Todd Deaver, Facing Our Failure: Thoughts

When I finished reading Todd Deaver's Facing Our Failure: The Fellowship Dilemma in Conservative Churches of Christ I was reminded of three statements, had one hope, and expressed one thanksgiving. The first two statements come from the pen of David Edwin Harrell in his The Churches of Christ in the 20th Century. He noted the great irony that the Stone-Campbell Unity movement "sparked fractious debates and manufactured a body of arguments that is...

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James A. Harding & the "Design" of Baptism

I was recently asked this question during a discussion on baptism. This brother believed that unless one holds to a specific understanding of Acts 2.38 their obedience is not good enough. Here is the question: "But what about Acts 2:38 and its application/relevance today--if any? Again, baptism is what the original concern was about." I will here make an attempt to offer some insight from our Stoned-Campbell heritage on the matter ... The question...

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A New Hallelujah - Michael W Smith

I've posted another video of this song b4. But I love it! Its one of my favs ... can the church arise? It lifts the spirit ...

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Stoned Links on the Importance of the Hebrew Bible

Greetings from the land of Saguaros and Scorpions. Been overwhelmed with "happenings" out here in the desert but ... I hear frequently comments that either explicitly or implicitly (more the former than the latter) that denigrate the Hebrew Bible (so called "Old Testament") in the life of the Christian church. This past week it has happened twice. First from a brother at my own congregation said to me some folks are tired of the "Old Testament" and the other was a minister who called me for help because his elders told him the "Old Testament...

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Here. There. Everywhere: Good Stuff on the Net

Ours is a changing world. The good old days (if they ever existed) are gone and will never return. Though America has never been a "Christian" nation there was a time when most folks knew the basic stories of the Bible. That day, too, is past. Sadly most folks who claim the title Christian are not much more biblically literate than non-Christians. My friend Beth pointed to a fascinating article on Christianity Today by Brian Lowry "Biblical Literacy Reaches New Low" on how John 3.16 was the number 1 item on Google search after the Florida/Oklahoma...

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Beer & The Bible: What the Bible Really Says about It

Ok I had no intention of producing another contribution on the topic of wine, beer or alcohol and Christians. Yet there has been a great demand both in the comments of the previous two posts and a number of private emails that suggest a deeper survey of the materials (I do recommend reading my comments near the bottom of the long list of yesterdays post). I have received a number of notes suggesting that my post was way off base and that any alcoholic...

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When Wine is Really "Wine"

In the comments of my last blog, Dare We Be 'Godly,' the issue of "wine" came up. Did Jesus really make alcoholic wine in John 2? Did he ever drink it? Is "wine" really "wine"? in the Scripture. I don't want to devote a lot of time to this subject because in my view the answer is obvious. But here are a few things I have thought about tonight. As our discussion has gone on about wine in the comments, I have come to some conclusions. The first conclusion that I have reached is that the position that alcoholic wine was allowed by God to his People...

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Dare We Be "Godly?"

Recently the Gospel Advocate published a series of featured articles on The Emerging Church Movement. As is to be expected the articles are as a whole fairly negative. I personally think it refreshingly biblical. I do not have time to critique all the articles in depth but I have chosen one snippet to probe a little further. Unfortunately my probing will be from what is, in my opinion, the cream of the crop of the articles: Matthew Morine's "Missional Evangelism." My probing is not intended in any way to be an attack upon Matthew because I...

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