Mark Love: Why I Don’t Leave

MarkLoveWe’re continuing to consider some posts from Mark Love’s blog Dei-liberations. This will likely be the last post until post-surgery.

Today, we consider Mark’s post “Why I Don’t Leave Even Though …” (ellipsis in original).

Now, Mark’s post is about his egalitarian views on the role of women, which is very much a minority view in the Churches of Christ, although less and less so.

I don’t want this to be about the role of women, however. Rather, the aspect of the post that intrigues me is Mark’s very honest reflections on why he should stay in a denomination when he finds himself in a minority position on an issue dear to his heart. Continue reading

Posted in Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | 27 Comments

Mark Love: Stupid Ministry Tricks, Part 2

MarkLoveWe’re continuing to consider some posts from Mark Love’s blog Dei-liberations.

After Mark posted the article that we considered yesterday, he received some criticism of his statement that a sermon series is not an effective way to bring about change in church practices, with worship being particularly in mind.

In his next post, Mark explains (I’m not copying his entire article this time; please follow the link to read it in its entirety),

Most of us have been conditioned educationally to think in terms of information to application, or to move from theory to practice. Continue reading

Posted in Leadership, Leading Change, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Surgery

So my back surgery will be some time tomorrow (Tuesday, October 29). The time of day hasn’t been set as of this writing, but it’s bound to be in the morning early.

The doctor says I’ll be in the hospital for three days. And then recovery will take weeks. And I expect to be entirely out of commission the first week.

There will be gaps in the posting. I’ll not be able to maintain this pace for the next little bit. (Posts written before hand will continue for a while. I might even post some reruns for fun.)

The surgery will be a redo of my earlier L5-S1 fusion, with additional screws in the L4 vertebra to provide greater stability. I’ll also have a device attached to stimulate bone growth. Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 15 Comments

Mark Love: Stupid Ministry Tricks, Part 1

MarkLoveI’m quickly becoming a big fan of Mark Love’s blog Dei-liberations.

For those who don’t know Mark, he is Director of the Resource Center for Missional Leadership at Rochester College.

His work there includes directing a Master’s degree in missional leadership, working with existing congregations and their leaders toward missional innovation, and directing Streaming, an annual conference on missional hermeneutics.

The post that first caught my attention is Stupid Ministry Tricks: Do Not Do This Thing. With Mark’s permission, I’ll be copying nearly his entire post and offering some personal commentary here and there — which is mine and may well not reflect Mark’s thinking at all. Continue reading

Posted in Leadership, Leading Change | 4 Comments

“Muscle and a Shovel”: In Reply to the Author, Michael Shank

muscleshovelDear Michael,

I’m flattered that you consider my blog worthy of your time and attention.

I began writing this as a comment in response to your comment, but I proved too long-winded (surely proving my own need for an editor).

I regret any offense, but I think my statements regarding your book are fair. It is very well written. It is poorly edited (although the second edition is much improved over the first). And it’s very much a statement of 20th Century Church of Christ theology — in line with what would be found in a conservative Church of Christ tract rack  — in novel form. Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, Uncategorized | 257 Comments

Jay’s Ebooks and Lectures — Links Fixed

HSRGSome kind readers have pointed out to me that the links at Jay’s eBooks and Lectures were broken. I’ve fixed them. At least, I think I have. Please let me know if you have any problems accessing those materials.

This page provides free copies of books I’ve written and copies of some PowerPoint presentations I’ve given.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Jay’s Ebooks and Lectures — Links Fixed

Reader-Requested Review: “Conviction vs. Mercy”

convictionvmercyAnother reader asked for my thoughts on Conviction vs. Mercy by Gardner Hall. (I bought the Kindle edition  for $0.99!)

Hall works with Hispanic congregations of the Churches of Christ in the New York City area and is, as is clear from his Facebook page, very active in foreign missions. He writes from within the non-institutional Churches of Christ.

The non-institutional Churches of Christ separated from the institutional or “mainstream” Churches of Christ in the mid-20th Century over “institutionalism,” that is, whether congregations may support non-congregational institutions (orphans homes, the Herald of Truth radio or TV broadcast, Christian colleges) from the congregational treasury. Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, Uncategorized | 11 Comments

Reader-Requested Review: “Muscle and a Shovel”

muscleshovelI may never do this again, understand? But I’ve read a couple of books at the request of readers who wanted my thoughts.

Both books are self-published from within the Churches of Christ. Today, we consider the first —

Muscle and a Shovel

This one is from within the “mainstream” or institutional/conservative Churches of Christ.

In fact, a number of readers have asked me to post something on Muscle and a Shovel by Michael Shank. Frankly, I’d not heard of it until I began receiving reader emails about it in the last few weeks. Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews | 124 Comments

The Affordable Care Act, Churches, and Ministers

churchmedical_icon-copyI’m sure that many readers have concerns about the application of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) to their church and to themselves as a minister or other church employee. I’m going to try to provide some answers here, but obviously can’t cover  everything. It’s a HUGE piece of legislation and many answers are yet to come as regulations are issued.

Nonetheless, we can at least try to build a framework of understanding.

First, notice the legal disclaimer on this site.

Second, we need to narrow down our focus just a bit.  Continue reading

Posted in Taxes, Uncategorized | 13 Comments

Deacons: A New Definition

deaconsA few weeks ago, in a comment, Mike Cope referred me to Diakonia: Re-Interpreting the Ancient Sources by John N. Collins. In this book, Collins comprehensively surveys secular and Christian Greek literature to find the correct meaning of the terms diakonia and diakonos.

Collins has followed that 368-page book with a shorter sequel focusing on a handful of key passages, Deacons and the Church: Making Connections Between Old and New.

I took both of these with me on a trip to Chicago to read on the plane. I didn’t do so well. Collins is doubtlessly a brilliant scholar, but I find his writings very hard to follow. I mean, I’m a bond lawyer. I read 100-page, single-spaced legalese for a living. And I struggled to work my way through Collins’ prose. Continue reading

Posted in Deacons, Uncategorized | 14 Comments