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Christian perfection was a core value for John Wesley and the early Methodists. Christian perfection was ultimately about loving God and neighbors. Joel Green points out in Reading Scripture as Wesleyans, which I blogged about yesterday, that … Wesley read Scripture with this aim in mind: to nurture love of God and love of neighbor. … Read more
I just finished another book that I’m reading before ordination (see 75 Days of Preparation for Ordination). Reading Scripture as Wesleyans by Joel B. Green (now at Fuller Theological Seminary, formerly at Asbury) is described as “ideal for use with the Wesley Study Bible.” I enjoyed reading this book. It takes a look at how … Read more
In my recent post, 75 Days of Preparation for Ordination, I stated that I planned to review Bishop William Willimon’s Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry. Here, I will simply post some quotes from the first chapter, which specifically deals with ordination. As we prepare for ordination (in less than two months), these … Read more
When Joleen and I came into The United Methodist Church, we knew that the denomination had been in steady decline. But we were young—and hopeful that the denomination would soon experience a turnaround. Thirteen years later (and two months before being ordained in the UMC), we still believe a turnaround is possible, but it’s obviously … Read more
I recently finished reading one of the books on my list of things to read/do before ordination (see 150 Days of Preparation for Ordination and 75 Days of Preparation for Ordination). The book is John Wesley: A Preaching Life by Michael Pasquarello, who teaches at Asbury Theological Seminary. I was interested in the book because … Read more
I like history, in general, and specifically Civil War history and Methodist history, so when I learned a few days ago about a project called American Civil War Newspapers (at Virginia Tech), I was very interested. The project, so far, includes scanned images of columns from the Macon, Georgia Daily Telegraph newspapers during the American … Read more
Yesterday, United Methodist leaders gathered in groups around the world in more than 1,000 locations to hear and discuss the Call to Action report as part of the United Methodist Leadership Summit (you can watch the entire video at the site). While the event took place at a convenient hour for many of us, in … Read more
Yesterday, we attended an afternoon seminar in Camp Hill, PA where Rev. Bob Farr (from the Missouri Conference) was the featured speaker. Farr presented material from his upcoming book, Renovate or Die: 10 Ways to Focus Your Church on Mission. (Edited to add link for the book, now published.) Here are a few quotes from … Read more
This past week, Joleen and I attended one of our remaining requirements for ordination, an all-day training day sponsored by the Board of Ordained Ministry. The day featured Dr. Lovett Weems from Wesley Theological Seminary. The topic was “Church Finances.” Part of the content confirmed some things we already knew, but we did learn some … Read more
In the 1784 edition of the Discipline (as well as a number of subsequent editions), which includes the list of Rules for Preachers, also includes a list of “smaller advices which might be of use to us.” Here’s the list (with original, archaic spellings) … Be sure never to disappoint a congregation. Begin at the … Read more