Articles Archives | World Methodist Evangelism

Steinbeck and the Prophet Jeremiah by Robert Carter

Robert Carter October 24, 2016

In this particular letter, Jeremiah becomes the linkage between God’s promises for yet-to-be newness and the embittered exiles who are certain that they are unfairly suffering for the sins of previous generations. A creative proverb was gaining popularity among these disenfranchised refugees—everybody was sharing it on their Facebook wall: “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are

The Famine and the Lie by Michelle Bauer

Michelle Bauer October 22, 2016

Pay attention to the moments where you are quick to show faith and the places where fear tends to creep in. For a lot of us, faith and fear come in patterns. When fear shows up it is a sign that God has work to do in that place. Celebrate where you are being faithful but don’t hide or minimize

Gifts We Offer: A South Pacific View by Richard Waugh

Richard Waugh October 20, 2016

What will we be sharing from our Methodist/Wesleyan “waka” (canoe) in whatever region of the world we minister? What treasures and gifts will we share?

Eaters of the Soil: Holiness for Tongan Wesleyans by Maafu Palu

Wesleyan Accent October 19, 2016

Just as in pre-missionary Tonga, the moral sense of the people was identified with the moral sense of the chiefs, now in Christian Tonga, Jesus is the “chief of chiefs” – the ‘eiki ‘o e ngaahi ‘eiki.

The Fallacy of a White Liberation Theology by Kevin Murriel

kevin.murriel October 19, 2016

So strong is this ideology among many white church leaders, those in theological circles, and some in society, that it rings loudly of “White Liberation!” suggesting that acknowledging ones’ privilege has liberated the individual from the bondage of systems that work on their behalf. I am concerned with the white Christian who wants to do something prophetic like telling other

Finding Myself in the Poetry of Mary Oliver by Justin Gentry

Justin Gentry October 17, 2016

I think I am drawn so much to poetry these days because over and above anything else poets are themselves. They speak from a raw, sometimes scandalous place that many of us don’t have access to. As a pastor it can be very hard to be yourself, yet it is essential if you want to have anything of value to

The Noah in Your Circle by Michael Smith

Michael Smith October 13, 2016

Finding and listening to a “Noah” is a reminder that there is a part of our faith that needs to be challenged to understand the profound personal nature of life in the Spirit.

The Locker Room And The Vestry by Elizabeth Glass Turner

elizabeth.turner October 12, 2016

One time as I came down from a platform during a church musical rehearsal, I passed several women and whispered, “I’ll be right back, I have got to go to the bathroom!” I rushed away and couldn’t hear the laughter that erupted behind me; the sound guy had not yet muted my lapel mic. My whisper had been heard throughout the sanctuary.

Faithfulness by Bryan Collier

Bryan Collier October 6, 2016

Most of us are familiar with John 15—it is particularly central to my life and to the life of the local church that I pastor, The Orchard UMC. It is from Jesus’ command there, “to go and bear fruit” that we take our name, vision and mission. Most of us are familiar with the flow: Jesus begins with an eight-verse

Where There Is New Room by Elizabeth Glass Turner

elizabeth.turner October 5, 2016

Sometimes we need a space where there is new room for the Holy Spirit: space in our lives, in our schedule, in our church building, in our preaching, in our house. For me, luckily enough – except it never seems to do with luck where new room is involved – this has been at the New Room Conference. In an

Rewriting The Story by MJ Kirby

MJ Kirby April 27, 2015

So, why do we make this annual trek to mark Jeremy’s birth, death, Christmas, Easter and other special occasions? I guess somehow in the ritual of the rhythm of returning to the grave we find comfort as we remember. We seek closure. We find consistency. We seek to make sense out of a situation that otherwise makes little to no

Easter: Bonus Material by Claire Matheny

Claire Matheny April 25, 2015

But here at the site of the empty tomb is our leap beyond lip service. When we take up the mantle from Mary and open our mouth to the truth. There is something bursting below the surface. A little seed of germination. This is Easter…we are the outliers who believe that despite all the impossibility of being raised from death

Staring Into Loss: The Tomb by Michael Smith

Michael Smith April 23, 2015

Now that light has dawned, one cannot simply stand and look at a symbol of defeat and the past. New life has broken in and we are not allowed to just look; we are invited and commissioned to go and tell.

Why Animals Need Heaven: God’s Love And The Problem Of Animal Suffering by Matt Douglass

Matt Douglass April 22, 2015

It seems, then, that God would not want anything bad to happen in the world, and he certainly has the power to stop them from happening. Yet bad things—unimaginably horrific things—happen every day. Over many centuries, philosophers and theologians have attempted to solve this problem by explaining why God would choose to create a world like ours, where humans

Don’t Be Afraid by Andy Stoddard

Andy Stoddard April 20, 2015

Today is April 16. Every year I write something in memory of my Mama Sarah and in honor of my mom, Maxine Stoddard. On this day 37 years ago, my Mama Sarah was murdered by my biological father; at that point, many lives were forever changed. She was murdered on my mom’s birthday (April 16) and buried on mine (April 18). You can read

Ministering Angels In A Dark World by Maxie Dunnam

Maxie Dunnam April 18, 2015

The promise is not that we would be safe but that we would be faithful. The angel of God does not always spare us from tragedy or troubles, but enables us to look at tragedy troubles through different eyes.

In Awe Of The Resurrection by Elizabeth Glass Turner

elizabeth.turner April 16, 2015

I find myself walking in the semi-dark, friends clustered around me. Our hands are full, carrying materials to preserve a corpse. It was a long Sabbath. We were supposed to rest, so we did. But there’s no rest from thoughts of despair and grief. They follow you into every room you enter. Like we had followed Him. We saw the

A Call To Holy Compassion by Maxie Dunnam

Maxie Dunnam April 15, 2015

We must be honest about our failures and sins. None of us lives up to the standards our faith demands. But this doesn’t mean we cease wrestling with and proclaiming the Word.

Ambassadors In A World Of Islands by Elizabeth Glass Turner

elizabeth.turner April 13, 2015

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and

Chosen by Carrie Carter

Carrie Carter April 9, 2015

I confess that I don’t know that much about adoption. I used to tell my little brother that he was adopted—from the animal shelter. I have reaped the consequences of this in my own sons, as the generational dysfunction marches on. I remember lying in bed as an angsty teen, wondering what it would feel like to be chosen, wanted,

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