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The Torch of the Testimony

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Kennedy's succinct overview of the sweep of church history is enlightening to anyone, be they ignorant or knowledgeable of this subject. It is one of the best books I've read on this subject, and really stands out on it's own since the author comments profoundly at every stage of the developing events.

His comments make each page exciting, full of great meaning, and applicable to the present, rather than some books on history which are merely recitations of a boring string of facts. Kennedy brings out the fact of a repeating pattern of resistance against spiritual life, the fresh moves of God's Spirit throughout time----showing how man's attempts to corral this unstoppable force has caused misery, error, and great sin. The illustration of this reality is a great encouragement and source of strength to those persons at present who are being touched by the Living God with a new and vibrant experience---yet are being persecuted, ostracized and mocked by the established order wherever they may be.

Anyone who wants to have a knowledgeable overview of mankind's tendency to be spiritually arrogant or lazy at the expense of continuing maturity/Truth, needs to read this book. None other I have found approaches this topic with the same eloquence and deep insight.

This book gives a god review, not of organizational Christian history so much, but rather moves of the spirit centering on the word of God. One of the best truths that this book presents is the fact that Christians today (often referred to as evangelicals) are not a new breed. Bible centered, outreach oriented, non-ecclesiastical fellowships have existed since the beginning.
The book seeks not just to convey knowledge, but to help us learn lessons from past successes and failures of the church in a way which we can apply to our lives today. In this, the book has some deep insights. He describes the processes by which moves of the spirit are institutionalized; the pit falls to look out for while combating heresy, an interesting comparison on the life of Peter Waldo with St. Francis and the proper place of creeds and doctrine within the church.
Kennedy takes us all the way up to but not into the 20th century and, as it is only 250 pages, it obviously cannot cover everything. However, I felt it left some significant 17th-19th century things out. Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, Charles Finney and late 19th century Holiness movements (to say nothing of the rise of Pentecostalism) gets no mention. The author seems especially to focus in on "brethren" type groups which had no ecclesiastical structure and hierarchy. In interpreting some events he gives away his opinions on some doctrinal issues such as the cessation of apostles and prophets, the need for a prolonged period before baptism and he seems to think there is no longer any special role for Israel in God's purposes, though I may be just be making assumptions on that point.
All in all, it's a good book. It gives good insights into our spiritual heritage which often are neglected.

It has been something in excess of twenty years since I read John's book,Torch of the Testimony. However, he was a guest in our house at the time my first wife became ill with ovarian cancer (1989). When I had to take her to emergency, John stepped in and and took over all household chores in our absence, which included feeding our pooch.

He was a missionary among missionaries, whose main interest in life was to exalt the Son of God and to present Him to those who either hadn't heard or who had been spoiled by "Christian Religion," i.e., legalism, and needed to hear the message again. He "itinerated" over a great part of India as he was preparing his manuscript for "Torch of the Testimony," typing it on an old Royal or other portable typewriter, having spent the previous year, as a "sabbatical, doing research at various universities in UK and Europe.

We keep copies of his book on our fellowship (Puente Valley Christian Fellowship) book table for visitors and and our own members' benefit.

I included this "personal," simply because of the "heart" that exuded from this man, in both everyday life and in his book. The original hardback copy had (1960s) a Foreword by the late Professor, F.F. Bruce, which I'm sorry did not get carried over into the present paperback edition.

As to the comment by the person who commented on Kennedy's not giving Israel enough "space" in his book, it appears that Kennedy gave about as much space as the New Testament gives to Israel.

My apologies for the sort of scatter brained presentation that I have made, but I urge anyone, especially those born again persons, to carefully examine his book for themselves. It will enrich their lives.

Paul Harlan (03/13/2010

John W. Kennedy has given us a great gift that has gone largely unnoticed in the western world. "The Torch of the Testimony" uncovers the 2,000-year history of those believing Christians and churches that stood outside the Protestant and Catholic traditions.

Kennedy writes:
"The history of the working of the Spirit of God is not the history of any organization, and what usually goes by the name 'Church History' is only too often a sorry tale of bigoted quarrels and selfish intrigue. Yet the history of the two, the spiritual movement, and the earthly institution, are sometimes so closely intermingled that it is impossible to give an account of one without referring to the other." p. 56

Kennedy gives us a concise narrative of church history while distinguishing between the "spiritual church" and the organized church of man. He is gracious and honest to point out the good that was achieved within the organized church, but is consistent in his critique of both movements of the church.

He very powerfully exposes the shortcomings of the institutional church and how past saints concluded that it can never be reformed. What is needed is a return to New Testament church practice.

"The life of Christ and the Lordship of Christ through His Word are, therefore, two things which mark out the church of the New Testament. When these are supplanted by anything else, the result is a departure from the principle of Scripture and ultimate confusion." p. 177

He wonderfully weaves together the disjointed stories of the church to paint a clear picture of the challenges that still face us today. The reader can't help but be awakened to the reality that we are a part of the unfolding story of Christ's church.

In this book, you will learn about how the the church began to drift from apostolic teachings through Greco-Roman influence and opened the door for the Constantinian State in the fourth century.

You will discover the enduring testimony of the remnant that existed apart from the organized church up to the Protestant Reformation and onward. You will learn how a break from the State Church into independent movements produced denominations built upon doctrines instead of the rock of Christ.

How did we get to where we are today? Where are we in the story of God's people? Will we learn from the mistakes of the past? What will be written about us?

Will our relationship to Christ be the unifying bond that births our church practice or will we be distracted by power and cling to weapons of the world in an attempt to advance the Gospel?

I can't stress enough how important this book is to the study of the development of Christianity. This book is a "must read" for every serious student of church history.

If you are involved in organic church life and gatherings outside of the institutional church, this book should be required reading before you can say, "I am part of a house church."

If this account of church history doesn't move you... I would recommend you check your spiritual pulse.

Suggested Reading:
The Untold Story of the New Testament Church: An Extraordinary Guide to Understanding the New Testament
Paul's Idea of Community: The Early House Churches in Their Cultural Setting, Revised Edition
Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices
The Reformers and Their Stepchildren (Dissent and Nonconformity)

John W Kennedy does more for a simple and practical explanation of 'true' church history than any other author I have read! He contrasts the 'institutional' church (beginning in Jerusalem) with the 'primitive' church (beginning in Antioch). He shows how hard it is to change, no matter how much the truth is embraced. We would rather interpret truth according to our traditions than according to its source. Jerusalem struggled with the traditions of the past as the church grew. Antioch had little tradition to pass down and so more readily embraced what was happening at the time. This book develops the progress of the church largely unnoticed (primitive) by other historians, and at the same time the author brings in what was happening in the traditional church. What the author does not cover in church history does not take away from his purpose in helping us see what went on in the church that very few (if any) cover elsewhere. This is not just a 'history' book, but also a very practical guide for any serious thinker today who wants to know their 'roots' and desire meaning in what is going on! It also helps in knowing what to look for when seeking to obey God according to His Word, especially as it relates to fellowship among Christians. If I could only have one 'church history' book on my shelf, this would be it!

This is great book for anyone today who still has a pilgrim heart. Many have gone before us who honestly sought out the truth of God in their generation and this book connects the dots. I highly recommend this book as one that will deserve a prominent place both on your library shelf and in your heart!

"The 2,000 year history of those Christians-and churches-that have stood outside the Protestant-Catholic tradition. This book was originally published in India in 1964 and is little known in the western world. Beginning in the first century John Kennedy traces the history of Christian groups who remained outside formalized religion down through the ages. A stirring, passionate and sometime heart-rending story of suffering to the centrality of Christ within the Body of Christ." (from the back cover)

I first got my hands on a copy of John W. Kennedy's The Torch of the Testimony about seven years ago, sometime during my tenure at Bible college. I wasnft nearly as interested in history then as I am now-hardly at all, to be honest-so nothing about the Torch really stood out to me at that point in time. I was a little intrigued by the thought of believers coming together outside of formalized religion, but I knew so little of what that meant that I wasnft really compelled to give Kennedyfs book the time it deserved. All I remember from my brief perusal was being struck by a passing comment the author made about the testimony of the Moravians fading away because they did not have an adequate wineskin to contain the flow of spiritual life they were experiencing. I found this interesting, but I just wasnft ready to hear it.

Add a couple more years to the journey, throw in some fresh light on the Lordfs eternal purpose, including an experience of fellowship in the Body of Christ that cut clear across the grain of everything I formerly associated with the word gchurch,h and I became ready for the message of this book.

Kennedy begins by exploring the origin of the Jewish synagogue and the historical context of the first Christian communities. He highlights how God was pressing on from the day of Pentecost to gain a full and undivided expression of His Son through the church, which He found first at Antioch and then in the Gentile assemblies spread throughout the Empire.

Chapters three and four examine the spiritual life and order of those churches, as best as they can be garnered from scripture, and the signs of declension which were in evidence as early on as the Jerusalem church. Ultimately threats of division, self-appointed leadership, and false teaching culminated in a widespread departure from primitive order stemming from the loss of spiritual life among the people. The development of the clergy system, consolidation of power in a single man, the rise of a federated church system-Kennedy shows how all these were unfortunate reactions of human expediency against the many perils facing the community of believers.

From there he goes on to consider the triumph of Constantine and his alliance of church and state, various reactions against the ensuing spiritual fornication of the gchurchh (so-called) with the world, and then the long and often overlooked history of the gtorch bearersh-nameless groups of believers who held to the primitive testimony of Jesus Christ as preeminent over all things. Here is where the story gets especially bloody.

Eventually the path leads us to the Reformation of the sixteenth century, the believers called Anabaptists (independent churches who received as much persecution from the hands of the Protestants as they did Catholics), and a number of other groups who sought namelessness but were again and again labeled by their accusors according to the name of some outstanding figure among them or some practice which roused the particular hatred of the establishment. Sadly, according to historian Will Durant, gthe church has killed only two types of people: those who do not believe in the teachings of Jesus and those who do.h And again, from Philip Schaff: gMore Christian blood has been shed by Christians than by heathens and Mohammedans.h

Kennedy concludes with a general history of the Plymouth Brethren in the mid-1800s (Ifm still waiting for someone to take up the story from there) and a summary chapter on some of the lessons we may learn from both the mistakes and triumphs of the past. hThe denominations of today are often the churches of yesterday,h he reminds us, and declares to the reader in no uncertain terms that

"the testimony of the church is positive, not merely reactionaryc It is a testimony to the truth that all who are born of the Spirit into the family of Christ are one, and must grow and witness together in the fellowship of the church where the Lord dwells in their midst. The church meets on that positive ground, neither adding anything to it, nor taking anything away. But it entails sacrifice. It means the taking up of the cross, the cross of misunderstanding, of shame, of being called eseparationists.f Yet every spiritual movement has begun in sacrifice. That is another of historyfs lessons.

"The true church is the scene of a continual spiritual struggle for its own existencec If we do not hold firmly on to the fellowship of the church, it will slip from our grasp. It is of all things most vehemently assailed. It is tempted to compromise with organized Christianity. It is tempted to organize itself in order to conserve what it has gained. It is tempted to sectarianism by limiting its growth to a certain emphasis of Christian truth. When it succumbs to any of these temptations, declension follows, for progress has been limited, and when it has reached the end of its possible progress, it must fade out as a spiritual power."

There are just so many lines like this one to quote from The Torch of the Testimony that I have struggled with what to leave out and what to include in this review. At any rate, I highly recommend this work to anyone who is interested in the history of the church in the margins. You will be convicted, intrigued, inspired, and challenged by the witness of history, whose testimony unequivocaly declares, in Kennedyfs own words, that

"churches as they were in the times of the apostles have never ceased to existc wherever God works through the power of His unchangeable Word, people made partakers of the divine nature, anxious to obey the Word which has shed a flood of light into their souls, have gathered together and are gathering together as the disciples did in Acts."

Gives a succinct understanding of the spiritual and carnal history of the "church" from the time of Jesus. It cleared up questions I've had.

There's the "headline" history of the Christian church--in its broad form: names, dates, places, etc. and then this one: what God's Spirit is doing in Christ's remnant church--a thread through a pearl necklace.
If you want to get off the "air-conditioned bus guided tour" and see the past 2000 years "behind the scenes," cherish this work. Charles Wenzel

"Church is the sphere of the rule of Christ who dells in the midst of His people. Where subservience and devotion to Him remain the basic factors and rule of the church's life, His rule reaches down into the spirit and soul of a man which are the source of all his actions...the true, spiritual history of the church often takes its course through the generations of those who were despised by organized Christendom and not through the edifice of traditional Christianity." John W. Kennedy, The Torch of the Testimony

It has been stated that the "Acts of the Apostles" should be more correctly titled, the "Acts of the Holy Spirit." It has also been stated that the book of Acts is an open-ended book without a clear "ending" because the Acts of the Holy Spirit were just getting started. In my opinion, this book gives us a slice of the Acts of the Holy Spirit throughout the last 2000 years of church history outside of religious church structures that had hardned into dry forms, rituals, and ceremony.

This book deserves a wider audience among believers, not only those who are seeking more organic expressions of meeting together as the early church did, in simplicity, in devotion to apostolic teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer, but of those who are in institutional churches as well. The reason I say this is that both groups need to understand and appreciate the ultimate price that our brothers and sisters have paid in order to pursue the Lord with singularity of heart in their attempt to return to scriptural principles of meeting together without the benefit of ecclesiastical hierarchies, orders of service, or ritual and ceremony.

In all of my years, I have never understood why so many devoted believers were exiled, jailed, tortured, beheaded, burned at the stake, and hung by religious authorities, both Catholic and Protestant, that claimed to be churches of Jesus Christ. I never understood why those who translated the bible into the common language of the people were also hung and burned at the stake. This book explains the inexplicable and the threat these simple believers presented to the church authorities.

I learned as well why God moved revival to Antioch even as the Jerusalem revival that took place at Pentecost began to harden into form and ritual and ceremony. Indeed, this is the pattern that emerges throughout the spiritual history of the church. First revival breaks out in an organic fashion, then tenants and doctrines are set up to solidify the fresh move of God into set forms, and then the forms harden into apathy and ceremonialisms void of spiritual vitality. As Kennedy writes about God's move from Jerusalem to Antioch in this way:

"The Spirit of God had to move elsewhere to start on fresh and more free ground. We see here but the beginning of a pattern of events which is repeated over and over again throughout the history of the church. When that which is revealed of God is crystallized into a tradition, rigidly held and propagated with purely human energy, it becomes an impenetrable barrier to the truth. The life of the Spirit can never be confined within the framework of religious tradition. God is much greater than man's thoughts concerning Him, and the plan of the church grows best in a soil uncluttered by the pretty hedgerows of man's limited understanding."

I also learned what place Augustine, whom I have always admired, played in institutionalizing "violence" within the church as a method of conversion.

As Kennedy writes:

"In Augustine we see the confusion of spiritual life and ideals with ecclesiastical barbarism. Probably no man has made such a great contribution to Christian thinking as Augustine, and probably no man has made such a great contribution to the establishment of the Roman Church and the perpetration of centuries of ruthlessness in the name of Christ."

I cannot recommend this book enough to seekers who desire to know how God has been actively moving throughout the spiritual history of His church outside of "organized Christianity." Here you will find the "torch of the testimony" burning brightly throughout 2000 years of a gospel that speaks of a living Christ who desires direct access to His people without the haze and obfuscations of forms, rituals, or the consent of clerical hierarchies which have ordained themselves as either heads of Christ's church, or as mediators between God and man. There is only one Head of the church, and one mediator between man and God, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. It seems those who really understood this, who practiced such a radical faith, were willing to pay such a radical price, because they knew such a radical Lord.

"Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 2 Cor. 3:17