Like our own lives, the painting included brokenness, sin, and pain. Yet, as the Holy Spirit moved through our days together, new images emerged. Through layers of color and the intensity of heat, the previous images were reformed and renewed, and recreated into something beautiful.
Change happens, renewal and revival come not because we have designed it, or wanted it, or worked for it, but because God in his infinite grace and unfettered mercy, in his own time and according to his design, brings new life to persons, to congregations, to denominations, to movements, and ministries.
I bring you greetings in the life-giving name of Jesus Christ from your sisters and brothers around the world who are following Jesus just as you are – in the company of the Wesleys. We are part of an amazing movement – over 80 million strong. There are only two groups of Christians who have a bigger family than we
Jane Eyre, Jane Austen, and John Wesley: One of these things is not like the others, One of these things just doesn’t belong. If you consider the three names mentioned above and come up with several possible responses, you’d be well within reason. There simply is no one definitive answer because, depending upon context, any one figure could be sorted
This circular nature is intrinsic to the internal life of the Trinity, which is why it grounds our life and witness and provides a good metaphor for the stance we’re to take. Having been transformed by God’s embrace, we go on to be a transformative presence in the lives of others.
In this particular letter, Jeremiah becomes the linkage between God’s promises for yet-to-be newness and the embittered exiles who are certain that they are unfairly suffering for the sins of previous generations. A creative proverb was gaining popularity among these disenfranchised refugees—everybody was sharing it on their Facebook wall: “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are
Pay attention to the moments where you are quick to show faith and the places where fear tends to creep in. For a lot of us, faith and fear come in patterns. When fear shows up it is a sign that God has work to do in that place. Celebrate where you are being faithful but don’t hide or minimize
What will we be sharing from our Methodist/Wesleyan “waka” (canoe) in whatever region of the world we minister? What treasures and gifts will we share?
Just as in pre-missionary Tonga, the moral sense of the people was identified with the moral sense of the chiefs, now in Christian Tonga, Jesus is the “chief of chiefs” – the ‘eiki ‘o e ngaahi ‘eiki.
So strong is this ideology among many white church leaders, those in theological circles, and some in society, that it rings loudly of “White Liberation!” suggesting that acknowledging ones’ privilege has liberated the individual from the bondage of systems that work on their behalf. I am concerned with the white Christian who wants to do something prophetic like telling other
Elijah was on the run. He had fled the wrath of his archenemy, Jezebel. The Queen had sworn to kill Elijah. The prophet had just defeated her priests and had proven their god, Ba’al, was nothing more than a lump of stone. Jezebel was furious. So Elijah ran… He ran into the desert. He left servant and friend behind. Eventually
I love accents! I could listen to someone from Boston say “Harvard” all day. I could hear someone from England say “Cheers” and never cease to be intrigued. Accents are interesting to people who speak the same language because they highlight real difference (someone sounds truly different, or I sound truly different to them) but there is also a meaningful
I‘m a Wesleyan by choice, though I have a great legacy of Christian experience from other traditions. My grandfather, Lewis Dunnam, was a Freewill Baptist preacher – the closest to a “circuit rider” we have in our family. He “walked” his circuit in rural Mississippi. I grew up in Southern and Missionary Baptist churches, but experienced throughout my childhood and
Get articles delivered directly to your inbox as soon as they come out.
