The History

The origin of institutionalism is found with what is known as the “Restoration.”  Essentially, the Restoration was the call for “churches” to return to the pattern set forth in the New Testament.  There are many paths taken by the Restoration and it spanned a great many years:

·         The Waldensians (1174-1560)

·         John Wycliff and the Lollards (1329-1384)

·         Martin Luther (1483-1546)

·         Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531)

·         The Anabaptist movement - Bernard Rothmann, John Hooper, John a Lasco, Richard Baxter (1495-1691)[1]

Each of these groups called for a return to the authority of the New Testament.  However, as time progressed, so did “thinking outside the box.”  How do we “better” and more “efficiently” accomplish God’s goals in these areas? Honestly, things such as “missionary societies” can be found among the denominations from (at least) the 1600s on, and possibly before then.  The issue, however, is finding sources of people from the true church that far back discussing the concept of institutionalism [note: missionary societies would not have functioned in exactly the same way as modern societies do, but bring about the same effect]. 

From the 1930s forward in America, with a significant climax in the 1950s & 1960s, institutionalism became a hot topic for debate [liken it to the recent discussions on homosexuality].  As is common with such issues, there were many key “players;” Homer Hailey (who originally supported institutionalism, then changed), David Lipscome, G.K. Wallace, Billy W. Moore, Connie Adams, and many, many others.  It is essentially impossible to track every single nuance of the institutional movement because it happened all across America.  Articles were written and debates performed on both sides of the issue, and each had their own answer.

How did it change from a “restoration” to institutionalism? Simply because some, while calling for a return to the New Testament authority, misapplied Scriptures or assumed authority without actually finding it.  There are many that “question” the practices of the church, which is actually a good thing, but rather than allowing the Scriptures to guide them to the correct conclusions, they have a predetermined idea that “tradition” is bad and must be changed.  As we proceed in this lesson, we will look at some of the arguments used to justify institutionalism.  Please note how little Scripture is utilized and how, when it is used, it is taken out of context.  This should give you a little bit of historical background for the issue, as well as show you what many “antis” had to contend with!

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[1] David Edwin Harrell, Jr., Christian Primitivism in the Twenty-First Century: Thinking “Inside the Box” About Restoring New Testament Christianity (Lakeland: Harwell/Lewis Publishing Co, 2007), 12-15.