Category Archives: Churches of Christ

The Future of the Churches of Christ: Ancient-Future Assembly, Part 4

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Jay F Guin

I need to, at last, turn to Robert E. Webber’s Ancient-Future Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God’s Narrative, in which he proposes a fresh direction for the Christian assembly. He writes (p. 40), Worship–daily, weekly, yearly–is rooted in the gospel. And when worship … Continue reading →

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The Future of the Churches of Christ: Ancient-Future Assembly, Part 3

Posted on March 24, 2012 by Jay F Guin

Story What is the message that the assembly should communicate to the members and to visitors? There are, of course, countless good things that one might teach, but what is the over-arching goal? Sometimes we approach the assembly microscopically, that … Continue reading →

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The Future of the Churches of Christ: Ancient-Future Assembly, Part 2

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Jay F Guin

Encouragement Continuing in the instruction of the author of the Hebrews, we read — (Heb 10:24-25 ESV)  24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,  25 not neglecting to meet together, as … Continue reading →

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The Future of the Churches of Christ: Ancient-Future Assembly, Part 1

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Jay F Guin

We’ve been so caught up in the worship wars over style that we’ve nearly forgotten that worship should be built on a theology of the assembly. And one of the colossal errors that many churches make is to overlook what … Continue reading →

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The Future of the Churches of Christ: On Congregational Autonomy, Part 2

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Jay F Guin

As Americans, the idea of valuing accountability and submission is entirely foreign. We are strong believers in self-determination, independence, and freedom — defining “freedom” as freedom from anyone else’s control. But this is not the New Testament concept of freedom. … Continue reading →

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The Future of the Churches of Christ: On Congregational Autonomy, Part 1

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Jay F Guin

Historically, the Churches of Christ have confused autonomy with isolation. Indeed, the thought of a congregation being accountable to another congregation in any meaningful sense is considered heresy. And I must say, I find little appeal in the Methodist model, … Continue reading →

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The Future of the Churches of Christ: Generic Evangelicalism

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Jay F Guin

Most readers will know this, but I need to explain this for those who aren’t familiar with the Christian world outside the Churches of Christ. “Evangelistic” means “tries to convert the lost to Jesus.” You knew that, of course. “Evangelical” … Continue reading →

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The Future of the Churches of Christ: Dealing with the Numbers

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Jay F Guin

Let’s think about the statistics we discussed a couple of posts ago. At the current rate of decline — assuming no acceleration — the Churches of Christ will hit zero members in 121 years. But, of course, for at least … Continue reading →

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The Future of the Churches of Christ: Core Values of a Church in Decline

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Jay F Guin

Appropriate to the last post opf this series, Perry Noble has posted an article on the core values of a church in decline. Here are the first three — #1 – Laziness – Most people/churches are not “stuck” or in … Continue reading →

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The Future of the Churches of Christ: The Latest (Sad) Numbers

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Jay F Guin

The Christian Chronicle has recently reported that the number of Church of Christ adherents (members and their unbaptized children) continues to decline. Since 2003, the number is down 102,000 or 6.2%. During the same time, the number of congregations fell by … Continue reading →

Posted in The Future of the Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | 73 Comments