The Church of Saints Bait And Switch

Last updated on: July 23, 2020 at 10:12 am By C. Don Jones

There are serious errors in Evangelical exegesis and theological assumptions. The worst actions though are not about any of these areas. It’s the bait and switch aspect of Evangelical church growth methods. They are often deceitful. As a young student minister from an evangelical church, I engaged in recruitment campaigns that were designed to look like something other than what they were. We knocked on people’s doors and claimed we were there “to take a survey.” We ended the survey... Read more

Progressive Miracles?

Last updated on: July 20, 2020 at 2:07 pm By C. Don Jones

Liberal Christians do not take the subject of miracles seriously. Bultmann and many others told us to look beyond those things. People living before the scientific era saw miracles and magic at work. Even, Martin Luther, the Great Reformer himself was prone to believe in supernatural events including St. Anne miraculously intervening to save him during a storm. Isn’t the world a much more rational and realistic place when miracles have no place in it? A Discussion of Miracles The... Read more

Ego Masks

Last updated on: July 16, 2020 at 11:51 am By C. Don Jones

“”Why does someone need an assault rifle for protection but refuses to wear a mask for protection?” It is a common meme for some liberals of the United States’ variety. “Aha! I just defeated your logic,” is the claim. The problem is that there is no logic involved. Openly carrying a rifle while not wearing a mask during this pandemic is about ego. How do I want to see myself? How do I want others to perceive who I am?... Read more

Self-Indulgent Guilt

Last updated on: July 13, 2020 at 10:43 am By C. Don Jones

Wedding rehearsals occur because of how everything is supposed to happen during the ceremony. It is not so much about rehearsing the lines. It is to make the wedding party comfortable with what they are doing. Someone’s need for comfort is where many weddings fall apart.They may decide to be self-indulgent. I learned many years ago to warn the couple getting married, “If I smell alcohol on you, the wedding won’t happen.” A Recent Story Weddings are both celebrations and... Read more

I Approve This Message

Last updated on: July 8, 2020 at 7:04 pm By C. Don Jones

Campaign season is here. Presidential campaigns begin on January 21st of the new term. Posturing renews. Partisan fighting does too. And then there is the peculiar quality of it all. Every candidate has a message. And they ask people to “deliver a message” by voting for them. Whatever the messages are they must be important. But they are not effective. Because we get them every cycle. The Parable Of The Trees The trees needed a king. They thought they did... Read more

They Are Not Wanted

Last updated on: July 6, 2020 at 10:34 am By C. Don Jones

Groucho Marx once said, “I would never join a club that wanted me as a member.” It was a painfully humorous statement. He was referring to exclusive clubs that barred Jews from membership. They were not wanted. The spirit of exclusion affects more places than it should. Often, the exclusivity principle is not recognized for what it is. Community Organizations So-called community organizations practice exclusivity in many overt ways. The Boy Scouts of America is one of the worst. As... Read more

The Church Split

Last updated on: July 1, 2020 at 6:35 pm By C. Don Jones

Something did not happen in 2020. The United Methodist Church did not split. It wasn’t for lack of trying. COVID-19 brought with it social distancing, travel bans, and concerns about infection rates. The very idea that something more important than deciding which group will get to call itself a new denomination or how congregations will affiliate was not in the minds of the leaders from all sides. Insurance liability jargon considers a pandemic “an act of God.” It appears strange to... Read more

A New Ministry

Last updated on: June 29, 2020 at 11:47 am By C. Don Jones

This morning I did something I have done more times than I like to think about. I moved into a new Pastor’s Study in a Church building. The funny thing is that I am always excited when I do this. I look forward to the new pastoral ministry. I always do. There are a few reasons for this. Being Wounded in Ministry Pastoral ministry is comedy meeting tragedy and attempting to define one another. We are all counseled at one... Read more

Atoning For The Congregation

Last updated on: June 24, 2020 at 7:08 pm By C. Don Jones

Aaron made atonement for the congregation. It was necessary. Both he and Moses were attacked by the hostile congregation. The Lord was angry and declared, “Get away from the congregation, so that I may consume them in a moment.” Moses made a plan. Aaron would take holy incense and burn it on a holy censor with fire from the holy altar and go into the middle of the congregation. And so he did. The Congregation Was In The Wrong Korah... Read more

In The Image Of Parents

Last updated on: June 21, 2020 at 11:24 am By C. Don Jones

Believe it or not, most of us developed our first images of God based on our parents. It’s strange. We may think our parents told us about God. I am sure they did. But they may have told us about our grandparents. Our experiences with our grandparents (if we were lucky enough to know them) altered the impressions we received from our parents. Children do not have the direct experience of God in this way. Unconscious associations of God with the... Read more