I returned recently from a trip to the beautiful hill country of north Alabama. While there I spent a day in conversation with Methodist clergy from there about leadership in the church. The questions we were grappling with are important for the future of any church in the Methodist family: What does Wesleyan pastoral leadership look like? Is there even
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” – Philippians 4:8 ESV To “set the tone” means: to establish a particular mood or character for something. So what? For many years, well,
And yet look at what Paul says in Philemon: “was useless; is useful.” And then he grows much more intimate by the time of Colossians 4 – faithful, dear brother, one of you. And I wonder: how do you go from that to that? From outside to inside? From failure to brother? From deserves death to becomes family? I think
I have recently come to a realization that has helped me enormously in increasing my leadership ability when it comes to both the staff at Good Shepherd and younger clergy in the United Methodist Church…
Methodists gathered together because they were convinced that growth in holiness was most likely to happen in community.
We know that what we do here in Holy Communion is look forward to that day when life will finally be the way God wants it to be.
This is not an anti-technology diatribe. There are enough diatribes in the world, I think: talking heads, Facebook rants, raised fists and honking horns etching anger for a permanent moment of rush hour that hangs now in the universe reflecting our contorted faces back to us. What if I died in that moment? The moment of my life when my
God’s word is better delivered in obscurity than by celebrity. The greatest impact usually happens when no one notices.
It’s a mistake to criticize questioning by and in itself. An unexamined life is not worth living, and an unexamined faith will last about as long as Farrah Fawcett hair, Hammer pants, beanie babies, MySpace, “Gangnam Style” and every other grass that withers and flower that doth fade away.
Beginning at the point of our believing that it is God’s desire to forgive, confession becomes not a morbid discipline, not a dark groveling in the mud and mire of life, not a fearful response to a wrathful, angry God who is out to get us if we don’t shape up. Rather, confession becomes an act of anticipation, a response
Perhaps this is the real significance of Christ the King Sunday. It is an opportunity to look at what has been ruling over us in every aspect of our lives. It is an opportunity to dethrone the Caesars of today, allowing Christ the King to reign in their stead.
How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! –Psalm 133:1 I have heard many people share with me recently their concern over a lack of unity in our world. Nations are deeply divided over politics, the appropriate response to COVID-19, racial and ethnic justice, and many other issues. Not even the church is a safe
[iframe style=”border:none” src=”//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/16719752/height/100/width//thumbnail/no/render-playlist/no/theme/custom/tdest_id/3433802/custom-color/87A93A” height=”100″ width=”100%” scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen] Eliza Edge is the first Resident In Mission and the Director of Programming at Trinity United Methodist Church in Conway, South Carolina. Contact Eliza at eedge@trinityconway.com. Learn more about RIM at ResidencyInMission.org. Let us hear from you: podcast@worldmethodist.org Find us on Social Media: Facebook Twitter Instagram Connect with Rob
If you’ve been part of a marching band, you know how intricate the planning is for halftime. I spent the last 16 years in Ohio, where it’s impossible not to hear regularly about Ohio State University. Renowned for its sports teams, OSU is also known for its marching band and its creative halftime shows. One halftime show particularly caught my
In 2,000 years of church history, you will find an ebb and flow of opportunities seized and opportunities lost. While church history is often a study in fracture – who split from whom, when, and why – nevertheless, it remains remarkable that community is found even today among drastically different people. An illustrative moment comes to mind: a few years
In many churches around the world, we marked All Saints Day this past Sunday, taking the time to honor the clouds of witnesses that have gone before us – all those people who have shaped, challenged, and carried us forward on our spiritual journey. As I contemplate the saints in my own life, I’m reminded of two interrelated and intriguing
We’re inclined to activity, to busyness. Quiet contemplation and active listening are challenging endeavors. We may feel that this challenge comes as a by-product of our modern twenty-first century world, but it’s actually the human condition. Peter pursued that inclination as well. In Matthew 17, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John with him to a mountain top where they have
Core Team (Left to Right) Arpit Charan, Augustine Frederick, Nikul Masih, Vijay Bannet (not pictured – Anosh Charan, Amber Massey) One of the joys of my work with World Methodist Evangelism is to be able to see the dramatic way God works in the lives of young people. Surprisingly, the current pandemic has highlighted this joy, reminding me that even
Our Wesleyan tradition holds a rich heritage of understanding the way the whole of our created being functions. We share a long history of encouraging one another to health and wholeness in every way, just as our God designed. We believe that we are responsible for the well-being of not just our souls, but our bodies and our minds as
One of the wonderful things we do at World Methodist Evangelism is training leaders all over the world to show and share the love of Jesus. Pre-pandemic, we have done this through in-person gatherings as well as virtual gatherings. A few years ago, I was in Kenya teaching about Embrace, our faith sharing material that focuses on six essential values
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