Marriage, Human Sexuality, and the Body: Man and Woman in their Original Solitude (Part III)

This is part of a series of articles on marriage, human sexuality and the body. Read Part I here. Read Part II here. — One of the great insights of Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body series is his understanding of what it meant for Adam to be “alone.”  Before the creation of […]

Marriage, Human Sexuality, and the Body: From the Beginning It Was Not So (Part II)

This is part of a series of articles on marriage, human sexuality and the body. Read Part I here. — The problem we face today is actually much deeper than we realize.  The Christian church in the West has largely embraced the wider cultural views regarding the very purpose of marriage—and therefore, we get off […]

The “Progressives” Are Desperate, the “Conservatives” Are Weary, but God Is Still Holy

The United Methodist Church is in the full throes of a crisis, with deep divisions over our response to homosexual practice and the ordination of self-avowed homosexuals.  The latest attempt to resolve this crisis is a plan known as “a local option proposal compromise.”  This plan has emerged through the good faith efforts of a […]

Marriage, Human Sexuality, and the Body: Let’s Go back to the Beginning (Part I)

This is the beginning of a series of blogs on marriage, human sexuality and the body. — Brother and sisters, we are living in the wake of a multi-generational neglect of a biblical vision of the body, marriage and human sexuality.  The church’s inability in recent years to articulate a compelling response to issues like […]

Spreading Scriptural Holiness throughout the World, Part 3: Global Christianity in 60,000 Miles

This past summer, between June 11 and August 10, I had the privilege of being on five different continents (N. America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania) learning more about global Christianity. Africa I started out in Tanzania where our daughter Bethany is part of a team of 9 people bringing the gospel to an Unreached […]

Spreading Scriptural Holiness throughout the World, Part 2: A Wesleyan Renaissance in a Post-Christendom World

By the grace of God, we are making remarkable, providential progress toward our 2023 Strategic Plan.  We are re-mapping the strategic witness of Asbury Theological Seminary, becoming simultaneously more global (less sectarian) yet also more aware of our own Wesleyan identity within the larger context of global Christianity. This Fall, we will re-present the 2023 […]

Spreading Scriptural Holiness throughout the World, Part 1: The Whole Bible for the Whole World

Asbury Theological Seminary 7th Convocation Address Estes Chapel, September 08, 2015 Florida-Dunnam Campus, September 11, 2015 — This academic year will mark the half way point between 2009 and 2023, which has been the goal of our strategic plan and why we called it the 2023 Strategic Plan.  For our new students, you should know […]

Three Stories: One Mission

I just returned from a week in the UK representing Asbury in various venues. The remarkable thing about the week was that, despite the diversity, all three of my experiences were moments of promise and hope for the church in Europe as well as encouragement for all of us. Event #1: This week marked the […]

My Reflections on the Supreme Court Ruling re: Same Sex Marriage

In a 5-4 decision the Supreme Court has struck down all state bans regarding same sex marriage. This makes same sex marriage the law of the land in all fifty states. Most of us were not surprised by the decision since the trajectory of this, as noted in Justice Kennedy’s decision, was driven by a […]

What the Church Can Do During Exile

One of the most remarkable, and often overlooked, passages in the Old Testament is the letter Jeremiah wrote to his fellow Israelites who had been carried off into Babylonian exile (See Jeremiah 29). He told them (contra the false prophets of his day) to settle down, accept the judgment of God, plant crops, have children […]