Author Archives: Kim Reisman

The freedom of the gospel gives us life that is not bound to the narrative of this world but has the ability to transcend it. Fellow Gospel Life blogger Leroy Barber asserted that truth a few weeks ago in the context of his discussion about welcoming back those released from prison – something all Christians are called to do. Following Jesus is indeed about welcoming any and all in need of reconciliation, healing, and restoration.

As I read through Barber’s helpful list of ways to connect, it struck me that underlying all of his suggestions is an assumption of relationship. Loving relationship rightly undergirds everything he recommends. Yet, as we reach out, whether it be to those newly released from prison or others in need of God’s transformative love, I believe it’s fair to ask, “Will they perceive we are reaching out in love? Or will they view us with skepticism? Defensiveness? Caution?”

We live in a culture marked by a dramatic lack of trust, and the Church is not exempt as a target for those feelings of suspicion. As the Body of Christ, we have some restorative work to do as we witness for the kingdom. Barber is spot on with his suggestions about welcoming; and as we engage others in this age of mis- and distrust, we need to become aware of how our “way of being in the world” communicates (or doesn’t) that our motive is love.

I believe there is a posture, a stance, that Christians can take to strengthen their ability to make the gospel known with integrity – a way of being in the world that creates and sustains the trust needed for the long haul work of evangelism.

This way of being in the world both supports and transcends the details of whatever program or ministry we may be involved in at any given time. I like to use the metaphor of embrace to illustrate this posture. I believe it’s a helpful metaphor because it points to the space necessary for the work of the Holy Spirit – to reconcile, transform, heal, restore.

It’s also helpful because it emphasizes the dignity of others and highlights our need to exercise self-control for the sake of the integrity of others. Embrace underlines the importance of mutuality and reciprocity. Although there is always a decidedly personal dimension to Christian faith, it is never an isolated experience.

We are all in this together.

This originally appeared at www.gospel-life.net.

“That experience is like a brand between my shoulder blades.”

Salvation Army Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Pho described his trauma as an asylum seeker from Vietnam in vivid terms during the first session of the Global Interactive Summit on Refugees and Displaced Peoples, hosted by the International Social Justice Commission of the Salvation Army. Today he is the National Director for Multicultural Ministries in the Salvation Army in Australia.

Throughout the day (or night, depending on your global location) today, Monday, 29 January, and tomorrow, Tuesday, 30 January, you can view the summit on Facebook on The Salvation Army International Social Justice Commission page, where sessions are live-streamed.

The purpose of the virtual gathering is, “to mobilize people of faith to engage with one of the greatest humanitarian crises of our age – refugees and displaced people. The focus of the summit will celebrate what has been achieved and reflect on lessons learned to guide future action.”

Other profound speakers joined the summit via video chat from locations like Hong Kong and London while the Director of the Salvation Army Social Justice Commission, Lt. Col. Dean Pallant, chaired the virtual gathering from New York City. Viewers included people from locations like Australia, North America, and the refugee hot spot, the Greek island of Lesbos.

Session One particularly revolved around the topic of “The Theology of Migration and Reception,” with a blend of theological, pragmatic, and personal insights from contributors like Dr. Laurelle Smith who works with U.N. committees and NGOs; Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Pho mentioned above; the Rev. Dr. Sam Wells, author and vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London; Dr. Russell Rook, partner with Good Faith Partnerships; and Lieutenant-Colonel Wendy Swan, who works in Hong Kong and Macau and recently completed her Ph.D. on a theology of protest.

Continuing 90-minute sessions are available to view live on the Facebook page today, 29 January, and tomorrow, 30 January. Topics include, “Reflecting on Experience,” “Working with Governments, Other Faith Groups, and NGOs in Refugee and Migration Situations,” “Camp and Community Based Responses,” “Church Based Responses,” and “Tackling Critical Issues.”

Sessions from the global interactive summit will also be archived and made available for viewing later.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

World Methodist Evangelism has been hard at work preparing to meet you on the road during 2018. Our events in the upcoming year promise to be times of connection, equipping, and transformation. Take a look at our upcoming gatherings and see if there’s one for you.

Our annual invitational faith sharing conference for North American clergy and clergy spouses of multiple denominations is gathering at St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, a historic Wesley location tucked on the Atlantic under towering oaks and rustling Spanish moss. The Order of the Flame evangelism conference welcomes leaders from denominations like the United Methodist Church, the AME Zion church, the Church of the Nazarene, the CME church, the Wesleyan Church, the AME church, the Free Methodist Church, and more.

If you have attended this conference in the past, we welcome you to reconnect with this vibrant community in a time of worship, connection, learning, and vision casting. Denominational leaders are still welcome to nominate clergy members to participate here.

In June, young and emerging leaders in the global Methodist family of faith will gather in beautiful Costa Rica for our Metanoia conference, formally named ICYCE. This gathering of young people from around the world has convened every several years for over 30 years and longstanding relationships have grown and flourished from it. Registrations have already begun to pour in from multiple continents, and we are excited to foster relationships among young Methodists of many denominations from across the globe.

The complex dynamics of living missionally in a postmodern, post-Christendom context will be probed and dissected in the beautiful, historic setting of the University of Durham this August in a brand-new gathering called Convergence. Leading thinkers and practitioners will discuss compelling issues like the relationship between science and faith, the monastic and the missional, globalization and migration, and more. This is an open event for clergy and church leaders. Following a time of equipping in Durham, participants are also welcome to engage in a Wesley heritage tour including stops in Epworth, Bristol, and London.

Registration for Convergence is now open and we invite you to learn more here.

Keep up with more World Methodist Evangelism events by following our Facebook page (check your newsfeed settings to make sure you continue to see regular updates from your favorite organizations following recent changes in Facebook algorithms) or our Twitter account.

January is coming to a close, and whether you’ve endured sweltering heat in Australia or frigid winds in North America, the days have bridged us from Epiphany a few short weeks ago to Lent on the horizon mid-February.

Have you sensed God stirring up something new in your heart? Are you alert and watchful for what God is orchestrating in this new season? Are you able to place the past year where it belongs – in the past – and look with rash hope for the new things God is making in your midst?

Let’s take a few moments to check in on each other as we wait for the Holy Spirit to show us the next steps to take into this new season.

Recently WME Executive Director Dr. Kimberly Reisman and Development Director Bonnie Hollabaugh returned from a trip to India. Read more about her experience of the Taj Mahal here.

Nominations for the World Methodist Peace Award can be made here. Follow the link to learn more about nomination criteria and about recent recipients.

In December, the CME Church celebrated its 147th anniversary with a Founder’s Day Celebration.

The World Methodist Council is searching for a part-time Donor Development Officer to collaborate with leaders in meeting the goals of the “Achieving the Vision” Endowment Fund.

On January 21st, the Korean Church of Atlanta held a special community prayer service for peace on the Korean peninsula.

As you sift through your local activities and the global news, as you invest in ministry and note current events, what is the Holy Spirit stirring up in your heart during this season? How will you join the heart of God as God nudges your attention: “See, I am making all things new…”?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Currently, I’m in Delhi, India teaching at our North India Regional Evangelism Seminar. While here, Director of Development Bonnie Hollabaugh and I had the opportunity to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra. What an experience! This beautiful and extraordinary monument to love is well worth its distinction as one of the world’s wonders. 

The Taj Mahal is awe-inspiring. And of course, as is so often the case when I visit a new place, I learned something unexpected and meaningful in my experience there. 

The story of the Taj Mahal is fascinating: this amazing structure has been described as one of the most magnificent tributes to love in the world. The story begins in the 1600’s when Mughal emperor Shah Jahan determined to honor the memory of his wife with a tremendous mahal, or castle. She was his third wife and the only one to bear children. His first two wives both died in childbirth. When he built this magnificent castle, he honored the memories of both of these women by building gates to the grounds at the east and the west. 

The Taj Mahal is stunning for a variety of reasons. Its symmetry is stunning. Everything about it is perfectly balanced. It is inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones, all hand-carved and embedded in marble in intricate floral patterns. The craftsmanship is so astonishingly smooth that from a distance it appears that the flowers have been painted rather than inlaid. And it is a brilliant white. That’s because it is constructed out of a uniquely translucent, nonporous marble found only in India. Because it is translucent, it almost glows as the light moves through it. Because it is nonporous, nothing can penetrate it or stain it or discolor it, so even after many centuries, it is as white as it was when it was first constructed. All that has been required is for it to be washed with soap and water. 

The Princess is buried at the center of the Taj Mahal in a lower area that isn’t accessible to the public. Directly above her grave, in the exact center of the castle, is a gorgeous tomb made of translucent marble with ornate inlaid gemstones and remarkable carvings. Everything revolves around this center point. All the detailed symmetry that marks the castle – from the way it can be seen perfectly centered through the majestic entry arch at one end of the gardens to the shrines on each side and all the carving and inlays – it all revolves around this central, ornate tomb. 

As I listened to our guide describe this perfection of detail and symmetry, and remind us that it was all created as a tribute to love, I found myself reflecting on the way we think about love and create images and expectations of how it should look and feel. So often those images are idealized and seemingly perfect – like the Taj Mahal: beautiful to look at, romantic and exciting to think about.  

That idealized image of perfection and beauty can color not only our understanding of love, but also our expectations of God, ourselves, and others. Rather than expecting God’s love to be perfect, we imagine that we must be perfect. We imagine that the only way God will love us is if our lives are in complete balance, with no hint of damage or stain. And when we are faced with the possibility of sharing God’s love with others, we often lay that same expectation of perfection on them. It is as though we believe others must have their lives in perfect balance before we are willing to share the good news of God’s great love.

And here is the point at which the Taj Mahal made its impact on me. In the midst of all this beauty, perfection and symmetry, there is one thing that is not in balance – the tomb of the very man who determined to build this flawless shrine. He is buried to the left of his beloved wife, the one thing out of kilter in the midst of seeming perfection, symmetry, and balance. 

When it comes to love, there is no such thing as perfection. Even the greatest love will have things that are out of kilter, things that cause hardship, challenge, and pain. It is not perfection that makes a love great, it is its willingness to persevere through the hardship, challenge, and pain. 

When it comes to God’s love for us, God’s love may be perfect, but we do not have to be. God loves us in the midst of our brokenness and became human in Jesus Christ in order to share that burden with us.  

When it comes to sharing God’s love with others, we do not wait for others to have it all together. In the same way that God loves us in our brokenness, we extend that same love to others, meeting them exactly where they are, not where we think they need to be. 

The Taj Mahal is truly a magnificent wonder. Its beauty radiates through its intricacy and detail. But an outer image is never the best judge of an inner love. For though our lives may not be in complete balance and we may feel damaged or stained, it is through God’s great love that wounds are healed and true beauty shines. And it is only when we release our expectations of perfection that God can begin his good work of restoring all of us to our original, intended beauty and wholeness. 

One of my Christmas gifts this year was a copy of a new memoir by my father, God Outwitted Me. In the introduction, my father describes his life as a “hinting life.” [1] 

What a great phrase! 

The Oxford Dictionary defines a hint as a “slight indication” or a “small trace of something.” Other words with a similar meaning are “clue,” “signal,” and “pointer.” That gives powerful meaning to the idea of living a hinting life, especially for evangelism. 

As Christians, we are to be about the business of showing and sharing the love of Jesus. [2] That is what evangelism is all about. To do that, we must embrace the hinting life. We must become “slight indications” of what a relationship with Jesus looks like. We must become walking, talking clues pointing to the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. When people encounter us, they must be able to perceive the small trace of something bigger than we or they are; they must witness – through the way we live and work, talk and love, care and give – the signal pointing them to the life-giving love of Jesus Christ and the abundant life he promises both now and always. 

In the introduction of his memoir, my father describes his life as a hint: “sometimes weak and only a slight hint; sometimes strong and a bold hint; but always flowing out of my commitment to live in Christ.” [3] 

As we begin this new year, I pray that you will be so committed to living in Christ that your life becomes a hint of all the things God intends for his good creation. There will be times when it may be only a slight hint, but that is no cause for worry. If you are willing to live the hinting life, God is able to transform even “a small trace of something” into exactly the clue needed to point others to everlasting life. 

[1] Maxie D. Dunnam, God Outwitted Me: The Stories of My Life (Franklin, TN: Seedbed Publishing, 2017) p3. 

[2] I’m grateful to Ed Stetzer for this wonderful description of evangelism – showing and sharing the love of Jesus. 

[3] God Outwitted Me, p3. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

As we begin the new year, Brennan Manning once again has a wonderful word.

The numerous physical healings performed by Jesus to alleviate human suffering are only a hint of the anguish in the heart of God’s Son for wounded humanity. His compassion surges from the bowels of his being and operates on a level that escapes human imitation. Jesus resonated with the depths of human sorrow. He became lost with the lost, hungry with the hungry, and thirsty with the thirsty. On the cross he journeyed to the far reaches of loneliness so that he could be lonely with those who are lonely and rob loneliness of its killing power by sharing it himself.

He did then and he does now. Jesus vibrates to the hope and fear, the celebrations and desolations of each of us. He is the incarnation of the compassion of the Father. The fifteenth-century mystic Meister Eckhart wrote, “You may call God love, you may call God goodness, but the best name for God is compassion.” When we speak of Jesus Christ as Emmanuel, God with us, we are saying that the greatest lover in history knows what hurts us. Jesus reveals a God who is not indifferent to human agony, a God who fully embraces the human condition and plunges into the thick of our human struggle.[1]

Evangelism is showing and sharing the love of Jesus. If our God plunges into the thick of the human struggle, then to show and share the love of Jesus we must do so as well – becoming lost with the lost, and journeying to the far reaches of loneliness to rob it of its killing power.

[1] Brennan Manning, Reflections for Ragamuffins (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1998), p2.

I have a practice of sending morning texts to my family members. Sometimes it’s a meme, or a photo from the past, or just a quick morning hello to start the day. As I’ve continued this practice, I’ve come across lots of memes and cartoons and other silly things that seem to not only flourish but multiply on the internet. One of my favorites is this: “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.”

The joy of Christian faith is that the God who entered human history in Jesus of Nazareth, the God who is present in the here and now through the power of the Holy Spirit, that God will one day come in glory. In Jesus, God is telling us that everything will be okay in the end. No hurt is permanent, no sorrow is absolute, no loss lasts forever, no defeat is insurmountable. This joy is not a denial of the reality of suffering. If the life of Jesus tells us anything, it is that suffering, discouragement, disappointment, frustration, and even death, are very, very real. And yet, amidst that reality, Jesus shows us that the Kingdom of God will overcome it all. God’s love is so great, it will conquer all the world’s horrors. God’s love is so prodigious, no evil can possibly prevail against it. Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.                                              Revelation 21:4 (NLT)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Mary Chapin Carpenter is one of my favorite singer/songwriters. She has a way of capturing the essence of things so simply and profoundly that I’m often moved to tears.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus today, my prayer is that you might hear God’s voice calling to you through the simplicity of Carpenter’s lyrics and that you might rededicate yourself to being a means through which others hear God’s voice as well.

Come darkness, come light

Come new star, shining bright

Come love to this world tonight

Alleluia

Come broken, come whole

Come wounded in your soul

Come anyway that you know

Alleluia

There’s a humble stable and a light within

There’s an angel hovering

And three wise men

Today a baby’s born in Bethlehem

Alleluia

Come doubting, come sure

Come fearful to this door

Come see what love is for

Alleluia

Come running, come walking slow

Come weary on your broken road

Come see Him and shed your heavy load

Alleluia

There’s a humble stable and a light within

There’s an angel hovering

And three wise men

Today a baby’s born in Bethlehem

Alleluia

Come darkness, come light

Come new star shining bright

Come love to this world tonight

Alleluia

Come Darkness, Come Light ~ Mary Chapin Carpenter ~ 2008 Why Walk Music (ASCAP)

I greatly admire Brennan Manning. His Reflections for Ragamuffins continues to speak to me, even now, 20 years after he wrote them. Today’s reflection is especially meaningful: [1]

Jesus calls us at Christmas to enter into the Kingdom of Liberty, to be set free by his Father’s love. There is a refreshing quality about the Nazarene without which Christianity would never have become a fact of history. The surprise of his birth in Bethlehem fires a longing to be free from self and free for others. It sparks a search for intelligent and imaginative ways to celebrate an unconventional Christmas.

The wailing Infant bears witness to a God whose Word is fresh and alive, who is not the defender of the old, the already settled, the well established and familiar. The God we encounter in Jesus is free from preoccupation with his own glory, free to be for us, free to be gracious, free to love and let be.

This Christmas such a God might well expect us to be creatively responsive and thus truly Christlike. Indeed, he might call us to set free captives bound by loneliness and isolation, to share our hope with prisoners of gloom and despair, to invite the unlovely to our table, to celebrate our freedom in forgetfulness about our own comfort and convenience, to cry the gospel by ministering to widows and orphans, to be the Church by bringing soup to the poor, to ignore conventional expectations, to call his Son out of Egypt once more.

He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness.                                                 Hebrews 5:2 (NIV)

[1] Brennan Manning, Reflections for Ragamuffins (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1998), p355.