Top 25 Progressive Church of Christ Blogs: Technical Discussion

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Jay F Guin

Background

In January 2009, Matt Dabbs posted a list of the Top 25 Church of Christ blogs, based on the Alexa ranking of each site.

The following summer, we began working together to post an updated listing. We’ve worked together on the list ever since.

It became increasingly clear that Alexa doesn’t give reliable lists, and so in January 2010, Matt posted a list based on the average of Alexa rank and the number of Google Reader subscribers. It only makes sense that more RSS subscribers means the site is getting more traffic, but the outcome just didn’t seem right. Edward Fudge is a giant presence on the internet, and he was ranked 17. GraceConversation hadn’t had a post in 9 months and was ranked 19. Continue reading →

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Top 25 Progressive Church of Christ Blogs: Results for March 2010

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Jay F Guin

Matt Dabbs and I have been hard at work the last couple of months compiling the data to publish an up-to-date and far more accurate listing of progressive Church of Christ blogs.

We’ll publish a technical description of the process in a separate post. It’s enough to note here that the rankings are based on actual page views during March 2010. We can’t think of a more accurate way to compare blogs. Continue reading →

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The Cruciform God: The Gospel of Suffering, Part 2

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Jay F Guin

We’re continuing our study of Michael J. Gorman’s Inhabiting the Cruciform God. We are now well-beyond the book, but continuing to explore its implications.

I would like to offer two suggestions and to dismiss a third —

First, when I was much younger, some argued that the church isn’t suffering as the Bible says we should and so, therefore, we must be more audacious in our evangelism. We should be shouting Jesus from the rooftops! Of course, suffering for being annoying isn’t really the idea.

Second, Ray Vander Laan, in one of his videos, argued powerfully that our mistake is to ignore the plural. “We” share in his sufferings. “Our” sufferings. Continue reading →

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The Political Church: A Thought Question Regarding the Political Divide

Posted on April 11, 2010 by Jay F Guin

Church StateClass,

I’ve been thinking about something that popped into my head after today’s class while on the way to lunch. In the US, there are basically two political worldviews.

One view says that the government should stay out of personal morality but should be heavily involved in social justice. They contend that the government shouldn’t be involved in your decisions regarding sexuality or gambling — as these, if they are crimes at all — are victimless crimes. However, the government should make certain that the poor are well cared for through welfare, government-provided healthcare.

The second view says that the government should stay out of social justice but should be heavily involved in personal morality. They contend that the government should ban homosexual sex between consenting adults, gambling, and maybe even alcohol, but the government has no business providing nationalized healthcare or, some say, most other forms of welfare. Continue reading →

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The Cruciform God: A Reader’s Question

Posted on April 10, 2010 by Jay F Guin

I get emails.

Please give me an example of how I can take up my cross.

This very brief email refers to this post, where I wrote,

The essence of being like Jesus is self-emptying, that is, kenosis. We see it stated in different words and different ways many times, but over and over, we see that Christian ethics are based on being Christ-like, and to be Christ-like is to pick up  a cross and follow Jesus, because if you don’t have a cross, you aren’t following him.

What’s the answer?

(Mat 16:24-26 ESV)  24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

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The Cruciform God: The Gospel of Suffering, Part 1

Posted on April 10, 2010 by Jay F Guin

We’re continuing our study of Michael J. Gorman’s Inhabiting the Cruciform God. We are now well-beyond the book, but continuing to explore its implications.

Suffering

A vital part of the story of the cross is the prophecy of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah —

(Isa 53:9-12)  He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Here we see the Servant as intercessor, sin-bearer, self-emptier, and justifier — and all this is produced by his suffering. Suffering is a central theme of Isaiah’s understanding of the work of Jesus. Continue reading →

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The Holy Ghost Hokey Pokey. Literally. I literally mean it.

Posted on April 10, 2010 by Jay F Guin

(Had they sung it a cappella, it would have been just fine.)

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This is literally true

Posted on April 10, 2010 by Jay F Guin

Ahh … the old “literal” vs. “figurative” controversy literally explodes onto the scene once again.

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The Political Church: The Seditious Gospel

Posted on April 9, 2010 by Jay F Guin

[Church StateThis morning’s lesson (3/7/10) had nothing to do with the notes I’d brought at all. Sometimes that happens.]

We live in a highly politicized world. The US is a democracy, and so has always been political, but it’s truer now than ever. Ever since Ted Turner founded CNN, news — which is mainly political — has dominated TV viewing for many of us. In lots of households, including my own, if we’re not watching sports, we’re watching Fox, HNN, or CNN.

When CNN was founded, they brought in people to debate both sides of a controversial issue — which was quite a novelty at the time. Before then, Walter Cronkite told us “That’s the way it is,” and that was the way it was. And so having both sides debated on TV was crazily liberating at the time. Continue reading →

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The Fork in the Road: Galatians 4 and Romans 14

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Jay F Guin

Mario asked,

How does Galatians 4:8-10 figured into this?

8 However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.

Well in fact most of Galatians 4 Continue reading →

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