Category Archives: Churches of Christ

The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: Part 5, Leaving the Conservatives Behind

* The progressives have largely turned our backs on the conservatives, not creating the literature or institutions necessary to bring more conservatives into the progressive fold. Let’s suppose that a group of progressive thought leaders got together to develop a … Continue reading

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The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: Part 4, Defining Our Challenges

My concerns with us are — * The progressives have failed to articulate a thoughtful, comprehensive theology for why we believe what we believe. * The progressives have largely turned our backs on the conservatives, not creating the literature or … Continue reading

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The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: Part 3, Compassion for the Conservatives

To understand my complaints with the progressives (including me), I have to explain some of my concerns for the spiritual state of the conservatives. Do you remember my earlier summary of Joe Beam’s article on what’s going on in the … Continue reading

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The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: Part 2, Why We Don’t Know Who We Are

If you were to ask most Church members whether we’re headed for a split as a “fellowship,” meaning denomination, most would say the split is already well underway. Many would say it’s already complete. In my church, when a couple … Continue reading

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The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: Part 1, Background

Lately, I’ve been pondering the direction of the progressive Churches of Christ. Where are we going to be in 20 or 30 years? More importantly, where do we want to be in 20 or 30 years? Now, many congregational leaders … Continue reading

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The Future of the Progressive Churches of Christ: Introduction

Oops. This got posted prematurely. I’m not sure how, but gremlins have been known to haunt the Internet. What a few of you saw was a draft. The real thing is coming in a few weeks. But it’s still in … Continue reading

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The Gospel Advocate Creed, Part 5

When we disagree with someone about doctrine, it’s easy to get caught up in the particulars of the doctrinal debate. But once in while, we need to take a step back and look at the tactics we use. It is … Continue reading

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The Gospel Advocate Creed, Part 4

As I read each month’s edition of the Gospel Advocate, I’ve been noting some of the issues that the authors consider as “salvation issues” or “marks of the church.” I call these issues a “creed” because that’s the original meaning … Continue reading

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On “Going Forward”

In Churches of Christ, the practice of “going forward” after the sermon is nearly universal. It think it bears considerable rethinking. To gain some perspective, let’s reflect on the history of this practice. There’s no mention of it in the … Continue reading

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The Gospel Advocate: On Being Comfortable in Church

This month’s Gospel Advocate features an article by Charles Lovelace III captioned “What to Do When the Church Leaves You.” The article is very telling about an attitude problem all too common. The author points out that a church can … Continue reading

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