This essay was written by Shawn D. Mathis, PhD, MSc (Oxon), MA, who serves as an elder at the Nashville Church of Christ. His work focuses on theology, hermeneutics, philosophy of language, and questions of scriptural authority within the Restoration heritage.
What increasingly emerges beneath many contemporary ecclesial tensions is
This essay was written by Shawn D. Mathis, PhD, MSc (Oxon), MA, who serves as an elder at the Nashville Church of Christ. His work focuses on theology, hermeneutics, philosophy of language, and questions of scriptural authority within the Restoration heritage.
On Sunday mornings at a growing number of Churches
This essay was written by Shawn D. Mathis, PhD, MSc (Oxon), MA, who serves as an elder at the Nashville Church of Christ. His work focuses on theology, hermeneutics, philosophy of language, and questions of scriptural authority within the Restoration heritage.
The crisis confronting modern Christianity is not fundamentally political,
This essay was written by Shawn D. Mathis, PhD, MSc (Oxon), MA, who serves as an elder at the Nashville Church of Christ. His work focuses on theology, hermeneutics, philosophy of language, and questions of scriptural authority within the Restoration heritage.
The crisis confronting modern Christianity is not fundamentally political,
This essay was written by Shawn D. Mathis, PhD, MSc (Oxon), MA, who serves as an elder at the Nashville Church of Christ. His work focuses on theology, hermeneutics, philosophy of language, and questions of scriptural authority within the Restoration heritage.
What increasingly emerges beneath many contemporary ecclesial tensions is
This essay was written by Shawn D. Mathis, PhD, MSc (Oxon), MA, who serves as an elder at the Nashville Church of Christ. His work focuses on theology, hermeneutics, philosophy of language, and questions of scriptural authority within the Restoration heritage.
On Sunday mornings at a growing number of Churches
This essay was written by Shawn D. Mathis, PhD, MSc (Oxon), MA, who serves as an elder at the Nashville Church of Christ. His work focuses on theology, hermeneutics, philosophy of language, and questions of scriptural authority within the Restoration heritage
This essay responds to “A ‘Divine Name’?: Is ‘Church
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” — Matthew 28:19
Nashville, Tennessee — May 2026 — The Great Commission is a global commission. Since its inception in 2018, the Nashville Church of Christ has sought to quietly and faithfully participate in that commission through teaching, encouragement, fellowship, and ongoing labor among
Many churches today continue to affirm the authority of Scripture while increasingly approaching the Bible primarily through personal interpretation, institutional tradition, or pragmatic application. Yet the New Testament repeatedly presents Scripture not merely as religious literature or spiritual reflection, but as the living speech of God mediated through human authors
Many churches today speak about Scripture in general terms—as inspiring, meaningful, or spiritually helpful—while quietly losing confidence in its authority as the very word of God. Yet throughout the biblical narrative, God’s revelation is consistently presented not merely as religious insight, but as divine speech entrusted to
