Are We Sacramentalists? Marriage as a Sacrament, and the Church

Posted on April 25, 2008 by Jay F Guin

BaptismRecall Hicks’ definition of “sacrament”–

The material elements do not merely represent, but they participate in the reality to which they point. They are not mere signs, but symbols that mediate a spiritual reality. The signs become symbols because God does something through them.

I think there’s an interesting argument to be made that marriage meets this definition. Now the Catholics have said this for hundreds of years. The Protestants rejected this idea. But it bears some reflection.

In conventional Christian marriage theology, we consider marriage to be a covenant among God, the bride, and the groom. And there’s much truth to this. Continue reading →

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Southern Baptist Churches In Decline

Posted on April 24, 2008 by Jay F Guin

New research shows that the Southern Baptist denomination, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, is no longer growing and is, in fact, in decline. A discussion of the report by one of the researchers, Ed Stetzer, may be listened to here. The report is here. Be sure to listen to the interview. It’s about half an hour long, but really great stuff (and, at times, hilarious).

He vigorously argues that the Baptists must now change because doing the same thing as before no longer works. In particular, he begs his churches to “quit fighting” over “tertiary issues” and get centered on recovery of the gospel — giving up lessons that would still be true even if Jesus hadn’t died on the cross. They sound so much like us it’s scary! Continue reading →

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Buried Talents: References to God as Female

Posted on April 24, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Of course, one of the most male-centric aspects of the scriptures is the fact that God often refers to himself as a male — as “father” in particular. But there are also a number of Old Testament passages where God refers to Himself as a mother.

(Isa 46:3 ESV) “Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb … .

(Isa 49:15 ESV) Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you. Continue reading →

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Are We Sacramentalists? The Lord’s Supper and the Assembly

Posted on April 23, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Back a few weeks ago, I started an exploration of the Eastern Orthodox understanding of “sacrament.” Their approach is quite different from the Catholic/Protestant approach.

BaptismLet’s just, for fun, you know, see if we can find evidence of a sacramental meaning for the Lord’s Supper in the scripture. Maybe we overlooked it.

I think we should start in Matthew 18:

(Mat 18:19-20) “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

Reflect on that one for a moment. Jesus is present with us when we gather in his name. He’s omnipresent, of course, and so we tend to trivialize this fact, I think — just as we tend to overlook the Spirit’s special presence with us. But Jesus indwells the assembly. He’s there!

And so I wrote a communion meditation to point out part of the sacramental significance of this fact. Click here. I mean it. Click on the link. It explains a little of what’s going on in the communion. I’ll admit to being influenced by N. T. Wright’s Simple Christianity. And I’m kind of proud of it because it’s such a different sort of writing for me. Continue reading →

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Amazing Grace: Bringing It All Back Home*

Posted on April 23, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Here’s an outline for the next two lessons or so.

I. Review the breadth of grace

(Gal 5:6b) The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

A. What is “faith”? As always in the New Testament, faith in Jesus.

B. What does “counts” refer to? Justification. “Justification” is the judge’s verdict of “not guilty” or better yet “innocent.” The only thing that justifies — that shows we’ve been saved — is our faith in Jesus and our love arising from our faith. Continue reading →

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Fixing Our Universities: Distance Learning, Two-Year Degrees, and Vision

Posted on April 22, 2008 by Jay F Guin

There’s more good news. Harding’s Master of Ministry is now available for online learning. The course is fully accredited. Students may accelerate the classwork by attending some classes at Harding, but online work is sufficient.

Details are at this site. And partial scholarships are offered for those in ministry.

Now here is why this degree program is so important. The most conservative, indeed, the most legalistic of our churches have countless schools of preaching spread across the country, which are often unaccredited but are also very low cost. They typically offer night and weekend course work for men wishing to go into ministry as a second career. Some now offer distance learning. Continue reading →

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Buried Talents: Old Testament Women (Kings, Huldah, and the Good Wife)

Posted on April 22, 2008 by Jay F Guin

The Kings

Many have suggested that the fact that Israel’s kings were all men indicates that women are to be subordinate to men forever. But this argument fails.

First, Israel has kings at a time when the curse of Genesis 3 was in full effect.

Second, God Himself opposed the establishment of kings, and thus the nature of kings (inheritance of the throne by the oldest male child) cannot be considered a part of God’s eternal design. Continue reading →

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Are We Sacramentalists? The Orthodox View, the Spirit, the Word, and Prayer

Posted on April 21, 2008 by Jay F Guin

BaptismWe’ve seen that the Orthodox Church has a very different view of the sacraments from the Western churches. The West sees the sacraments as two or seven distinct ways by which God’s grace is brought to believers by human action.

The Orthodox believe that life itself is a sacrament. Some actions are specific sacraments, but God’s grace cannot be limited to seven specific acts.

Let’s take this definition from Wikipedia,

The Eastern Orthodox Church, however, views the sacraments, what it typically calls the Holy Mysteries, not so much as dispensers of grace, but instead as a means for communing with God, an entering into and participation in heavenly things while nevertheless still on earth in this life, viewing the Church and indeed all of creation sacramentally.

I like this definition a lot. Hence forth, this is what I mean by being a “sacramentalist.”

Now, this is not just bandying words. As I hope to show, seeing certain aspects of our Christianity through this lens can greatly deepen and enrich our understanding — and our experience of God.

Continue reading →

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Fixing Our Universities: The Birmingham-Southern Experience

Posted on April 21, 2008 by Jay F Guin

One of the nation’s foremost liberal arts colleges is Birmingham-Southern College, affiliated with the Methodist Church. It’s a small school located in west Birmingham, with very high academic standards.

A few years ago, it decided to give up NCAA Division I athletics.

Here are excerpts from a story in the May 27, 2006 Birmingham News — Continue reading →

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2008 Pepperdine Lectureship

Posted on April 20, 2008 by Jay F Guin

[Reposted and expanded]pepperdine.gif

I’m delighted to report that I’ve been invited to speak at the 2008 Pepperdine Lectures, which is the best attended university lectureship among the Churches of Christ — at the prettiest location.

I’ll be speaking on Why Are There So Many Divisions in the Church? Addressing the Underlying Flaw in Our Theology. I’ll be speaking at 3:15 on Wednesday, April 30 in KSC 130.

The lectureship will from April 29 to May 2, 2008 in Malibu. I’d love to meet as many readers as possible while I’m there. Do look me up. I’ll be there for the entire lectureship.

I’m hoping for a better experience than I had the first time. Continue reading →

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