The Fallacy of a White Liberation Theology by Kevin Murriel

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

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Finding Myself in the Poetry of Mary Oliver by Justin Gentry

I think I am drawn so much to poetry these days because over and above anything else poets are themselves. They speak from a raw, sometimes scandalous place that many of us don’t have access to. As a pastor it can be very hard to be yourself, yet it is essential if you want to have anything of value to

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The Locker Room And The Vestry by Elizabeth Glass Turner

One time as I came down from a platform during a church musical rehearsal, I passed several women and whispered, “I’ll be right back, I have got to go to the bathroom!” I rushed away and couldn’t hear the laughter that erupted behind me; the sound guy had not yet muted my lapel mic. My whisper had been heard throughout the sanctuary.

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Faithfulness by Bryan Collier

Most of us are familiar with John 15—it is particularly central to my life and to the life of the local church that I pastor, The Orchard UMC.  It is from Jesus’ command there, “to go and bear fruit” that we take our name, vision and mission. Most of us are familiar with the flow: Jesus begins with an eight-verse

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Where There Is New Room by Elizabeth Glass Turner

Sometimes we need a space where there is new room for the Holy Spirit: space in our lives, in our schedule, in our church building, in our preaching, in our house. For me, luckily enough – except it never seems to do with luck where new room is involved – this has been at the New Room Conference. In an

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The Character Of A Wesleyan by Carolyn Moore

Much is being made these days in my (admittedly very narrow) slice of the world about what it means to be Wesleyan. “Wesleyan” in this case doesn’t refer to a particular denomination but to a broader theological stream birthed through an eighteenth-century movement and largely defined by the commentaries and sermons of John Wesley. Wesley himself once wrote a tract

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Francis Asbury: Mission Beyond Conflict by Aaron Perry

Regardless of your politics, but dependent on the plans of God, there will be a November 9, 2016. Do you know the day? It’s the day after the United States of America will choose between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Between now and then, there will be a lot of debate, discussion, and Tweeting. But that day will come and,

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When Holy Love Is Like a Laser by Elizabeth Glass Turner

If you or I think of a laser, we probably have a mental image of what we might colloquially call a concentrated beam of light, whether it’s used recreationally like in laser tag or a laser light show, or practically like in an eye surgery or in cutting material. You might even picture the powerful ray from the Death Star in Star

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Finding Resilience

[iframe style=”border:none” src=”//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/14143169/height/100/width//thumbnail/no/render-playlist/no/theme/custom/tdest_id/3433802/custom-color/87A93A” height=”100″ width=”100%” scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen] Rev. Dr. Nathan White, Executive Director of the Institute for Faith and Resilience. He is the Associate Rector for Spiritual Formation at Trinity Anglican Church in Lafayette, LA. An Army Chaplain, he has extensive experience in counseling and pastoral care, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Connect with the

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Leading Above the Noise

[iframe style=”border:none” src=”//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/13923764/height/100/width//thumbnail/no/render-playlist/no/theme/custom/tdest_id/3433802/custom-color/87A93A” height=”100″ width=”100%” scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen] Rob talks with Dr. Josh Laxton, Assistant Director of the Billy Graham Center, about how to lead in the midst of the COVID Crisis and the vast amounts of information that seem to be coming from so many different sources. www.joshlaxton.com Social Media: @JoshLaxton Joshua.Laxton@wheaton.edu The bingo card that

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No Pointing by Rob Haynes

I know a man who works at a large, warehouse style home-improvement store. He shared with me a story about how to help people find what they are looking for. It seems that there is a sign in the employee break room that says: “No Pointing.” The message to the store employees is that when customers ask the location of

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Where is Jesus in the Midst of Suffering?

[iframe style=”border:none” src=”//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/13859132/height/100/width//thumbnail/no/render-playlist/no/theme/custom/tdest_id/3433802/custom-color/87A93A” height=”100″ width=”100%” scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen] Rob and Dr. Ben Witherington discuss the questions of suffering, disease, death, and life in midst of COVID-19 Links: An interview about “When a Daughter Dies” here Who God Is link here “Plague” A Poem here  Connect with Ben here www.WorldMethodist.org Connect with us on: Facebook here Twitter here

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The Ministry of World Methodist Evangelism

[iframe style=”border:none” src=”//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/13858694/height/100/width//thumbnail/no/render-playlist/no/theme/custom/tdest_id/3433802/custom-color/87A93A” height=”100″ width=”100%” scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen] Kim and Rob discuss the ministry of World Methodist Evangelism, its origins, and its mission to provide resources and events to strengthen discipleship and equip Christ followers to share their faith in Jesus Christ. www.WorldMethodist.org Connect with us on: Facebook here Twitter here Instagram here Check out this episode!

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Chess Without The Queen by Kim Reisman

Recently I discovered that a very effective way to learn the game of chess is to begin by playing without the Queen. Because the Queen is the strongest chess piece, players often lean heavily on her for their overall strategy. Learning to play without her, however, forces you to recognize the value of all the other pieces on board, and

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A Prayer For The Raw & Ragged by Elizabeth Glass Turner

Breath of Life, You humble us with the piercing memory of a man six years ago begging to be treated with dignity: I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.He spoke the truth; we were busy.And now we’re all struggling to breathe.Some on ventilators.Some in panic.Some in stale rooms we didn’t choose, didn’t plan to inhabit hooked up to the life support

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