Category Archives: The Future of the Churches of Christ

The Future of the Churches of Christ: Generic Evangelicalism

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Jay F Guin

Most readers will know this, but I need to explain this for those who aren’t familiar with the Christian world outside the Churches of Christ. “Evangelistic” means “tries to convert the lost to Jesus.” You knew that, of course. “Evangelical” … Continue reading →

Posted in The Future of the Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | 173 Comments

The Future of the Churches of Christ: Dealing with the Numbers

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Jay F Guin

Let’s think about the statistics we discussed a couple of posts ago. At the current rate of decline — assuming no acceleration — the Churches of Christ will hit zero members in 121 years. But, of course, for at least … Continue reading →

Posted in The Future of the Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | 44 Comments

The Future of the Churches of Christ: Core Values of a Church in Decline

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Jay F Guin

Appropriate to the last post opf this series, Perry Noble has posted an article on the core values of a church in decline. Here are the first three — #1 – Laziness – Most people/churches are not “stuck” or in … Continue reading →

Posted in The Future of the Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | 10 Comments

The Future of the Churches of Christ: The Latest (Sad) Numbers

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Jay F Guin

The Christian Chronicle has recently reported that the number of Church of Christ adherents (members and their unbaptized children) continues to decline. Since 2003, the number is down 102,000 or 6.2%. During the same time, the number of congregations fell by … Continue reading →

Posted in The Future of the Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | 73 Comments

The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: The Christian Standard’s June 13, 2010 Issue, Part 8 (Follow Up Questions re Baptism)

Posted on July 25, 2010 by Jay F Guin

Understandably, given how many readers are in Restoration Movement denominations or else have Restoration Movement roots, the question of baptism keeps coming up when I propose treating other denominations as fellow believers and Christians. Baptism has long been a boundary … Continue reading →

Posted in The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | 45 Comments

The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: The Christian Standard’s June 13, 2010 Issue, Part 8 (Painting a Picture)

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Jay F Guin

Imagine, if you will, a community without denominations. Here in West Alabama, for example, imagine that all the congregations of Christ’s church decide to cooperate in all things. They begin with the easiest form of cooperation: benevolence. They begin small, … Continue reading →

Posted in The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | 16 Comments

The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: The Christian Standard’s June 13, 2010 Issue, Part 7 (Campbell on Unity)

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Jay F Guin

It’s ironic that our (in the narrow sense) insistence on cooperating only with those as doctrinally pure as we violates our founding principles. Yes, really. The one fact is, that Jesus the Nazarene is the Messiah. The evidence upon which … Continue reading →

Posted in The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | 8 Comments

The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: The Christian Standard’s June 13, 2010 Issue, Part 6 (What We Lose)

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Jay F Guin

Okay. This is the part where we talk some more about what we lose if we give up our denominations. And it’s not as though they serve no purpose at all. In fact, denominations do quite a lot. 1. Missions. … Continue reading →

Posted in The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: The Christian Standard’s June 13, 2010 Issue, Part 5 (What I’m Not Saying; What We Have to Give Up)

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Jay F Guin

I think it’ll help if I say plainly what I’m not saying. 1. I’m not saying that all the denominations should all merge into new super-denomination with a uniform worship pattern, uniform organizational structure, and perfectly uniform doctrine. That was … Continue reading →

Posted in The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | 24 Comments

The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: The Christian Standard’s June 13, 2010 Issue, Parts 3 & 4 (Ephesians Gives the Answer)

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Jay F Guin

[re-written and expanded] We should not ask the question in terms of the future of the progressive Churches of Christ or the Restoration Movement. To ask about our subgroup is to assume that God wants our subgroup to have a … Continue reading →

Posted in The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | 93 Comments