“Plan your work and work your plan.” That phrase is great – in theory. Usually, it carries with it a practical application. But sometimes those plans are suddenly laid aside. That’s where our churches found themselves in March of this year. We planned our work ahead of schedule – but then weren’t able to work that plan. Coronavirus took the
A significant aspect of the Embrace understanding of showing and sharing the love of Jesus is the idea of interdependency – the idea that human beings flourish in the context of relationships with others. Rather than focusing solely on our independence, to truly thrive, we must recognize that we are interdependent – both separate and connected to those around us.
I’ve always been an “early adapter.” I may not be the first person to try a new technology, but I’m not far behind. Following the arrival of the first iPhones, I wasn’t at the Apple Store at midnight for a new release – but I’d show up sometime the next day. So I joined social media early on. As soon as
It is startling to encounter words that easily puncture what troubles us, in a moment aching for the holy iconoclasm of the poetry of Madeleine L’Engle.
If we are guided by Scripture, the content of our preaching will always have aspects of the pastoral and the prophetic.
Is it tempting to stand back and admire God who heals, but to neglect allowing God to heal you? God doesn’t want to leave you half-done and stalled out.
The founder of our Methodist movement, John Wesley, is often celebrated for declaring that “The World is my parish…” This quote has inspired many to serve in ministry around the world. However, most contemporary Methodist churches do not organize themselves in parishes the way Wesley’s church did. What did Wesley mean when he said this? What does it mean to see the world
Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid – You read our hearts like an open book: you see our meanings, our intentions, our knowledge, our opinions, our questions, our backstories, our wounds, and our promise. Our hearts are open to you even when wisdom seems closed to us. You
I’ve been thinking a lot about the Great Commission in Matthew 28. It’s a passage many know well, finding it an inspiration, a call, a light to guide the way. It’s a powerful text, one that has inspired Christians for thousands of years, so it’s not a passage usually associated with doubts. Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to
Recently, I had the honor of preaching at the annual gathering of Aldersgate Renewal Ministries. What a blessing! ARM is an organization in the Wesleyan Methodist family that is committed to enabling followers of Jesus to grow through experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit. They focus their energy on personal renewal, church renewal, and pastoral renewal. It was wonderful to be
“Move ON!” a little girl voice shouted from the porch. She’d been watching me weed then went inside. During that time, I’d moved down the flowerbed but doubled back, pulling stray weeds I’d missed the first time in the tangle of morning glory vines. When she came out, she saw me bending at roughly the same spot as when she’d
Through all this, Bono remains rock ‘n’ roll’s most effective spiritual provocateur. He sees every stage as a pulpit and every coliseum as a cathedral.
The church seems to be obsessed with numbers. We account for professions of faith, baptisms, membership and worship attendance, and these statistics for church health point to a crisis in the present and increasingly dismal view of the future. We seem to count everything. Even the founder of Methodism, John Wesley, made sure that every Methodist could be counted. However, it is my conviction
Scripture doesn’t describe causal prayer anywhere, but always about prayer that is a person emptying his or her heart to God of whatever emotions are there.
Kingdom-esteem leads to humility, because it involves recognizing that it’s not about us, it’s about what God has done for us.
God’s blessedness is already there, and we experience it when we seek God’s kingdom.
I like placing the deceased person’s story within the broader story God has been writing since the beginning of time.
Hell has dispatched some deceivers who are on the loose in your life!
Are our eyes as tuned to spiritual light as they are to physical light?
The joy God gives isn’t tied to happenstance, chance, or change. It is deeper, more lasting, and may even have some surprising components.
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