Explorer in Search of Zion: The Spiritual Journey of David Edwin Harrell, Jr.

by John B. Weaver

Christians in the 21st century can feel like the “camel going through the eye of the needle” (Matthew 19:24) as they increase in both wealth that is often the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10) and education that might be a wisdom foolish to God (1 Cor 1:20). This is the story of the spiritual challenges of affluence and upward social mobility told by the world-renowned religious scholar, Dr. David Edwin Harrell Jr. (1930-2021). His numerous pioneering histories of lower class and marginalized Christian movements in American history – from the Disciples of Christ to the Assemblies of God – demonstrated society’s gradual pull of members of these churches away from their original Bible-based and countercultural sects and into more worldly denominations. Harrell’s life also traveled this road of increasing influence and acceptance into the highest levels of cultural standing as a dean among historians of American church history and as a Fulbright Scholar and State Department envoy to India. But Harrell resisted the domestication of his own personal faith, converting to discipleship to Jesus within the most countercultural wing of the American Restoration Movement, the congregational (non-institutional) churches of Christ. This biography is the heretofore untold story of Harrell’s lifelong spiritual pilgrimage through 70 years of religious publishing, itinerant preaching, doctrinal discussion, and global missionary efforts. It is a journey leading to a uniquely informed advocacy for restoring primitive Christianity in the present day and seeking to follow the New Testament pattern for individual faith and congregational practice in independent local churches around the world. Throughout his life, Harrell would guide younger Christians into better understanding of restoration movements seeking to follow both Jesus and his apostles in their self-emptying love and revelation of God’s will. This was, Harrell observed, a long and honorable history of ostracized sects seeking to escape the corruptions of history to be simply Christian. The history of humble spiritual journey toward God amid societal affluence and worldly attainment is also his story.

432 pages, Paperback

Published January 20, 2025

Reviews

[Travis Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A biography that won’t have broad appeal (solely due to its subject matter), but in its narrow sphere, should carry weight. Outside of Christians in non-institutional Churches of Christ (a small subset of a subset within the greater Christian scene in America), Ed Harrell would hold few people’s interest. Yet, within that subset, of which I’m a part, it fills a lacuna. Of the limited histories written on our movement, they either taper off toward a focus on the larger institutional wing (e.g. Richard Hughes’s), or they cut off before the 21st century (e.g. Ed Harrell’s on Homer Hailey). This entry, on the other hand, by focusing on the life of Ed Harrell, fills a void and addresses those gaps, especially bringing to light and analysis some of the fellowshipping squabbles that took place throughout the 90s to create much of a present culture we grapple with today.

[Ben Torno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both thoughtful and thought-provoking.

Weaver takes a slightly different tack than Harrell's Hailey bio. Instead of two discrete sections (a church history section followed by a biographical section), Weaver breaks down Harrell's life topically based on his numerous roles and hats. Commentary on the broader sociological trends within churches is interspersed throughout. Excellent overall, but just like the Hailey bio, the chapter on the never-ending internecine brotherhood spats is disheartening.

Good work from Weaver.