A Dozen Rules for Firing a Minister, Part 3

Posted on June 10, 2008 by Jay F Guin

fired1.jpgRule 10. Hire him a counselor if need be

Being fired is hard on a man and hard on a marriage. He’ll need someone to talk to, and counselors can keep secrets. Many insurance policies pay some or all the costs.

If he did something truly awful, such as sexual misconduct, he especially needs the counseling.

In some cases, you’ll be wise to get him job counseling from a pro. After all, you fired him. He may not be right for ministry or for that kind of ministry. He may need to hear it from someone outside the church. Continue reading →

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Buried Talents: Questions & Answers

Posted on June 9, 2008 by Jay F Guin

I studied and even taught this material for many years before arriving at my present position. I’m confident that many readers will struggle to get comfortable with these ideas that are so far removed from what many of us have been taught.

If I we’re teaching in person, I’d look forward to a question and answer period to allow those with questions to clarify their thinking. In lieu of such a session, the following are the hardest questions that I could think of to ask myself:

Q. The argument for men to have dominion over women seems so simple and your position seems very complicated, with references to Greek and commentators and all. Isn’t the simplicity of the dominion position strong evidence that it is the right position?

A. Not at all. The simplest interpretations of scripture are sometimes right but sometimes very wrong. After all, it is very easy to point out that the New Testament frequently, plainly, and unambiguously commands us to greet one another with the Holy Kiss. Continue reading →

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A Dozen Rules for Firing a Minister, Part 2

Posted on June 8, 2008 by Jay F Guin

fired1.jpgRule 7. Don’t split your church

I imagine that minister firings have split as many churches as any one doctrinal issue. It only happens when a large portion of the congregation considers the decision unfair. How does this happen?

* Well, it happens when it really is unfair.

* It happens when the elders don’t have the confidence of the church. Elderships without “political capital” can’t effectively oversee a church, because a controversial decision will split it. They should all resign and let the church ordain a new eldership rather than being unable to make the hard decisions. Continue reading →

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Buried Talents: Gal 3:28, “There is neither male nor female” — Cottrell’s objection

Posted on June 7, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Of all the authors that I’ve chosen to disagree with, Cottrell is my favorite — because he’s the most honest. He admits that weak arguments are weak. He doesn’t accuse his opponents of bad faith or question their salvation. See his Gender Roles and the Bible: Creation, the Fall and Redemption.

Cottrell spends considerable effort dealing with Gal 3:28. Ultimately his argument is based on Jewish laws of inheritance. He points out that under the Law of Moses daughters did not inherit unless there was no son. Thus, for a female Christian to inherit the “promise,” that is, the promise of salvation by faith rather than works that God gave to Abraham, some mechanism must be found to get around this rule. Continue reading →

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Communion Meditation: Recognizing the Body

Posted on June 7, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Communion

(1 Cor 11:28-29) A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.

What does it mean to “recognize the body of the Lord”? The obvious answer, of course, is the physical body of Jesus, hung on the cross for our sins. And certainly this is a part of what Paul has in mind. But there is more.

He was writing to the church in Corinth to correct certain abuses. Continue reading →

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Surprised by Hope: What the Whole World Is Waiting For

Posted on June 7, 2008 by Jay F Guin

The First Century Church had no notion of inevitable human progress, nor did the early church consider the creation evil or something to be escaped. Rather, the early church taught a very different view. Wright traces three major themes —

The goodness of creation

God is separate from the universe, and yet God made the universe good. Indeed, the creation was an act of love. Humans were made in God’s image and so reflect God’s goodness. The natural role of humans is to worship God. Continue reading →

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Surprised by Hope: Two Contrary Views of How This World Works

Posted on June 7, 2008 by Jay F Guin

In the last two hundred years Western thought has overemphasized the individual at the expense of the larger picture of God’s creation. What is more, in much Western piety, at least since the Middle Ages, the influence of Greek philosophy ha been very marked, resulting in a future expectation that bears far more resemblance Plato’s vision of souls entering into disembodied bliss than to th biblical picture of new heavens and new earth. If we start with the future hope of the individual, there is always the risk that we will, at least by implication, understand that as the real center of everything and treat the hope of creation as mere embroidery around the edges. (80)

Two alternatives

We first look at two contrary views of the future. Continue reading →

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A Dozen Rules for Firing a Minister, Part 1

Posted on June 6, 2008 by Jay F Guin

fired1.jpgI’m not sure when you’ll get to read this. You see, I can only discuss such a topic at a time when none of our ministers has recently resigned or is about to resign or is subject to the kind of criticism that might get him fired. No one would believe that I’m writing this in the abstract. That’s just not how people are. As I’ll explain.

This is targeted to elders. However, I know in some churches a minister might be fired by the senior minister, an executive minister, or a committee. The principles remain the same.

All these rules are outworkings of the Golden Rule. Just remember, “do unto others” applies to the minister, his family, your church, his next employer, and each of your fellow elders. That complicates things.

(For members of my congregation: yes, some of this is based on local experience. But, no, not all of it is. I represent dozens of churches of all denominations across the state of Alabama and even in some other states. Do not speculate. You violate the Golden Rule when you try to guess at what you don’t know about a brother in Christ.)

Continue reading →

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What Does Gal 2:11 Really Say? Part 2

Posted on June 6, 2008 by Jay F Guin

grace2.jpgI’ve decided to add a part 2 to this because it’s unlikely many readers would understand the point of Part 1 without a little more background. I wrote it too fast (I know better, but I was excited).

To explain why this passage is important to me, I need to summarize my peculiar views on falling from grace. I’ll not take the space to explain entirely where my thinking comes from, but I’ll refer to where I’ve explained it more in in depth as I go.

My views on falling away have been evolving since, well, high school or maybe the 3rd grade. A long time. In Do We Teach Another Gospel?, I lay out the three ways I think someone call fall away — Continue reading →

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What Does Gal 2:11 Really Say? Part 1

Posted on June 5, 2008 by Jay F Guin

grace2.jpgWhile working on quite another topic, I stumbled across an alternative reading of Gal 2:11. In about half the translations, Peter said to be “condemned” for refusing to eat with Gentile Christians. I’d not noticed this before. I wonder whether Peter might have really been condemned for a time — or whether the translators have it wrong.

Here’s how he introduces the thought in several translations —

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.

King James Bible
But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. Continue reading →

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