Job's words paint a portrait of a man completely surrendered to the sovereignty of God. Calling God his witness, advocate, intercessor, and friend are amazing attributes to come from the lips of one who is experiencing a full-blown hurricane in his life. In no way do we see Job deny the intensity of the storm or minimize its impact on his life. He literally lost everything. Instead of waiting for the storm to end, Job chooses to reach out through the storm and to his Creator, LORD, and Friend. There is a lesson here, I am sure. ... Continue Reading »]]> For a Christian to want to be like Jesus is the most noble of desires. Those who love and serve him want to imitate him. All of us who march under his banner want to love like he did. We want to be righteous as he was. We want to be devoted to our heavenly Father as he was. The list of qualities that define his holy character is long. The result we expect from living like Jesus, the best we can, is that we will be full of joy, know true peace in our hearts, and live above the cares of the world as we look for his appearing. I am sometimes amused and sometimes angry when on the rare occasion I watch a TV preacher. It seems that most of them teach that if you follow Jesus you will have no want, spiritually or financially, and live in good health. They didn't get that from the Bible. ... Continue Reading »]]> This was a hard week. ... First of all, I'm tired. It's been a long, difficult winter season physically and emotionally. I need a break and can't seem to find enough rest. I've lost the sense of peace I used to carry in my spirit. I feel disconnected from God, from life. I try to walk in transparency and vulnerability, but some days, especially lately, I just want to hide .... Continue Reading »]]> Clinical depression is like being in a room in which all of the light and air sources have been cut off. You stumble around desperately, feeling along the walls for a door or at least a light switch, but there's nothing. You know you can't stay in the room much longer and survive, but you can't find a way out. Depression is a terrifying, merciless monster. It's also invisible, so you look fine to other people. But inside, the monster's grip tightens until you think it will crush you to death. ... Continue Reading »]]> This edition of New Wineskins is number one hundred. Edition number one hundred should call for some kind of of celebration: Twenty-two years ago to the month, the original Wineskins Magazine was published and distributed by co-founding editors Mike Cope and Rubel Shelley, a lovely and courageous four-color magazine exploring the questions of faith too-long ignored by the churches of Christ specifically, the Restoration Movement churches generally, and the universal Church of Christ in the world God made. There ought to be self-promotions and links to classic articles and summaries of issues that writers and readers have explored together. But there aren't. ... Continue Reading »]]> Unlike gift lists found in other places (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Romans 12:6-8), in Ephesians 4:11 Paul specifically calls different types of leaders the "gifts" Christ gave to serve the church. Each role was ordained by Jesus, and specific individuals were created, uniquely gifted, and "given" to fill them. The goal driving this organizational scheme was exceedingly lofty - "so that the body of Christ may be built up" - so here's my question: why does the traditional Church of Christ interpretation of Ephesians 4:11 eliminate one of these roles from the contemporary church equation? ... Continue Reading »]]> Continue Reading »]]> Continue Reading »]]> Our heritage proudly claims to be people of the Book and we always turn to the Bible for guidance in every practice. Having served in a few congregations on both sides of the Mississippi, I've noticed oftentimes we share a common practice in our churches -- an American/Democratic process for selecting Elders; not a process we found in the pages of the Sacred Script. ... Continue Reading »]]> Many within Christendom, especially those who have been raised within the Stone-Campbell heritage of faith, are familiar with the concept of "the eldership." Even a child could likely explain that it has reference to those men in the congregation who serve as the "elders" of the church. It is a rather common term; one we've all probably heard many times, as it is used quite frequently in sermons, Bible classes and periodicals. What some of these brethren may not realize, however, is that the Greek word we often translate "eldership" only occurs one time with reference to these men in all the New Testament writings. Continue Reading »]]> "Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all" Mark 9:39

I am worried about excellence. For many years now we have been bombarded with the word "excellence." It began in business circles then trickled down to Christian schools, colleges, and other ministries. Now it is a watchword in many churches. ... Continue Reading »]]> What stands out about Ron Clark's book is that he stands with one foot planted firmly in the world of the text and one foot planted firmly in the world of incarnational ministry. This reminds me of N.T. Wright, who has made it his life's work to stand in the middle of the academy and the church. Sometimes neither of those worlds truly appreciates what is being done for us, but what Clark does is one notch up the ladder of concrete ministry from N.T. Wright. ... Continue Reading »]]> Let me begin with the story of Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector, then I'll make my point.

"Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer*: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don't cheat, I don't sin, and I don't commit adultery. I'm certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.' ... Continue Reading »]]> He replays that night in his head often. Things happened quickly. The questions kept coming one after the other. The pressure from those around him had become so great that he did the unthinkable. Even though his friend was facing the greatest crisis of his life, Peter left him alone to face his accusers. He left him alone to be crucified. ... Continue Reading »]]>