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In the spirit of my good friend Mark Manry (up and coming theologian and pastor to the people of Jinja, Uganda) I offer the following. See www.manryfamily.com.


*Three affirmations of the Churches of Christ:

Autonomous communties/leadership
Legacy of incredible ministry
Baptism and Eucharist (though we wouldn't dare call it that)



*Three (ok Five) professors and/or courses who have influenced your thinking:

John York/David Fleer: Finding my own voice in preaching and teaching
John Mark Hicks: Theology matters
Lee Camp: Pledging allegiance to the lamb
Rubel Shelly: Bridging the world of academics and pastoral care

*Three academic books which have shaped your thinking:

N.T. Wright "The Challenge of Jesus"
Gustavo Gutierrez "We Drink From Our Own Wells"
James H. Cone "Black Theolgy and Black Power"

*Three CoC/Stone-Campbell books which have shaped your thinking:

C. Leonard Allen "Things Unseen"
Lee Camp "Mere Discipleship"
Gary Holloway and Doug Foster "Renewing God's People"

*Three hopes you have for the future of Churches of Christ:

That we would become autonomous (as we advertise)
That we would be known for ministering the to the marginalized
That we would lead the way in racial reconciliation

*Three fears you have for Churches of Christ:

That we will become obsolete due to our "Christian ghetto" DNA
That we will continue to shoot members of our own army
That we will continue to be engaged in the worship wars; creating a new way of being legalistic.

*Three challenges we will face in Churches of Christ in our generation:

Understanding the post-modern or post-Christian context
Planting churches with healthy DNA
Welcoming the "other"