Brotherhood of the Kingdom

The Brotherhood of the Kingdom was a group of the leading thinkers and advocates of the Social Gospel, founded in 1892 by Walter Rauschenbusch and Leighton Williams. The group was non-denominational, consisting of authors, pastors and orators from a variety of Christian Protestant backgrounds.

The first meeting of the brotherhood took place in August, 1893 at the home of member Leighton Williams in Marlborough, New York. Meetings would continue annually until 1915 at this hill-top retreat, with members presenting papers, speeches and debates regarding the social gospel and how the coming kingdom of Jesus necessitated social advocacy on the part of the church.

At its first gathering, the brotherhood adopted a mission statement and eight principles to govern its organization, unity, purpose and ongoing commitment to public propagation for the social gospel. These they called the “Spirit and Aims of the Brotherhood.”

The Spirit of God is moving men in our generation toward a better understanding of the idea of the Kingdom of God on earth. Obeying the thought of our Master, and trusting in the power and guidance of the Spirit, we form ourselves into a Brotherhood of the Kingdom, in order to re-establish this idea in the thought of the church, and to assist in its practical realization in the world.

2. Each member shall propagate the thoughts of Jesus to the limits of his or her ability, in private conversation, by correspondence, and through the pulpit, platform and press.
3. Each member shall lay special stress on the social aims of Christianity, and shall endeavor to make Christ’s teachings concerning wealth operative in the church.
4. On the other hand, members shall take pains to keep in contact with the common people, and to infuse the religious spirit into the efforts for social amelioration.
5. The members shall seek to strengthen the bond of brotherhood by frequent meetings for prayer and discussion, by correspondence, exchange of articles written, etc.
6. Regular reports shall be made of the work done by members in such manner as the executive committee may appoint.
7. The members shall seek to procure for one another opportunities for public propaganda.
8. If necessary, they shall give their support to one another in the public defense of the truth, and shall jealously guard the freedom of discussion for any man who is impelled by the love of the truth to utter his thoughts.

Through their positions as pastors and professors, four members of the brotherhood became the leading voices for its aims and social agenda. Walter Rauschenbusch was a professor of church history at Rochester Baptist Seminary. Leighton Williams was the pastor of Amity Baptist Church in New York City, and also a founding member of the American Economic Association. William Newton Clark was a professor of theology at Colgate Seminary. Samuel Zane Batten was a pastor and founding member of the Northern Baptist Convention.

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