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.

More on Building Christ-like Teams, continued

Posted on April 1, 2007 by Jay F Guin

[continued from previous post] Not insisting that all committee members work. In the typical church committee, 5 or more members show up to express opinions and the chair does all the work. This is neither fair nor smart. I see … Continue reading →

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More on Building Christ-like Teams

Posted on April 1, 2007 by Jay F Guin

Okay, okay. I know everyone hates committees, but they’re a fact of church life. Refusing to think seriously about them only makes them worse. Let’s discuss some other mistakes we often make in our committee systems. Making the committee too … Continue reading →

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Building Christ-like Teams at Church

Posted on March 31, 2007 by Jay F Guin

Doing church is all about committee work, you know. It’s other stuff, too, of course, but there’s no escaping the committees. We call them “teams” at my church–it’s just so very modern to do so–but they’re still committees. Elderships are … Continue reading →

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How to Argue Like a Christian, Part 3

Posted on March 31, 2007 by Jay F Guin

When we get mad at another church and want to rebuke their sin, we feel that we may stand in the sandals of the Son of God and condemn these sinners in the harshest of tones, just as Jesus condemned … Continue reading →

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How to Argue Like a Christian, Part 2

Posted on March 31, 2007 by Jay F Guin

[Part 1 is at Part 1] I recently received an email from a preacher of a 90-member church in Middle America, vigorously denouncing another, larger church in his town for charging admission to a woman’s conference. He pointed out that … Continue reading →

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Christian Chronicle Rural Revival

Posted on March 31, 2007 by Jay F Guin

A wonderful story just released by the Christian Chronicle on a church that has grown from 30 to 170 by being Jesus to the world. The common tie: a love of God and a belief that helping hurting people leads … Continue reading →

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“My Secret Life of Discipleship”

Posted on March 30, 2007 by Jay F Guin

Here’s a link to a beautifully written posting on Brian Mashburn’s blog that reveals the heart of many of our members. My Secret Life of Discipleship Highly recommended.

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The moderate church, Part 3

Posted on March 28, 2007 by Jay F Guin

This brings us to teaching. Moderate churches generally have a very weak educational program, because the doctrines that divide the church are off limits. Either one side dominates the classes and the other side doesn’t listen, or else the tough … Continue reading →

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The moderate church, Part 2

Posted on March 28, 2007 by Jay F Guin

In Part 1, we considered the difficulties of managing a moderate church, that is, a church that is divided between progressives and conservatives. While it’s not inevitable that such churches divide, they often do. The reason is almost always a … Continue reading →

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The moderate church, Part 1

Posted on March 28, 2007 by Jay F Guin

Some churches are thoroughly progressive, with progressive elders, staff, and members–at least, most of them. Some churches are thoroughly conservative, with conservative elders, staff, and members–at least, most of them. But most are not. Most are something else. Let’s call … Continue reading →

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