Early Methodists on Preaching With Notes

I recently came across some writings by Adam Clarke, posted on Craig Adams’ blog, which included the following statement on preaching … Get a thorough knowledge of your subject: understand your text in all its connection and bearings, and then go into the pulpit depending on the Spirit of God to give you power to … Read more

5 Takeaways From “The Circle Maker”

I’ve written several posts about The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson over the last few months, including … The Circle Maker” 1.0 The Circle Maker” 2.0 The Circle Maker” 3.0 The Circle Maker” 4.0 Spiritual Priming and Shaping Culture Prayer Idiosyncrasies In this final post, I thought I’d share some takeaways from the book, practices … Read more

“The Recovery of a Contagious Methodist Movement”

One of the highlights of our D.Min. program at Asbury Theological Seminary was taking a course called “Church for the Unchurched” by Dr. George Hunter. One of our favorite memories from the class was Dr. Hunter addressing the class as “Colleagues.” I have read some of Hunter’s books, including Church for the Unchurched, Radical Outreach, … Read more

“The Circle Maker” 4.0

I recently finished reading a great book on prayer called The Circle Maker, by Mark Batterson. I’ve written some posts on the book already (and plan one final post with some specific takeaways); see “The Circle Maker” 1.0, “The Circle Maker” 2.0, and “The Circle Maker” 3.0. Here are some of my favorite highlights from … Read more

“Why Jesus?”

I finally got around to reading Why Jesus? by Bishop William Willimon. I’ve had it for a while, but my excuse to read the book was using it as a resource for my sermon series during Lent. I always enjoy Bishop Willimon’s writings. I read Pastor for a Theology of Ministry class at Asbury (interestingly, … Read more

God, Give Me a Heart Like Yours!

One of the children’s books the kids have enjoyed over the last several months is Hermie, a Common Caterpillar, by Max Lucado (there’s also a DVD). Basically, Hermie, and his friend, Wormie, feel bad about being common caterpillars and keep asking God why they have to be so common. God keeps reminding them that he’s … Read more

“The Circle Maker” 3.0

I’m finally nearing the end of The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson, a book that’s having a tremendous impact on me. Batterson discusses fasting. He writes … Fasting has a way of fast-tracking our prayers. Because fasting is harder than praying, fasting is a form of praying hard. In my experience, it is the shortest … Read more

Prayer Idiosyncrasies

I’ve really enjoyed reading The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson (see “The Circle Maker” 1.0, “The Circle Maker” 2.0, as well as Spiritual Priming and Shaping Culture). In the book, Batterson talks about idiosyncrasies. He begins by listing some of his own, and even some of Jesus’, including how “he loved to pray early in … Read more

Spiritual Priming and Shaping Culture

Recently, I’ve written a couple posts on The Circle Maker (see 1.0 and 2.0). One particular section made me think about shaping culture. Batterson writes about “spiritual priming” (127). In it, he talks about the importance of the primer in painting. He states … It may seem like the primer is unnecessary … but it … Read more

“The Circle Maker” 2.0

I’m reading The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson (see my previous post, “The Circle Maker” 1.0). Picking up where I left off, here are more quotes that are impacting me. First, I love the phrase used in the book to describe kneeling prayer: “Stop, drop, and pray.” We tend to think that as we grow, … Read more