James Petticrew Archives | World Methodist Evangelism

Wesleyan Accent

Wesleyan Accent is World Methodist Evangelism’s online magazine of practical resources in the area of discipleship, evangelism, leadership and theology. Through articles, book reviews, and interviews, WME features leading and emerging voices of the Wesleyan Methodist world.

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Kim Reisman and Paulo Lopes

2026 WME Executive Transition

World Methodist Evangelism January 29, 2026

Dear Friends of World Methodist Evangelism, World Methodist Evangelism has been blessed with strong leadership since its inception. Sir Alan Walker of Australia, provided inspired early direction (1978-1988), launching the first International Christian Youth Conference on Evangelism – now known as Metanoia – in 1980. In 1989, Dr. H. Eddie Fox became WME’s first full-time Executive Director and significantly expanded

Will You Finish Well? (Part 1) by Maxie Dunnam

Maxie Dunnam January 20, 2026

There are some experiences or encounters that are so solidly lodged in our memory they continue to invade our consciousness – to haunt us – to help us or to hinder our Christian walk, to call and challenge us to be more than we are. John Birkbeck is a person around whom for me a whole cluster of memories is

Three Wise Men (Part 3) by Maxie Dunnam

Maxie Dunnam January 6, 2026

In my two previous articles (read part 1 here and part 2 here) we focused on two of the big truths the three wise men can teach us. One, only the wise know their wisdom is incomplete and limited. Two, the wise men not only know their wisdom is incomplete they know they can’t save themselves. Those who are wise always know that their wisdom

“Embrace: Showing And Sharing The Love Of Jesus” Book Review by Ideal Curtis

Ideal Curtis January 2, 2026

In our world today, we embrace each other for so many reasons – celebration, greeting, sadness, grief, joy, affection, good-bye, and more. An embrace is a beautiful symbol of our human connection. My favorite version is when my sweet granddaughter sees me and runs into my arms. Something passes between us in an embrace, something unspoken, yet deeply real and

Three Wise Man (Part 2) by Maxie Dunnam

Maxie Dunnam December 30, 2025

In my last article, I began reflecting on the Three Wise Men in the Christmas story. I began by insisting only the wise know their wisdom is incomplete and limited. These wise men had journeyed along a difficult path, looking for a king, using the very best science they knew, following a star. But somehow, along the way, their guidance

Singing Full Throttle by Kim Reisman

Kim Reisman December 29, 2025

It’s a tradition in my family to have a formal “mother/child” photograph made of each child when they’re between three and six months old. When I was about six months old, my mother posed with me in a remarkable photo which my parents’ still have. It’s remarkable not because it’s of me, but because my mother and I are posed

Three Wise Man (Part 1) by Maxie Dunnam

Maxie Dunnam December 24, 2025

Two men were sitting together on an airplane, one an astronomer, the other a theologian. After a while each began to share his understanding of the other’s discipline. The astronomer said, “I believe that all religion can be summed up in the phrase, ‘Jesus Loves Me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’” The theologian, somewhat miffed at this simplistic

Healing For The Nations by Rob Haynes

Rob Haynes December 19, 2025

When I was in my early twenties, I had a mysterious back injury that was debilitating. Several visits to various doctors revealed a problem in my spine that was pinching the nerves to my legs. The medical imaging showed an injury so bad, how it got there was a mystery. It was something usually seen in patients who had severe

Good News: God Is Moving In Asia And Far Beyond (Part 2) by James Loftin

James Loftin December 17, 2025

There has never been a time when God was not moving toward human brokenness and lostness. From Genesis 3 until this moment, gracious God has been on the move. Often, we are oblivious to God’s redemptive work, but sometimes we get a glimpse of his grace and stand in awe. As my wife and I traveled through East Asia for

Christmas In The Philippines by Joanne Valenzuela

Joanne Valenzuela December 12, 2025

“Pasko” is the Filipino term for Christmas. In the Philippines, the Christmas celebration begins as soon as the calendar enters the “-ber months.” Christmas is a time for Filipinos to express their love for God and family, relationships, creativity, and food. When the “-ber months” begin, the streets light up with the traditional Filipino Christmas décor called the parol—beautiful lanterns

Christmas In Santa Claus, Indiana by Joseph Seger

Joseph Seger December 7, 2025

I remember the expectation thick in the air in the days leading up to Christmas. A tree was cut and decorated. Christmas carols covered us wherever the radio could reach. The Christmas Eve service felt enchanted as we raised our candles during the singing of Silent Night in a darkened sanctuary. My brothers and I would debate what gifts our

Christmas In The South Pacific by Atu Lagi

Atu Lagi December 1, 2025

Bula Vinaka and a big Christmas greetings from the beautiful Island of Fiji. Christmas in Fiji is a time of celebration when nuclear and extended families gather. Those living in urban areas, cities, towns, and abroad will prepare for the long trip back home to their villages or homes for the festive season. Preparations for carol singing, festivity celebrations, dancing

Healthy Things Grow by Hunter Bethea

Hunter Bethea November 25, 2025

Last summer, the musician Ben Rector released a single, “Wreck.” The premise of the song was that the person he was singing to had wrecked his world “in a beautiful way.” It was through this song that I was introduced to a phrase I hadn’t heard before, but isn’t original to Rector: “Healthy things grow and growing things change.” As

Christmas In Brazil by Maria Paula Pereira de Lima

Maria Paula P. de Lima November 21, 2025

When I was a little girl, decorating the Christmas tree was a family ritual my parents and I looked forward to every year. We’d crack some Christmas tunes on the stereo CD player we had in our living room – yes, I feel old whenever I remember I actually used one of those – and we’d hang all kinds of

Good News: God Is Moving In Asia And Far Beyond (Part 1) by James Loftin

James Loftin November 18, 2025

After living in Asia for several years, my wife and I moved to the United States in 2020. This past summer, we were able to return to Asia. By the grace of God, we were able to learn and shine in 17 cities in 4 countries over 6 weeks. We had an amazing adventure. (For security reasons, some names and

Christmas In India by Ketan Parmar

Ketan Parmar November 14, 2025

Christmas is the festival of Love, Joy, Peace and Hope. Christmas reminds us of God’s love and Salvation for humankind. The Indian way of celebrating Christmas is unique, colorful and full of cultural diversity. Unique Indian Christmas Celebrations and Festive Cuisine Christmas preparations begin weeks before the 25th of December. Homes are cleaned and decorated with stars, lights, and Christmas

More Than A Barber by Maxie Dunnam

Maxie Dunnam November 11, 2025

Even with modern technology, I like the daily newspaper. I pay close attention to the front page and read the articles there that get attention. Then I turn the inner pages to see what is there. It was an inside article, but the headline caught my attention: FORMER ADDICT OFFERS HAIRCUTS TO HOMELESS PEOPLE IN LOS ANGELES. I couldn’t resist

Our Place In The Cloud by Kim Reisman

Kim Reisman November 4, 2025

In many churches around the world, we recently marked All Saints Sunday. It’s a Sunday that often focuses on that wonderful passage from Hebrews 12: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for

The Support We Need by Maxie Dunnam

Maxie Dunnam October 14, 2025

When Nathaniel Hawthorne came home in utter despair and failure after losing his job in the Customs House, his wife responded, “Now you can write that book you have always wanted to write.” Under that kind of uplifting support, Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter, one of the greatest pieces of literature the world has ever known. The truth is there

Joy Begins At The Cross: Learning The Forgiveness Of Christ As A Pathway To Joy by Carolyn Moore

Carolyn Moore February 7, 2015

Did you ever run across the old children’s book called “Mr. Happy”? His story goes like this: one day he leaves his very happy home and goes walking in the neighborhood. He finds a door and wonders to himself, “who lives here?” When he goes through the door he is led down a long staircase and into the room where

A Deep Freeze by Elizabeth Glass Turner

elizabeth.turner February 5, 2015

Warning: this post contains references to the animated feature film “Frozen.” Overexposure to this movie may result in children shrieking song lyrics in the car, a conviction that your front yard snowman can talk, and a commitment to trip over “Frozen” themed toys for at least the next three years. You may have seen me in the headlines recently:

Which Saint Are You? Quizzes On Holiness by Tammie Grimm

Tammie Grimm February 4, 2015

On any given day of the week, a scan of my Facebook newsfeed reveals secrets about my friends I might never have guessed on my own. It turns out that several friends closely identify with a variety of Disney Princesses, from the bookworm-ish Belle of “Beauty and the Beast,” to the kind and gentle maternal Snow White, to the adventurous

A Circle Of Quiet Book Review by Claire Matheny

Claire Matheny February 2, 2015

I am a part of a church book club that meets each month. A member nominates a book for the next gathering. This ensures that most of us read something we would never have picked on our own. And let’s be honest, with many of us torn between children and work, we barely get time to read. Our meeting gives us an excuse to

Justifying Grace by Jeff Rudy

Jeff Rudy January 31, 2015

If we desire that Christ brings us the grace to renew us and breathe new life into us, that admits quite simply that there is something about and in us that is old and dead and in need of being renewed. So, somehow, someway we must come to terms with that in ourselves which isn’t as it ought to be,

“Selma” And The Embodiment Of Discipleship by Cole Bodkin

Cole Bodkin January 29, 2015

A week before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day my wife and I went to go see the film Selma. This inspirational movie focuses on the non-violent protests of Martin Luther King, Jr., the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference), and others in the small town of Selma, Alabama. It particularly highlights the march from Selma to Montgomery, a momentous turning point

The Virtue Of Pastoral Leadership by Andrew Thompson

Andrew Thompson January 28, 2015

I returned recently from a trip to the beautiful hill country of north Alabama. While there I spent a day in conversation with Methodist clergy from there about leadership in the church. The questions we were grappling with are important for the future of any church in the Methodist family: What does Wesleyan pastoral leadership look like? Is there even

Setting The Tone by Carrie Carter

Carrie Carter January 27, 2015

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” – Philippians 4:8 ESV To “set the tone” means: to establish a particular mood or character for something. So what? For many years, well,

Hidden Heroes: The AWOL Hero by Talbot Davis

Talbot Davis January 24, 2015

And yet look at what Paul says in Philemon: “was useless; is useful.” And then he grows much more intimate by the time of Colossians 4 – faithful, dear brother, one of you. And I wonder: how do you go from that to that? From outside to inside? From failure to brother? From deserves death to becomes family? I think

How A Reluctant Mentor Learns To Be An Adequate Leader by Talbot Davis

Talbot Davis January 22, 2015

I have recently come to a realization that has helped me enormously in increasing my leadership ability when it comes to both the staff at Good Shepherd and younger clergy in the United Methodist Church…

The Methodist Band Meeting: Confession Is For Protestants Too by Kevin Watson

Kevin Watson January 21, 2015

Methodists gathered together because they were convinced that growth in holiness was most likely to happen in community.

How To See The Future by Mark Trotter

Mark Trotter January 17, 2015

We know that what we do here in Holy Communion is look forward to that day when life will finally be the way God wants it to be.

Branded: The Iconoclasm Of Marketing by Elizabeth Glass Turner

elizabeth.turner January 12, 2015

This is not an anti-technology diatribe. There are enough diatribes in the world, I think: talking heads, Facebook rants, raised fists and honking horns etching anger for a permanent moment of rush hour that hangs now in the universe reflecting our contorted faces back to us. What if I died in that moment? The moment of my life when my

Hidden Heroes: The What Can Brown Do For You? Hero y Talbot Davis

Talbot Davis January 10, 2015

God’s word is better delivered in obscurity than by celebrity. The greatest impact usually happens when no one notices.

Are American Clergy Suffering A Crisis Of Faith? by Elizabeth Glass Turner

World Methodist Evangelism January 8, 2015

It’s a mistake to criticize questioning by and in itself. An unexamined life is not worth living, and an unexamined faith will last about as long as Farrah Fawcett hair, Hammer pants, beanie babies, MySpace, “Gangnam Style” and every other grass that withers and flower that doth fade away.

Confession by Maxie Dunnam

Maxie Dunnam January 7, 2015

Beginning at the point of our believing that it is God’s desire to forgive, confession becomes not a morbid discipline, not a dark groveling in the mud and mire of life, not a fearful response to a wrathful, angry God who is out to get us if we don’t shape up. Rather, confession becomes an act of anticipation, a response

The Scent Of A New Year by Michael Smith

Michael Smith January 5, 2015

New is unknown, and often we are afraid of the “what if” questions in our lives. But new is happening every day.

Go Tell It On The Mountain by Carolyn Moore

Carolyn Moore January 3, 2015

It began with Jesus, who invited twelve guys to quit their day jobs and enroll in a three-year intensive, seminary-level program. By following Jesus, these guys learned Hebrew Bible, pastoral care, prayer and healing, theology, missions and evangelism, preaching and economics. At the end of three years, Jesus declared them ready (in fact, he called them his peers) and commissioned

The Promise Of Silence by Michelle Bauer

Michelle Bauer January 1, 2015

When we refuse to be silent we are saying that we have nothing left to learn or that God has nothing left to say to us.

Leave Your Stuff Behind by Maxie Dunnam

Maxie Dunnam December 31, 2014

By the time most of us get to be adults, we have accumulated a great deal of stuff. We’ve learned so many wrong things, stored up so much misinformation, learned to respond in so many destructive ways, adopted all the biting, snarling, snippy styles of relating, become secretive and cynical. We carry a lot of stuff around, and it burdens