Suggestions?

26 Responses to Suggestions?

1. Royce Ogle says:

   December 29, 2013 at 8:41 pm

   I suggest you avoid topics that have been beat to death already.

   For what it’s worth, I’m not a fan of studying someone’s latest book (Even if it was one of my favorites). I much prefer to know what God is teaching you. I have a ton of respect for you and appreciate your scholarship. Your patience with me and a few other knuckleheads is commendable.

   May 2014 be your best year, in every way.
2. rlbaty says:

   December 29, 2013 at 9:05 pm

   I would expect you to cover the developments in the FFRF v. IRS – IRC 107 case.

   Most commenters think there is going to be an appeal in that case. If so, there may be religious amici coming out of the woodwork to try and help the feds defend IRC 107(2); as well as opposition amici from the other side.

   Time will tell.

   If there is interest, you may even work on developing the story behind that story.
3. Skip says:

   December 29, 2013 at 9:29 pm

   Jay, thanks for asking. I suggest steering away from doctrines and covering topics such as: how to help the church grow, discipleship and what it means for a Christian, deeper prayer, what is worship, why do churches stay small when in Acts it grew rapidly, how to be real and open with others, can we fellowship with believers of other faiths, how to lead others to Christ, exposition of a short Bible book.
4. John says:

   December 30, 2013 at 6:23 am

   I would like to suggest, “The Progress of the Progressive Movement”. Not to necessarily bring politics and social issues into the mix, but the reality is that among CoC progressives you have social liberals and conservatives, whose approach to the Bible do clash at times.
5. Dwayne Phillips says:

   December 30, 2013 at 6:56 am

   Two controversial topics:

   (1) will the amillennials ever accept the premillennials (and will I ever learn how to spell millennial)?

   (2) AND SOMETHING REALLY CONTROVERSIAL, the great American sin of gluttony
6. David P Himes says:

   December 30, 2013 at 8:16 am

   I’m interested in a discussion of the canon. It has broad implications
7. Timothy Archer says:

   December 30, 2013 at 9:03 am

   Please forgive if you’ve addressed this. I have long heard the debate over whether the biblical idea was one eldership per congregation or one per city. I’ve recently become aware of a group of small churches in an area where the churches of Christ are not strong who are considering a regional eldership, with one or two men from each congregation. I’d be interested in your thoughts.
8. Scott Stegall says:

   December 30, 2013 at 9:21 am

   ideas on how to plant bible based churches that strive to reach young people…. particularly the young people who were raised in the CofC and since departed to other bible based churches or nowhere….
9. Charles Mclean says:

   December 30, 2013 at 10:10 am

   I am up for a discussion of elders in the city, or the church in the city. One of the points of interest I can see is that these are not merely a remedial modification of our current form but something of an entirely different order. Thanks, Tim.
10. tmclure says:

    December 30, 2013 at 12:48 pm

    First, what a brave soul you are to open this up. Kudos. The following suggestions are based on my assumptions that you are working toward unity of believers, and would like to see the exit from Churches of Christ cease. In my opionion, one factor relating to both is that of “climate” or “atmosphere” in assemblies. This becomes complicated by the fact that almost any sizeable “group” of people today is a consortium of “subgroups”–by age, “class,” stage in life, etc. One must explore what ingredients combine to produce an “atmosphere” that yields the sense of “LIFE” “Joyful Togetherness” “Presence of God” “Power” & “Freedom in Christ” as opposed to their opposites. Each pair, “LIFE” “DEATH” etc. should be represented on an axis and viewed along the spectrum. I have been rather obsessed with these matters for a long time now, but will not bore you with particulars.
11. tmcluret says:

    December 30, 2013 at 1:34 pm

    To what I said above, I add that the notion of “atmosphere” is MUCH MORE COMPLEX than often appears in published discussions on the topic. What I refer to goes way beyond lighting, music, whether the sick or talked about from the pulpit or not, who gets to the microphone and who is forbidden. I refer to a “sense” of spiritual “health” and “vitality” and the notion of a “living & growing, transforming and fertile Body” which is not locked into nor limited by forces of sociology and psychology, but rather transcends all that via uninterrupted connection with the living God, engagement with the mission(s) of Christ and empowering of the active Spirit. I refer to a body that is loving God with all the heart and soul/life and mind and strength, then loving the “one another” members–in 1 John language, whose “fellowship is with the Father” and then with one another. Please don’t be insulted by the following, because you inherited a legacy just as I did: Young people leave churches for a variety of reasons, one being that they have not been through the desensitization process (to the smell of death) and are too impatient to remain around long enough to go through it. The good news is that this is a problem that can be corrected by–as Paul says it in Galatians–“you who are spiritual.”
12. Mark says:

    December 30, 2013 at 5:03 pm

    I am glad that you have provided a forum where issues can be discussed and debated.

    One idea is to ask various congregations (either members, ministers, or leadership) what they are doing to reach out to young people. Since many studies have said that the young are lost during college and the years following, why not ask particular congregations what they have done and if it worked, especially in university towns where this would be applicable?

    Also, what about getting deans and faculty of the cofC seminaries to explain their plans, if any, for improvements in the M.Div. curriculum? This seems to be the standard degree for ministers these days, but it seems that some are completing school with sufficient bible knowledge but little knowledge of how to be a clergy person (deal with leadership, handle issues in congregations, pastoral care lacking, little understanding of human nature, etc). I know some newly minted JDs just having passed the bar are lacking in knowledge of how to practice law but some law schools are trying to change this.
13. josh says:

    December 30, 2013 at 5:19 pm

    I don’t have a suggestion for a book, but one of my favorite series that you’ve done is John. It helped me understand how one goes through a book, plus I gleaned a lot of great information. The series on Orthodox justification was also great. But I’ll keep reading no matter the topics..
14. Skip says:

    December 30, 2013 at 7:22 pm

    Jay,
    Another topic for future consideration is to determine the most central and important Biblical priorities for the modern Christian. We can debate ad nauseum on topics such as water baptism, but the topic itself is not a top NT theme. We have previously majored in minor topics. There is far more emphasis in scripture on loving God, Worship, loving others, etc… So can we have a forum to discuss canonical themes for the modern Christian?
15. Alan says:

    December 30, 2013 at 8:08 pm

    I’d like to see an expansion of the discussion of Christian unity, including topics like one-church-per-city, tolerance of disagreement, unity beyond the Restoration Movement, etc. And especially, a journal of what your church is doing in this area, what has worked well, etc.

    Debates about doctrine and progressive vs conservative philosophies tend to divide. I’d like to see more focus on common ground.
16. R.J. says:

    December 30, 2013 at 8:25 pm

    Maybe you or better yet New Wineskines could do a feature on how Christians should handle childhood myths such as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. Some believe these as deceptions we should not tell(lying is sin), others as idols(milk and cookies, tooth under pillow, and wishing upon a star), still many see these as harmless traditional fairy tales(as do I) and have even Christened them(e.g. Santa bowing to the baby Jesus).
17. laymond says:

    January 1, 2014 at 8:25 am

    Jay, I would truly love to see a discussion on Isaiah – Chapter 11
18. KJ says:

    January 1, 2014 at 11:20 am

    How about topics on the end of life and supporting each other and the left behind families as we die? And perhaps more about uncommon phenomena such out of body experiences, near death experiences and the unseen forces we struggle against.
19. Vicki Popwell says:

    January 2, 2014 at 12:49 pm

    I agree with the topic suggested by Charles McLean & Timothy Archer on “elders appointed in every city”, or as we say “in every church”.
20. Nick Gill says:

    January 2, 2014 at 11:41 pm

    My suggestion: how to allow Scripture to reorient us into other-centered understandings of things like income/work, exercise/health, etc. Paul says in Eph 4:28 that we are to work in order to have something to share with others — in complete contrast to the carnal idea that we work to please ourselves or even the industrious American ideal that we work because it is our responsibility to take care of ourselves. Eph 4:28 reveals an other-centered theology of work. How can we do this in other fields?

    I love your book studies – as long as you and I and the author share the same Spirit, God can teach me through my wrestlings with Scripture and through your (or the author’s) wrestling with those Scriptures.
21. davidbrainerd2 says:

    January 3, 2014 at 3:03 am

    “I’d like to see an expansion of the discussion of Christian unity, including topics like one-church-per-city…”

    Even in Acts they had multiple house churches in Jerusalem. “Breaking bread from house to house…” It wouldn’t be feasible to have one when it came to the Lord’s Supper. Its a pipe-dream.

    What I’d like to see is a debunking of the nonsense scholarship that claims the pastorals are forgeries.
22. Joe Baggett says:

    January 5, 2014 at 10:37 am

    Jay I agree let’s not beat to death any topics that have already been so. There are three things that are having or will have a serious negative effect on Christinsity in America. The first is post modernism, the next is Institutionalism and the last is a demographically nightmare for the average church. I will explain the last. The baby boomer generation makes up the largest group of active giving membership in the cofC and many other groups. They will start reaching the age of life expectancy in the next 15-20 years. Generations X and Y are leaving the traditional churches for community or bible churches or no
23. Joe Baggett says:

    January 5, 2014 at 10:41 am

    Contd. or no church at all. So I think it would be good to discuss why this is happening and what if anything we are going to do about!
24. Eric says:

    January 6, 2014 at 5:12 pm

    I would like to see a discussion of how to improve racial diversity in churches of Christ. Well, it’s a problem in most denominations. I know it’s a touchy subject, but it seems to me that the churches in the New Testament were culturally and ethnically diverse, but churches in America, especially in the South, are not. It seems that the crossroads movement did succeed in this area. Also, there is a church in Huntsville, AL, Central Church of Christ, that has been very successful in having a diverse congregation. What can other churches do to create diversity? Is it a goal worth pursuing? I believe that it is.

    Thanks for considering this suggestion.
25. Kevin says:

    January 6, 2014 at 8:04 pm

    Eschatology
26. Charles Mclean says:

    January 6, 2014 at 9:30 pm

    David, are you suggesting that there is some command that every believer meet in the same place and time to share the Lord’s Supper? Is that why you think the church in the city is somehow not “feasible”? It appears that you are not up to speed on this topic. But you are not alone. That’s part of the value of the discussion.

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