George Washington Carver was born in a slave’s shack on a cotton farm. You know his story. He became a member of the Royal Academy, distinguished himself in science and helped discover countless uses of the peanut and sweet potato which helped salvage the economy of cotton-growing areas with depleted soil. Dr. Carver was not only a distinguished scientist, a
Isaiah directs the reader to “Come to Me with your ears wide open. Listen for the life of your soul is at stake.” Listening for the voice of the Lord must become a serious lifestyle imperative for us all. We cannot afford to do any less than to continually come to Him with our ears wide open, because our never-dying
This is the second article in a series on the Christian Pattern. Read the first article here. What Is Your Life Really About? I have been a pastor for over thirty-five years. In that time I have sat across from a lot of people in a lot of conversations — in hospital rooms, in counseling sessions, in coffee shops, in
official website Congregations 0 K+ It started with 17 churches. In May 2022, a small group of congregations formally launched a new denomination. They called it the Global Methodist Church. Seventeen congregations. A new name. A deep conviction that Wesleyan Christianity needed a fresh expression rooted in doctrinal integrity of the historic Christian faith and the authority of Scripture. Four years
official website Members 0 K+ Congregations 0 + In the spring of 1873, two bishops from rival American churches crossed the Rio Grande within weeks of each other — heading to the same country, with the same gospel, and the same dream. One was Bishop Gilbert Haven of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The other was Bishop John Christian Keener of
For several years, I have heard about the amazing things God is doing in the Methodist Church in Cuba. I have sought to see these firsthand on several occasions. However, for various reasons, those doors kept closing until this February. I took a group of four from our young church along with me as I taught at WME’s Unity in
Check out the earlier articles in this series where Maxie shared about the need for personal holiness (part 1), surrender (part 2), character (part 3), faithfulness (part 4), the wisdom of the saints (part 5), discipline and obedience (part 6). Two more characteristics of the saints I want us to explore as we wrestle with the question, “Will I finish well?”
I was nineteen years old when I wandered into the First Methodist Church of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and fell in love with John Wesley. I didn’t know much about him at first. But the more I read, the more I was captivated — by the way God had raised him up, by his faltering journey to faith, by his struggles with
official website Members 0 K+ Congregations 0 K+ If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like for the Wesleyan movement to shape an entire nation, look no further than Ghana. This week in our Prayer & Fasting journey, we are lifting up The Methodist Church Ghana, one of the largest and most influential Methodist bodies in the world. On January
Check out the earlier articles in this series where Maxie shared about the need for personal holiness (part 1), surrender (part 2), character (part 3), faithfulness (part 4), and the wisdom of the saints (part 5). If we want to finish well in our ministry, we do well to look to those who have walked before us. In my studies and
I’m a Yankee. Specifically, I was born in central Michigan, where the air is scented with pine needles and damp sand. I live in northeastern Texas – a region known for its own Piney Woods – but a world away from the cornfields of the Midwest, where I grew up. It may seem like a small question, but how does
I frequently lead workshops on prayer, which I always find kind of odd because I’ve never felt myself to be much of an expert on that kind of thing. Prayer is hard work for me; it’s meaningful, but it’s hard. During my workshops I always focus at some point on intercessory prayer – prayer for needs beyond our own –
Charles Wesley wrote songs for sinners. For those who were lost in sin, his hymns promised salvation, and for those who had come to Christ they were hymns that celebrated the day when it happened… These hymns are as true as ever and it is only our spiritual and doctrinal naivete that keeps us from seeing it.
Acts 17:16-34 contains Paul’s message to the Athenians at the Areopagus. Athens was considered the intellectual capital of the world. It was home to Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Paul came to Athens during his second mission trip, seeking refuge. Earlier, he had been run out of Thessalonica by the synagogue crowd. He found a more congenial reception in Beroea, until
The good news is that we already have a basic blueprint for how to help people embrace faith in Jesus and become his apprentices. Methodist discipline, or the method that gave Methodism its name, was focused on helping people become deeply committed Christians, to become mature followers of Jesus Christ … The biggest challenge contemporary Wesleyans may face is our
This is a portion of the sermon preached on December 27, 2013, at the funeral service for Bishop McAlilly’s nephew Gale Stauffer, who was killed in the line of duty December 23, serving on the Police Force of the city of Tupelo, Mississippi. … little did we know that on this day of days, we would find ourselves moving so
Prevenient grace does not depend on any power or merit in man; no, not in any degree, neither in whole, nor in part. It does not in any wise depend either on the good works or righteousness of the receiver; not on anything he has done or anything he is. It does not depend on his endeavors. It does not
I received an e-mail from a pastor in Tennessee a few days ago posing this question: A church member asked me to recommend a biography on John Wesley, and I didn’t know what to suggest. Wondering if you could suggest something? That’s not an infrequent request to get for a seminary professor who teaches Methodist history. When I get an
I was thirty-two years old when a woman took my advice on how to die. Sitting in her low living room banked with windows that overlooked butterfly-laden bushes, I watched her shallow breaths. She had lost strength and energy: her frame seemed diminished, as if her soul were clinging to her body by mere tendrils. While disease sapped her vitality,
The weight of Christian worship history testifies that the Sunday service is primarily a gathering of, and for, the faithful. This is not to say that we shouldn’t consider how our worship services can best speak in the language of our local contexts. It isn’t to say that we shouldn’t consider if our gatherings are marked with radical hospitality and
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