The Christian Standard, a weekly journal that played a major role in the history of Disciples of Christ and Christian Churches, was launched in 1866.

At the time of its inaugural, the devastating Civil War had recently ended and Alexander Campbell, editor of the influential Millennial Harbinger, lay on his deathbed. A new era was dawning for the nation, and also for the Stone-Campbell Movement. New opportunities called for a new kind of journalism, a weekly publication that had appeal to a wider readership. Five men met in December 1865 in the home of T. W. Phillips, Sr., in Newcastle, Pennsylvania, to launch a journal that would carry news from the churches and articles of interest in a broader range of subjects than had been the case hitherto. Incorporators of the new company were W. S. Streator, W. J. Ford, J. P. Robinson, T. W. Phillips, C. M. Phillips, G. W. M. Yost, James A. Garfield, and Isaac Errett. Errett was named editor of the new journal, which was called Christian Standard. 

The journal was first published in Cleveland, Ohio. Within two years, it amassed such indebtedness that the incorporators were happy to turn the assets over to Isaac Errett, if he would be willing to assume the debt. To survive, Errett accepted the position of president of Alliance College in Ohio, which he held until 1869. He then accepted the offer of R. W. Carroll to underwrite the publication of the journal if Errett would move it to Cincinnati. Soon, circulation improved to the point that Errett could liquidate the debt, and he became the sole owner of the new Standard Publishing Company. Errett continued as editor of Christian Standard until his death in 1888. The Christian Standard quickly became a vigorous champion of the missionary cause among Disciples, and Errett himself served as the first president of the Foreign Christian Missionary Society, organized in 1875. 

The Christian Standard was launched during a troublesome period in the saga of the Stone-Campbell Movement. North-South postwar tensions were at their peak, and Isaac Errett had been chairman of a session of the Missionary Society in 1863 when a pro-North resolution was adopted. Consequently, he was disliked in the South, an attitude that was augmented by Errett’s toleration of the introduction of musical instruments in some of the churches in the North, an innovation condemned in the South. Thus, many congregations regarded the Christian Standard as a Northern journal and opted to read the Gospel Advocate, a rival journal published in Nashville, Tennessee. This journalistic polarization thus developed hand in hand with ideological tensions. 

The beginning of the twentieth century saw a growing trend toward liberalism and modernism among the Disciples of Christ, of increasing concern to conservative churches. The Christian Standard devoted its resources to combating liberalism, signaled by the inclusion of a regular column on “Biblical Criticism” by the conservative scholar J. W. McGarvey from 1893 to 1904. While never opting for the fundamentalist alternative, the successive editors consistently maintained a conservative posture. After Errett’s death, his son Russell inherited the publishing company. Fiercely loyal to his father’s convictions, Russell Errett became troubled over developments within the board of managers of the United Christian Missionary Society (UCMS) in 1920, particularly over policies adopted with reference to open membership. 

During the 1920s, the Christian Standard became the major voice of opposition to the UCMS, and it provided leadership to those churches that coalesced after 1927 in the North American Christian Convention. The editor at this time was Edwin Errett, a grandnephew of Isaac Errett. Edwin Errett’s policy was to support all of the Disciple agencies except the missionary society. The Christian Standard became an early advocate of independent missions but not a proponent of schism within the ranks of the Movement. Errett staunchly maintained that the fellowship of the Disciples of Christ was one, but he insisted that congregations should have freedom within that unity to choose which mission method they preferred. Thus, under Errett’s editorship, reports and promotion of all of the agencies associated with the organized activity of Disciples appeared in the pages of Christian Standard, except for the UCMS. 

Eventually there arose a growing sentiment among some of the younger leaders of conservative Disciples churches to disavow all agencies and associations related to Disciples of Christ in Indianapolis. This gained expression in the formation of a Committee on Action in 1943, which aimed to turn the Christian Standard toward a more strident policy. The chairman of the committee was Burris Butler, who succeeded as editor of the journal following the sudden death of Edwin Errett in 1944. Willard H. Mohorter, secretary of Standard Publishing Company, announced the policy change on December 4, 1943. Christian Standard issued a Call for Enlistment and followed with an aggressive program called “Stand Up and Be Counted,” which urged ministers and congregations to register opposition to all agencies associated with the International Convention of Disciples of Christ. The journal began publishing an “Honor Roll of the Faithful” in 1947. Thus erupted a period of hostility that, along with other developments within the Disciples of Christ, resulted in outright schism within a decade. 

In the latter half of the twentieth century, the Christian Standard confined its interest to the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. It remains the major journal of this fellowship, providing communication and guidance to the more than 5,000 congregations that have no organizational connection other than the (non-delegate) North American Christian Convention. The Christian Standard thus fills a definite need for cohesion and networking among Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. 

The leadership role of editors and journals has been very prominent in the Stone-Campbell Movement. In recent decades this leadership has suffered relative decline, due largely to the rise of other media resources and the increasing secularization of the culture. Still, the Christian Standard has no journalistic rival among Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. 

See also Butler, Burris; Christian Churches/Churches of Christ; Errett, Isaac; Errett, Edwin Reeder; Journalism; Lookout, The; Restoration Herald, The; Standard Publishing Company; Touchstone, The

 Bibliography Brian P. Clark, “An Analysis of the Organizing Functions of the Christian Standard in the Restoration Movement Christian Churches/Churches of Christ” (unpublished M.A. thesis, Wheaton College, 1998) • Richard Hughes, Howard Short, and Henry E. Webb, The Power of the Press: Studies of the “Gospel Advocate,” the “Christian Standard,” and the “Christian-Evangelist” (1987) • G. Mark Sloneker, “You Can’t Do That!” The Life and Labors of Burris Butler: An Account of a Ministry at “Christian Standard” and with Standard Publishing Company (1995). 

Henery E. Webb

Foster, Douglas A.. The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement (pp. 672-677). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition. 

This entry, written by Henry E. Webb, was originally published in The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement (Edited by Douglas A. Foster, Paul M. Blowers, Anthony L. Dunnavant, and D. Newell Williams; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2004), pages 197-199. Republished with permission.