{"id":10008,"date":"2007-08-27T12:08:38","date_gmt":"2007-08-27T17:08:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=10008"},"modified":"2011-08-08T14:39:23","modified_gmt":"2011-08-08T19:39:23","slug":"5797","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/08\/27\/5797\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Suggests \u2018Not Okay\u2019 Is Good Theology"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON, CT (August 27, 2007) \u2013 Doug Bixby wants people to know he\u2019s not okay. And neither are they.<\/p>\n

The pastor of Salem Covenant Church in Washington, Connecticut, writes in his new book, The Honest to God Church<\/em>, that congregations could better serve themselves and others if they lived with an approach to life that says, \u201cI\u2019m not okay, you\u2019re not okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cThat has been a core concept for me,\u201d Bixby said during an interview last week. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s a very Covenant concept.\u201d<\/p>\n

Too frequently, he says, churches and their members live with the attitudes, \u201cI\u2019m okay, you\u2019re not okay,\u201d or \u201cI\u2019m okay, you\u2019re okay.\u201d Both approaches lead to bad care and evangelism, he added.<\/p>\n

The former attitude leads to legalism without grace, and the latter has no need of grace, Bixby said. \u201cEither approach puts parameters on God\u2019s grace.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this has huge implications for evangelism,\u201d Bixby notes. By acknowledging common sin, Christians can build bridges, rather than put up obstacles. \u201cChristians don\u2019t want to put people on the defensive,\u201d he added. At the same time, other Christians need to acknowledge that evangelism is needed.<\/p>\n

Bixby points to 12-step groups as a model for his approach. \u201cPeople have to admit that they have a problem,\u201d he said. \u201cThey also have to have a safe place to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The church, he explains, should be a place where people are invited in as they are and are allowed to grow. Bixby says he knows that not everyone will agree with actions he has taken based upon his approach to ministry.<\/p>\n

In one instance that Bixby references, an unmarried couple was allowed into membership. In another, Bixby writes of baptizing the infant of a woman whose own pastor would not do so because she was unmarried and living with the father. In both cases, the couples eventually married and involved themselves in the life of the church. Had he rejected either request, the people would have walked away from the church, he said.<\/p>\n

At the suggestion of his editor, Bixby added an epilogue that focuses on how churches can deal with the issue of homosexuality. He offers no answers, but suggests the approach of \u201cI\u2019m not okay, you\u2019re not okay\u201d will benefit everyone.<\/p>\n

Bixby began writing the book four years ago during a sabbatical and based it on 10 years of ministry at Salem Covenant. \u201cDuring the first two weeks of my sabbatical, I wrote 200 pages. It just poured out of me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The next four years were spent editing and finding a publisher. Eventually the Alban Institute, known for its church consulting work, agreed to publish the book.<\/p>\n

Each chapter is followed with questions that can be used in small groups or Sunday school classes. The Honest to God Church<\/em> can be purchased through the online Covenant Bookstore<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON, CT (August 27, 2007) \u2013 Doug Bixby wants people to know he\u2019s not okay. And neither are they. Report This Post<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nBook Suggests \u2018Not Okay\u2019 Is Good Theology - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/08\/27\/5797\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Book Suggests \u2018Not Okay\u2019 Is Good Theology - Covenant Newswire Archives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WASHINGTON, CT (August 27, 2007) \u2013 Doug Bixby wants people to know he\u2019s not okay. 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