Author Archives: Jay F Guin

About Jay F Guin

My name is Jay Guin, and I’m a retired elder. I wrote The Holy Spirit and Revolutionary Grace about 18 years ago. I’ve spoken at the Pepperdine, Lipscomb, ACU, Harding, and Tulsa lectureships and at ElderLink. My wife’s name is Denise, and I have four sons, Chris, Jonathan, Tyler, and Philip. I have two grandchildren. And I practice law.

Are We Sacramentalists? Marriage as a Sacrament, and the Church

Posted on April 25, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Recall Hicks’ definition of “sacrament”– The material elements do not merely represent, but they participate in the reality to which they point. They are not mere signs, but symbols that mediate a spiritual reality. The signs become symbols because God … Continue reading →

Posted in Sacramentalism, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Are We Sacramentalists? Marriage as a Sacrament, and the Church

Southern Baptist Churches In Decline

Posted on April 24, 2008 by Jay F Guin

New research shows that the Southern Baptist denomination, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, is no longer growing and is, in fact, in decline. A discussion of the report by one of the researchers, Ed Stetzer, may be listened to here. … Continue reading →

Posted in Church Trends, Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments Off on Southern Baptist Churches In Decline

Buried Talents: References to God as Female

Posted on April 24, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Of course, one of the most male-centric aspects of the scriptures is the fact that God often refers to himself as a male — as “father” in particular. But there are also a number of Old Testament passages where God … Continue reading →

Posted in Role of Women, Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments Off on Buried Talents: References to God as Female

Are We Sacramentalists? The Lord’s Supper and the Assembly

Posted on April 23, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Back a few weeks ago, I started an exploration of the Eastern Orthodox understanding of “sacrament.” Their approach is quite different from the Catholic/Protestant approach. Let’s just, for fun, you know, see if we can find evidence of a sacramental … Continue reading →

Posted in Sacramentalism, Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments Off on Are We Sacramentalists? The Lord’s Supper and the Assembly

Amazing Grace: Bringing It All Back Home*

Posted on April 23, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Here’s an outline for the next two lessons or so. I. Review the breadth of grace (Gal 5:6b) The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. A. What is “faith”? As always in the New Testament, faith … Continue reading →

Posted in Amazing Grace, Amazing Grace, Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments Off on Amazing Grace: Bringing It All Back Home*

Fixing Our Universities: Distance Learning, Two-Year Degrees, and Vision

Posted on April 22, 2008 by Jay F Guin

There’s more good news. Harding’s Master of Ministry is now available for online learning. The course is fully accredited. Students may accelerate the classwork by attending some classes at Harding, but online work is sufficient. Details are at this site. … Continue reading →

Posted in Fixing Our Universities, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Fixing Our Universities: Distance Learning, Two-Year Degrees, and Vision

Buried Talents: Old Testament Women (Kings, Huldah, and the Good Wife)

Posted on April 22, 2008 by Jay F Guin

The Kings Many have suggested that the fact that Israel’s kings were all men indicates that women are to be subordinate to men forever. But this argument fails. First, Israel has kings at a time when the curse of Genesis … Continue reading →

Posted in Role of Women, Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments Off on Buried Talents: Old Testament Women (Kings, Huldah, and the Good Wife)

Are We Sacramentalists? The Orthodox View, the Spirit, the Word, and Prayer

Posted on April 21, 2008 by Jay F Guin

We’ve seen that the Orthodox Church has a very different view of the sacraments from the Western churches. The West sees the sacraments as two or seven distinct ways by which God’s grace is brought to believers by human action. … Continue reading →

Posted in Sacramentalism, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Are We Sacramentalists? The Orthodox View, the Spirit, the Word, and Prayer

Fixing Our Universities: The Birmingham-Southern Experience

Posted on April 21, 2008 by Jay F Guin

One of the nation’s foremost liberal arts colleges is Birmingham-Southern College, affiliated with the Methodist Church. It’s a small school located in west Birmingham, with very high academic standards. A few years ago, it decided to give up NCAA Division … Continue reading →

Posted in Fixing Our Universities, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Fixing Our Universities: The Birmingham-Southern Experience

2008 Pepperdine Lectureship

Posted on April 20, 2008 by Jay F Guin

[Reposted and expanded] I’m delighted to report that I’ve been invited to speak at the 2008 Pepperdine Lectures, which is the best attended university lectureship among the Churches of Christ — at the prettiest location. I’ll be speaking on Why … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments Off on 2008 Pepperdine Lectureship