One Pastor per Church?

Last updated on: August 26, 2013 at 6:57 pm By Scot McKnight

Most any reading of the earliest period of the followers of Jesus, say from 30-50 AD, reveals a more charismatic ordering of a local church. Most any reading of the 3d Century church reveals what many call a Monarchial bishopric, where we have an authoritative teacher “ruling” the local church. How did this happen? Everett Ferguson, in his The Early Church and Today (vol. 1: Ministry, Initiation, and Worship) maps various moves in the rise of the monarchial bishop. Ferguson operates... Read more

A Name that Strikes Terror

Last updated on: August 28, 2013 at 6:07 am By Scot McKnight

Some names, just mentioning the names, strikes terror. One such name is Jephthah, that judge of Judges 11 who sacrificed his daughter. Or did he? My colleague and friend, Claude Mariottini, devotes three chapters in his book Rereading the Biblical Text to the story of Jephthah. I attach the text after the post. 1. Jephthah goes to war with the Ammonites; he makes a vow: Judg. 11:29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh,... Read more

Peter Bergen on Syria

Last updated on: August 27, 2013 at 7:11 pm By Scot McKnight

From CNN.com: Bergen’s take is that Samantha Powers showed delay after delay fizzles any opportunity to intervene in a way that helps. Newt Gingrich says both sides of this battle are bad and will not help the USA or Middle East peace. SMcK: the Christian asks What does Jesus teach? The Christian asks What is best for the church? Some ask pragmatically, What will America or other nations achieve if they intervene? What do you think? The issue now in... Read more

Black Millennials

Last updated on: August 22, 2013 at 8:13 pm By Scot McKnight

Bryan T. Calvin: If you keep up with Christian news and blogs at all you know there has been a lot of talk about why Millennials are leaving the church. It is a hot topic for Christian books and speakers, and for good reason. People are trying to understand why Millennials are leaving, if we can get them back and if the problem is with the generation or with the message or presentation of the Church. New data from the 2012 Pew... Read more

When Charity is Illegal

Last updated on: August 27, 2013 at 10:46 am By Scot McKnight

From Hugh Hollowell (http://lovewins.info/2013/08/feeding-homeless-apparently-illegal-in-raleigh-nc/): This morning we showed up at Moore Square at 9:00 a.m., just like we have done virtually every Saturday and Sunday for the last six years. We provide, without cost or obligation, hot coffee and a breakfast sandwich to anyone who wants one. We keep this promise to our community in cooperation with five different large suburban churches that help us with manpower and funding. Today officers from Raleigh Police Department prevented us from doing our... Read more

Ask Jeeves! (RJS)

Last updated on: August 27, 2013 at 6:47 am By RJS

I admit it, I am a P.G. Wodehouse fan. I’ve read (and have on my shelf) all of the Jeeves and Wooster books along with many of Wodehouse’s other books. One of my favorite shows is the British TV series Jeeves and Wooster starring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry. … But I digress. This post concerns a different Jeeves, Malcolm Jeeves, emeritus professor of psychology at the University of St. Andrews. The most pressing questions at the intersection of science... Read more

Comparing Men and Women

Last updated on: August 25, 2013 at 12:05 pm By Scot McKnight

One of the more commonly observed statistics about American church attendance is that church is more for women than men. That is, more women attend than do men. Some draw the conclusion that the church is too oriented toward women, though I find this an odd argument. Others draw the conclusion that women are more religious than men, which strikes me as sexism. Still, comparisons will be made between men and women when it comes to religion. We find it... Read more

World by Population Map

Last updated on: August 22, 2013 at 7:53 pm By Scot McKnight

From Gizmodo, and if you click on it you can see a fuller map: Read more

Peacemaking, the Gospel and Churches

Last updated on: August 22, 2013 at 8:00 pm By Scot McKnight

From Steve Norman: I don’t know a single local church pastor who doesn’t believe in peacemaking. After all, the angels celebrating Jesus’s birth come right out and sing, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14). Jesus himself champions the role of peacemaker in his Sermon on the Mount and, let’s be honest, nobody’s going to challenge Jesus’s direct words there. And yet, there is a clear gap... Read more

What’s a “Free” Church?

Last updated on: August 26, 2013 at 6:47 am By Scot McKnight

One of my favorite scholars is Everett Ferguson, author of the justly used Backgrounds of Early Christianity, a rich and useful resource for all things historical. He’s a part of the Churches of Christ, a lively part of the American church even if often ignored by those who study evangelicalism. I’m for bringing them to the table. Anyways, as a friend of mine used to say to consume a pause, Ferguson’s got a new book called The Early Church and Today. Ferguson... Read more

Who brought to Jesus the woman taken in adultery?