 The pioneers of the movement were seeking to restore a primitive form of Christianity different from what the Restoration Movement taught.The movement was inspired by the spiritual pilgrimages of modern evangelical writers like Thomas Howard, Robert E. Webber, Peter E. Gillquist, and ancient Christian writers such as the Church Fathers and their communities.These men, along with theologians, scripture scholars, and pastors in a number of traditions, were calling Christians back to what they saw as their roots in the early church prior to the Great Schism and State Church of the Roman Empire.