Who Are We?

I've referenced Jeffrey Frymire's blog before, but his most recent post is worth pointing out here in CHOGBlog. Jeff asks the question, "Who Are We?" or how do you describe what the Church of God is to someone outside of our circle, especially to those who may not be able to identify with some of the analogies we sometimes use, like "holiness", "Wesleyan" or even "Bill Gaither"?



A great question, not only for the practical purpose of answering the queries of outsiders, but also for simply clarifying our own identity within the larger Body of Christ.



Leave your suggestions on Jeff's blog.

Church of God pastor works for religious peace

According to Journal Chretien (Eng. "Christian Journal") Pastor Ameal Haddad, Pastor of Bellflower Church of God in California, along with another pastor, formed Ambassadors for Peace, a religious rights organization.



Haddad is originally from Jordan, and understands first hand the conflicts that have arisen between Christians and Muslims. He believes that working for religious freedom around the world not only will contribute to greater human rights, but potentially could allow Christianity to flourish in countries in which there are currently many restrictions.



Read the article yourself, and please comment on what you think of this effort.



(One point in the article which is probably incorrect is that it says they are endorsed by the "300,000 member Church of God based on Anderson, IN". There is no listing of them in the Yearbook, although their website has an endorsement letter from the area administrator in Southern California).

Digging deeper: Comments

My recent diversity postings have been generating a higher than usual amount of comments. In particular there has been significant discussion on whether there is a need for a prophet to rally us back together around our message and mission. I do appreciate readers taking the time to leave their feedback, both positive and negative. This is part of the power of blogging, and contributes to the conversations we need.

For those of you new to blogs, remember that most blogs have a comment section for each post. If there is a topic that interests you be sure to check out what others are saying, or better yet, take the time to leave your own contribution. If you have a blog of your own you can link to my post and comment on it there and a reference will automatically appear in the "Links to this Post" section of my post.

Also, note that my blog now has the ability for you to subscribe to a particular post's comments through your feed reader. That way you can track specific comment conversations as they develop! (By the way, if you are not using a feed reader to read blogs you are trying to drive down a modern Interstate highway with a Model-T Ford. A while back, I outlined how to get started with a feed reader, so be sure to read that post, although it probably needs updating, as my two favorite aggregators are now Google Reader and Netvibes).

Theological diversity - part 2

It's time to get back to my ongoing (but only occasional!) series on diversity within the Church of God. So far I've examined ethnic and regional diversity, and most recently I began looking at theological diversity.

In my last post on the subject I pointed out that there is an important distinction between doctrine and theology. Doctrinally, the Church of God is quite uniform (more so than many recognize). But, theologically, we exhibit considerable diversity. To be sure, what we believe is important. A solid doctrinal foundation is essential. Nevertheless, how we interpret, express and apply those doctrines will vary from person to person, from culture to culture, and from generation to generation. That's theology.

This understanding actually fits well with the Church of God. As a holiness group that emerged out of Wesleyan pietism we have always held that faith is to be lived, not just believed. In essence, we have valued orthropraxy (i.e correct practice) over orthodoxy (i.e. correct teachings), although we recognize the importance of both. In other words, despite occasional excesses in either direction, we maintained a fairly healthy relationship between doctrine and theology.

Unfortunately, however, the liberal-fundamentalist battles of the early 20th-century influenced us to take our eyes off the ball. In the effort to uphold doctrinal integrity we unknowingly bought into rational modernism, a world-view that ultimately is at the core of both liberals and fundamentalists/evangelicals. Church of God leaders and congregations increasingly got caught up in this debate, and in the process moved away from practical holiness and toward propositional faith (an emphasis more representative of Calvinism). Doctrine quickly began to crowd out theology.

We bought into truth as purely doctrinal, using logic, rational argument and philosophy to convince people to accept correct belief. This goes against our theological DNA, where truth is in Christ and a living experience of God's presence expressed in personal, and even social, holiness. Jerry Hickson, in his 2006 Warner Press book Are You Right? Evangelicals and the Church of God, identified this shift and the resulting theological struggles we face as a movement.

What's my point in all this?

The rigid fixation on doctrine (and the resultant disregard for theological engagement) prevents us from seeing the living, dynamic nature of our faith directed by the Holy Spirit. And, as a result, makes it difficult for us to admit that theological diversity is a reality within our own movement, and in fact, is consistent with the New Testament and something to be desired.

In part 3 I will illustrate where this diversity is expressing itself today within the Church of God.

Viewpoint and "God's Blog"

Just a quick mention that the Church of God radio program, Viewpoint, is currently running a series entitled "God's Blog". In it, Jim Lyon uses the blogging metaphor (i.e. specifically the reverse order entry format) to go through Galatians, starting at the end and working backward through the letter.

I figured all of you blog fans would be interested!

(Sorry, no Viewpoint blog yet. Although, there is good news: Viewpoint is now available via podcast feeds, although it is using a frustrating and cumbersome subscription process).

Blogger: Jeffrey Frymire

From time to time I want to share my recommendations of other Church of God - related blogs. I have an extensive list of every known Church of God blog, blogger, feed and podcast on blogrolls on my own blog site, but those lists are getting so long that it is very difficult for most people to wade through them. 

 

I've mentioned Jeffrey Frymire before, as he is the author of Preaching the Story, published last year by Warner Press. I've had the pleasure to work with Jeff as a ministry colleague during my time in Central California when we served together on the Executive Council there. Last summer Jeff left his pastorate in Fresno in order to enroll in Fuller Seminary to obtain a Ph.D. in homiletics. He is a wonderful communicator, and an all around great guy!

 

His blog, The Sabbatical, is self-described as "devotional musings from a pastor making a career change". Not only can you journey with him in his new adventure, but reading his blog will provide some insightful thoughts and reflections. For example, read his latest post, "Things Are Not What They Appear to Be", a second look at our modern world view.

NO Voice - reflections

Now that we've all had some time to reflect on the announcement of the demise of ONEvoice! it's time to make a few personal comments and offer some suggestions for the future.

 

Obviously the demise of ONEvoice! is understandable considering the poor support the church-at-large has demonstrated. All of this is a further sign of how diverse the Church of God really is (I promise I will get back to that topic soon!) in that we cannot find common expression through one publication.

 

And, our world has changed at the same time. Centralized, top-down communications are losing favor everywhere and are being replaced by grass-roots communications like self-publishers, blogs, wikis, social web networks, feed-driven websites, and listserves. Even most of the other Christian periodicals out there are losing ground as well, but aren't showing it yet because they have more critical mass allowing them to survive longer. But, only survive.

 

So, what should Church of God Ministries do in light of these realities?

1. Stop trying to be the one, unified voice for the movement.

2. Recognize, celebrate and promote the diversity within the Church of God.

3. Provide networks for our diverse voices to interact with each other.

4. Harness new technologies, and integrate them well into an overall, consistent communication strategy.

 

What do you think?

 

P.S. - On a side note, I was involved in an interesting conversation last week where we analyzed the evolution of our movement magazine. We began with a clear proclamation (Gospel Trumpet), then changed emphasis to reflect the growing trend toward personal discipleship in American Christianity (Vital Christianity), and most recently we expressed the need for greater unity (ONEvoice!). The future will likely be best stated in a phrase like "Many Voices".