Many local churches I know have as a part of their mission statement, We need to be deliberate in our churches in “making disciples who will make disciples.” It rolls off our tongues so easily, but is demanding in actualizing. As I insisted in my last article, we must nurture and cherish the bond between word and deed, ideas and
Share the post: Georgia Harkness was once considered one of our most outstanding theologians. She was certainly a brilliant thinker and spoke prophetically to the church. Here is such a word: “We must rescue evangelism from the red-light district of the ecclesiastical community.” That’s putting it unquestionably straight. Evangelism has been prostituted for money and personal gain. That’s the reason
Share the post: This is the season in many denominations when changes take place in clergy leadership. I’m in a good bit of conversation with clergy and lay leadership about the nature of ordained ministry. I urge clergy and lay leadership to read and consider chapter 2 of Ezekiel as a part of the experience of “clergy appointment.” A
Share the post: It may not be good writing or even good grammar, but I deliberately put a question mark after the title of this article, Falling from Grace? This is a follow-up to my last article where I also put a question mark in the title Once saved always saved? Oh! Both, “falling from grace,” and “once saved always
In my last three articles I have discussed assurance and sanctification. These aspects of salvation lead us to think about what separates a Methodist understanding from those who believe in eternal security. Once saved, always saved was a theme I was asked often about in the first churches I served in rural Mississippi. We Methodist Wesleyans believe that it is
Share the post: In an earlier article, we reflected on Wesley’s insistence on perfection being an essential dimension of our going on to salvation. He came from his Aldersgate experience convinced that all could be saved, and all could be saved to the uttermost. Thus assurance and perfection became essential in his understanding of grace working for our full salvation.
Share the post: I am not trying to be overly dramatic. Throughout these three articles on the Holy Spirit (check out Part I and Part II), I have voiced my conviction that we are at a critical point. I would even describe it as a life and death point…in our church and in our nation. However, the overarching conviction is
Share the post: In my previous article I began a conversation about the Holy Spirit as someone to take the place of Jesus. Knowing the cross was coming, in one of his last conversations with his disciples, Jesus made the promise, “And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another comforter, that He may abide with
Share the post: The Holy Spirit is certainly one of the most common and most important issues of faith and doctrine in the Church. We use the term and talk about the subject assuming that people know what we are talking about — when, at most, their understanding is limited and vague, and at best, they don’t have the faintest
Share the post: The New Testament Book of Acts tells the story of the birth of the Church. Here is an exciting part of the story. When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They
Struggle is “Normal” by Maxie Dunnam reveals the transformative journey of faith through the testimony of a barber who found salvation. His story highlights the shift from darkness to light, showing that new birth is an inward transformation. Wesley emphasizes that justification is just the start; the true journey involves change and growth in holiness. As we seek full salvation,
I have a friend who is a Benedictine monk. The way we live out our lives is vastly different, but I feel a real kinship, a oneness of spirit with Brother Sam. One of the most memorable evenings, one to which I return often in my mind, is the time he and I spent together alone in our home, in
In my last article I introduced the fact that “In Christ” is the central category of Paul’s thinking. This phrase, “in Christ,” or “in Christ Jesus,” is used by Paul in his letters 169 times. His definition of a Christian is an illustration of this. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away,
Three-year-old Ryan and his five-year-old sister, Lisa, were playing on the floor following a family dinner while the adults tried to have a conversation. Lisa opened her new toy nurse’s kit and convinced Ryan to be her patient. She took the little stethoscope and placed it on her brother’s heart, listened intently – as good nurses do. Suddenly she announced,
In my last article I discussed assurance. Wesley testified about his Aldersgate experience, I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death. Assurance is the privilege of all believers, and there is a connection between
Most people in the Methodist Wesleyan tradition of the Christian faith know at least the broad outline of Wesley’s life. In 1725, having been nurtured by his mother, Susanna, and his father, Samuel, a priest in the Church of England, John, while a student at Oxford University, had a conversion to the ideal of holy living. There are few examples
If not the most, one of the most prevailing emphasis of the Bible is salvation. Immediately after the beautiful story of creation, including the creation of us humans, the story of “the fall” becomes central. By our deliberate act, we separated ourselves from God, and from that point on, the restoration of that relationship dominates the Biblical narrative. As John
Tucked away in the Old Testament story of Joseph’s journey into Egypt is a verse packed with far more meaning than appears on the surface. It teaches an eternal truth that we’d do well to consider as we enter the New Year. Rehearse the story. Sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph found favor with the Pharaoh and became one
In the article last week I talked about Christmas in relation to the name given to the baby born on that day, JESUS Rehearse a bit. Matthew reports that Joseph had a dream in which he was instructed to name his son, Jesus. The name means “God shall save us from our sins.” So, when the angel says, “His name
We are in the midst of the Advent season. It’s Christmas time. Let’s stay with the story…at least reflect seriously for a bit. A central figure is Joseph. He is perplexed, deeply perplexed. The woman to whom he is engaged is pregnant and he knows the baby is not his. He is wrestling with what to do. Will he expose
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