Wesleyan Accent Archive | World Methodist Evangelism

Transformative Mission: When The Church Malfunctions by Edgar Bazan

Edgar Bazan March 21, 2018

In A Public Faith: How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Common Good, Miroslav Volf cautions against the errors the church falls into that hinders it accomplishing what it was constituted to be. He calls it malfunction. He describes this malfunctioning as a poisoned well when he says, In the course of Christianity’s long history—full of remarkable achievements by its saints

Lent: Interview with Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett

Debbie Wallace-Padgett March 19, 2018

Wesleyan Accent shares the opportunity to explore the Lenten season with Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett, who serves the Birmingham Episcopal Area of the Southeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church in the United States. Wesleyan Accent: Growing up, Ash Wednesday was something vaguely Catholic-ish printed on the calendar; I didn’t observe it until later in life. What role has Ash Wednesday played

When Jesus Gets Angry by Carolyn Moore

Carolyn Moore March 15, 2018

Find Mark 1:41 in your Bible. How does that line read in your version? How did Jesus feel about this leper who asked for healing? Some versions say Jesus was filled with compassion for the leper who came to him for healing. My version (NIV) and a few other versions say Jesus was indignant. By my experience, there is a

Bucking the System by Jeff Rudy

Jeff Rudy March 14, 2018

Why didn’t Jesus take up the sword? Why isn’t that the means by which to overcome evil? Walter Wink says something quite remarkable about Jesus’ point here: “Violent revolution fails because it is not revolutionary enough. It changes the rulers but not the rules, the ends but not the means.”

Dying Well by Faith Parry

Faith Parry March 12, 2018

The early Methodists were known as people who died well. They had grace and assurance of God’s love and forgiveness for them, so they did not fear death. Furthermore, Wesley made it a point to share the stories of those who died and went on to glory.

Why Pilgrimage Is Part Of Discipleship: Discovering Lindisfarne by Tammie Grimm

Tammie Grimm March 8, 2018

Northumbria. Nether Springs. Lindisfarne. Holy Island. For years I casually entertained the hopes I might visit the Northumbrian Community that produced Celtic Daily Prayer. Inquiries to the community recommended a minimum stay of two nights and three days. Required trips to the United Kingdom for PhD residency never quite afforded the wiggle room on either end to steal away for

The Problem With Praying For Open Doors by Elizabeth Glass Turner

elizabeth.turner March 5, 2018

One of the prayers I heard a lot growing up was a simple if loaded take on, “thy will be done.” Praying, “thy will be done,” is not only biblical, Jesus himself prayed it in the Garden of Gethsemane, which is a pretty compelling model to follow. The prayer I heard repeatedly was this: “open and close doors as You

Lent with a Wesleyan Accent by Matt Sigler

Matthew Sigler March 1, 2018

A celebration of Easter without a prior descent into the grave is dishonest and naïve, just as observing Lent without the uncompromising proclamation of the Resurrection is hopeless.

Real Prayers For Real People by Carolyn Moore

Carolyn Moore February 26, 2018

I didn’t immediately fall in love with the Psalms. I found them to be hard to understand and a little dusty. Then some hard things happened in my life and I landed on a few Psalms that became prayers when I didn’t know what to pray. When my mother died, Psalm 42 became my lifeline. Psalm 116 was my testimony in a season when

Scripture You Forgot You Knew by Elizabeth Glass Turner

elizabeth.turner February 21, 2018

It happens to all of us. An old song or movie comes on, and somewhere, out of the depths of your dusty brain, a reflex kicks in. Before you know it, you’re singing words you didn’t know you remembered, or you’re quoting a line right before the actor says it. It’s like muscle memory, hidden deep beneath years of doctor

The Gift of Brokenness by Andy Stoddard

Andy Stoddard March 11, 2019

I’m a pretty happy and optimistic guy. I tend to believe the best of other people, and by and large, I expect things to work out alright. I take Romans 8:28 literally and seriously – God will somehow work out things for good. I tend to be an optimistic and grace-full preacher. I believe in hell, but I’m not a

The Call to Proclaim by Karen Bates

Karen Bates February 20, 2019

One of my favorite evangelists is known by her place of
conversion. She is the woman at the well — the Samaritan woman — who
encountered Jesus while she was filling her water pot. She had a conversation that transformed her and moved her to share her experience with others.

Third Day Dimension by Jeff Rudy

Jeff Rudy February 18, 2019

“What do you mean, that’s not my father? Those are the hands that cared for me. Those are the arms that took me up and hugged me. Those are the lips that spoke to me; the eyes that searched for me; the chest on which I fell asleep, knowing I was safe in his care. Everything I have ever known

Of Pirates and Preserving Grace: Jonah’s Reluctance by Michael Smith

Michael Smith February 15, 2019

He tells the sailors to toss him overboard, because he believes that his God is acting like all the other gods, punishing him and them in the process. After Jonah says, “hurl me into the sea,” something strange happens. The sailors start rowing to dry land. Though it’s easy to skip ahead and assume that they picked him up and

Consuming Mission and Short-Term Missions by Rob Haynes

Rob Haynes February 15, 2019

From the earliest days of my pastoral service my leaders and mentors encouraged me to lead and develop short-term mission (STM) trips. They assured me that these trips would provide life-changing opportunities for those in my ministries. In addition, the people in the communities we would serve would receive the benefits of medical care, children’s ministry activities, or the construction

Self-Consciousness vs Self-Awareness by Aaron Perry

Aaron Perry February 6, 2019

When I was in my early twenties, I was really good at softball. I could play defense, run reasonably well, and hit for power. I got better because I had a coach, Gordon, who watched me play and gave me pointers. As a result, I positioned myself intentionally at third base depending on the batter. I chose a heavier bat

Wrestling With God by Aaron Duvall

Aaron Duvall February 4, 2019

Chera, my wife, was glaring at me with the type of fire normally reserved for people who tell her Christmas music should wait till after Thanksgiving. “God is good,” she said. I nodded, more than slightly annoyed. “Say it,” still glaring. “God is good,” I half-heartedly indulged her. And then what I knew was coming. “Say it like you mean

Faith and Social Media by Rob Haynes

Rob Haynes January 31, 2019

Over lunch recently, a ministerial colleague and I were discussing the various ways local churches seek to use social media to promote their ministry. He and I have served in a variety of contexts, and we observed that similar conversations seem to happen in each situation: some people strongly feel that putting a great deal of time and energy into a catchy social media campaign will cure many of the ills of church. Properly

Relaunch by Edgar Bazan

Edgar Bazan January 30, 2019

In the past, I’ve talked about reset as the ability to embrace and move into the new things that God has for us by not allowing the hurts of the past to hold us back. We can’t change the facts of the past, but we can change how we feel about them and how we allow them to affect us

A Grief In Birth by Aaron Perry

Aaron Perry January 23, 2019

I’ve never been pregnant. I watched my wife, a complete champion, bear three children with heroic efforts. Bearing a child means to carry the child through pregnancy to birth, when the child is born. Leading up to the birth, there are contractions. Contractions prepare the body to deliver the baby by shortening uterine muscles and dilating the cervix. As the uterus

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