Church of Christ, Instrumental

The Church of Christ, Instrumental, also known as Kelleyites, are a baptistic body of Christians based in
central Arkansas.

Names
In the only book written about this group they are called the Church of Christ, Instrumental or Kelleyites.
Elder E. J. Lambert, a Primitive Baptist minister who was raised among this body, and whose father was a
minister of the Church of Christ, Instrumental, in his autobiography consistently refers to them as the
Church of Christ (Kelly Division of Missionary Baptists).[1] They are referred to as Kelleyites in official
documents of the Works Progress Administration in the 1940s.[2]

History
The Kelleyites owe their name and origin to Samuel Kelley. Kelley was born in 1817 in what is now Pike
County, Arkansas, but in early adulthood he moved to Illinois. In Illinois, he first connected himself to the
Methodists, but later joined the Baptists and was ordained by them in 1838. Shortly after this he returned to
Arkansas. A difference in practice between the Baptists with whom he was connected in Illinois and the
Baptists in Arkansas was evidently a contributing factor to the rise of the Kelley division of the missionary
Baptist church. Among other things, the Baptists in Illinois received Samuel Kelley on his Methodist
baptism, which was foreign to the practice of Arkansas Baptists.[3]

Kelley was a prominent and successful citizen by the standards of his day. He lived in Pike County and
later in Howard County. He was elected to at least one term in the State Legislature. His church was a
member of the Red River Baptist Association. In 1856, Kelley was invited to preach at the meeting of the
Caddo River Baptist Association. In this sermon, he preached the doctrine of apostasy, or falling from
grace. The next morning the Caddo River Association passed resolutions against Elder Kelley, his doctrine
of apostasy, the fact he had not been baptized by a Baptist, and also withdrew fellowship from the Red
River Association. The next year the Red River Association excluded Samuel Kelley and his followers.
Kelley evidently preached between 1857 and 1870 wherever he could. In 1870, Kelley convinced the
Philippi Baptist Church to adopt open communion and change their name to the Philippi Church of Christ.
The only change to "Church of Christ" would simply mean dropping the Baptist name from the common
practice of that day (i.e., Philippi Baptist Church of Christ becomes Philippi Church of Christ). This church
withdrew from the Caddo River Association that year, and the Caddo River Association also withdrew
from them. This can be considered the official date of the division of the Kelleyites from the Baptists
(although persons such as Elder Lambert still considered them to be Missionary Baptists).[4] Other churches
were organized and existing churches adopted the doctrine and practice of the Kelleyites, and this
movement grew for a time. Later the movement would decline, and now (2003) survives with 5 churches -
4 in Hot Spring County, Arkansas and 1 in Clark County, Arkansas. Membership is estimated at about 400
in the 5 congregations. Perhaps the ecumenical nature of the church's doctrine, rather than lack of
evangelization, has led to the decline in churches and membership.[5]

Doctrine and practice

After their separation from the Caddo River and Red River Associations, the Kelleyites formed The
Council of the Church of Christ. This council is fashioned on the order of a Baptist association and meets
annually. Rules are similar and they preserve the autonomy of the local church. The council has no
authority to act on local church matters, nor even to advise unless the church asks them to do so.[6]

The major differences doctrinally between the Kelleyites and the missionary Baptists of Arkansas at the
time of division was that the Kelleyites held final apostasy (or falling from grace), open communion, and
alien baptism.[7] The Kelleyite theology is somewhat of a mixture of old time Methodist and Baptist
doctrine.[8] They are similar in doctrine and practice to the Free Will Baptists, but have evidently never had
any connection with them.[9] In addition to baptism and the Lord's supper, they also hold feet washing as
an ordinance. This is an issue that would separate them from most present-day missionary Baptists in
Arkansas, but would have been of little consequence in the mid-19th century. The church has three offices:
pastor, elder, and deacon.[10] The Kelleyites preserve their links to the Baptists by using the Sunday School
literature of the American Baptist Association.[11]

The church doctrine is ecumenical in nature, but article 14 (adopted in 1952) of their constitution states,
"No minister, except regular ordained ministers of the Church of Christ, shall be permitted to preach or
conduct services in any individual church without special permission from the pastor and members of that
particular church. (Exceptions being made for funerals.)" This article reveals an interest in self-preservation
- though they desire fellowship with other Christians, they also seek to preserve what they feel in their
unique heritage.[12]

The churches often label their church signs as Church of Christ, Instrumental to differentiate them from the
Churches of Christ (non-instrumental) movement of Alexander Campbell and others.

Notes
1. Elbert J. Lambert, Tried in the Furnace, 1981, pp. 15, 20, 26, et al.
2. Work Projects Administration, Historical Records Survey Church Inventory, Forms 70, 75,
86, 89, 1941
3. Willard D. Hughes, Welcome, Church of Christ - Instrumental: A Study of the Kelleyites,
1977, p. 13ff.
4. Elbert J. Lambert, Tried in the Furnace, op. cit.
5. Willard D. Hughes, Welcome, Church of Christ - Instrumental: A Study of the Kelleyites,
1977, p. 43
6. Willard D. Hughes, Welcome, Church of Christ - Instrumental: A Study of the Kelleyites,
1977, p. 25ff.
7. Willard D. Hughes, Welcome, Church of Christ - Instrumental: A Study of the Kelleyites,
1977, pp. 17-18, 35-36
8. Pioneer Faith, History and Archives Committee of the State Association of Missionary
Baptist Churches of Arkansas, 1994, p. 398
9. Willard D. Hughes, Welcome, Church of Christ - Instrumental: A Study of the Kelleyites,
1977, p. 22
10. Willard D. Hughes, Welcome, Church of Christ - Instrumental: A Study of the Kelleyites,
1977, pp. 39-42
11. Pioneer Faith, History and Archives Committee of the State Association of Missionary
Baptist Churches of Arkansas, p. 411
12. Willard D. Hughes, Welcome, Church of Christ - Instrumental: A Study of the Kelleyites,
1977, p. 31

References
Pioneer Faith, History and Archives Committee of the State Association of Missionary
Baptist Churches of Arkansas, Malvern, AR, 1994
Tried in the Furnace: Autobiography, Editorials, and Articles, by Elbert J. Lambert, Print
Shop, Gordonville, PA, 1981
Welcome, Church of Christ - Instrumental: A Study of the Kelleyites, by Willard D. Hughes,
Missionary Baptist Seminary Press, Little Rock, AR, 1977

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