No. They denied exclusivism and sought visible unity rather than sole legitimacy. Later Stone-Campbell writers often summarized that instinct with the phrase “Christians only, not the only Christians,” though the slogan's exact origin is uncertain.
Biblical, universal names point to Christ alone and lower sectarian barriers.
They sought fellowship wherever Christ was confessed; denominational lines were human, not divine.
They read the New Testament pattern as weekly ‘breaking of bread’ and restored it as ordinary practice.
The breaking of bread is not a festival for the few, but the continual feast of the Lord’s people.
To embody the priesthood of all believers. Every voice participates; worship is portable into home and family.
They saw only a few local offices in the New Testament, which resists hierarchy and keeps authority near the congregation.
Baptism is a free act of conscience—voluntary response to faith, not inherited at birth.
Faith, repentance, and baptism are the three steps into the kingdom.
The table is Christ’s, not the church’s to fence. Participation rests in each believer’s conscience.
Leaders are accountable to the congregation; members study and decide. No one dictates belief for another.
The Bible is a common, accessible standard for faith and practice, open to all without creedal tests.
Where the Scriptures speak, we speak; where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent.
Yes. They expected continual reformation.
The church of Christ on earth must always be reforming, because it has never yet attained to the standard of its divine Founder.
No. They aimed to dissolve denominationalism, though the movement later formed distinct streams.
It modeled cross-denominational worship and fed Stone’s vision for unity beyond sectarian lines.