John 17: 21a May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. (HCSB)
Odds and Ends
I am in the process of reading a fascinating book titled "
The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South". You can expect a book review on this blog when I'm finished.
Meanwhile,
Jay Guin is
blogging a
series on the future of progressive churches of Christ, based on articles in the September issue of the
Christian Standard. That topic is all the more interesting because the Christian Standard is a publication of the independent Christian churches, the ecclesiastically estranged cousins of the churches of Christ. Is the wall between these groups starting to crumble? Let's hope so. There is no sound reason why these two groups should not embrace one another as brothers and sisters, despite differences on some peripheral topics.
On another unity front, the
Portland ICOC is
seeking to restore fellowship with the other ICOC congregations. This is a positive and hopeful sign for more brotherhood and peace between groups of believers.
And closer to home for me, our congregation is using the facilities of a nearby independent Christian church to conduct a session of
Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. We are also hoping to work out arrangements for us to use their facilities for other activities. The elders of this Christian Church have been extraordinarily gracious and eager to help. We are two congregations with so much in common doctrinally.