Regardless of your politics, but dependent on the plans of God, there will be a November 9, 2016. Do you know the day? It’s the day after the United States of America will choose between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Between now and then, there will be a lot of debate, discussion, and Tweeting. But that day will come and,
If you or I think of a laser, we probably have a mental image of what we might colloquially call a concentrated beam of light, whether it’s used recreationally like in laser tag or a laser light show, or practically like in an eye surgery or in cutting material. You might even picture the powerful ray from the Death Star in Star
I have great respect for many colleagues in ministry who espouse a reformed or Calvinist view of the world. That said, it should be no surprise to those who read and listen to me regularly that I am enthusiastically and unapologetically Arminian. I am far too deeply committed to the notion of God’s pure love exercised in his gift of human free
Protestantism has hit a snag. Catholics have their challenges, but it’s a very different set. The Orthodox church in its various forms has its disputes but remains largely unchanged. North American Protestants have hit hard times, like an ecclesial version of the 2008 economic meltdown. We’ve printed Bible verses on magnets, screen printed t-shirts, run food pantries and epic VBS
Peace or division? Which is your mission, Jesus? Which is your kingdom about?
In 1 John 3: 11-24, we see two truths that are really, really hard to hold together. We will not always be liked. But we must always love. Listen to what we are told today: For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We must not be like Cain who was
The danger of our silence is that if we ignore the subject of money, both the mission of the Kingdom of God and the spirituality of God’s people will ultimately be impoverished.
If we really believe that in Christ there is no male or female, it should trouble us deeply that so many men are missing from our midst.
Hypermobility. Transience. Individualism. Consumerism. Nationalism. Add to those descriptors the second half of the great commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself. And what do you get? Helicopter love. Helicopter Love* A helicopter love, or lifestyle, is one in which a person has a place to live (a safe haven), but they hop into a virtual helicopter to fly to the various
Death is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas; they live in one another still. For they must needs be present, that love and live in that which is omnipresent. In this divine glass, they see face to face; and their converse is free, as well as pure. This is the comfort of friends, that though they may
This summer I spent a week in Santa Fe, New Mexico at a writer’s conference. I’ve attended a few of these over the years and I’ve learned something. A single, very important fact: Writers are weird people. That’s just the truth. I can say that because I’m a full time pastor and a full time mom and only have time
Evangelism is a natural and necessary element of multifaith conversations from Wesleyan perspectives. True conversation by Wesleyans means true announcement of the good news of Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and coming reign. Yet a real conversation also means Christians are open to hearing what other faiths consider good news in their traditions. Multifaith conversations for Wesleyans always include evangelism (which
On a recent hot summer day, I pulled down the flap of my mailbox and discovered an official-looking summons. For the first time in my life, I had Jury Duty – those dreaded words that bring pained expressions to millions of Americans every year. Being a woman of a thousand and one opinions, however, I immediately waved the paper under
In elementary school, children learn about endangered species, those animals that have become so uncommon that their ongoing existence as a species is at risk. Endangered animals need special protection and care in order to have an increased chance of survival, growth, and flourishing. The idea of endangered species recently got me thinking about another domain of life, the virtues.
H. Richard Niebuhr summed up the mainline Protestant view on the coming kingdom of God with the statement: “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.” Sharp words. Niebuhr was writing in the 1930s. But it might as well have been yesterday. Many Christians in our
Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe
I’m excited about what’s unfolding at Wesleyan Accent. We’ve got a group of younger voices in the Methodist/Wesleyan world who have a great deal to offer those of us seeking to live out the Christian life “with a Wesleyan accent” in the Kingdom of God. One of those is Phil Tallon. Recently, Phil wrote a piece on teaching youth about justification
Elijah was on the run. He had fled the wrath of his archenemy, Jezebel. The Queen had sworn to kill Elijah. The prophet had just defeated her priests and had proven their god, Ba’al, was nothing more than a lump of stone. Jezebel was furious. So Elijah ran… He ran into the desert. He left servant and friend behind. Eventually
I‘m a Wesleyan by choice, though I have a great legacy of Christian experience from other traditions. My grandfather, Lewis Dunnam, was a Freewill Baptist preacher – the closest to a “circuit rider” we have in our family. He “walked” his circuit in rural Mississippi. I grew up in Southern and Missionary Baptist churches, but experienced throughout my childhood and
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