Wesleyan Accent is World Methodist Evangelism’s online magazine of practical resources in the area of discipleship, evangelism, leadership and theology. Through articles, book reviews, and interviews, WME features leading and emerging voices of the Wesleyan Methodist world.
Sitting with people after their surgeries, I often hear their prescription: slow down and heal. Sometimes, it is true the best thing we can do is just trust the same old story. The reality is that we live in an age where real rewards come from capitalizing in the attention economy. Quick searches reveal dozens, even hundreds of ‘get well
My wife Angie and I have conversations all the time. But it’s not surprising that 5 minutes into the conversation, one of us will say these words, “What are you talking about?” We seem to be using the same words but they have completely different meanings. For you see, I am primarily a “thinker” and she listens as a “feeler.”
As Christians we do not emerge full-grown. Salvation is not a one -time event. To see it in its fullness, we talk about “going on to salvation.” If any doctrines within the whole compass of Christianity may be properly termed fundamental, they are doubtless these two—the doctrine of justification, and that of the new birth. The former relates to that
God has his eye on you. That’s what the psalmist says. Some may cower back from the question, “what is man that you are mindful of him?”(Psalm 8:4). Frightened even, thinking of God as a judge who is not going to let us get away with even the least wrong-doing. Let’s look more broadly and attentively, “what is man that
1 Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. 2 Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. 3 Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. 5 One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him and
Jesus’ Example of Servanthood and Humility Jesus knew his time had come. He had loved the disciples throughout his ministry. Now, before he went to the cross, he wanted to help them comprehend the full extent of his love. John says, “Now, He loved them to the very end.” (John 13:1b NLT) “So he got up from the table, took
Psalms is probably the most read book in the Bible. Though not my most read book, I’m with it a lot, and Psalms 8 is one of my favorites. Two of the best-known verses of Scripture are in this psalm. “O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth” (v. 1), “What is man that You
In the economy of the Kingdom of God, many of the ways the followers of Jesus are invited to live are counter intuitive. For example, Jesus taught his students strange things like, “If you want to be first, then be last” and “If you want to be great, then serve.” We also see this counter-intuitive way of living in Jesus’
The Deeper Meaning of Shalom: More Than Just Peace Shalom, the Hebrew word of greeting and parting, carries more weight than many imagine. Often translated as peace, many take it to simply mean ‘no fighting.’ In reality, shalom encompasses a set of values that extend beyond a mere absence of conflict. It’s a state of harmony within and without, something
There are many connections and complementary images in Scripture. When I reflect on the meaning of following Christ and being his disciple, Jesus’s word comes clear, “If any wants to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matt. 16:24). I wonder if this word was not clear in Paul’s mind when he
Last year, the headlines again pulled our attention to a way too common tragedy. Five policemen were involved in the beating and death of Tyre Nichols and were subsequently fired. Much of the story is told in the cameras of the policemen and the public camera at the scene of the arrest and beating. Even so, the legal battle which
Few things can bring animated conversation to the church like one which highlights spiritual gifts (charismata). Do we really get supernatural powers? Does the pastor have to have all of these? What about tongues? In Seamless, Chase Stancle offers us an accessible book steeped in years of practice. In writing this, he deftly reframes the conversation about spiritual gifts around
Why the Psalms Still Matter in Modern Worship The Psalms is probably the most popular part of the Bible. Numerous religious and secular documents quote from it. It has been a significant part of literature and movies in our Western culture. It is a huge resource in Christian-Jewish worship. Know that the Lord is God indeed, without our aid he
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew 5:6 In the Inspire Movement, the ministry that my wife and I share as Missioners, we teach four core values of discipleship that can be found as we look at the life of Jesus in the Gospels: – Seeking growth in our love for God
In my last article, celebrating Father’s Day, I began boldly. Let’s keep it clear. As Chrstians we are to be like our Father. I can’t leave that claim without at least a bit more reflection on who God is. The story of Abraham’s sacrifice of his son Isaac is one of the most powerful, profound, and disturbing stories in the
A celebrity was being interviewed on a TV talk show. The host asked, “Can you recall the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you?” “Yes, Next question!” When Embarrassment Leads to Transformation Most of us would like to forget our embarrassing or humbling experiences. We would like to move past the things that we aren’t proud of, or don’t
When I was the pastor of a congregation, preparing sermons every Sunday, I paid close attention to culture and timing… what was going on in the world, and particularly in my city and community. The Gospel is relevant not only to a religious calendar… Christmas, Lent, Easter but also, the civic one… civic holidays. That awareness and practice came strongly
I enjoy watching sports. I am amazed at the skills and talents demonstrated on the field in a competitive game or match. From my couch, I admire them while I enjoy a snack in the comfort of my living room. I must admit that rarely, however, do I follow their example of their hard work and dedication to their craft.
Let’s keep it clear. As Christians we are to be like our Father. Some religions say to their devotees, “Follow me, and the things you fear will not happen to you.” By contrast, Christianity says, “Follow Christ, and some or all of the things that you fear may happen to you; but you do not have to fear them anyway.”
I remember as if it were today, the day I entered the house of the youth leader and participated in a small discipleship group. My life was never the same after that moment. Until then, I was a teenager full of problems and doubts, marked by my father’s abandonment, the wounds of violence, and vices. I knew bitterness, sadness, feelings
“To discern God’s will, two basic understandings must be fixed in one’s prayer life and personal theology: first, God is good! If you don’t hold that basic conviction, why would you want to know God’s will? Second, communication with God is possible.”
“Did your family have a kid’s table? Mine did. This was actually a fun experience, but as you age, you wonder when you might be given a chance to sit at the real table. Though we can joke about these memories, in reality there are people in our world who are wanting and waiting for their chance to gather around
“O ALMIGHTY God, who in thy wrath did send a plague upon thine own people in the wilderness, for their obstinate rebellion against Moses and Aaron; and also, in the time of king David, didst slay with the plague of Pestilence threescore and ten thousand, and yet remembering thy mercy didst save the rest; Have pity upon us miserable sinners,
“The answer to this painfully large prayer is massively small: bread, water, and a bed. Elijah wants a snap answer, a quick fix, and God grants the start of a slow process – bread, water, bed. As if recovering hope can never be a matter of great leaps, but always involves small steps.”
“Few Christians would be surprised to see prayer, searching the Scriptures, the Lord’s Supper, or even fasting (though it is perhaps the least practiced of these) on a list of basic practices of the Christian life. We might be more surprised to see Christian conferencing included on such a list.”
“In our solitude we must open ourselves to the recreating power of quietness and stillness, the healing, sensitizing presence of Christ, so that coming out of solitude we can be with others meaningfully. In solitude we must settle ourselves inwardly, so that we will become aware of the indwelling Christ.”
“We experience the presence of Christ in many ways, but none more special, more intimate, more truly satisfying than in what is variously called Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, or simply the Eucharist. Whatever name we use for it, this is a meal of God’s grace that Christ has prepared for us. For it is here, as we respond in
How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his
“From very early on Christians buried their dead near their places of worship. Where others placed their dead outside of cities and avoided such sites, Christians often celebrated the anniversaries of the death of their martyrs with the Lord’s Supper. Oftentimes this celebration was held at the place where the martyr was buried. Soon, many churches included the bones of
Dystopian young adult fiction is not my preferred genre for leisure reading. For one thing, novels set in a stark world, often portrayed as a police state, in which humanity is regularly repressed and coerced is a sure prescription (in my book!) for disturbed sleep and not sweet dreams. However, having recently committed to helping a middle schooler with a
Romans 12:1-2: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve
“We have a whole new technological vocabulary. In this kind of technological world, and a world lost in moral and ethical relativism, language may be more important than ever. As Christians, and especially as those whose primary vocation is to communicate the Gospel, we need to pay attention to our ‘first language.’”
“When God feels distant and you’re losing your religion, something else is going on. He’s like the sun. When it gets dark, that’s because the earth turns, not because anything happened with the sun, and it’s the same with God. We lose our religion when we turn, not when he does, and when we turn, our hands get busy making
“When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not!” -Yoda, “The Empire Strikes Back” For followers of Jesus Christ, aging comes as a season of compelling and vital new purpose. Just what if there is extraordinary promise hidden in the age of doctors’ appointments, retirement, loss of loved ones and colleagues as well as physical challenges? What
“The grace of redemption can come upon us all at once like a crashing wave. It can reveal itself over a season of life similar to how the autumn leaves move from green to vivid orange, red, and yellow. It can even be relentless in how it floods our souls over and over again.”
“Now some Calvinists clearly understand the logic of their position, and do not shrink from this implication. Classic Calvinist theologian Arthur W. Pink wrote: ‘when we say God is sovereign in the exercise of His love, we mean that He loves whom He chooses. God does not love everybody.’”
I encountered Jesus on a trip to a mercy ministry in Bangalore. The people at this particular place were a mix of old, disabled, infirm and insane. But in some pairs of eyes, I could see what Mother Teresa talked about: Jesus in his most distressing disguise. I sat by a woman who was skin and bones. Half-naked and not fully
Each season has its ebb and flow, its ups and downs. Why is it, then, that we are still wrapping our minds around change management and leading change within local congregations? Think of change like you think of the seasons.
“Like divine sovereignty, predestination is not a Calvinist doctrine, it is a biblical doctrine. And indeed, as a theologian steeped in Scripture, Wesley not only affirmed the doctrine, he affirmed a very strong version of it…”
Prayer. It is as natural as breathing. Most of us, regardless of faith, will find ourselves praying instinctively at some point in our lives. Typically, the prayer that flows unbidden from our heart is a prayer formed in our soul that expresses our deep distress as a plea of boldness for help or guidance. Or the prayer might be one
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