The Surprising Call to Gentleness
Wesleyan Accent
September 18, 2020
Gentleness isn’t weakness; it’s strength with a sense of humor.
Gentleness isn’t weakness; it’s strength with a sense of humor.
One of my favorite Holy Days is Pentecost, partly because (thankfully) it hasn’t been co-opted by Western consumerism. Maybe that’s why it comes and goes without too much attention. We don’t have weeks of lead-up like we do for Christmas or Easter; and the Holy Spirit definitely doesn’t have the economic punch of Santa or the Easter Bunny. Pentecost is
One of my favorite Holy Days is Pentecost, partly because (thankfully) it hasn’t been co-opted by western consumerism. Maybe that’s why it comes and goes without too much attention. We don’t have weeks of lead up like we do for Christmas or Easter; and the Holy Spirit definitely doesn’t have the economic punch of Santa or the Easter Bunny. Pentecost
“Plan your work and work your plan.” That phrase is great – in theory. Usually, it carries with it a practical application. But sometimes those plans are suddenly laid aside. That’s where our churches found themselves in March of this year. We planned our work ahead of schedule – but then weren’t able to work that plan. Coronavirus took the
A significant aspect of the Embrace understanding of showing and sharing the love of Jesus is the idea of interdependency – the idea that human beings flourish in the context of relationships with others. Rather than focusing solely on our independence, to truly thrive, we must recognize that we are interdependent – both separate and connected to those around us.
I’ve always been an “early adapter.” I may not be the first person to try a new technology, but I’m not far behind. Following the arrival of the first iPhones, I wasn’t at the Apple Store at midnight for a new release – but I’d show up sometime the next day. So I joined social media early on. As soon as
It is startling to encounter words that easily puncture what troubles us, in a moment aching for the holy iconoclasm of the poetry of Madeleine L’Engle.
If we are guided by Scripture, the content of our preaching will always have aspects of the pastoral and the prophetic.
Is it tempting to stand back and admire God who heals, but to neglect allowing God to heal you? God doesn’t want to leave you half-done and stalled out.
Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid – You read our hearts like an open book: you see our meanings, our intentions, our knowledge, our opinions, our questions, our backstories, our wounds, and our promise. Our hearts are open to you even when wisdom seems closed to us. You
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:
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
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,
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
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
“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,
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
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…
Methodists gathered together because they were convinced that growth in holiness was most likely to happen in community.
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.
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