John Mark Hicks

Six hours on the cross are followed by an assortment of events which bridge Mark’s story from  the cross to the empty tomb. The body of Jesus is moved from the cross to a tomb. The Romans permit it, a Sanhedrin member does it, and some female disciples witness it. But is this text simply […]

James A. Harding began his publication The Way in 1899 in order to disseminate to a larger audience what he taught at the Nashville Bible School.  At the same time J. B. Briney, a longtime friend and now adversary of Harding, started his own monthly paper entitled Briney’s Monthly,  The two papers sparred back and […]

Daniel Sommer (1850-1940), a graduate of Bethany College and the heralded successor of Benjamin Franklin among northern conservatives, lived and worked among congregations of Churches of Christ who were more open to the public voice of women than their southern counterparts.  In particular, at least in the article below, Sommer is quite explicit about the […]

In my previous two posts I suggested three perspectives from which we might view the table: Jesus on the Table–the sacrifical victim who nourishes us with new life Jesus at the Table–the hospitable host who welcomes all to the table Jesus serving the Table–the master who waits on tables Today: Jesus Serves the Table. Luke […]

This is my last post on the historical situation of women in the assemblies of Churches of Christ from 1897 to 1907.  You may access the whole series from my serial page. The Texas Tradition While the mid and deep South seemed united in the Tennessee perspective, Texas reflected some considerable diversity, even among conservatives who […]

  Last January I began a series surveying the privilege of women to speak or their restricted silence within assemblies of Churches of Christ from 1897 to 1907.  I never completed the series because Discipliana (the journal of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society) was interested in publishing an article on the topic.  That article […]

Continuing my reading of Lipscomb in the first decades of the 20th century, I have lifted a few more what I regard as illuminating comments by the 80 year old editor of the Gospel Advocate. Publish Both Sides for Free Discussion. Lipscomb believed that fair, thorough and open discussion of a biblical issue was the […]

This is quite daring, I must admit. Or, it might be rather idiotic. But in my quest to place my published writings on this webpage, I now turn to the 1970s.  It is rather chilling and sometimes quite illuminating to actually read what I wrote thirty years ago (wow! I really am that old). It […]

Leadership Series Cordova Community Church, Cordova, TN (1998) This material was presented in the form of 30 minutes of teaching followed by 30 minutes of discussion within small groups. The new church plant was moving toward appointing their first shepherds. We probably moved too quickly as I think about it now, but this is the […]

A.  I have conducted several seminars on 1 Corinthians, especially for newer church plants (e.g., Kiev).  I have uploaded the lecture outlines and small group question materials for a series on 1 Corinthians that I put together for the Cordova Community Church in the late 1990s.  This was the congregation that Gary Ealy and I, […]