R.A. Long’s $1 Million Challenge

R.A. Long

“The first big step toward denominational unification came on the heels of the 1909 Centennial. R.A. Long of Kansas City, NBA’s first Vice President, offered a $1 million challenge to Disciples higher education. All Disciples agencies quickly saw the possibilities of such a unified campaign… Long’s $1 million soon became the challenge for a $6 million Men and Millions Movement, the first unified Disciples effort and the foundation stone for the United Christian Missionary Society, Unified Promotion, The Crusade for a Christian World, and present denominational structures, which followed.”

“The vision of a denominational approach to all ministries beyond the local church had been strong in NBA from its first days. For those women, and the men who came later, the dream was not simply a matter of pragmatic utility resulting from the widespread problems of mass society. It was a theological necessity emerging from Thomas Campbell’s call: ‘the church of Christ on earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one.’ Christian unity was their polar star.” (Inasmuch, p75.)