2014 Summer Celebration Banner
It’s that time of year again. Lipscomb’s Summer Celebration is here. It’s what happens when a lectureship throws a party (ok, so the name makes me laugh a little). I’ll be speaking again this year on the history of Nashville Churches of Christ along with John Mark Hicks, Mac Ice, and Chris Cotten. We’re each covering a specific topic or episode in the city’s history, combining to span a 200 year history. We will be speaking over a two day period on Monday and Tuesday (today and tomorrow) at 3 pm. It’s a 50 minute session split between 2 speakers each day so there will be limited time, but there will be lots of good information packed into the time. John Mark and Mac will speak on Monday, and I’ll join Chris on Tuesday. One of the special pieces of this session is that we get to speak in the Avalon House on Lipscomb’s campus, which is sure to get you in an historical mood. It was the house that belonged to David and Margaret Lipscomb.
The title of my lecture is Respectable “Denomination:” Nashville Churches of Christ in the 1960s and 70s. This is a historical look at the changing position of the churches in the surrounding culture from outsider to respectable player. This different outlook played a prominent role in the group’s fundamental identity and the ensuing discussions of the core value of non-denominational Christianity. To illustrate this point, I’ll be discussing the 1962 Collins-Craig Gospel Meeting, two assessments of the sect-to-denomination thesis as it relates to Churches of Christ, and two contrasting congregational histories in the Madison and Belmont Churches. Each one of these illustrations could easily command an entire hour, but hopefully I will have enough time to highlight a few points from each section and weave together a picture of Nashville churches during this time in their history.
Now that I have whet your appetite, come out and hear the lectures if you can!
Theological Sweets 
I’ve already been getting texts from all my friends as they arrived at Lipscomb over the weekend. I’m struggling a little with jealousy and wish I could be there.
Now that I see you, John Mark, Mack, and Chris are talking about the history of Nashville churches, it’s a little worse. I’ve enjoyed your historical blogs and I frequent John Mark’s blog as well.
One of the great things about living in Texas is I can go to Summit at ACU. Hopefully next year, I can join all of you in Nashville as well.
Have fun!
It was a good time. I’ll have to come down there and catch the Summit with you sometime.
Will you be posting any notes/information on here pertaining to the information you learned concerning those times and the resulting split?
Hello Gene, I plan on getting something down in the future. I just presented a few highlights, but there is quite a bit in our history that deals with these things.