David Lipscomb was an important leader of the second generation of the Restoration Movement. It was his steady hand and eye that were to guide the disciples and all who were seeking to do Bible things in Bible ways. When things got tough for southerners in post-civil-war Tennessee, it was his guidance which would see them through both political and spiritual storms.
Early Years
David Lipscomb was born on January 21, 1831, to Granville and Ann E. Lipscomb in Huntland, Tennessee. David’s family line runs back to the Lipscomb family of Louisa County, Virginia. His ancestor, Thomas Lipscomb was a soldier of the Revolutionary War. He was given 2,666 acres of land when he was released from service on May 20, 1778. He was to have considerable legal troubles over this large acreage from various sources. He was to have been blessed with many sons, through which the father, Granville, was to come forth.
The Lipscomb family, originally Baptist, were said to have converted to the Restoration Movement of Christianity in the mid-1820s while reading Alexander Campbell‘s periodical The Christian Baptist, copies of which had been sent to the Lipscomb’s family by an aunt. The Lipscomb’s were said to be charter members of the Old Salem Church, (Baptist) The Old Salem congregation began in May 1834 with two male members and two females. Also, five colored people belonged. By Christmas that year, the number had grown to thirty-four whites and twelve blacks. The Lipscomb family moved to Illinois in 1834 for the purpose of freeing their slaves. David’s mother Ann, along with three of his siblings, died of a fever in 1835 while they were still in Illinois. David’s later belief that racial divisions in the church are inconsistent with Christianity was shaped by this experience. David Lipscomb’s father, Granville, was slow of speech. Preaching was not in his future but he could do what he could do. He turned over copies of the Christian Baptist to John and Dabney, his favorite brothers. They read it and liked what they read. They turned over copies to other members of the Bean’s Creek Baptist Church, where they had been attending. The idea of the Bible’s all-sufficiency was a foreign concept that they were soon to dislike to the extent of expelling the Lipscomb family in total. So, in the year 1830, all three brothers and their families united with what was known as a “New Light” type congregation near to Owl Hollow in Franklin County.
On January 21, 1837, David Lipscomb passed his sixth birthday. The childhood of both Lipscomb brothers was to pass. Billy, his older brother by seventeen months, was a quiet boy who suffered because of poor health. He suffered from asthma and bronchial troubles. Billy was fond of books, especially mathematics. It is said that by the time he was fifteen years old he could accurately survey any plot of ground in the community where the family resided. David, on the other hand, was of a very different character.
When it came to the various opportunities for education, those were very scarce. The simple rule was that boys would work in the fields and if the chance to attend classes in the local school happened, they happened. The boys would be found working in the fields with the colored servants.
Granville Lipscomb’s home was one of the few Christian families in the local neighborhood. They viewed the Bible as the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice. Granville reasoned that if men could be taught the Bible, they would know the will of God. Following this line of thought, the world would be made better and lead to eternal salvation. His only ambition was that to see that his family knew the Bible and followed it in their daily lives.
Tolbert Fanning and Education
On January 21, 1844, David was to pass his thirteenth birthday and his father then became concerned about his two son’s education. The schools in his area were inferior so he looked afield for a good school. He was to send his boys to Louisa County where his father was abiding. His religious mindset was much deeper than his son so the two boys were to return home after a year’s study with a much greater understanding of the scriptures and their application to daily life. They had memorized so much scripture and were so familiar with the Bible that they had not had before their sojourn in their grandfather’s home.
David Lipscomb had never met Tolbert Fanning before the school days began. Their father had deposited $200 in the boy’s account but made it very clear that it was each boy’s responsibility to earn their education.
Franklin College (named after a great man of understanding and learning) was not a Bible College but the ethics of its proprietor, Tolbert Fanning, were known throughout the institution from top to bottom. On Sunday evenings Fanning would have rushed back from the preaching engagement of that day. He always made appointments within riding distance of the school so Sunday afternoons were a time of hurried travel. Wednesday evening period of worship was entirely conducted by the students. This was so because Fanning felt that if these young men were to be preachers, then they must know how to conduct a worship service.
Another very important fact was that when Lipscomb arrived at Franklin College, he was just barely fifteen years of age and had not yet become a Christian! When he finally could ask for immersion, Fanning was quick to accomplish his safe translation from the thralldom of Satan to God’s Holy Kingdom. Lipscomb was immersed in a horse’s watering trough. He was just recovering from a case of severe typhoid fever and had learned enough of the truth to obey, no matter what the circumstances might be.
In the years of 1846-1849 were four tough years of preparation for the trials and tribulations of a lifetime. Surely had Lipscomb been able to see his future, he would have trained all the harder. In these four years, Lipscomb’s life was deeply touched by the personality which was to touch his life further than anyone could. The strong influence was by Tolbert Fanning himself. No one could touch him like Fanning could himself.
But, on that graduation day in 1849, it would be very hard to comprehend the surroundings which would affect him so deeply. The American Christian Missionary Society was created in Cincinnati. And the divisions within the United States were becoming too deep to heal by anything except that of war. That could be seen near. When these broke upon Lipscomb, he was hardly prepared for them. But, the great lessons received by Lipscomb from Tolbert Fanning were to steer him right and he not only could stand but then he was able to become a leader of southern Christians much the same as had the adherents to the teaching of the, great Benjamin Franklin in the states to the north of the Mason-Dixon Line.
The decision as to what he was going to do to earn his keep, David was not quite sure. His brother William had gone into teaching at Franklin College. It was more William’s disposition to settle down but David was made of different stuff. He would wander a bit before he felt ready to settle down. He did feel that ultimately he would follow in his father’s tracks and find a piece of land to settle down and farm but that was in the future. The next six years after graduation were for David to vent his restless ways. Two were spent managing a large plantation in Georgia. He worked for the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railroad, cutting away the high ground so that tracks could be laid. By the fall of 1851 he was a messenger from the Salem congregation to the Tennessee Cooperation Meeting which was held at Columbia.
During this time in history, David Lipscomb was experiencing his own serious trial. It had to do with placing his faith in another man. As things will go with relations between men, even brothers, bad things can happen. Such was the case of a man named Jesse B. Ferguson. Ferguson, through his adroit behavior, captured the hearts of brethren throughout Nashville. Included in this adoring throng was David Lipscomb. In spite of all that one can do, he will, if he is not careful, place too much faith in another man, whom he admires. This indeed happened to him and he had made this mistake. It was a very difficult thing for the brethren of Nashville and especially Tolbert Fanning and David Lipscomb to have to experience when Fergusen had gone into spiritualism. Several whole churches had done so and the entire Nashville congregation was destroyed in his speculations. Lipscomb was disappointed and even off-balance. Had he become a member of the wrong church? Was it all in vain? He did the right thing and dove into the Scriptures to find the right answer. This he did till he was thoroughly satisfied that he was in the right church but had erred by giving too much confidence in one man. He emerged from his study to find Tolbert Fanning in a similar condition to himself. Fanning bounced back and began discussions in which a new paper would emerge.
The Gospel Advocate
It was readily agreed among the brethren of Nashville that a new paper was needed. A primary goal of this was to offset any divergement ideas of spiritualism. It was important to get Fanning and William Lipscomb’s views out to help brethren to see the gospel pattern as well as instances of cooperation meetings among the brotherhood. The Secondary goal was to discuss congregational co-operation and how should it be carried out among the churches. The American Christian Missionary Society came into existence in 1849. Brethren opposed to ACMS rallied behind the Advocate to hold to the “old ways.” These issues were discussed among the brethren up till the start of the Civil War. The paper was discontinued in 1861 during the heat of the War.
The Advocate Rises from the Ashes
The date on the top of the mast would read “The Gospel Advocate, January 1, 1866. Then Volume VIII and No. 1” The surprise was next “Editors, T. Fanning, and D. Lipscomb.” Here is a “D” Lipscomb, and not “W. Lipscomb” as it had been in the earlier incarnation of the journal. The south had been beaten and beaten badly. There was no order among the masses and even worse among the ones who followed Christ. This was a time for heroes. People were desperately in need of someone or something that they could rely upon. It is true that the Disciples of Christ did not divide but they were so close that it was basically in name only that they maintained unity. It was the same among the papers. How the readers needed some reassurance that all would be well. It was at this particular junction of time that young David Lipscomb came on the scene. His tone of assurance calmed, even soothed those who only saw death, darkness, and decay before them. In combination with the wonderful wisdom and guidance of Tolbert Fanning, so much good was done. The two were a winning combination. Having read a good deal of the Advocate of ’66, the calls for help and missing members were sought for. Aid was received from worried brethren from the north. Also, the financial condition of the paper was revealed to brethren and what they could do to carry on its work among brethren. It was mainly the desperate new things that could be done like adding 1,000 new subscribers. That was chief what could be done in 1867. The paper appeared again in 1868, greatly enlarged, and changed in some details. Even though Lipscomb was not financially able to make this improvement, he went ahead upon the theory that brethren would support it if it were a better periodical. This year, Lipscomb assumed full responsibility for the editorship. The year before P. S. Fall had became a co-editor. Fanning also was a co-editor. A new feature of the paper was an “Alien’s Department” edited by Dr. T. W. Brents, consisting of essays on fundamental Bible teaching, intending to instruct the alien on how to become a Christian. These essays were later collected together into a tract called “The Gospel Plan of Salvation,” which later became the book by the same title. The Advocate was to be found on the “conservative side” on most issues. Lipscomb’s pen was very seldom silent when an issue was being discussed. When the society issue was brewing Lipscomb was deeply involved in dealing with those whom he felt were wrong and under the Lord’s condemnation in the matter. There were some, like V. M. Metcalfe, who believed that Lipscomb was providentially the man provided for those critical days of the restoration movement when men were abandoning the appointments of God for human opinions. It took a courageous, intelligent man, and withal a charitable one to sweep back the tide of innovations then engulfing the church.
There was another controversy which were afflicting the people of God. This began in a small congregation in Midway, Kentucky in the year 1859. This controversy was the addition of instrumental music to the worship of the saints. Those who were “forward thinking,” or “progressive” looked around at what was happening in the denominations and felt that they were “behind the times.” Others that were involved on the conservative side were such men as J.W. McGarvey, Moses Lard and a host of others. These all felt that the battle line was very cut and dried. Actually, McGarvey was in favor of the societies but against the instrument. Go figure. Men such as J.D. Tant and fellow Texans fought against these additions like the men in Virginia and Missouri. The battle lines were stretched all over the young and growing nation. Lipscomb and others held the line of battle until death overtook them. Their faithfulness was easy to be seen and hard to be copied. Although the battle was to go on for many years, the fight culminated in the Otey-Briny debate that occurred in November of 1908. Both sides would claim victory but the forward motion of the progressives slowed to a stand-still. David Lipscomb would be among the leadership of that spiritual army.
As a Preacher
David Lipscomb struggled as a preacher in his early days. On one instance he completely forgot his sermon and had to ask someone else to do the preaching. He did not allow himself to be afraid and was soon preaching regularly though. Glimpses of his labors can be seen through the pages of the Gospel Advocate. On another occasion he was looking to find a preacher and it ended up being himself. Once he began preaching, no one could stop him. He began in 1857 around McMinnville, Tennessee. He later wrote “I have not been able to throw off a feeling of embarrassment when I get up to speak to an audience. It was distressing when I began to work, and I always suffered from apprehension and dread as the time to speak approached. One time he was speaking at a meeting and only 3 women came. He preached to them and asked them to bring others back the next time and he would speak again.. By such humble means the church grew up in Middle Tennessee over the years. By 1861 Lipscomb had “come on station”…and then came the war.
As a Writer
The thing by which Lipscomb was known for and his greatest work was by far his ability to write. He was the editor of the Gospel Advocate from the time of its rebirth in 1866. There he was able to make known his thoughts and wishes. The time that he was at the greatest power was in the days of Reconstruction. It was when his forceful pen was of greatest help to the needy saints of Middle Tennessee. The Advocate was a call for help in those days Also, his pen was a great call for the churches in those dark days. He worked tirelessly to raise funds for the needy. In those days nearly everyone was in desperate need and Lipscomb’s pen made the difference for some between starving and not.
Another use of his pen was in the Society and instrumental music conflict. The Advocate was always in the front of any confrontation. It also had a reliable corps of writers. In the early days of the conflict the Advocate was the only paper in the South land that could give reply to those who were troubling Israel through out the lands through other papers.
The Nashville Bible School
On June 17, 1891 an announcement was made regarding the start of a new work in the Nashville area. That was the Nashville Bible School was to be beginning shortly. One wrote “I hail with such joy the proposition to have in Nashville a Bible School for the purpose of teaching Christians.” The school opened on Monday October 5, 1891. This work was Lipscomb working with James A. Harding. Tuition was free. Help was given to students in finding a place to live. In the first year the school had thirty-two young men. There was also a storm of criticism from brethren about “yet another school” when there were so many already. The teachers were William and David Lipscomb and Harding. Classes were in English, Latin, Greek, mathematics, logic, metaphysics and natural science “and whatever in general would make one useful in living an earnest, faithful life” The first year ended on May 26, 1892. Lipscomb taught a class on Old and New Testament history. This he would do each year for many years. At a slightly later date they would have guest teachers like Dr. T.W. Brents and others who would teach the same class each year. With such help the school would prosper over the years. It would change to David Lipscomb College and ultimately David Lipscomb University.
Busy Days
The years passed and David Lipscomb was a very busy man always. Between gospel meetings and debates, He was very busy in his daily activities and time passed like a blur. Early in 1873 he attended the debate between Elder T.W. Brents and Jacob Ditzler at Fayetteville and again at Franklin. The idea of congregational cooperation kept coming to the forefront and the trouble that was associated with societies accompanied it.. When the societies were struggling to come into existence, strife was so widespread that it affected the works of the various local congregations. The Gospel Advocate also weathered the storms of the day and soon received the nickname of “Old Reliable.” Lipscomb’s old illness returned and he had started returning to health when he learned that Tolbert Fanning had been grievously wounded and was not expected to survive. This did in truth occur on May 3, 1874. Lipscomb’s mentor and partner was gone. There was a good-sized cooperation that occurred on November 10, 1874. It was attended by around 80 brethren from locally but also from out of town…Joseph Franklin, T.W. Brents and many others were there to discuss scripture, to worship and pray together. Though not mentioned, surely the instrumental music and society issues would be discussed as well. Strangely, Lipscomb actually was in opposition to the brethren acting like delegates and not “messengers” reporting the labors, trials and tribulations of each congregation. This surely was because of the “society” trouble. Lipscomb was accompanied by various different brethren like Brents, Metcalf and Moses E. Lard who had finished a local meeting and stopped on his way back through the area. A part of that September had Lipscomb down with “ague and fever.” The last part of the year he was down, threatened by an attack of hemorrhage of the lungs. But despite his threatened health, he continued his work. This would prove to be a pattern for him. He would labor at gospel meetings as well as maintaining his presence through the pages of the Gospel Advocate.
The New Century Dawns
On January 21, 1901 Lipscomb celebrated his seventieth birthday. His desire was to close up all of his business affairs, recede from public life and allow others to take the lead. He sought to have a peaceful retirement but such was not to be the case. He had battled the societies and instrumental music for over 35 years and that battle would not go away easily. By 1902 the die was cast and the innovations would not go away. A part of the conflict would begin when the progressives sought to take possession of the church buildings, making the conservatives out in the cold-literally. Often, a long and extended court battle occurred.
The Sun Sets
On January 21, 1906, Lipscomb celebrated his seventy-fifth birthday. His preaching activities needed to be close to home. He still taught his two classes at The Nashville Bible School each school day and would head straight for home afterward. He also continued to write for the Advocate. It had been restructured into the McQuiddy Printing Company and Lipscomb and Sewell maintained a financial interest in it though he need not appear there everyday to exercise control. In 1912 Lipscomb and Sewell sold their share of the company to other like-minded brethren. He attended functions at the school though did not teach any longer.
Visitors often dropped by the Lipscomb’s at their comfy retirement home. David and “Aunt Mag” cared deeply for one another. Early in the year 1917 he continued his decline. On November 5, he suffered yet another stroke. On the following Sunday, at ten minutes till eleven his breathing promptly stopped. The Funeral services were conducted at the South College Street Church building the following day at 3:30. Brethren came from far and wide to attend this simple funeral service. His body was buried beside his brother William.
Bibliography: The Life & Times of David Lipscomb-West
Crying in the Wilderness-Robert Hooper
Search For the Ancient Order-West
Trials of the Ancient Order-West
The Gospel Advocate 1866-1917
Encyl. of the Stone-Campbell Mvmnt.