Category Archives: Churches of Christ

The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: Our Attitude Toward the Conservative Leaders, Part 1

Posted on October 6, 2009 by Jay F Guin

I get emails — Dear Jay: For the past year I have been meditating and restudying over long held positions of belief. I have changed my mind about several things, mostly due to abandoning the CENI and “pattern”  hermeneutics which … Continue reading →

Posted in The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Churches of Christ: What, Me Worry?

Posted on September 4, 2009 by Jay F Guin

On August 18, 2009, Phil Sanders published these statistics at his In “Search of the Lord’s Way” blog — Some Encouraging Statistics According to Flavil Yeakley, who presented this material at FHU a few years ago, one can say these … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches of Christ in Decline, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 25 Comments

Churches of Christ: On Looking for a Church Home

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Jay F Guin

I get emails — Jay, I’ve just finished reading (mostly) and skimming (partly) your series on the future of the progressive movement in the Churches of Christ. My wife and I are looking for a new church, and yes, we … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 21 Comments

The National Congregations Study and Churches of Christ, Part 2

Posted on July 1, 2009 by Jay F Guin

Congregations are aging • In 2006-07, 30% of regular attenders in the average congregation were older than age 60, compared with 25% in 1998. • The percent of regular adult participants younger than age 35 in the average congregation dropped … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | Tagged | 13 Comments

The National Congregations Study and Churches of Christ, Part 1

Posted on June 30, 2009 by Jay F Guin

Duke University has just released a report of its National Congregations Study for 2006-7, comparing American churches with churches in 1998. It’s an interesting read.  The survey includes 2,740 congregations across the country, and so is among the most detailed … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | Tagged | 22 Comments

The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: Shrinking Churches, Part 5 (the Near-Death Congregation)

Posted on April 2, 2009 by Jay F Guin

Imagine that you’ve been hired as a consultant to a congregation that’s lost so many members that it’s near death. What approach would you take to solving the problem? It’s a tough question, isn’t it? I have an idea or … Continue reading →

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The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: Shrinking Congregations, Part 4 (Community)

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Jay F Guin

Alan Rouse noted in an earlier comment that congregations won’t lose members if the congregation is a genuine community. I agree. Community is a critically important part of the Kingdom. I’d just want to emphasize that the way we do … Continue reading →

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The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: Shrinking Congregations, Part 3 (Preaching Hebrews)

Posted on March 29, 2009 by Jay F Guin

So what does yesterday’s post have to do with shrinking congregations? Well, not as much as my conservative friends might think, but it does matter a lot. Churches that forget to get around to teaching the boundaries of grace will … Continue reading →

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The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: Shrinking Congregations, Part 2 (Boundaries)

Posted on March 28, 2009 by Jay F Guin

My Tuesday conversation with Greg Tidwell and Phil Sanders was illuminating in lots of ways. It certainly confirmed the rightness of the decision to meet. I had asked that we find a time to meet face to face before beginning … Continue reading →

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The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: Shrinking Congregations, Part 1

Posted on March 26, 2009 by Jay F Guin

It’s been an interesting week. I spent Tuesday meeting with Todd Deaver, Phil Sanders, and Greg Tidwell planning our GraceConversation dialogue. Toward the end of our meeting, Greg described how many Churches of Christ that have added an instrumental service … Continue reading →

Posted in The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | Tagged | 25 Comments