One In Jesus

Wineskins Featured Author Sean Palmer recently triggered a tsunami of Internet page views with his article “It’s You, Not Me: Why More & More Ministers Are Leaving the Churches of Christ.”

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Increasingly, ministers of all stripes are sharing with me their desires to get out of Churches of Christ. I currently serve a non-traditional church, so I suspect I hear more of this than most people. Still, ministers say, “I’m pretty sure my next church will not be a Church of Christ.” Of course, as long as there have been ministers, there have been ministers complaining about ministry — the pay, the stress, the feelings of inadequacy, lack of recognition, and unfair expectations, but this is different. People aren’t talking about leaving ministry, they’re talking about leaving ministry in Churches of Christ. Continue reading →

I’m continuing to explore the world of Wineskins featured authors. Today I’ve been poking around the website for Sara Barton, a professor of English and Religion at Rochester College.

And, well, this is a little intimidating. I mean, I’ve taken English courses. Lots of them. And I have not a single pleasant memory of a college-level English course. None. Zilch. In fact, I keep thinking I’m going to be marked down a letter grade for a mispelled misspelled word. I mean, I’m typing in terrer terror.

So this is a struggle for me. Despite the winsome [Vocabulary word! Extra credit?] photograph of Sara — whom I’ve never met — I just have trouble getting started with the task at hand [Dang! A hackneyed phrase.] Continue reading →

I get emails —

I’ve been reading through several of your posts (for years).   I have enjoyed many of your articles and those of the guest authors on your pages.   As a church elder, you (clearly) read often and spend much time in thought and prayer concerning things that are best for your flock.  It is with these thoughts that I come seeking your insights.

I ask for your recommendations for a congregation that seems to be caught with two clear groups in regards to worship.  One group seeks a more contemporary (non-instrumental due to feasibility and not due to doctrinal beliefs) service while another group seeks the traditional services of the Churches of Christ.  How should a responsible and faithful (to God and not as many of my friends use this term) congregation proceed? Continue reading →

Is it only those of us in the Churches of Christ who write articles on “Why I Am a Member” of my denomination? It’s a common theme among us in the Churches, and that is likely not a good sign at all.

That said, here’s a really good one. I can’t tell for the life of me who wrote it, though.

(Why, oh why, do so many of our members put up blogs with no name or identifying information of any kind? Maybe the intent was to be anonymous. The author seems to be a very gifted writer. I’d like to give proper credit.)

The Wineskins eZine website is now up — complete with fresh articles by Matt Dabbs, Naomi Walters, John Mark Hicks, Sara Barton, Jonathan Storment, Patrick Mead, Les Ferguson, Jr., and Paula Harrington.

This month’s topic: Embracing Biblical Restoration.