Rubel Shelly

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Dr. Rubel Shelly is among the most important and controversial leaders in the Churches of Christ. Shelly has written dozens of books and preached for the Woodmont Hills Church of Christ in Nashville, TN from 1978 until 2005. He is perhaps the most well known living figure in the Churches of Christ, and he was recently named the interim president of Rochester College. [1] [2]

Contents

[edit] Education and Academics

Shelly was educated at Harding University (B.A.), Harding Graduate School of Religion (M.A., M. Th.), and Vanderbilt University (M.A., Ph.D.). Although known primarily as a preacher, Shelly’s debates and academic lectures on Christian apologetics, ethics, and medical ethics have won him several teaching appointments. Shelly has also served with such groups as the AIDS Education Committee of the American Red Cross. He taught at Freed-Hardeman College (now University). While preaching at Woodmont Hills, he also taught at Lipscomb University, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and Tennessee State University. Additionally, he has taught at Pepperdine University, Abilene Christian University, Emmanuel Seminary, and Kentucky Christian College. In 2005, he became Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Rochester College, and (as of May, 2008) is serving as interim President.

[edit] Trajectory of Change

Shelly’s career, spanning decades, saw an abrupt shift in tone in the 1980s, perhaps best represented by his book I Just Want to Be a Christian, a radical plea for non-denominationalism. (Peruse Shelly’s titles below to get a sense of this shift.) Shelly had started out as a boy preacher in the Churches of Christ, writing several books containing what some have called "sound teaching” [3], yet eventually Shelly became disenchanted with what he has called a "language of exclusion" ([4]). "Out of my own spiritual evolution, I've tried to adopt a much more Christ-like spirit and not be so sectarian and isolationist," Shelly said (quoted in Edwards).

Now, he pursues a unifying vision "more nearly the ideal of the early American Restoration Movement concept and experience than what [he] was born into." He critiques his former colleagues, who "decide who's in and who's out based on some list. We're very anticreedal in churches of Christ and Christian churches, meaning we won’t publish that list; we are more insidious in that we have unpublished lists of what lets you be "in" or "out" of our local churches. That’s simply wrongheaded" ([5]). Though these calls for unity do, in fact, echo Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone, in other ways Shelly has disengaged from the central tenet of the Restoration Movement: that the modern Church must restore the first century Church. In The Second Incarnation, Shelly and Randall J. Harris claim that this move is anachronistic (at best) and leads to doctrinal error, because no church has ever achieved perfection, and in any case, one cannot and should not attempt to recreate the first century Church (Hughes 371-72).

[edit] Leadership status

Rubel Shelly was recently inducted into the Restoration Forum's Honor Roll of Unity, an award "given to people who are recognized for their love for those in the Christian fellowship and for their noble efforts to heal the divisions of the past and build unity" [6].

Because Churches of Christ are strongly congregational, there are only a few ways to rise to prominence: publications, lectureships, holding the pulpit of a large congregation, and by outside recognition. Rubel Shelly has written many influential books, cited by others in the Restoration Movement, and he routinely appears at lectureships sponsored by Universities and colleges affiliated with the Church of Christ. Shelly has also been the preacher at one of the larger, more affluent churches for many years (Woodmont Hills Church of Christ in Nashville, Tennessee).

One measure of Shelly's national reputation is the fact that local and national journalists call on him as an expert about Church of Christ matters. An infamous example of this was when Nancy Grace of CNN asked Shelly on national television whether or not the Church of Christ is a cult. Many felt that Shelly did not have a chance to express himself fully ([7] [8] [9][10]). A text of the exchange can be found here: [11] Mike Cope (not to be mistaken with the former NASCAR driver) was originally picked to be interviewed, as he is also one of the most prominent leaders in the Church of Christ ([12]).

[edit] Criticism

Shelly’s critics call him “ultra-liberal” [13] and accuse him of “Change Agentry” [14], usually because they perceive certain doctrinal positions taken by Shelly to be erroneous.

[edit] Publications

In addition to his many article publications in church of Christ periodicals, Shelly has embraced the age of technology, writing faxes, blogs, e-mails, and websites alike.

  • Shelly, Rubel. The Divine Folly: A Theology for Preaching the Gospel. Nashville, TN. 20th Century Christian, 1990.
  • ---. Divorce and Remarriage: A Redemptive Theology. Abilene, TX. Leafwood Publishers, 2007.
  • ---. Falling in Love with Jesus: Studies in the Book of Luke. College Press Publishing, 1998.
  • ---. Falling in Love with Jesus’ People: Studies in the Book of Acts. College Press Publishing, 1998.
  • ---. I Just Want to Be a Christian. Rev. ed. Nashville: 20th Century Christian, 1986.
  • ---. The Lamb and His Enemies: Understanding the Book of Revelation. Nashville: 20th Century Christian Foundation, 1983.
  • ---. "Loving the Person Who Isn't "One of Us." [15] accessed 20 Dec. 2007.
  • ---. Living By the Rules: The Contemporary Value of the Ten Commandments. Nashville: 20th Century Christian Foundation, 1982.
  • ---. The Names of Jesus. Howard Books, 1999.
  • ---. Simple Study in Christian Evidences. Bible & School Supply, 1970
  • ---. Sing His Praise!: A Case for A Cappella Music as Worship Today. Nashville: 20th Century Christian, 1987.
  • ---. Starting Today: Stories and Scriptures for the Daily Grind. B&H Publishing, 2001. (A collection of Shelly’s popular contributions to The Fax of Life series.)
  • ---. “What's All the Fuss? Code Breaks Itself with Obvious Errors.” [16] (Review of the film adaptation of The Da Vinci Code)

[edit] Collaborative publications

  • Shelly has also co-edited and co-founded two important journals, Spiritual Sword in 1969 with Dr. Thomas B. Warren and Wineskins (more recently) with Mike Cope. It is difficult to imagine two publications more opposite in outlook. The former is traditional and the latter is progressive. This is another measure of the changes that took place in Shelly's career.
  • Cope, Mike and Rubel Shelly. What Would Jesus Do Today? Howard Books, 1997.
  • Shelly, Rubel and John York. The Jesus Community.
  • Shelly, Rubel and John York. The Jesus Proposal: A Theological Framework for Maintaining the Unity of the Body of Christ. Leafwood Publishers, 2004.
  • Shelly, Rubel and Randall J. Harris. The Second Incarnation: A Theology for the 21st-Century Church. Abilene Christian University Press, 2001.

[edit] External links, Works Cited, and Selected Bibliography

  • anonymous. "Dr. Rubel Shelly." [17] accessed 20 Dec. 2007.
  • anonymous. "Rubel Shelly Inducted into Restoration Honor Roll: Religion professor Rubel Shelly was recently inducted into the Restoration Forum's Honor Roll of Unity." Oct. 2007. [18] accessed 20 December.
  • anonymous. "Unity Celebration 2006." [19] accessed 20 Dec. 2007.
  • Edwards, Holly. "Rubel Shelly Leaving Church to Teach in Michigan College." The Tennessean. 02/01/05. Online edition. Accessed 11/19/07. [20] Edwards reviews Shelly's tenure at Woodmont Hills Church of Christ and announces his move to Rochester College.
  • Elliott, Raymond. "Book Review: The Jesus Proposal by Rubel Shelly & John O. York" [21] accessed 20 Dec. 2007.
  • Harper, Kevin. "Book Review: Divorce and Remarriage: A Redemptive Theology." 16 July 2007. [22] accessed 20 Dec. 2007. (A review of a recent book by Shelly)
  • Hughes, Richard T. Reviving the Ancient Faith: The Story of Churches of Christ in America. Cambridge, UK: Eerdmans, 1996. (Hughes' book charts Shelly's development from the Spiritual Sword days (328-29) to the shifts seen in the books I Just Want to Be a Christian and The Second Incarnation and finally to Wineskins (370-73).)