Surprised by Hope: Will We Go to Heaven When We Die?

Posted on June 19, 2008 by Jay F Guin

In Rev 21-22, we are not pictured as going to heaven. Rather, God’s dwelling is relocated from heaven to the new earth.

The new heaven and new earth

Do other authors say the same thing?

(2 Pet 3:10-13) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. Continue reading →

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Surprised by Hope: Paradise

Posted on June 19, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Paradise

Strong’s Dictionary says “paradise” derives from the Hebrew pardec, meaning an orchard or forest. It’s a reference back to Eden. This is strongly suggested by–

(Rev. 2:7b) To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

The tree of life was, of course, originally in the Garden of Eden. Continue reading →

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Which Gospel? Prologue, the Gospels of Kicking the Smoking Habit

Posted on June 18, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Back a few days ago, I asked a question about just how wrong is smoking? I got 23 comments! I don’t get 23 comments when we talk about women elders! Why such interest in a fairly mundane subject? I mean, we all agree that smoking is wrong and nasty. The question was how wrong.

I’ve pondered that quite a bit, as I was really surprised. Why is smoking even an interesting question? I mean, I’d never teach a class on it. Everyone already knows it kills.

It finally occurred to me that the controversy is a great exemplar of the shifting church culture that’s going on. The question is interesting because it demonstrates how the church is changing (and not changing). It gives us a concrete example of what’s going on. Indeed, our disagreements on such a mundane topic are symptomatic of the inevitable trauma of profoundly dramatic changes in how we perceive Christianity itself. Continue reading →

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Buried Talents: Arguments for and against female deacons

Posted on June 17, 2008 by Jay F Guin

The scriptural argument normally centers on 1 Timothy 3:11.

11 In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

As indicated by italics in the KJV, “their” is not found in the Greek. Moreover, “women,” as translated in the NIV, is not in the Greek. Thus, a more literal translation would be-

11 In the same way, wives are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

The word translated “wives” in the NIV is gune. It can mean “women” or “wives” depending on the context, and it is perfectly ambiguous. The same word is translated “wife” in verse 12, but could be translated “woman” just as well (“husband of one wife” is better translated “one-woman man”). Continue reading →

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Good to Great (Discipline, Flywheels, Core values, Goals)

Posted on June 16, 2008 by Jay F Guin

A culture of discipline

Collins recommends these four disciplines —

1) Focus on your Hedgehog.
2) Build a system of freedom and responsibility within a framework.
3) Manage the system, not the people.
4) Practice extreme commitment.

Focusing on your hedgehog

Once you’ve figured out what your focus will be, say “no thank you” to other ideas, even if they are “once in a lifetime” opportunities. Stick with what you know. This may well include killing popular programs that aren’t within your hedgehog. Continue reading →

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On Fired Ministers Starting Competing New Churches

Posted on June 16, 2008 by Jay F Guin

[Consider this a draft. I wrestle with the right and wrong of these issues, especially having had first hand experience with this circumstance — and having many friends caught up such situations as well. And so, maybe I’m missing something. It’s hard to be objective.]

fired1.jpgIn an earlier post, Kent Gatewood pointed out that firing a minister often results in the minister starting a new church and taking many of the old church’s members with him. This is, of course, devastating to the old church, regardless of why it happens.

And it’s a difficult ethical conundrum. I feel quite strongly that a preacher may not, while on the payroll, do anything detrimental to his church. He has to be loyal to those who are paying him. It’s pretty fundamental. It’s implicit in the relationship. Continue reading →

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Buried Talents: Deacons, Part 2

Posted on June 15, 2008 by Jay F Guin

What can only deacons do?

If we were to conclude that women cannot be deacons — other than wear the title, what is it that women could not do? In a congregation with no deacons, what is it that the men cannot do because they are unqualified to be deacons? In a congregation with no men qualified to be deacons, can any man handle the treasury and the giving of alms to the poor? It hardly makes sense to argue that only certain Christians can be deacons but to then allow anyone to do what deacons do. (Or could it be that those who have the gifts to do these things should do them?)

We conclude that the notion that deacons are men who head church programs is a late 20th Century addition to the Bible. Quite frankly, since we felt compelled to have deacons because some of the First Century churches had deacons, we had to come up with a job description for qualified men. It was not practical to require that all church work be done by a deacon, and so the notion developed that deacons are to be program heads. Continue reading →

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Gospel Advocate Creed: Don’t Let the Advocate Keep Us From Attending the World Convention

Posted on June 15, 2008 by Jay F Guin

ga.jpgThe June 2008 issue of the Gospel Advocate opens with an editorial from editor Neil W. Anderson, declaring that the Advocate counsels against participation in the 17th World Convention of Christian Churches, churches of Christ, and Disciples of Christ in Nashville from July 30 to August 3 this summer. (Here’s the guide. Here’s a schedule of events.)

[T]he Gospel Advocate does not support or endorse the ecumenical meeting featuring both men and women speakers, instrumental worship, and other forms of apostasy.

Continue reading →

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How Not to Have to Fire Your Preacher: Keeping the Right Guy, Part 2

Posted on June 15, 2008 by Jay F Guin

i. Help your ministers stay out of financial trouble

Well, it sounded good when I was typing it. I’m not entirely sure how to do this.

Here’s one thought: Every church that’s large enough should have a standing committee of volunteers qualified to counsel members in financial trouble. They will stay busy! Make sure they and the ministers understand that they can get advice on a confidential basis — even the elders won’t know.

j. Help plan for retirement

If your ministers has a health problem, help out with the insurance. Especially if he’s opted out of Social Security, help him make plans for retirement. Set up a 403(b) annuity or IRA-SIMPLE. Help him set money aside. Continue reading →

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Surprised by Hope: The Rapture

Posted on June 14, 2008 by Jay F Guin

The Second Coming is a doctrine we struggle with in the Churches of Christ. Years ago, in the 1940s and thereabouts, the Churches split over premillennialism. Almost all the Churches rejected the doctrine, with Foy Wallace making belief in the Rapture into damnable heresy. As a result, we know we don’t believe in it, but we are left with little idea how to interpret the verses that seem to teach a Rapture.

Thus, when the Left Behind books came out, many taught that they are heresy. Others found them guilty pleasures. For years, when someone asked me about such things, I said (and meant it), “I don’t care how the end comes, just that I wind up in the right place.” But Wright has begun to convince me that eschatology (the study of the end times) matters. Continue reading →

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