“Hell and Mr. Fudge”

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Jay F Guin

Regular readers know that I consider Edward Fudge something of a spiritual hero. He’s an elder of the Churches of Christ, he’s an author, he posts daily spiritual thoughts on the Internet, and … he’s a lawyer. What’s not to like? Continue reading →

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Housing Allowance Held Unconstitutional

Posted on November 24, 2013 by Jay F Guin

A-house-built-out-of-moneyAs most ministers are aware, the Internal Revenue Code grants a “housing allowance” that excludes ministerial income from federal income taxation (not the self-employment tax) to the extent used to pay certain housing costs.

This benefit has been a huge help to ministers across the country and has surely helped churches afford to hire ministers at salaries that would have been too low if the salaries had to be fully taxed.

On November 21, the federal district court for the Western District of Wisconsin issued an opinion finding that the housing allowance is unconstitutional. The opinion does not address the tax exclusion for church-provided housing, only the exclusion for wages paid as a “housing allowance” under Internal Revenue Code section 107(2). Continue reading →

Posted in Taxes, Uncategorized | 49 Comments

Thought Question: How to Deal With Criticism

Posted on November 23, 2013 by Jay F Guin

criticismI’m a big Thom Rainer fan. Thom has written numerous books on church leadership as well as regularly posting thoughtful articles at his blog.

Several days ago, he posted a list of five ways to respond to criticism —

Overall we heard five common themes on how the leaders respond to anonymous letters. They are listed in order of frequency of response: Continue reading →

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Thought Question: Can My Church Grow As This One Has?

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Jay F Guin

churchgrowthcartoonHere’s a fascinating article about a Methodist congregation in a town of 23,000 that has made some changes and, as a result, experienced dramatic growth. Their worship attendance has doubled from 300 to over 600.

Here’s what they credit their growth to —

1. We dreamed a new dream,

2. We determined our niche.

3. We renewed our worship. Continue reading →

Posted in Thought Questions, Uncategorized | 25 Comments

Thought Question: On the Advantages of Never Punting

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Jay F Guin
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Continue reading →

Posted in Thought Questions, Uncategorized | 13 Comments

Paul and the Faithfulness of God: The New Perspective

Posted on November 17, 2013 by Jay F Guin

FaithfulnessofGodWe are considering N. T. Wright’s newly released Paul and the Faithfulness of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God) — a massive and masterful consideration of Paul’s theology.

Beginning around page 110, Wright re-argues the case for the so-called “new perspective,” which calls for a deeper, truer understanding of the Jewish backgrounds of the New Testament.

A bit surprisingly, I’m sure, the tipping point for many theologies is the teaching of the Pharisees. Jesus, of course, roundly criticized the Pharisees. Paul wrote extensively against the Judaizing teachers, who are generally considered to have been Christian converts from among the Pharisees.

And yet Paul himself claimed to a Pharisee quite late in his career — Continue reading →

Posted in Paul and the Faithfulness of God, Uncategorized | 11 Comments

Surgery: Status

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Jay F Guin

Recovery continues, but I’ve been finding it difficult to write. Too tired and too many pain meds.

There are hours during the day while I feel much better, but most of the time, I’m pretty beat.

And so it may be several days before I post much more. I’ll be back. But I doubt I’ll have much to say until after the Mississippi State game.

 

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The Faithfulness of God: From the Journal of Onesimus

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Jay F Guin

paul-in-prisonJournal, Day 1

My master has gone insane! I realize that a slave has no call on his master. It’s not my place to argue or to take a position. But my master bought me, and he trained me as an expert in reading and writing — as a secretary.

And surely he understood that as someone skilled in language and not unintelligent — if I do flatter myself — I have opinions, but not just opinions, counsel. I mean, I’m well read, I care deeply about my master and his business, and I have training and expertise that might have been brought to bear on the question. Continue reading →

Posted in Paul and the Faithfulness of God, Philemon, Uncategorized | 61 Comments

Paul and the Faithfulness of God: Philemon as Guide

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Jay F Guin

FaithfulnessofGodWe are considering N. T. Wright’s newly released Paul and the Faithfulness of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God) — a massive and masterful consideration of Paul’s theology.

The title

Let’s start with the title: Paul and the Faithfulness of God. For those familiar with Wright — or for that matter, Paul — we have to recognize the importance in Paul’s thought of God’s faithfulness.

In particular, Paul repeatedly speaks in terms of God’s faithfulness to his covenant with Abraham — and so Paul sees the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham and his descendants. Continue reading →

Posted in Paul and the Faithfulness of God, Philemon, Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Surgery: Further on Recovery; Jay’s Reading List

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Jay F Guin

Leg pain continues to be an issue, but the pain is getting better. The biggest problem is that it keeps me from walking as much as I need to in order to get well.

Mornings are pretty much shot — because I wake up in pain. However, after some time off my feet and on the heating pad, I have several hours of low-pain and relative sobriety. And each day is a little better than the day before.

I’m finally feeling up to reading — which is a great improvement over daytime TV! Actually, I refuse to watch daytime TV. Instead, I watch DVDs of The Mentalist. I just finished season 2. This is not great art, but suffices to entertain the narcotics-infused mind. Continue reading →

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