Wesleyan Accent Archive | World Methodist Evangelism

Imagining Identity: When A Group Is Haunted By Suffering by Elizabeth Glass Turner

elizabeth.turner June 18, 2015

The media photographer clicked at just the right moment. The woman’s face is crumpled, crying out, grieving. In fact, the use of the picture almost feels…voyeuristic. How long will morning news shows play subdued tones, proclaiming the latest tragedy, in this case, “Special Edition: Charleston” in a way that reminds us all that every news outlet is for-profit? The photo

What The Lord’s Prayer Teaches Me About Prayer by Jim Lo

Jim Lo June 17, 2015

The Lord’s prayer therefore begins
by putting, not us,
but God the Father
at the center of the picture.

The circumference can only be right
when the center is right.

A Fool And His Money by Mark Trotter

Mark Trotter June 13, 2015

Incidentally, the Greek word translated “required of you” can also be translated as “a payment due.” That is the real point of the parable. Not just your possessions, but your life belongs to God. That is the classical, Christian understanding of our lives. We are sojourners here, pilgrims, travelers. In the beautiful words of the Letter to the Hebrews, “Here

What The Church Can Do During Exile by Timothy Tennent

Timothy Tennent June 11, 2015

Jeremiah reminds us that we do not respond with hatred or anger to those who have plotted our demise. We pray for the peace and prosperity of the country. We pray for the well-being of a church which celebrates false prophets (Jeremiah 28). We realize – and this is the real lesson of Jeremiah – that judgement is actually a

What Pastors Can Learn From Zumba by Elizabeth Glass Turner

elizabeth.turner June 10, 2015

Recently I took a college student with me to a Zumba class at the local Y. “What you see may not be pretty. What happens at Zumba stays at Zumba.” This warning is necessary for all who accompany me to a workout class, given my unique combination of Lucille Ball and Miranda Hart-like skills or, more specifically, lack thereof. Male pastors

What Do You Really Want? by Carrie Carter

Carrie Carter June 8, 2015

When I was four, I won a coloring contest. I don’t remember the picture or actually winning; however, I do recall flipping through the pages of a Hasbro toy catalog. You see, the prize was $100 in toys. That was a lot of toys in 1981, $282.89 worth in today’s market-according to the Inflation Calculator-when toys weren’t high-tech, expensive and causing

Keep On Moving: Perfect In Love by Andy Stoddard

Andy Stoddard June 4, 2015

One of the things that I know most about faith is that we are going somewhere. We are on the move. We have a direction and a purpose. Now that somewhere, in time, is heaven. One day, for those of us that believe, we will cross over into eternity and we will forever be with the Lord. That’s something to

Why You Should Stop Obsessing Over The End Of The World by Tom Fuerst

Tom Fuerst June 3, 2015

Creation, time, space, love, truth, goodness, and beauty are not afterthoughts in God’s plan to save the world. Each plays an intricate role in that plan. Each contributes something the overall whole of the gospel. Each reminds us of God’s good intentions for his world and the inhabitants thereof. And no matter your eschatology, you are called to live in

Race: The Newest Old Issue Confronting American Christian Life by Kevin Murriel

kevin.murriel June 1, 2015

What he and I understand is that we are the Church–one, holy, apostolic, and universal–and our witness demands that we live in these intentional, uncomfortable relationships and lead the difficult conversations about the race problem.

Why We Still Need Movements by Shaun Marshall

Shaun Marshall May 30, 2015

Sometimes, we disengage from challenging injustice because we have been conditioned to believe that our efforts will not matter; we don’t believe that we can make any real difference. God requires us, his people, to be the movement, humbly and faithfully carrying his mercy, his justice, and his transforming presence in our world.

Pastor, Interrupted: The Journey Of Nearly Dying by Kelcy Steele

Kelcy Steele May 7, 2015

And as they were in conversation, all I could see was the blurriness of death, being detached from this world and reaching the light of the union with the Creator.

What Does The Lord Require Of You? by Maxie Dunnam

Maxie Dunnam May 6, 2015

I know that issues are more complex than these assertions, but I’m weary of excusing ourselves because the issue is so complex. Education is clearly a justice/mercy issue. That’s the reason why our church in Memphis has made a missional commitment to doing justice in relation to education.

Preach This, Tweet That: What Black Millenials Are Looking For From The Preacher by Dominique Robinson

Dominique Robinson May 4, 2015

Preaching has always been a lively communal dialogue between the preacher, God and the congregants within the Black Church tradition; however, technology and social media have invaded this dialogue for Black Millennials. Their idea of interactive preaching goes beyond the “preacher, music and frenzy” that W.E.B. DuBois refers to Black Millennials want church as they know it to reach beyond

Eating A Meal: Nourishment For Resurrection Life by Cole Bodkin

Cole Bodkin May 2, 2015

While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself.

Theodicy Lived Out by MJ Kirby

MJ Kirby April 30, 2015

Our youngest, Duke, was one of these tender branches grafted into the faith that had been nurtured in him from birth.

Duke took the oath he was making seriously.

A week prior our son wrestled with whether or not he was actually ready to make such a hefty proclamation. His reservation? An unanswered (and I would add unanswerable) question that

Invisible Growth: Because Evil Doesn’t Win by Elizabeth Glass Turner

elizabeth.turner April 29, 2015

Do you remember standing tall and straight against a door jamb etched with pencil markings as a child? Was there a spot in the family home marking years of growth? Perhaps you had a growth chart, able to be folded away and moved as you relocated. If measuring height was part of your childhood, you’ll know that feeling in your

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

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