Several years ago, my church had Patrick visit to speak on Missions Sunday — when we pass the hat for one year’s worth of missions contributions. And the church just loved him. (I think I can still remember his three points — from 10 years ago.) Then we had him in a second time.
He was, at the time, new to us here in West Alabama, but it was obvious to us that he would soon be well known throughout the Churches of Christ — and we called that one exactly right.
Some years later, I started blogging and had some minor success — just enough to keep me typing. Brad Palmore’s Theobloggers group decided to hold a contest to honor the best Church of Christ bloggers in various categories. And before I could rally my readers to even nominate me, Patrick had been nominated by his loyal readers for every single category from Best Overall to Miss Congeniality. The best I can recall, he came in first, second, and third place in every single category. The guy is just that good. (And, no, I’m not the least bit bitter. Not me.)
Patrick maintains an unbelievably busy schedule of preaching, ministering, and speaking at events all over the country — and posting at two different blogs, presently Traveling Mead and Patrick Mead: Just Another Wineskins.org Site. The first is primarily personal and the second will be more theological — I assume much along the lines of his previous Tentpegs blog.
Unfortunately, Patrick has taken down his previous blogs, anticipating that he might convert them into books. Hence, I have to pass over some of his most remarkable, poignant writing. I guess we’ll all have to wait for the books.
But you can get a taste of the writer who is Patrick Mead from this recent post —
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It seems odd to take two passages from Paul [regarding women] and make them applicable in every time and every place and culture when we do not do that with many other statements he made that were equally stark and direct. In First Corinthians 11 he tells men to pray with their head uncovered while women are to pray with their heads covered. He also tells us to pray without ceasing so I assume we would have to make sure men never wear hats and women always wear them…unless he had something else in mind. I would suggest that he did. In that same passage he tells us that it is a shame for a man to have long hair – using the same word that he uses for homosexual acts (whether in or out of pagan worship settings is a discussion for another time). Ask Christians today if long hair on men is a sin and the vast majority would say it is not. They think Paul was using an illustration that meant something in his time but has lost its meaning in ours. But if that is true, is it not worth our while to investigate the reason Paul made his statement on women three chapters later? This is a fair question, especially since Paul has spent time in chapter 11 and 14 giving rules for how women pray and prophesy in the assembly. That he would write all these other passages and then deny them the right to speak at all is so jarring that many scholars believe he did not write 14:34 at all.
Is that just a cheap way out? Not really. While that passage exists with minor variance in wording in all ancient manuscripts we have found so far, it often occurs in a different place within that chapter, as if it were a later tradition being worked into the text (as was the story of the adulterous woman in John 8). In fact, take a moment to pick up your Bible and read First Corinthians 14 and leave out vv.34,35. It flows much better, doesn’t it? The thought isn’t broken up and Paul gets to finish his point. These reasons, among others, are why so many people who spend their lives studying these manuscripts believe Paul didn’t write those two verses.
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Ahh! But wait!! I remember that I quoted an older post by Patrick extensively in one my old blog posts.
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So why should I spend my time attacking a homosexual? Isn’t that just going for an easy target?
I will teach them the Word while I love them, but I will not withdraw that love. I have proven that time and time again in my life. I have stayed by the bedside of men with AIDS while they struggled for breath and cried that their family wouldn’t come to see them; had written them off as dead already. I have hugged men right after they got the diagnosis of AIDS and sobbed. I have also stood still while I’ve been cursed, screamed at, and accused of being evil, personally, and being the agent of an evil God because of my beliefs. I will probably do all of this again, if God allows me to live long enough. I pray that I will never run out of love and patience with these men, because I know I am lost if God ever runs out of love and patience with me.
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And that’s some of the best writing on the entire Internet.
The last paragraph is a beautiful piece. I know a woman who has worked in Home Care with men suffering from AIDS. I know for a fact that there were times when she helped someone who had fallen, covered in their own urine, back to bed before thinking to put on gloves, leaving her own clothes soaked.
She is a Christian. But, as far as I know she does not carry a Bible in her purse; she does not pray over her food in public, at least as far as one can see; she does not walk around singing hymns, at least as far as one can hear; and, as for what I have seen, she does not engage in debate as to who is accepted by God and who is not. Her attention is simply on human beings.
Patrick is a precious gift to the churches of Christ and beyond. He consistently challenges his readers and listeners to think, and changed lives follow in his wake.
“In fact, take a moment to pick up your Bible and read First Corinthians 14 and leave out vv.34,35. It flows much better, doesn’t it? The thought isn’t broken up and Paul gets to finish his point. These reasons, among others, are why so many people who spend their lives studying these manuscripts believe Paul didn’t write those two verses.”
If we are left to our own authority to determine what parts of the bible should, and shouldn’t be accepted as true, what does that do to inspiration ? I seem to remember some men doubting that the book of John was actually written by the Apostle John. If we can’t trust who the author is, how can we trust what they wrote. I believe that is exactly why the CoC has so many problems. As Patrick suggests if it is hard to understand “leave it out”. “In fact, take a moment to pick up your Bible and read First Corinthians 14 and leave out vv.34,35”.
In my opinion Patrick does quite a bit of that. Now that he has admitted it in writing it is not just my opinion.
2Pe 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
As Peter said a long time ago, Paul’s writings are sometimes hard to understand, that doesn’t mean he didn’t write them.
Oh by the way, if you notice I didn’t disagree with Patrick, I have tried many times to point out inconsistencies in the bible. especially in Paul’s letters. As you can well guess I wasn’t greeted with kudos, heretic was my greeting. or so you claim to know more than the writers. I can and I will continue to take the abuse in order to speak out about such things.
I appreciate your honest “opinions” Laymond. You should consider some research in textual criticism and it might be forced to change some of them. We’re all entitled to our opinions but not our own facts which is why we should be diligent bible students and students of history.
God will judge by His knowing the heart of each of us. I don’t believe there will be a written exam you must pass to be given heaven, or to hell with you if you fail to answer correctly regardless of how you served and lived your life.
tim miller, an example of exactly what I just wrote. I can agree with what Patrick said, and I am the slothful lazy heretic. Where is your criticism of Patrick. He is the one who said leave this stuff out, because Paul never said it. I just agree with him. Like I said what you think of me doesn’t matter I don’t know you and never will.
tim miller, 1Cr 4:3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.
Laymond is exactly right.
How’s this for circular reasoning:
1). We are saved by faith (bible says so)
2). How do we know that is trustworthy? Because the bible tells us so.
3). How do we come to trust the bible? The bible tells us to have faith in it.
4). What if we don’t believe the bible? Then we don’t have faith, and are told to read the bible more to gain faith.
Patrick Mead gets my vote as being an outstanding and greatly-to-be-admired speaker of truth for God. Jay Guin is the same. Do I agree with everything Patrick writes or says? Probably not. But how greatly I admire him and his desire to share God’s love with others! Tim Miller wrote:
I agree we ALL should be diligent BIBLE students and students of history. How blessed we are when gifted writers remind us of what great men and women of the past have said and done. This is especially true when the reminder is about JESUS of Nazareth, of course. But I love to hear what Carl Ketcherside said and wrote in former days and what Leroy Garrett is saying still this day! And of course it’s good to read from ones who share my appreciation for Jay Guin and Al Maxey and Edward Fudge and Rick Atchley. And MIKE HUCKABEE and Judge Jeanine also, of course.
I can’t get enough of listening to his sermons and classes on itunes
Correction on one of my comments, I do not agree with Patrick that we should leave out what we don’t understand. I agree with him that it is in conflict with other things Paul is supposed to have written.