Renewing our Lives Through the Eucharist

I’m teaching a course in church renewal right now, and one of the topics we’re examining is renewal through the liturgy, and particularly the Eucharist (or Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, etc.). We might well consider our celebration of this sacrament one of the most important keys to the renewal of the Church. After…

Was Wesley’s Faith a Creedal Faith?

Update (4/11/15): Since I wrote this post, a much more thorough and informative piece has been written by my friend Andrew Thompson. If this topic is of interest to you, I encourage you read Andrew’s post.  A few friends of mine and I have been discussing the matter of whether or not John Wesley was committed…

Yes, we really do need atonement.

I’m going to start this post with an admission: I don’t understand atonement. I don’t believe that any of the various popular theories adequately describes the mystery of the cross. Penal substitution, moral influence, Christus Victor, the ransom theory, and others all point to elements of the atonement that we should take seriously, but none…

If Christ is not raised…

Your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. This is what Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 15:17. Our entire salvation depends upon the resurrection of Christ. As we enter into Holy Week, there will be a number of posts in social media about how the resurrection of Christ is a metaphor…

A Wesleyan Vision of the Gifts of the Spirit

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…

The Next Methodism

At the outset of his book, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity (3rd ed., Oxford, 2011, p. 1), Philip Jenkins writes, We are currently living through one of the transforming moments in the history of religion worldwide. Over the last five centuries, the story of Christianity has been inextricably bound up with that of Europe…

Is N. T. Wright an “Apologist”?

Paul Holloway, who is Professor of New Testament at the University of the South, has written a much-publicized letter criticizing his institution for awarding an honorary doctorate to N. T. Wright. The letter begins by criticizing Wright’s stance on LGBT issues. Yet that, says Holloway, is not the real bone of contention he has with…