A few months ago I had the privilege of preaching and teaching at Springdale First UMC. While I was there, I sat down with the Rev. Dr. Andrew Thompson to talk about the Holy Spirit, the charismatic movement, and the work that God is doing in the global church today. Andrew is a good friend,…
Okay… so the title is a little ambitious… And yes, we mix up forth-telling and foretelling, BUT COME ON THEY SOUND JUST ALIKE! Anyway, in this episode, we take on prophecy, both biblical and contemporary. Let us know what you think. You can find the podcast here on iTunes, and here on Player F.M. And…
On Friday, December 2, 2016 during a Holy Spirit Seminar held at United Theological Seminary, I was “slain in the Spirit.” This phrase, at home with Pentecostals and other charismatic Christians, refers to people who fall to the floor during intense worship services because they are influenced or overcome by the power of the Holy…
Much of the talk in the UMC these days has to do with how we will govern ourselves. Will we stay with a more centralized polity located in a single General Conference? Will we become more congregational in polity? Will we eliminate the General Conference altogether and divide up into smaller bodies of like-minded communities?…
I’ve been teaching a class on church renewal this semester, and as part of the course I asked my students to watch and critique a video that kicked off the “Rethink Church” campaign. This video is a few years old now, and I remember blogging about it when it came out. Call me crazy, but I found it irksome that we would…
There are certain words in intra-Christian discourse that get (over)used to the point that they lose all real significance. The term “prophetic” is quickly becoming such a word. Standing up for a particular iteration of social justice does not make one a prophet, though many are quick to claim that mantle. Being a prophet means…
Cascade Books publishes a very helpful “Wesleyan Doctrine Series,” edited by Randy Cooper, Andrew Kinsey, D. Brent Laytham, and D. Stephen Long. As the series editors put it, “The Wesleyan Doctrine Series seeks to reintroduce Christians in the Wesleyan tradition to the beauty of doctrine.” While works in this series deal with the key components…