Author Archives: David Aukerman

Jun 21 2014
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Belong

Welcome!

We care about honest faith, real discussion, and the Church of God. We want many voices – including yours – to join us at this table. This space is where several of us, previously seminary colleagues and now ministers in various places, have committed to conversation about important topics of faith and practice.

Here’s how you can get involved:

  • Learn who we are by clicking the About tab.
  • Subscribe to our sermon podcast channel. This way you can follow our various preaching experiences all from one location. (RSS feed)
  • Dive into our current series, The Why Questions, which explores three major questions of identity and purpose facing the Church of God today.
  • Check out our second series, which starts with Church of God at the Crossroads: An Introduction and discusses seven defining characteristics of what it means to be God’s church in the 21st century.
  • Read our first series, Our Stories, which gives deeper insights about who we are and why we care about the Church of God.
  • Read the collaborative work we’re calling “Holiness: A Lenten Devotional.”

Pull up a chair and join the conversation!

May 16 2014
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At the Crossroads

A Unity Church: A Response

Unity, not uniformity.  Diversity, not division.  Jonathan’s two main points about the nature of the church are well taken.  God intends for churches, movements, and denominations to be marked by these characteristics.  And yet I wonder if we can push this in a different direction:  toward the local church.

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Feb 27 2014
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At the Crossroads

A Bible Church

Something in Common

God is pleased when his people read, study, teach, preach, and live by Bible. Who would disagree? Surely this is a no-brainer: God’s people, those who have experienced the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, are to center their lives around the Old and New Testaments. Emphasis on the priority of scripture is most certainly integral to the fabric of what it means to be God’s church. From weekly sermons to small group studies to the “B-I-B-L-E” children’s song, one thing is clear: We are people of the Book. This is a truth around which all Christians can rally.

Yet to say that this value finds unique expression in the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) is to say something of a different order. Our understanding of and adherence to the Bible do not overshadow or replace the love of scripture that has marked the church since its founding and especially since the Reformation. We are not somehow more biblical than other Christians. However, our approach to Christian faith and practice influences our relationship with the Bible. And while that relationship is certainly not unique among all Christians, our perspective can influence broader conversations about what it means to be faithful students of the Bible.

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Jan 16 2014
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Our Stories

My Story: A Rich Inheritance

The story of my involvement in the Church of God begins with my parents. My mother was born into a Christian family that attended the local Church of God congregation in southeastern Ohio. However, for private reasons, her family began attending a local Nazarene congregation, where they have remained ever since. Yet the roots of the Church of God run deep in that family: to this day, my grandmother and aunt (my relatives still living in that town) faithfully support their Nazarene church but are not members there. I believe their non-membership is due to the Church of God influence against man-made church membership requirements.

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Nov 16 2013
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Current Events

Doctrine and the Church of God

Rev. Jim Lyon, newly ratified General Director of the Church of God, recently participated in a Q&A article in the quarterly Warner Press publication Book Lines.  (If you missed the article, you can read a scanned version of it here.)  I find this to be an important document because, to my knowledge, it is the first substantial written contribution Rev. Lyon has made on the topic of doctrine and theology since he was ratified as General Director earlier this year.

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Aug 23 2013
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Current Events

Good News

By now, you probably have heard the story of Antoinette Tuff, the Georgia school bookkeeper who this week helped to prevent a tragic school shooting by talking with the 20-year-old man who entered the school armed with an AK-47.  Many people are talking about, writing about, and celebrating the heroic actions and bravery of this woman.  Ms. Tuff kept the potential shooter talking while he decided what to do: whether to attack students and staff, injure himself, or surrender to the police.  For half an hour, she kept calm and spoke wisdom to this young man until, ultimately, he laid down his gun without having injured or killed a single person.

photo by Br3nda

photo by Br3nda

This is a tremendous story of love and compassion in action.  I would like to highlight a few principles for us to consider: Continue reading →

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Jul 29 2013
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Belong

the institution of the church

Earlier this month, Jen raised a thought-provoking question:

today’s “If i had a blog…” post would be called:

WHY IT IS COOL TO LOVE THE INSTITUTION OF THE CHURCH AND TO STAY COMMITTED TO IT EVEN WHEN THINGS SEEM DIFFICULT.

i wish someone was writing about that.

Over the next several days, a few of us wrote public responses to this issue.  Here are links to our individual blog posts.  (In the future we hope to have posts like these located on this blog, for the sake of conversation and collaboration.)

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Jul 16 2013
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Belong

why we belong

We have so much in common, and yet we love our differences.  We share a common theological heritage, but we don’t always agree with each other.  We are ministers and missionaries, hopers and dreamers, thinkers and feelers, friends and companions.  We care deeply and laugh loudly.  We desire the best for each other, our congregations, and the movement which we call home.  We live in different parts of the world, but we yearn for the annual pilgrimage.  We are growing and being grown, shaping and being shaped, loving and being loved.

But most of all, we belong.

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