Churches of Christ in Oklahoma: A History by W. David Baird

Abstract

Reviewed by: Churches of Christ in Oklahoma: A History by W. David Baird Jason Fikes Churches of Christ in Oklahoma: A History. By W. David Baird. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2020. ix + 263 pp. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $24.95 paper. Local autonomy defines Churches of Christ, and for over 190 years these congregations have functioned without any formal adjudicating body or shared written statement of faith. Baird's careful research reveals how this loose network has evolved in the state of Oklahoma, serving as a hotbed for competing and even mutually exclusive religious ideas. The earliest chapters trace the tireless ministry of traveling missionaries, especially Meta Chestnutt, one of Oklahoma's pioneering female educational administrators. Baird then turns his attention and drills down, devoting almost half his book (five crucial chapters) to the years 1906 to 1945. The final four chapters relate significant trends among Oklahoma Churches of Christ from 1945 to the early years of the twenty-first century. Scholars have long observed that, from World War I to the outset of the Cold War, large portions of United States Churches of Christ eagerly followed nationalistic trends. Oklahoma was no exception, and Baird outlines the rise and fall of the peace tradition among Churches of Christ in the state. Cordell Christian College, a small but influential school, served as the chief center for pacifism until it closed under government duress in 1918. As World War II dawned, fearing criticism, few Oklahoma preachers dared to discuss pacifism publicly. Later leaders like George S. Benson, a native of Dewey County who effectively stabilized and promoted Oklahoma Christian University, abandoned any sense of pacifism, fully embracing Americanism, anticommunism, and an antiliberal agenda. Similarly, Baird shows that early in the twentieth century, members of Churches of Christ who were poor working-class farmers supported radical socialism. However, promising evangelists like Orville Enfield drew withering persecution for their nonconformity and were ostracized from places of institutional leadership. Twentieth-century Churches of Christ experienced remarkable numerical growth, establishing several significant nonprofit organizations for aid, education, and mission work. Still, most white congregations were slow to see race as a pressing social concern. The majority of that work fell to black preachers like Franklin Florence and Clyde Muse. Baird's close coverage of race relations hints at the wide range of social topics and primary sources he has incorporated into his narrative. Some readers may tire of Baird's extensive coverage of the group's intense doctrinal disputes. But to understand the radical polarization in contemporary Churches of Christ, one needs greater familiarity with these broad interpretive debates. Baird's study ably assists readers in increasing their respect for this easily misunderstood religious tradition. Jason Fikes Director, ACU Press Abilene Christian University Copyright © 2022 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln