Category: Wesleyan Accent Blog
Mothers, Sons and the Crucifix by Tom Fuerst
May 15, 2017
From the seven depictions of Christ’s crucifixion story, to the mother of Jesus holding her infant son as she stretched out her arms to the weeping worshipper, the entire chapel was an invitation to see our sufferings – our very humanity – in light of the fact that neither Jesus nor Mary were exempt from suffering, pain, or death.
The Cross-Resurrection Contradiction by Kim Reisman
May 10, 2017
As Christians, we have a great deal to say about the meaning of suffering.
When Did the United Methodist Church Really Sell Her Soul? by Maxie Dunnam
May 3, 2017
“The writer who contends we lost our soul when we adopted the mission statement inisists that, “love God, love neighbor” would be a better mission statement from a “Wesleyan” perspective. Would you not think that love for our neighbor compels us to share Christ with them, that doing justice and loving mercy is for the transformation of the world and is at the core of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?”
Affections and Understanding in Discipleship by Otis T. McMillan
May 1, 2017
Understanding turns sadness into joy.
My Call to Senior Pastoral Ministry by Tara Beth Leach
April 26, 2017
Since I can remember, I’ve had a pastor’s heart. Often times when I hear someone talk badly about the Church, I get offended in the way a sibling gets offended when someone is talking about her sister—“Hey, don’t talk about my sister like that!” I ache to see the Church live into the fullness of holiness in which she has been called. I long to see the Church lean into the power of the Spirit as she joins God on mission in this world.
Your Future Is in Your Feet! by Kelcy Steele
April 22, 2017
Don’t ask God to guide your footsteps if you’re not willing to move your feet.
Dennis F. Kinlaw: Naming and Showing that Mysterious Quality by Jerry Walls
April 20, 2017
Unfortunately, the word holiness conjures up for many people images of repressive legalism, dour dogma, and joyless judgmentalism. Much of the holiness movement seems to have forgotten that John Wesley constantly insisted that holiness and happiness are inseparable. Indeed, one Wesley’s most memorable descriptions of God was “the fountain of happiness, sufficient for all the souls he has made.”
Dennis Kinlaw reminded you of that fountain when you talked to him.
How Artists Do Theology: The Resurrection by Philip Tallon
April 13, 2017
Piero della Francesca gets thunderingly right what so many Christians get so stunning wrong. Raised on the first day of the week – a day any faithful Jew would understand as the first day of creation – God in Christ has begun the re-creation of this world. This work of making all things new is not complete, but it has begun.
Anxiety In Worship by Elizabeth Moyer
April 12, 2017
Someone living with an anxiety disorder (or any medical condition) that makes being in loud, dark areas or separated from family unendurable does not feel welcomed. This is not a commentary on the theology or religiosity of the “turn up the volume and dim the lights, no children allowed” movement. The concern here is how the Body of Christ meets those who would dare join in for worship.
Jesus Weeps, Our Tears to See by Jeff Rudy
April 6, 2017
These hymns, like the psalms, come from or speak to different experiences – some quite specific, others more general – and they express a wide variety of feelings toward God, ranging from thanksgiving and adoration to supplication to bitter grief. The hymn I came upon that had a reference to Jesus weeping was under the heading of “For a Child in the Small-Pox.” In the midst of what would have been an agonizing time for the parents as they prayed through tears that God might bring healing to their child, Charles offered lyrics that help us to embrace this sort of grief and to not hold back in pouring out our hearts to God.