Category Archives: Church of Christ Doctrinal Issues

Renewing Our Worship: Attitudes

The tension in the room was palpable. You could seemingly even smell it. Five elders sat on one end of the table, trying to act like shepherds, even though they didn’t feel like shepherds. You see, they were angry, although … Continue reading

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Renewing Our Worship: Introduction

At the suggestion of Mark, I’m going to put down some ideas about upgrading the worship service of a typical Church of Christ. Of course, there’s no such thing as a typical Church of Christ. Some would find many of … Continue reading

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The Story of St. Nick — Thanks to Mark Driscoll

Mark Driscoll, author of several books and pastor of the Mars Hills church in Seattle, posted this fascinating account of the history of many of our Christmas traditions. It goes well with earlier posts from Patrick Mead. Enjoy, and have … Continue reading

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Another Great Christmas Story from Patrick Mead (with a note on Calvinism for later)

Well, he’s written another excellent Christmas post: The Man Who Invented Christmas. Mandatory reading. And once you’ve read it — and no sooner — reflect on the following. But wait until after Christmas. The rest of this post isn’t really … Continue reading

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Is it okay to celebrate New Year’s Day?

[Re-posted from last year. The football references have not been updated.] On a discussion board, I’ve been engaged in an oh-so-long discussion re the propriety of a Christian celebrating Christmas. And then someone asked what I planned to do for … Continue reading

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An Overheard Christmas Conversation (with note to Village Voice readers added)

I was standing in a checkout line, doing my bit to stimulate the economy, you know, when I heard two women talking. “Did you hear? Costco has told its stores — all 520 of them — not to use the … Continue reading

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MDR: The passive-voice argument

[This is the last post. It’s long because only a few readers will find this of interest and so I don’t want to spread this over several days. But Edwards’ scholarship has been studied by so many, I figure some … Continue reading

Posted in Divorce and Remarriage, Uncategorized | Tagged | 8 Comments

MDR: Pastoral implications (Conclusion)

Divorce is a very, very serious matter. Broken marriages injure not only the spouses but also the children, the congregation, and the community. The church therefore is morally compelled to work diligently to prevent divorce, or better yet, the problems … Continue reading

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MDR: Pastoral implications (Divorce recovery)

B. Divorce recovery If we do all these things, we’ll have happier marriages, better children, and fewer divorces. But so long as we’re evangelizing the world, we’ll always have men and women struggling with divorce. For too long, we’ve figured … Continue reading

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MDR: Pastoral implications (training)

i. Premarital counseling In my hometown, many congregations of many denominations have gotten together and agreed to refuse to do a “church” wedding unless the couple agrees to pre-marital counseling. Excellent! The churches have agreed on a standard six-lesson course, … Continue reading

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