News flash: Eating two pounds of Awful Tasting Vegetable X every day may reduce your risk of heart disease by up to 40 percent. Isn’t that exciting? You’re changing your family’s dietary regimen even as you read, right?
Probably not. And for the same reasons I am not.
Finding a dead armadillo on the side of the road is about like finding bad salsa in Florida — unfortunate, objectionable, but hardly worth extensive comment. However, the one I saw this week was (as far as I could tell at 40 miles per hour) unmarked. It just lay there on the shoulder of the road, four legs reaching to the sky.
This posture reveals the defensive shortcomings of this particular example of God’s creativity.
I could go on and on indefinitely regarding my brother in Christ and fellow Bible student Jesse Winn — particularly regarding some of the specific issues he raised recently regarding the things he has come to “believe” about faith in Jesus. If anyone would like to discuss a particular point of interest with which I have not fully dealt, I will be more than happy to do so in a different forum. I believe I have made my general points I have made about differences of doctrine within the body of Christ and how to deal with them. I will limit my specific points regarding such differences to one specific: baptism.
In this space last week, I made you aware of my brief exchange with Bro. Jesse Winn, whose website article entitled “The Church of Christ: Some Thoughts on Change” has gotten a bit of play lately. The article features 30 statements, each of then beginning with “I believe.” They represent his current thinking on a variety of subjects ranging from church music to congregational oversight to the resurrection. I do not have the inclination to respond fully to any of these points, let alone all of them. But I would like to address the tone of the article as a whole, and perhaps touch on a few specific points along the way.
The scene is the lobby of Mark 16:16 Airlines. A worker stands behind the counter, smiling, waiting to assist someone. A man approaches.
Worker: Good morning! Welcome to Mark 16:16 Airlines. How can I be of assistance?
Customer: Yes, hello. I would like a ticket, please.
Worker: I would be glad to assist you. Would you like a ticket to heaven or to hell? We are proud to offer both.
I was called on the carpet recently for using the term “receiving Jesus” — a term frequently used by those in the denominations to refer to finding grace, particularly in the absence of baptism or any other concrete act of obedience. I then caught myself saying it twice in the very next sermon I preached, so I suppose the observation is valid.
