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Jan 22 2010

Jay Guin, Change Agent


When you visit Grace Digest you will see a list of blogs on the right side bar that I like and read. One of those is “Jay Guin“. If you move your mouse cursor over his name the caption will appear “A site that values truth over tradition“. I still believe that brief statement is an honest summation of Jay’s blog, OneinJesus.info.

Jay Guin is an elder at University Church of Christ in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He serves as an elder and is busy teaching and shepherding the flock. Jay is also an attorney so the bills get paid at home. He has been a speaker at some of the most popular and well-known Church of Christ lectureships and is an author. His book The Holy Spirit and Revolutionary Grace: God’s antidotes for division within the Churches of Christ and at least four others are favorites of many readers.

Jay Guin is best known for his blogging. Oneinjesus.info is a favorite daily stop for hundreds of anxious readers including yours truly. Jay’s blog I am sure gets more hits by far than any other Church of Christ blog. (Edward Fudge and Al Maxey get tons of traffic but they are not in blog format. Both are wonderful but not blogs.)

For lack of a better term to describe Jay’s teaching I’ll say he is “Progressive”. He fearlessly challenges traditional CoC teaching and tradition and expertly defends his positions clearly with Bible texts carefully selected and used in context. (sadly, a rather rare skill among bloggers). While I don’t agree 100% of the time with Jay, I respect and love him 100% of the time, even when he gently chides me for being off topic in my comments on one of his posts.

I lovingly titled this post and labeled my friend, “Change Agent”. Traditionalists in churches of Christ label anyone who challenges the traditional views as a “change agent” and it is not a flattering term. I used that unflattering term to describe this good man because he is indeed a “change agent” for good. In the last few days I read comments from at least two of his readers who stated they had begun to shake of the shackles of legalism and to know and experience the freedom the grace of God is. It is this kind of change I appreciate and applaud.

I first started to pay attention to Jay Guin when he and fellow grace-man Todd Deaver challenged traditionalists to an online dialog. Jay Guin and Todd Deaver on the “Progressive” side and Phil Sanders and Greg Tidwell on the “Conservative” side. (I think “Traditionalist” better describes that position than “Conservative”. It isn’t “conservative” to be wrong.)  Grace Conversation was very interesting reading, both the content and the readers comments.

As I anticipated, Phil Sanders and Greg Tidwell, (and later Todd Deaver’s father Mack Deaver) were unable to defend the main tenets of their positions using the Bible. The traditionalists finally threw in the towel but along the way many, many readers were taught truth by the writing of Jay and Todd and comments by scores.

Jay Guin is some sort of superman! I can’t comprehend how one man can do so much. He posts from 1 to 3 excellent posts every day, teaches up to three times a week at his church, works at a law firm, and has all of the domestic duties of any husband and father. I don’t know how he does it but I am sincerely grateful that he does. A big Christian salute to my friend and the king of CoC bloggers, Jay Guin.

Agape’

Royce

Dec 22 2009

A Favorite Church of Christ Word, “Sound”


Being the curious sort, I often read the classifieds in the Christian Chronicle, a wonderful news paper filled with news of interest to church of Christ people. Each issue will have ads where local churches are trying to hire preachers. It is not uncommon for the job requirements to include that the candidate be married, that he has graduated from a “brotherhood school”, or has earned a four-year degree.

One of the most interesting requirements is that he be “sound”. What does that mean? “Sound” is one of those words with many, many meanings but in the context of describing a preacher one or more of the word’s use as an adjective would apply. Which of these do you suppose churches intend when they advertise they want a “sound” man?

1. free from injury, damage, defect, disease, etc.; in good condition; healthy; robust: a sound heart; a sound mind.2. financially strong, secure, or reliable: a sound business; sound investments.

3. competent, sensible, or valid: sound judgment.

4. having no defect as to truth, justice, wisdom, or reason: sound advice.

5. of substantial or enduring character: sound moral values.

6. following in a systematic pattern without any apparent defect in logic: sound reasoning.

7. uninterrupted and untroubled; deep: sound sleep.

8. vigorous, thorough, or severe: a sound thrashing.

9. free from moral defect or weakness; upright, honest, or good; honorable; loyal.

10. having no legal defect: a sound title to property.

11. theologically correct or orthodox, as doctrines or a theologian.

Several of these could apply but number 11 likely comes closest to what is intended. Or does it?

I think that rather than using the word as an adjective, many of our folks use the word “sound”, when referring to a preacher, as a noun.

The primary criteria is not that he teaches “sound” doctrine. The wish is that he holds forth the traditions that the traditional churches of Christ hold dear.

An example of the subtle difference would be the subject of a capella singing. Does this church want a man who will open the Scriptures and teach what it says, and only what it says on the subject? Or, do they want a man who will perpetuate a myth?

I must ask myself the question, am I a “sound” man? Do I love truth? Do I pursue it? Do I settle for less than the truth? And, much more important than if I have the truth, does the truth have me?

Is my life controlled by the words of Scripture or do I use Scripture to my own ends? Do I pick and choose verses, sometimes out of context, to prop up my pet doctrine? I hope not. I pray that I don’t.

I hope that when we in the churches of Christ use the word “sound” in relation to a preacher or teacher we will sincerely want him to be devoted to the Lordship of Jesus and a sincere seeker of the truth of Scripture, even if it goes against what we hold dear.

I want that kind of “sound” man behind the sacred desk on Sunday.

Royce

Dec 17 2009

I get emails…..


Each day my “inbox” has at least a few messages from some dishonest pin head whose goal is to separate me from my dollars. Those are easy enough to dismiss. I just report them as “Spam” and the next time they hit my system the are filed away in the “Spam” folder and forgotten.

More difficult to dismiss are the dozens of email messages I receive from good friends each month that go something like this.

Some cheesy poem or a prayer is followed by:

“If you send this to 10 of your friends you will have an unexpected blessing in 48 hours”. Or, “If you really love God you will forward this to all of your friends”

I get these mostly from people who are Christians and should be mature enough to know better.

I also regularly receive messages promising that if I forward the email to 100 people Bill Gates will send me some $$’s. It amazes me that grown ups can be so naive. I have news for you, baby there is not free ride! You are not going to get something for nothing from a company who wants to make a profit.

Thankfully, I get emails from people who are encouraging, enlightening,  entertaining, funny as can be, and with worthy news. I love those! And, I get a sprinkling of messages appreciating something I have written, I also love those messages almost to the point of being sinful. (All of us love the praise of men to some degree don’t we?)

Email, Facebook, and Twitter can be fun, informative, inspiring and very useful but they can also be robbing you of time that would be better spent elsewhere.

Lets make a deal, just me and you. Next time lets think about it a bit before before we hit the “forward” button. I believe just a bit of reason will eliminate some of the junk from our busy lives.

This rant was completely free and you have to do nothing in return.

Royce

P.S. If you forward this the link to this post to everyone on your contacts list and have them send me $1.00 through PayPal I will have minnow money for the summer. I know this will work! LOL

Nov 30 2009

An Internet Fast.


No, I’m not talking about making your internet experience faster, I’m talking about internet fasting, no internet for 7 days.

Exactly one week ago I put a vacation message on my email auto-responder, shut off my computer and drove away. I made the conscious decision that for one week I would not read email, blogs, write a blog, or an any way use the internet.

Why? Good question. My simple answer is My life needed a reboot. I wanted a technical cleansing. The idea was to flush my mind of gmail, Facebook, Twitter, blogging, and my real estate website. So I did it. I shut it off and drove to Texas.

I enjoyed the company of old friends over good food, remarkable sunsets, and catching a few fish. When my friend offered “Do you need to check your email?” my reply was simply “No“. I didn’t elaborate. And when told “You can use the computer anytime you want” I replied with only “Thanks“.

I found wonderful satisfaction in simple conversation. Talking about old times, fishing experiences, receipts, grand kids, life and the joys and sorrows of living. The hours passed at a slower pace it seemed. I stood in awe one early morning staring at brilliant stars hanging low against the blackness of the night sky, felling the cool wind tease the goose bumps on my arms and legs while listening to the steady cadence of gentle waves splash against the shore. I was keenly aware of God’s presence and pervasiveness in the glory of His creation.

I found time to admire cattle munching on green grass in the Red River Valley, admired some rusty antique trucks now resting from their labor at the entrance of a farm yard, and photographed an old Methodist church where services are now only two or three times a month. I wondered about the scores of people who had worshiped there, were married there, were memorialized there, and were introduced to God there.

Only a few short miles East is was Interstate 35 and the third largest casino in the world. People going fast and living faster, many never finding the secret of living at peace. I mean the kind that is present and up front when your head hits the pillow and you know that you know that you are at peace with man and God.

I had wonderful fellowship with my wife’s family, both the Cheek’s and the Samsill’s, and appreciated the happy faces of children, parents, and grand parents. We ate good food, laughed, and cheered the Dallas Cowboys to a win. I admire the legacy of generations of lives well lived.

I took my wife to a movie (The Blind Side), we shopped, we drove along holding hands, we laughed and enjoyed being one. I napped while watching food themed shows on the Travel Channel and I enjoyed being me. And, I really, really enjoyed being internet free for a week.

I have promised myself that from now on I will use the internet and all that entails, I will not let it use me. There’s a life to be lived in the other room, outside, down the road, in the woods, on a lake, or in the pages of a good book.

When I worshiped God this morning I felt more alive, cleaner, and my inner man had new crispness that I want more of.

What is the moral of this story? I’ll let you decide that one.

Royce