A year ago, I wrote 26 questions as a semithought. The list wasn’t composed by me, but it seemed appropriate.

Two years ago, I didn’t even mention it.

Three years ago, I was afraid that my new congregation would throw me out.

When asked, the leaders of the Circle City Church of Christ said that it took them five years to “figure everything out”. We are over halfway there. What have we really changed in three years? I read Honest to God again last night and thought about what is different now.

• The heirarchy is gone. Some people want it back, but it is most definitely gone. The Delphites believe that it somehow exists akin to the Mafia. Oh well, they’re entitled to their opinion.
• The Discipling paradigm was gone, but has come back. It is back to stay.
• KNN Reloaded is less propaganda and more informative. All important issues with it aside, I subscribe because it is informative. It is the only universally agreed upon vehicle of information, except ICOCInfo.
• There are the beginnings of cooperation with others, meaning other denominations besides ours. Dr. Olbrecht has books advertised on DPI. There’s attendance in Abilene, and the ICoC even has four speakers this year. Local ministers are meeting with other ministers within their city and forming relationships.
• Kip has been publicly denounced. His theology hasn’t, but he has.

In the next two years, I hope to see many things. Unfortunately, some of them are too late to happen now, though with God, anything is possible.

• I hope to see our former and present theology repudiated. This means the discipling paradigm repudiates as biblical mandate and demonstrated as a tool. This means a repudiation of “the means justifies the ends”. This means a repudiation of “back to the glory days”. This means a repudiation of growth = spirituality. This means an end to the irrational fear of the internet. This means an end to the idea that we are somehow some special and set apart group to whom God pays particular attention more than other Christian groups. This means a repudiation of the many things that brought us to the point of being torn down in the first place.
• I hope to see an end to using unity to quiet different perspectives.
• I hope to see cooperation with our brothers in the Restoration Movement to help strengthen us and share the Gospel with others. (This is in the next two years. Going outside the Restoration Movement will take a bit longer – sorry Scott and bobber).
• I hope to see us come together and work out a plan to help our sister churches within our denomination without having to be in authority over them.
• I hope to see an end to the American arrogance that we are somehow more spiritual and should be the ones managing affairs worldwide.
• I hope to see Hope Worldwide continue to reform and replace the Gempels as President and Vice President. Replace means that they have nothing to do with the organization except volunteer. Along those lines, I hope for non-ICoC board members by 2009.
• I hope to see the various incarnations of the LA Unity Plan irrevocably defeated. This includes elements of the preliminary proposal of the Unity Group.
• I hope to see an end to my posts lamenting the lack of change in the ICoC.
• I hope to see our groupthink treated by truly outside perspectives. This means outside the ICoC and CoC.
• I hope to see and end to the efforts of some to silence dissent amongst current members of the ICoC.
• I hope to see members talk of real spiritual change and share with a real honesty, not a manufactured American-businees type of honesty.

I hope for a lot of things and I think we are poised to do it, even with our set of current leaders. It is never time to move on, but it is time to do something. I hope that we move ahead and not look backwards. I hope that my fears do not come true.