Could a tiny church from the American Midwest, steeped in its premodern worldview of preaching charts, sectarian certainty, miraculous healings, hope for 'Celestial Glory,' and well-guarded doctrinal boundaries say anything meaningful to a modern industrial society characterized by an impoverished urban underclass, child labor, unregulated capitalism, and the exploitation of industrial workers? Fred M. Smith thought so. But to find a theological language suited to this monumental task he looked beyond the Reorganization to the the work of Walter Rauschenbusch (1861-1918), a Baptist minister and professor of theology at Colgate Divinity School (Rochester, NY), and the chief architect of the theology of the Social Gospel Movement. The result was a remarkable synthesis of the Reorganization's distinctive Zion traditions with Rauschenbusch's politically charged, state-of-the-art Liberal Protestant thought on Jesus' message of God's kingdom on earth. Stepping beyond the safety of Restoration borderlands would have a permanent, transformative impact on Fred M.'s church.
This lecture was featured in the Spring 2024 Lecture Series and presented live on May 16, 2024.