Need Help for Russian Adoption Publicity

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Jay F Guin

(Deu 24:17 ESV) You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless …

A couple who have been friends of mine for many years — Greg and Tesney Davis — are trying to adopt a Down’s Syndrome baby from Russia. They have one child by birth but feel a calling from God to reach out to a Down’s Syndrome infant. Through a series of circumstances, they were led to Russia and to a baby there named Kirill.

The judge who must approve the adoption found them to be a well-qualified family. Tesney is a social worker and has considerable experience working with Down’s children. Continue reading →

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Thought Question: Brad Wright on Christian Divorce Rates

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Jay F Guin

I thought the readers might profit from this USA Today article that quotes sociologist Bradly Wright, author of Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites…and Other Lies You’ve Been Told: A Sociologist Shatters Myths From the Secular and Christian Media.

When Wright examined the statistics on evangelicals, he found worship attendance has a big influence on the numbers. Six in 10 evangelicals who never attend had been divorced or separated, compared to just 38% of weekly attendees. …

Glenn Stanton of Focus on the Family wrote a recent column in Baptist Press highlighting Wright’s interpretation of the state of divorce for Christians.

“The divorce rates of Christian believers are not identical to the general population — not even close,” he wrote. “Being a committed, faithful believer makes a measurable difference in marriage.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Thought Questions, Uncategorized | 17 Comments

Real Worship: Part 3: Latreuo and Latreia

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Jay F Guin

Latreuo in the Old Testament

Latreuo is sometimes translated “service” and sometimes “worship.” It has its own interesting story.

We first see the word when God calls Moses —

(Exo 3:12 ESV) 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” Continue reading →

Posted in Real Worship, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Thought Question: Is It Okay to Leave a Church Because You’re Not Being Fed?

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Jay F Guin

At the Baptist Standard, Marv Knox responds to this question, saying,

I tend to tilt away from agreeing that “not being fed” is sufficient reason for leaving a church. …

A church cannot be all things to all people. So, the [Willow Creek] Reveal survey indicates stronger members should take responsibility for their own spiritual growth while they help and encourage the church and its ministers to provide what might, in other segments, be called remedial support for less-mature members.

Interesting. It is, of course, true that the preacher can’t preach to all levels of maturity at once. Moreover, we don’t all have the same needs. Sometimes a preacher will preach on things that don’t matter to me. Continue reading →

Posted in Thought Questions, Uncategorized | 63 Comments

Debugging

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Jay F Guin

Theobloggers has switched to a new host, which should mean your pages load much faster than before. And I’m experimenting with going back to the old WordPress comment software, rather than DISQUS.

Please let me know how your experience is.

You’ll likely need to resubscribe to email notifications for the last few articles if you’ve not received comment notices lately.

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Real Restoration: Cain, The Flood, and Babel

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Jay F Guin

Desktop potter's wheelCain

(Gen 4:8-15 NIV) 8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 But the LORD said to him, “Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.

Just as soon as sin entered the world, we see that not only was marriage filled with strife, but so were other relationships. Indeed, as Paul taught us (as covered in the last post), the Curse was much broader than the particular curses found in Genesis 3. The corruption of sin quickly led to the first murder — Cain killed Abel. Continue reading →

Posted in Real Restoration, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Thought Questions: How Does the Size of a Church Affect How It Operates?

Posted on March 20, 2011 by Jay F Guin

cartoonchurchgrowth.jpgWe in the Churches of Christ tend to assume that all congregations must operate pretty much the same way. There’s this “pattern” that all churches must follow. Of course, there are exceptions, but not many.

For example, we teach that churches must be elder led, with deacons running ministries. Unless the church is too small, then it has no elders and no deacons and is run by the men via a “business meeting.”

We have lots of experience with small churches, but big churches are largely a new experience for us. Can we run a church of 1,000 the same way as a church of 100? Does the Bible place restraints on how we can lead a church of over 500 or 1,000? Continue reading →

Posted in Thought Questions, Uncategorized | 10 Comments

Real Worship: Part 2: Shachah and Proskuneo

Posted on March 19, 2011 by Jay F Guin

“Worship” in the Old Testament

There are two strands of thought regarding worship I’d like to present for your consideration. The first starts with Abraham.

(Gen 22:5-6 ESV) 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together.

“Worship” translates shachah, meaning literally to bow, and so it can also be used of one man bowing to another. This is the first case of the word being used metaphorically of worship, as Abraham was going to the summit of Mt. Moriah to sacrifice, not to bow. Continue reading →

Posted in Real Worship, Uncategorized | 13 Comments

Ministry Ideas: The Blitz Build

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Jay F Guin

Story about a program headed by my congregation that ran in the local paper and in the Christian Chronicle.

Notice especially the picture of the kid with last name “Guin” — that’s my youngest.

[M]ore than 100 volunteers plan to build and furnish the house in five days in a project they called Blitz Build 2011. The recipient of the house, a 67-year-old wheelchair-bound widow living in a rundown house in Tuscaloosa’s West End, is expected to move into her new home on Northport’s Seventh Street on Saturday.

For the past several years, members of the University Church of Christ and its University Christian Ministry have helped the woman, who preferred not to be identified by name, by working on her west Tuscaloosa home, said volunteer-architect Turnley Smith.

Posted in Ministry Ideas, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

It’s Friday!

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Jay F Guin

No great moral lesson here —  just something to help you smile through the next wedding where they play the same old tunes, the same old way.

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