Camp Meetings And Revivals In 21st Century North American Methodism by Elizabeth Glass Turner

A couple of generations ago in North America, camp meetings and revivals were not uncommon in many Wesleyan Methodist traditions, flourishing in part from their popularity in the 19th century across frontiers. Outdoor meetings or camp meetings or week-long revival series held in local churches perhaps helped to pave the way for Billy Graham’s famous evangelistic crusades that inhabited tents

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Steer Toward the Pain by Jeff Rudy

Compassion, in the Jesus way, is active – it steers toward the pain, joins folks in the valley of the shadow of death and finds some way to point to the hope of the resurrection.

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Servant Paul, Not Apostle Paul, in Philippians by Tom Fuerst

When you look closely at the first few verses of Philippians, something quite unique stands out fairly quickly:

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.

You’ll notice that Paul does not refer to himself as an apostle.

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Dealing with a Dead Situation by Kelcy Steele

We have a hungry prophet (Elijah) on assignment to stretch the faith of a widow woman on welfare and to add insult to injury she has just lost her son.

I stop by to tell somebody when you are dealing with a dead situation you have to expect the unexpected, process your pain, and trust the process.

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How To Get A Good Name by Andy Stoddard

I really do love the book of Proverbs.  There’s just some really good stuff within this great book: wisdom that can help us live our lives in ways that are just so powerful and so good. Ways that are just so true.  Listen to what we are told today in Proverbs 21: 1-2: 1 A good name is to be chosen

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Why We Argue by John Turner

Why do we argue? Is it so that we can win a competition, and feel the adrenaline rush of victory?  Is it to make another person feel ashamed of themselves?  Is it to make sure other people know what we support, or don’t support?  Is it because if we don’t, the other side will be the only ones talking? Facebook,

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What’s Stronger: Wood or Steel? by Priscilla Hammond

What’s stronger: wood or steel? You don’t even have to think about it, do you? Steel is a stronger construction material than wood. Steel is harder than wood, so of course, it’s the stronger of the two. But wait… My husband and I were hiking at Tallulah Gorge, and I stopped to take this photo. A steel cable that once held up

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Redeeming Justice by Edgar Bazan

What is justice? The theme of justice is pervasive in the Bible but also is widely misunderstood by its readers. Commonly, people depict justice as a harsh judgment or deserved punishment, portraying God as the ultimate punisher or executioner. But if we look closely in the Bible, this is not how God practices or brings about justice to the world.

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The Holy Spirit In Liminal Spaces by Elizabeth Glass Turner

When everything is turned inside-out, a jumble of items cascading from a moving box or a partially rearranged room in upheaval, then you can picture a bit of the chaos of a liminal space or season. Rites of passage move people from one stage, through a liminal stage, and into another stage. You are not yet baptized; you move through

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You Matter to God: God’s Goodness, Power, & Presence by Otis T. McMillan

What challenges are you facing today? What circumstances cause you to question God’s goodness, power, and presence? Take time to bring these to God. Lay them at his feet. Become aware of his presence. Let God minister to you. Let his nearness encourage your heart. Allow his Spirit and Word to speak to your need. Receive his correction and guidance.

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The Farmer and the Seed by Michelle Bauer

God is always at work in our lives – loving, teaching, guiding, and correcting. The Parable of the Sower uses the metaphor of seed and soil to help us understand why we aren’t always able to hear God’s voice or put what God shows us into practice. Forming a close relationship with Jesus is a two way street – he

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Faith Is Caught, Not Taught

I come from a long line of artists. My grandfather was an artist; my mother and sister are artists. I am NOT an artist. I enjoy making jewelry, but it would be a huge stretch to call what I do art. I’m convinced my sister stole my artistic gene. She paints and creates pottery. She works with metal and textiles.

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The Mystery And Glory Of Communion With God by Carolyn Moore

My sister, after years away from the faith, came home to Christ in the Lutheran church. The transition back into the church world, while it was welcomed, still had its moments. She’d dealt with a lot in her life and carried a lot of shame. As a Lutheran she took communion every Sunday but she noticed that communion just made

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

Are American clergy suffering a crisis of faith? From megachurch pastor and quintessential church cool guy Rob Bell to Seventh-Day Adventist pastor-turned-atheist-for-a-year Ryan Bell, 2014 was a doozy (the topic even emerged as a central theme in Steven King’s new novel Revival). From Rob Bell: “All of these things that people think dropped out of the sky by divine edict

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Holy Tenacity by James Petticrew

I have been reading Jeremiah over the past couple of weeks – not an easy read in many ways – but certainly for me a thought-provoking one. Something struck me while reading: the recurrence of a word which also reminded me of a chapter in a book by Eugene Peterson. After a great deal of rooting around in boxes in the garage,

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