Tag

Having traced my way back through many of the tags that preceded mine (back to Chad, Travis, Krister and others), I am struck by how similar we are, and how unique we are. We have much in common: common concerns, common interests, common experiences, common educational and minsterial backgrounds and training, and common friends. So, I've come up with a little tag of my own. We'll see where it goes, but I'm thinking primarily of those bloggers who are in their 20's-30's, CoC folk, emerging student-leaders of the next generation of our inherited Reformation movement. In other words, those who have been recently tagged by the round of questions I answered for myself below. I've appreciated reading several blogs. Sometime I'd like to meet you bloggers face to face. Maybe this tag will give us a open door to start the conversation.

Here goes:

Three reasons you stay in Churches of Christ:
1. We want to be Christ's church and we take our discipleship seriously
2. Relationships
3. This is my heritage: I have been nurtured in faith in this group and want to stay in order to contribute as I have received.

Three reasons you would leave Churches of Christ:
1. We have too often settled for sectarianism in lieu of genuine undenominational, organic Christianity.
2. We have not sustained well a healthy, constructive, self-critical view of ourselves.
3. We have not tolerated well honest dissent and challenge; neither have we always dissented or challenged well.

Three professors and/or courses who have influenced your thinking:
1. Randy Harris (Systematic Biblical Doctrine and Christian Mind and Devotional Life, both undergradute)
2. John Mark Hicks (Systematic Theology and Theological Hermeneutics, both graduate, and lots of Chinese food)
3. Gary Holloway (Restoration Movement and Hebrews-Jude, both graduate)

Three academic books which have shaped your thinking:
1. Michael S. Horton, Covenant and Eschatology
2. Luke Timothy Johnson, Scripture and Discernment
3. Gabriel Fackre, The Christian Story

Three CoC/Stone-Campbell books which have shaped your thinking:
1. Richard Hughes, Reviving the Ancient Faith
2. Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement
3. Tie: Thomas H. Olbricht, Hearing God's Voice and K. C. Moser, The Way of Salvation

Three hopes you have for the future of Churches of Christ:
1. That we will increase in love
2. That we will increase in being missional
3. That we will critically embrace and continue our heritage of simple Christianity

Three fears you have for Churches of Christ:
1. Having abandoned love, that we will miss the heart of God
2. Having abandoned our mission, that we will turn inward
3. Having abandoned our heritage, that we will become sectarian

Three challenges we will face in Churches of Christ in our generation:
1. Will we be politcial church or a church of disciples. We will sort out our faith in the midst of our national and world climate in some way. The question is, how and how well?
2. We will wrestle with gender and sexuality issues; again, how and how well?
3. We will wrestle with being missional in our postmodern context.

Three bloggers you tag:
1. Chad
2. Mark
3. Travis