On Unity with Non-Institutional churches of Christ

On Unity with Non-Institutional churches of Christ

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve had numerous discussions with and about the Non-Institutional churches of Christ (NICOC hereafter), both in preparation for and response to our Think Deeper Podcast episode [https://youtu.be/GdR8yFubCws?si=lYYQTel_62POKSPa] on the topic. You can watch the episode for a bit of a background if you’re not familiar, but a very basic summary is that the NICOC and the Institutional or Mainline churches of Christ (MCOC hereafter) had a sharp parting of the ways 70-80 years ago over whether the local church had authority to send contribution funds to parachurch organizations. Our guest, Jacob Hudgins, was a wonderful representative for the view, and we had a very cordial discussion. Everything that follows in this piece is neither an attempt to speak for his point of view or to argue back against what he said in the episode. Rather, I want to look at the prospects for unity between the NICOC and the MCOC going forward from here. jackwilkie.co [http://jackwilkie.co] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jackwilkie.co/subscribe [https://jackwilkie.co/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

"Pride Month" and Answering Something with Nothing

Well, it’s June again. And despite some of the rollbacks of the last couple of years, “Pride Month” is still very much a thing. It took them decades of plotting and working to make it happen, and so it’s probably going to take some time for us to make it stop happening. But just saying we will not stand for the culture of LGBT+ism won’t be enough to turn the false rainbow tide. We have to get over our aversion to standing FOR a pro-family culture. “What aversion?” you might ask. “We’re pro-heterosexual marriage and believe a man is a man and a woman is a woman.” To that I would say, we have settled for a bare minimum. jackwilkie.co [http://jackwilkie.co] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jackwilkie.co/subscribe [https://jackwilkie.co/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

A Flood of Toxic, Abusive Narcissists

Pop psychology and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race. As we as a society have grown more self-aware about our mental health and the industry terms have entered the cultural vocabulary, there is no mechanism for preventing the potent concepts from being misused. Suddenly everyone is an expert, throwing out diagnoses and analysis with a sense of authority because of the weight the terms carry. In 2016, psychologist Nick Haslam put a finger on the problem by coining the term “concept creep.” Wikipedia summarizes the idea as “the process by which harm-related topics experience semantic expansion to include topics which would not have originally been envisaged to be included under that label.” To give an example, “trauma” originally had a useful meaning. Now it has come to mean “anything bad that ever happened to someone.” Similar terms like abuse, narcissism, gaslighting, and toxic have undergone the same kind of expansion. jackwilkie.co [http://jackwilkie.co] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jackwilkie.co/subscribe [https://jackwilkie.co/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

When God Turns Us Away

I’ve been working through Malachi for our Minor Prophets teaching series on Focus+ [http://focuspress.org/plus], and every time I visit the little book I’m reminded of a challenging truth: Sometimes, our worship is the LAST thing God wants. This truth demolishes the idea of box-checking Christianity. Just because we showed up and went through the rituals doesn’t mean God was pleased. In fact, sometimes it makes Him even more upset. Let’s talk about the two times the Bible tells us God doesn’t want our worship. jackwilkie.co [http://jackwilkie.co] Don't forget to pick up your FREE copy of my latest book, You Are Saved! Go here for info [https://jackwilkie.co/p/my-new-book-free] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jackwilkie.co/subscribe [https://jackwilkie.co/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

4 Lessons You’re Teaching Your Kids About The Church

“Actions speak louder than words,” and “Kids will do what you do, not what you say” are two clichés we all understand, but sometimes need to take more seriously. This is particularly applicable when it comes to what we do as Christians. Every choice you make as a church member teaches your children an important lesson about the church. Here are four of the biggest lessons they are learning from your words and actions. Read the rest at jackwilkie.co [http://jackwilkie.co], where you can subscribe for free or become a supporter Pick up my new book You Are Saved FREE here - https://jackwilkie.co/p/my-new-book-free [https://jackwilkie.co/p/my-new-book-free] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jackwilkie.co/subscribe [https://jackwilkie.co/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]