Recent content by Gordon Wright

The trouble with listening is most people don't know how. In infancy we learn to talk. We just sort of figure it out. Shortly thereafter we're told to shut up while big people lecture at us. Gradually it dawns on us that much of what the big people say makes no sense at all. And we notice that...

Challenging the one currently in power is not at all the same thing as challenging authority. Luther wasn't trying to become Pope. He was trying to make no one Pope.

I submit (unconditionally) to no one except God. I defer to Him in all things. There are people who can't handle power. Unfortunately, these are the very ones who seek power. The only power I seek is defensive power, to preserve my freedom. I suspect, however, that this is more about money. A...

My only objection to speaking in tongues is that it's too easy to fake.

That's God's prerogative. Not man's.

It comes down to the question of who legitimately owns a church? If it's not God's church, then it's a waste of time and money. I don't think that old age automatically brings wisdom by any stretch, but I do know that you don't find much wisdom in the young. There is no great need for an OK...

Struggling Cottage Grove Church Asks Older Members To Go Away Churches die for reasons. This one is Methodist, but it's a pattern I've observed independent of denomination. My position: an aging church membership is a symptom of a failure to fulfill the Great Commission, and a declining...

Ecclesiastes is very soothing once you understand it and accept its message. Also, liberating.

Ask yourself: does this matter? If no, forget it. If yes, then you need more information about the problem. When the mind lacks the information it needs to solve a problem, it gets stuck in neutral on high idle. The cure is to get more information. Don't spend time with people who don't know...

Math is only foolproof when it's geometrical manipulations about themselves, without reference to the real world. In the real world, you have to measure and count things before you can do any math, and that's where you get error. There's no escaping subjectivity and fallibility. Accept God's...

Jesus spoke in parables (philosophical esotericism) and sometimes refused to answer direct questions. He also said something about pearls and swine.

Every church that claims to be the body of Christ says that the other denominations claiming the same thing aren't the real body of Christ. They can't all be right. That language in the Bible about the body of Christ was addressed to the movement founded by the Apostles, and governed by those...

It seems to me to be a straightforward rebuke of legalism and religious posturing. Don't try to name-drop or brown-nose God.

Put it on Kindle for a reasonable price and I might just buy and review it. I've often thought Christianity needs to be saved from Christendom. But I have no idea what it would look like then. I've concluded a return to the NT church isn't feasible, but surely we can do better than the status...