Regardless of what type journey took you to Jesus, here is help for writing an effective Light Story. Every person who has been transformed by Jesus has the desire to communicate God’s grace in a way that others will be curious and motivated to seek Jesus themselves. This desire to communicate Jesus is one fruit of the Spirit’s presence in
Followers of Jesus have a distinctive style. There are many marks of the Methodist Style. We have considered A Catholic Spirit and Heartfelt Religion. Let’s look now at one other distinctive mark, our worldwide parish. It is gathered up in Wesley’s popular saying, “The world is my parish.” That word captures the style of the Methodist movement—a concern for all
A few years ago, on a beautiful summer day, our family gathered by the rally track to cheer on my nephews in their race. We spent the entire day on a treeless hill, fully exposed to the sun. By evening, the effects were undeniable—our uncovered skin had turned red. Just like the sun leaves a mark on us, so does
Followers of Jesus have throughout history exhibited a distinctive style. In my first article I shared about Wesley’s peculiar flair. The second article highlighted a Methodist’s catholic spirit. Here, we will look to the heart of the Wesleyan movement. The Methodist movement was born in England and soon began to burn with a fire of love across the land, in
My youngest son spent a decade as a chef in training in many fine dining restaurants in the Southwest Florida area. Several of the eating establishments were seafood restaurants as you would expect living on the Gulf Coast. Nathan learned to cook some of the most fantastic fresh seafood dishes, but here was his dirty little secret. He did not
Scripture Focus: If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:23 (NLT) Living the Jesus way is never easy. In many parts of the world, surface religious activity can seem acceptable, even easy. In other parts of the world – like those places
From time to time we will share encouraging reports of God’s Work from around the World. May this good news encourage you wherever you are today. Unimaginable. Unexpected. Unprompted. Such is how our God shows up and claims glory. This was not the first time Christina had found God interrupting her plans. Christina Trager is a youth pastor from Delaware
In my last article I made the claim that Methodists have a distinct style. As Christians, our style defines us as much, maybe more, than anything else. I have the privilege of observing that more than most. My wife and I live in a life cafe. We have lived here for seven years, and plan to make this our “earthly
Circumstances sometimes call us to do strange things – things we would not otherwise do. Circumstances also cause us to do things we should have done but never got around to before. Two out-of-town visitors were walking along a street in New York City late one night. One of the pair, wary of the reputation of city streets at night,
As I type, I’m sitting (tray table down) on my American flight from Miami to Chicago. I thought maybe I’d rest. With a very long layover in Chicago I thought I’d rest now and work later. (There’s so much work to do.) But as I closed my eyes, and adjusted my headrest, I was overwhelmed. I tried not to weep.
How could Jesus be truly human and truly divine? That’s a question commonly asked. Theology calls it INCARNATION. In fact there is often talk of the Scandal of the Incarnation. After a little reflection, we may best put the question, not how but why did Jesus become both human and divine? Let’s think about it. Few men in the twentieth
In order to create more clarity around disciple-making, it benefits us to spend more time coming to agreements about what we mean when we say certain words. This matters because we often agree on which words are important. We just do not mean the same things when we say them. For instance, my shortest possible definition for disciple-making is this:
We are in the midst of the Advent season. It’s Christmas time. Let’s stay with the story…at least reflect seriously 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 her,
Why celebrate Christmas? Now, more than ever, people find it hard to celebrate a joyful occasion. Does the message of Christmas — hope, peace, and joy — still ring true amid instability, crises, and seeming hopelessness? In the Philippines, we were hit by 6 typhoons in one month. There’s so much loss, so much pain, and so much death all
Scripture Focus: Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive: I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they
I’m Maxie. She’s Jerry, my wife. The setting is almost always the same. Someone introducing us to strangers will say, ‘These are our friends, Jerry and Maxie Dunnam.’ Far more times than not, the person to whom we are being introduced assumes Jerry is the husband and Maxie is the wife. I can’t begin to come close to telling you
Have you ever felt completely out of place? Have you ever been in a situation where you were in a room full of people, didn’t know how to act, and weren’t sure how to meet anyone to help you feel more at home? Some years ago, a pastor friend of mine got married. I had met his fiancée, now wife,
Scripture Focus: O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more. Psalm 10:17-18 (NRSV) Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for
Pain and our ability to cope with pain are problems common to all people of all cultures. For years, mission organizations have realized that helping people deal with physical issues opens the door to deeper discussions about Jesus. Many people have benefited from this work worldwide. However, we do not always do an adequate job helping our people connect to
Scripture Focus: Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For
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