Buried Talents: Elders, Wives of One Husband? Part 3

Posted on June 25, 2008 by Jay F Guin

2. Are the qualifications described in 1 Timothy and Titus intended as laws or merely indicative of to whom God has given the gift of leadership?

Objectively viewed, it is hard to argue that the qualification lists in 1 Timothy and Titus are “laws.” As we have discussed in the context of Galatians, Paul has very principled reasons for not making himself into the next Moses. Moreover, there is internal evidence that these are not laws.

First, why are the lists in Titus and 1 Timothy different? Is God’s eternal law of who can be an elder different in Crete (the destination of Titus) than in Ephesus (the destination of 1 Timothy)? It would appear so. While the lists are similar, Titus and Timothy were working out of two different rulebooks, if rulebooks they are. Continue reading →

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Buried Talents: Elders, Wives of One Husband? Part 2

Posted on June 23, 2008 by Jay F Guin

The questions thus presented are:

1. Is the apparent prohibition of an woman being an elder evidenced in 1 Timothy and Titus, as well as early church history, a temporary cultural matter only or an eternal ordinance of God?

2. Are the qualifications described in 1 Timothy and Titus intended as laws or as merely indicative of to whom God has given the gift of leadership?

An affirmative answer to either question would permit many women gifted to lead to serve as elders. Continue reading →

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Which Gospel? Introduction, Part 2

Posted on June 22, 2008 by Jay F Guin

The prophetic gospel

In his book A Peculiar People: The Church As Culture in a Post-Christian Society, Rodney Clapp talks about our living in a post-Constantinian world where Christianity is no longer the chaplain to the powers that be. We now rest on the margins, causing us to rethink our gospel. Because of this, Clapp insists we’re starting to foster a more prophetic gospel that challenges the nation-state.

This is a corollary to the political gospel. If we are not to be the nation’s chaplain, but rather stand outside the nation, measuring it by God’s standards, there may be times when we have a duty to speak for God — to be like the prophets of the Old Testament and announce when God’s will contradicts the will of the nation. Continue reading →

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Surprised by Hope: A Musical Interlude

Posted on June 22, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Stumbled across this on UTube while looking for a commentary on Isa 65:17 —

Continue reading →

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Buried Talents: Elders, Wives of One Husband? Part 1

Posted on June 21, 2008 by Jay F Guin

When I first taught this material, I passed out a survey on questions involving the role of women. After the class had finished with the survey, I asked, “Which question was the hardest?” A godly woman said, “Whether a woman can be an elder.” A number of other women, good, submissive, dedicated, hard-working lovers of the Lord, nodded their heads. I was surprised, but they were right, and they were well ahead of me in their understanding of scripture.

The issue arises because the lists of elder qualifications in 1 Timothy and Titus require an elder to be the “husband of one wife” (better translated “one-woman man”). Admittedly, it would be hard for a woman to meet this standard. The question, however, is whether the reference to an elder being male is intended to be an eternal requirement or whether it is limited to the culture and time in which Paul wrote. Continue reading →

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Too Good Not to Share: How to Sabotage Your Church

Posted on June 21, 2008 by Jay F Guin

gremlin2.jpgThis is a link to a .pdf of a 1944 CIA manual on how to sabotage an organization, called “Simple Sabotage Field Manual.’ Here are the highlights —

(1) Insist on doing everything through “channels.” Never permit short-cuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions.
(2) Make “speeches.” Talk as frequently as possible and at great length. Illustrate your “points” by long anecdotes and accounts of personal experiences. Never hesitate to make a few appropriate “patriotic” comments.
(3) When possible, refer all matters to committees, for “further study and considera­tion.” Attempt to make the committees as large as possible — never less than five. Continue reading →

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Surprised by Hope: The Identity of the New Jerusalem in Rev 21

Posted on June 20, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Last Sunday, while teaching my class on Surprised by Hope, a student suggested that the new Jerusalem in Rev 21 is the church, reasoning that the church is elsewhere referred to as Jesus’ bride. Jon made the same point in a comment. It didn’t seem quite right to me, but then the argument has considerable merit. So I’ve decided to dig more deeply into the question.

The passage we were discussing is —

(Rev 21:1-3) And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. Continue reading →

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Surprised by Hope: Bishop Wright on the Colbert Report

Posted on June 20, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Bishop Wright being interviewed on the Colbert Report — giving as good as he gets.

Not many theologians get to be interviewed in such a forum, and fewer still come out as well.

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Which Gospel? Introduction, Part 1

Posted on June 20, 2008 by Jay F Guin

This series is based on a great article in Preaching Today. The author, Skye Jethani, addresses the turmoil in the modern evangelical church over how the gospel should be preached.

In most conservative, American Protestant churches the gospel has been pretty straightforward: believe in Jesus, get saved. The Churches of Christ have added “get baptized” and “repent” to the list: believe, repent, be baptized — get saved. (We usually add “hear” and “confess,” but these are really part of “believe,” right? I mean, you can’t believe without hearing and we can’t baptize you or accept you as a brother until you tell us that you believe.)

Thus, for us, the gospel has always been about getting saved — at the moment of baptism. Continue reading →

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Buried Talents: Deacons (Conclusions)

Posted on June 19, 2008 by Jay F Guin

In conclusion:

1. In the only possible scriptural description of the role of a deacon, Acts 6:1-6, the apostles themselves described the deacons’ jobs, perhaps ironically, as “waiting on tables.” There is no justification for our expanding the role of the deacon any farther than specified in Acts 6, where it was simply the task of handling the benevolent program.

The Second Century church also saw the job of a deacon similarly. This is in accord with the views of such notable Restoration commentators as Robert Richardson,Tolbert Fanning, W. K. Pendleton, and E. G. Sewell. We must be silent where the Bible is silent.

2. The only possible example that we have of how deacons served is that the seven were appointed to a single task, very much as a committee. Continue reading →

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