In his Confessions, Augustine famously prayed, “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” There is such profound truth in this prayer. I believe it with every fiber of my being. And yet, as we think through what this prayer might mean, there are certain questions that…
I’ve become more and more interested lately in the way Christians think–the way we see the world, assess our circumstances, analyze problems, and make decisions. I’m particularly interested in the ways in which Christian ways of thinking differ from non-Christian ways. Here begins a series of posts on the Christian mind. The Christian mind is…
Years ago I read Brian McLaren’s book, A Generous Orthodoxy. I really liked it at the time. I thought he made a good case. In subsequent years, however, I’ve become increasingly less comfortable with the term “generous orthodoxy.” I believe it is redundant. Orthodoxy is an expression of the generosity of God. Thus to say “generous…
Recently there has been considerable interest in the blogosphere around the idea of the “Next Methodism.” This idea has elicited a spate of criticism and the predictable conspiracy posts. There is, however, no “Next Methodism” conspiracy. The Next Methodism is an idea. It is an amorphous concept that will become whatever we make it. Anyone can…
A few good posts have popped up about the “Next Methodism” and what that might look like. Kevin Watson, Scott Fritzsche, and Stephen Fife have taken up this topic, and I made my own contribution as well. Now I’d like to continue the conversation with a bit of reflection on what it might mean for…
Let’s face it: no one really knows what’s going to happen over the next few years within The United Methodist Church. Division? Restructuring? Fragmentation? Slow demise? Despite widespread conjecture and one or two wild conspiracy theories, your guess is as good as mine. The Wesleyan movement, however, is much larger than The United Methodist Church.…
As a Christian, you are beholden to no political party. You are beholden to the church and to the theological principles by which church makes its ethical decisions. It is important that we remember this today. Our political life in the United States has become toxic. Never in my lifetime has it been so difficult…
Two days ago I went to a funeral for Dr. Newell Wert, who served as Academic Dean of United Theological Seminary for over thirty years. Having been dean for not nearly that long, I can only say that the man must have had skin of iron a kevlar vest a bulletproof ego a very sturdy…
The following is an excerpt from my forthcoming book with Seedbed, Scripture and the Life of God: Reading the Bible to Grow in Faith. Several years ago I had the privilege of meeting Randy Clark. Randy was the principal preacher during the Toronto Blessing, a massive revival that began in 1994 and launched him into international…
Shortly after the 2016 General Conference of The United Methodist Church, I wrote a post called General Conference: Four Reflections. Recently that post popped up in my Facebook feed as a memory that I might like to share. Reviewing the post, I was reminded of the difficulties we had in moving the ball forward on…
Pursuing Jesus
These are the thoughts, prayers, stories, sermons, and devotions from a simple pastor. May you be blessed by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as you read...
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Doctrine Matters
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Reflections from Jacob J. Prahlow
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work and prayer of a jesus follower
Who is my ideal reader? Well, ideal means non-existent. I have no notion of whom I’m writing for. Guy Davenport
'An arrow through the air' - Notes of a Methodist pastor
Holiness, Sustainability, and Tending Good Soil
two of us are tall and the other one of us is short and has Down syndrome
Comments on the New Testament and Early Christianity (and related matters)
David F. Watson 