Epiphany: The World is Turning!

We have just recently walked through the seasons of Advent, Christmas and Christmastide. This is the time of the church year where we acknowledge that God, in Jesus Christ, has stepped into our time, our space and our history.  The Greek word for this is “chronos.”  This is where we get our word chronology from.  […]

The Four Wounds of the Fall – and the Four Healings of the Gospel

There is a long tradition in the church which seeks to explain the depth of our sin nature and the effects of the Fall which were unleashed by the entrance of sin in the world.  As Wesleyans, we are NOT “Pelagian” in our view of sin. In other words, we do not believe that every […]

The Four Candles of Advent

Advent is a time of hope and expectation as we both remember and anticipate.  My favorite Advent hymn is Charles Wesley’s “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus” because it captures the longing so well.  I would like to highlight four ways or lens through which we should think about Advent.   We often designate the four candles […]

The Rise of the “Re” in Christian Books

A funny thing happened on the way to Christian book publishing in our time.  We are experiencing an explosion of the prefix “re” in book titles and sub-titles.   I was first drawn to this in a recent book I published.  Normally authors have very little say on the actual published title and sub-title of a […]

The Restoration of Personhood

Many of our faculty and staff will have had the honor of knowing the late Dr. Dennis Kinlaw, former professor here at the Seminary, two-time President of Asbury University, and the founder of the Francis Asbury Society.  He was gifted with a keen theological mind and there are certainly hundreds of men and women throughout […]

Tribute to Andrew F. Walls

Professor Andrew Walls (1928-2021) was my “doctor father” which means he was one of my mentors in my doctoral program at the University of Edinburgh.  I had the privilege of studying under him from 1995-1998 in Scotland.  He passed away this week and I am mourning his loss.  Those who have been in my office […]

The Power of Words

Words are important.  Words are what we use to communicate.  Words communicate meaning.  I love the way every “world” has its own set of specialized words.  If, for example, you enter into the equestrian world you must learn the difference between a trot, a canter and a gallop.  You learn that a “saddle” is made […]

Our Greatest Honor

Most people who are familiar with renewal movements within the United Methodist Church will know the name of Ira Gallaway.  He was either the founder, organizer, or leading cheerleader for most, if not all, of them.  Although he passed away back in 2015, I often think of him, and he continues to be an inspiration […]

Tribute to Eddie Fox

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints, declares Psalm 116:15.   This is a verse which surprises us with a different understanding of death than what we typically think of.  For us, death is not normally described as “precious.”  We often use words like “sad” or “tragic,” but not a […]

The Crisis at Mt. Bethel UMC

By now most United Methodists have heard about the tragic disruption of the thriving ministry at Mt. Bethel UMC.  Mt. Bethel, by their own public declaration, has decided to disaffiliate with the United Methodist Church due to long standing episcopal hostility towards evangelical churches who stand in opposition to the so-called “progressive” future many of […]