, in manner and
form following, viz.:
_Imprimis._ We _will_, that this body die, be dissolved, and sink
into union with the Body of Christ at large; for there is but one
body, and one Spirit, even as we are called in one hope of our
calling.
_Item._ We _will_, that our name of distinction, with its _Reverend_
title, be forgotten, that there be but one Lord over God's heritage,
and His name one.
_Item._ We _will_, that our power of making laws for the government
of the church, and executing them by delegated authority, forever
cease; that the people may have free course to the Bible, and adopt
_the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus_.
_Item._ We _will_, that candidates for the Gospel ministry
henceforth study the Holy Scriptures with fervent prayer, and obtain
license from God to preach the simple Gospel, _with the Holy Ghost
sent down from heaven_, without any mixture of philosophy, vain
deceit, traditions of men, or the rudiments of the world. And let
none henceforth take _this honor to himself, but he that is called
of God, as was Aaron_.
_Item._ We _will_, that the church of Christ resume her native right
of internal government--try her candidates for the ministry, at to
their soundness in the faith, acquaintance with experimental
religion, gravity and aptness to teach; and admit no other proof of
their authority but Christ speaking in them. We will, that the
church of Christ look up to the Lord of the harvest to send forth
laborers into His harvest; and that she resume her primitive right
to try those _who say they are apostles, and are not_.
_Item._ We _will_, that each particular church, as a body, actuated
by the same spirit, choose her own preacher, and support him by a
freewill offering, without a written _call_ or _subscription_--admit
members, remove offences; and never henceforth _delegate_ her right
of government to any man or set of men whatever.
_Item._ We _will_, that the people henceforth take the Bible as the
only sure guide to heaven; and as many as are offended with other
books, which stand in competition with it, may cast them into the
fire if they choose; for it is better to enter into life having one
book, than having many to be cast into hell.
_Item._ We _will_, that preachers and people cultivate a spirit of
mutual forbearance; pray more and dispute less; and while they
behold the signs of the times, look up, and confidently expect that
redemption draweth nigh.
_Item._ We _will_, that our weak brethren who may have been wishing
to make the Presbytery of Springfield their king, and know not what
is now become of it, betake themselves to the Rock of Ages, and
follow Jesus for the future.
_Item._ We _will_, that the Synod of Kentucky examine every member
who may be _suspected_ of having departed from the Confession of
Faith, and suspend every such suspected heretic immediately; in
order that the oppressed may go free, and taste the sweets of gospel
liberty.
_Item._ We _will_, that Ja---- ----, the author of the two letters
lately published in Lexington, be encouraged in his zeal to destroy
_partyism_. We will, moreover, that our past conduct be examined
into by all who may have correct information; but let foreigners
beware of speaking evil of things which they know not.
_Item._ Finally we _will_, that all our _sister bodies_ read their
Bibles carefully, that they may see their fate there determined, and
prepare for death before it is too late.
Springfield Presbytery, }
June 28th, 1804. } L. S.
ROBERT MARSHALL, }
JOHN DUNLAVY, }
RICHARD MCNEMAR, }
B. W. STONE, } Witnesses.
JOHN THOMPSON, }
DAVID PURVIANCE, }
There seemed to be throughout the United States at about this time a
growing realization among Christian people of the fact that the one
essential principle of Protestant Christianity--belief in and
acceptance of Jesus as Redeemer and Christ--was already held in common
by all evangelical denominations. Hence, soon after this there began in
widely separated parts of the country various other movements similar
in aim and method to that inaugurated in Kentucky by the dissolution of
the Springfield Presbytery.
It is only needed that these various movements become known to each
other in order to become united. This union was effected in 1882; and
rapidly crystalized into a body whose only distinguishing name is
"Christian" or "Disciple," and whose differential character lies not in
its advocacy of any new doctrine or theological tenet whatever; but in
its rejection of that which in the way of human speculation, human
interpretation and human dogma has been added to the original simple
and all-comprehending faith of the apostolic church.