Those who opposed the mission to the Gentiles on the terms being offered were, strictly speaking, right. They had scripture on their side. But Peter (Acts 11) and Paul (Acts 15) argued that they had experienced the grace of God among the Gentiles — beyond all the familiar boundary markers.

Those who said that the Messiah couldn’t have been crucified on a tree had scripture on their side. Such a person was deemed to be accursed. But the early church had experienced the truth of the unimaginable.

Those who argued against abolition had scripture after scripture to help make their case: scripture seemed to regulate the practice of slavery but not abolish it. However, Christ-followers who opposed slavery argued from their experience of the good news of Jesus that it was morally wrong. Thankfully, they won the day.

In an issue like the ministry of women, one question is: How do we interpret the relevant scriptures? But another hermeneutical question (that follows the former one) is: What is our experience of the gospel here? What are we observing about women, gifts, ministry, and leadership?

“What does the Bible say?” is a wonderful question. It is not, however, the ONLY question. There are also the questions and observations that arise from community discernment!

From a distance, we like to condemn the elder brother. Up close and personal, however, we secretly cheer him on.

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It’s been an interesting 27 years to be a preacher in Churches of Christ. There have been so many transitions, so many challenges.

Along the way, I’ve learned a little about the importance of congregational discernment. I’ve witnessed the wisdom of Luke Timothy Johnson’s Scripture & Discernment: Decision Making in the Church and Religious Experience in Earliest Christianity. He points out that in Acts 15, it is the experience of God’s new work among the Gentiles that caused the Jewish leaders to accept them sans circumcision (eventually with some rather creative readings of scripture).

There are so many wonderful young ministers I’ve gotten to know. They are well-trained; they’re passionate about the mission of God in this world (eschewing the kind of rapture theology that has dominated — even among those who don’t believe in the rapture!); and they’re devoted to personal and congregational discernment.

Good days are ahead. I’ll be cheering these young men and women along!

“The most important question concerning Jesus, then, is simply this: Do we think he is dead or alive?”

That’s not a bad question to contemplate as ’04 gets underway.

This morning I’m trying to face up to the implications of this statement: “The ‘witness’ of early Christian communities was not primarily through their preaching, but through the quality of their lives. The greatest miracle supporting the claims of Christians was the transformation of their lives and the creation of transforming communities.”

If that’s true . . . anyone see a problem?