A gracEmail subscriber writes: "I want to grow in my relationship with God, but I'm now struggling with where the Bible fits into the equation. How do I approach scripture to apply it to my faith journey?" * * * The best place for learning how to approach scripture is Scripture itself. The 39 books that we call the "Old Testament" were regarded as sacred writings by the Jews before there were any Christians, and also from the first by Christians, who then were all Jews, and who eventually added 27 more books of their own that we call the "New Testament." If we can identify how New … [Read more...]
INTERNATIONAL, MEMORABLE, AND HISTORIC
The long-awaited Rethinking Hell Conference last weekend (July 11-12, 2014) brought together nearly 150 registrants and participants from the USA, Canada, U.K., France, Lithuania, New Zealand and Australia at the campus of the Lanier Theological Library and Chapel in Houston, Texas. The Conference sponsor, the Rethinking Hell (RH) Project, is presently uploading presentations to its RH Channel on YouTube. Presentations by both plenary speakers are already available for viewing, as is a lively conversation between RH podcaster/interviewer Chris Date and me, including some questions from the … [Read more...]
PEACE (LILY) OF THE LORD
The first thing one sees, upon entering our house through the front door, is a glass-enclosed atrium, approximately 10x10 and open to the sky. Inside the atrium are a small waterfall and a little pool. Animated by a hidden circulating pump, the two water features bring inside the house the sight and sound of one of Nature's wonders. Around the water in all directions, a few plants and assorted flowers complete the picture. A day or two ago I was looking at the scene and enjoying the quiet when I happened to notice a beautiful white blossom in the process of unfolding. Not having seen it … [Read more...]
Perspectives on infant baptism
A gracEmail subscriber requests some larger perspective on the differences among Christians regarding infant baptism. In the following answer, we will distinguish between Christians holding two points of view and practicing accordingly. PEDO- Baptists baptize babies; CREDO-Baptists baptize only professing believers. * * * In the Book of Acts, Luke tells how the Holy Spirit empowered the gospel proclamation to produce the original generation of Christians throughout the Mediterranean world. Sometimes Luke says that converts believed (Acts 16:33-34), were baptized (Acts 16:15) and … [Read more...]
FROM RUIN TO RESURRECTION
It has been my privilege in recent years first to become acquainted with and then to grow to appreciate the work of Al Maxey as a preacher and as a writer. Those who have heard him teach at the Tulsa Workshop and elsewhere, or who have regularly read his studious e-mailings, know precisely what I mean. Having invested his life in ministry among the "mainline" and even some of the more "conservative" Churches of Christ, Al understands his audience and stands with them in mind and heart. He appreciates their concerns, shares their love of Scripture, and speaks their language in teaching it. It … [Read more...]
churches’ actions show real beliefs (2 parts)
Part 1 The good news is that in 2013, autonomous congregations affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) did what their name suggests and baptized more than 300,000 new converts by total immersion. The bad news is that the SBC baptismal tally during 2013 is down more than 100,000 from the number reported in 2009. The decline represents a 26% drop in yearly baptisms, and the lowest number of baptisms reported by Southern Baptists for any year since 1948. Moved, no doubt, by sheer embarrassment as well as by genuine concern, the Baptists did what good American Protestants do … [Read more...]
TIMES WHITE-HOT WITH PROPHETIC MEANING
When one comes to view human history as God views it, that person understands very well why our times fairly bristle with excitement. The mere mention of the ancient prophetic writings--their secrets long judiciously hidden, leaves us white-hot with apocalyptic expectation, eager to experience all that God has prepared for his People. That is not surprising considering the facts. Joined to Jesus, we are part of God's unfolding story of divine reclamation and redemption. The story includes his rescue of us as individuals, to be sure, but it also encompasses very much more--the fulfillment of … [Read more...]
Prophet of Christian Unity
Today, May 25, 2014, marks the 25th anniversary of the passing of W. Carl Ketcherside of St. Louis, Missouri at the age of 81. I knew him for a few years in person as an adult, but I "met" him through his writings a quarter-century before that, as a young man about 14, growing up in Limestone County in North Alabama. My father, Bennie Lee Fudge, regularly received a wide variety of religious publications. I skimmed some of them, read most, and devoured a few--including Mission Messenger, Brother Ketcherside's personal monthly publication. Each issue contained two or three articles by him, and … [Read more...]
THIN PLACES
Sometime during our lives we all will likely experience a moment so transcendently beautiful that time seems to freeze and the world stands still. The trigger for such a moment can take a thousand forms: a piece of music or a work of art; great literature read aloud; the contemplation of pure math. More often it is the scent of honeysuckle, a perfect sunset, or the face of a child. Marital intimacy can become such a sacred pathway, as can at times a simple and truthful prayer. Celtic Christianity saw each such experience as a sign of God's grace--a "thin space" or "thin place," where opaque … [Read more...]
much thanks for many moms
Today is "Mother's Day" in the United States, and on this day I honor and give thanks to God for my mother--Sybil Short Fudge Dewhirst. Now 91, she surveys nearly a century, "rich in memories, friends and family." Hers is a life marked by strong faith, quiet strength, and great courage; a life in which she has outlived two husbands, raised six birth-children, claimed two equally-beloved stepchilden, and has been given more than twenty direct descendants besides. Mom has taught her share of top-quality Bible classes, but she teaches best, and most, and most effectively, using the language of … [Read more...]
