Wesleyan Accent Archive | World Methodist Evangelism

How Church Personalities Reveal Epiphany Living by Priscilla Hammond

Priscilla Hammond January 9, 2019

Churches have personalities, expressed through their organization, Christian education
processes, preaching, and worship. Each can have strengths and challenges, but the diversity is reflective of the differences we see in people, including the
Apostles.

Instead of focusing on which
organizational structure or form of worship we prefer, we need to ask if our church is manifesting Christ

Our Greatest Leadership Challenge of the New Year by James Petticrew

James Petticrew January 1, 2019

I have often thought when hearing of another nose-dive from ministry, “not him?” but underlying that has been a naive attitude that has assumed that it won’t ever be me.

Finding Joy and Peace this Christmas Week by Michelle Bauer

Michelle Bauer December 24, 2018

Christmas is almost here! Thinking backing over the last few weeks, when have you felt the most peaceful? When have you felt the most stress or anxiety? As you think ahead to the coming week, what are you looking forward to? What, if anything, are you dreading? Offer those things into God’s care.

Gaudete by James Petticrew

James Petticrew December 17, 2018

Yesterday was the third Sunday of Advent, called Gaudete Sunday; “gaudete” is Latin for “rejoice.” Even a cursory reading of the Bible reveals that joy and rejoicing are an inevitable overflow in the lives of people who have understood and experienced God at work in their lives.

Advent, Esther, & the Absence of God by Jackson Lashier

Jackson Lashier December 16, 2018

As good as the story of Esther is, however, it presents us with a problem: God is absent. Unlike other Old Testament stories, where we read of God appearing to Abraham or working behind the scenes to foil the plans of the Pharaoh, the story of Esther never mentions God. Rather, the characters in Esther appear to be acting on

Looking to Share Your Faith? Slow Your Pace by Rob Haynes

Rob Haynes December 10, 2018

We live in a culture that wants to move faster and faster still. But, is faster always better? There are some things about going slow that you cannot get when you are moving fast. When I was serving as a youth minister, I took the youth group hiking to the top of a small mountain. At the end of the

Hope in a Diner Booth by Karen Bates

Karen Bates December 10, 2018

At a time in my life when things were not like I wanted, I sat in a restaurant booth across from a friend as tears streamed down my face explaining how everything was going wrong. The holidays were around the corner. I was short on cash. I was helping other people but no one asked me if I needed help.

Founder’s Chic by Barton Price

Barton Price December 5, 2018

I’m a historian by training. It is what I do and how I think. This training orients my own spiritual formation as well. I think about the past as a way to make sense of God’s faithfulness and to consider my Christian duty as well as others’. Thinking like a historian tends to consider how we narrate our stories and

Celebrating Advent as a Family: Las Posadas by Michelle Bauer

Michelle Bauer December 3, 2018

Many families enjoy re-telling the events that happened around the time that someone was born – the mad dash to the hospital, nervous pacing in the waiting room, funny names that your parents almost gave you. Luke begins his gospel by telling the story surrounding Jesus’ birth. Did you know that Jesus was born next to animals? That’s unusual isn’t

Emmanuel: God Wants To Be With Us by Edgar Bazan

Edgar Bazan December 1, 2018

Christmas is around the corner, and for the Christian church this is the beginning of the Advent season. Advent is a season when we are reminded that God is with us. In fact, one of the names for God that we hear often during Christmastime is Emmanuel, which means: God with us. (Isaiah 7:14) However, many times we don’t feel

Could Jesus Save Aliens? Why Answering Silly Questions Is Serious Business In Youth Ministry by Philip Tallon

Philip Tallon July 16, 2014

Talking about aliens was a great opportunity to teach students about the Wesleyan understanding of scripture, to delve into the logic of the two natures in Christology, and to unpack how Christians connect incarnation to salvation. I got to show the student I cared about his question, and maybe helped him learn a bit more about Christian theology.

How To Live While We’re Waiting by Carolyn Moore

Carolyn Moore July 12, 2014

Forty years ago, we could not have imagined paying $3 for a cup of coffee. Now, a daily Starbucks habit would cost you the price of a house over 30 years. And people pay it. Starbucks is nearly 43 years old. There are about 23,000 of them, but there are 1000 less of them this year. Starbucks is shrinking. Here’s

Imagining Glory by Elizabeth Glass Turner

elizabeth.turner July 10, 2014

“Now we see dimly; then, face to face.” Not, perhaps, the most utilized portion of I Corinthians 13 at the ubiquitous summer wedding – but oddly, one of my favorite parts of the familiar chapter. It seems to distill the essence of faith: trust that we will eventually see “face to face” what we now discern only dimly, in fragments

Onan The Barbarian: Self-Gratification At Its Worst by Tom Fuerst

Tom Fuerst July 9, 2014

I mean, what in the flippin’ world is happening here? Did God really just slaughter this guy for “spilling his semen on the ground”? If this story has ever interested you, then you’ll want to know why Onan the Barbarian was slain.

Generosity by Michael Smith

Michael Smith July 7, 2014

True generosity means extending yourself to a place of the unknown or even fearful. To do something that is so beyond your capacity and frame of reference puts you into the Realm of the King. This is Kingdom work, here folks. We get to see moments of God’s Kingdom here and now when this happens. All it takes is a

Doctrine and Renewal (Part 2) by Ken Loyer

Ken Loyer July 3, 2014

I believe that we will discover the most promising way forward through a deep retrieval of our doctrine and a comprehensive re-reception of it at every level of our church, especially in the local church since that is the most significant arena for making and growing disciples of Jesus Christ. This retrieval project will be a long and difficult one,

By Attending On The Ordinances Of God by Tammie Grimm

Tammie Grimm July 2, 2014

Have you ever noticed the similarities between Major League Baseball and the United Methodist Church? Both organizations exist throughout the country and have a brand logo which is recognizable around the world. In the case of the MLB, professional baseball is played on other continents and plenty of MLB players call another country “home.” In a similar vein, the UMC

Hospital Field Trips And Spiritual Training: Why Kids Should Learn To Make Hospital Visits by Elizabeth Glass Turner

elizabeth.turner June 26, 2014

As a grown-up, I traveled to a hospital once to visit a friend who’d had surgery. A mutual friend accompanied me. I watched his anxiety with amusement. He was anxious about how to find the elevators, anxious about reading the hospital map, anxious about the visit itself. I discovered that this otherwise rational, intelligent adult was uneasy and uncomfortable in

Making Disciples In The Wesleyan Way by Andrew Thompson

Andrew Thompson June 25, 2014

The church today puts a lot of focus on the need to make disciples of Jesus Christ. But do we take seriously what that work requires of us? I’m not so sure. I am very sure, on the other hand, that we’re living in a culture that does us no favors when we even begin to approach the work of

It’s Always Abuse, Not Just When It Involves A Child by Tom Fuerst

Tom Fuerst June 23, 2014

But what we also fail to realize and consistently communicate is that anytime a clergy member has sex with a parishioner who is not their spouse, it is abuse. The emotional, spiritual, and even societal power granted to a pastor is intertwined and inseparable from all their relations within the church. We cannot, therefore, pretend that infidelity between pastors and

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