The Lord will provide: James A. Harding, J. M. McCaleb, William J. Bishop, and the emergence of faith missions in the Churches of Christ, 1892--1913

By 1890 the Churches of Christ earned the ignominious reputation of being "anti-missionary" by opposing the American Christian Missionary Society. This thesis contends that James A. Harding reversed this trend by appropriating faith missions as an alternative model for missionary support. He and his followers embodied, propagated, and firmed up his teachings so that his trust principles were woven into the missionary fabric of the newly formed identity of the Churches of Christ.;Previously social historians contended that the Churches of Christ were primarily a product of the Age of Reason but their accounts have failed to account for the pietistic missionaries that this movement produced. In contrast, this dissertation highlights the role that faith, holiness, and an otherworldly perspective played in the mobilization of its first generation of missionaries.;The method of investigation is historical research including archival usage and the consultation of primary sources supplemented by the historical backdrop provided by secondary materials. This dissertation employs a "lived religion" approach to examine the exchange of ideas between a leader, and two practitioners along with their associates, in order to construct a history of the first decades of their foreign missionary enterprise.;The first chapter establishes the social and religious context in which Harding formed his trust theory and examines his influence as a preacher, educator and writer in helping these non-missionary society churches to engage in global evangelism without compromising their commitment to congregational autonomy. The second chapter describes the work of the churches' first cross-cultural missionary, John Moody McCaleb, in popularizing Harding's ideals through his prolific writing and extensive travel. The third chapter demonstrates that the tragic death of the first missionary, William J. Bishop, challenged and validated the full implementation of Harding's concepts.;There are at least two implications of this study. First, the insufficiency of the rationalistic paradigm formerly applied to this religious group calls for a re-examination of its overall history in light of the spirituality of its faith-based missions. Second, by reconstructing how the trust theory took hold and emboldened missionaries of the Churches of Christ, historians now have a way more accurately defining the movement by its positive traits.