Tag Archive | Bible

To My Progressive Friends

Here’s a good “open letter” to “progressives” in the Church of the Nazarene, but applies to “progressive” Christians of any brand. It’s an honest but humble appeal. To My Progressive Friends A few days ago I received Rob Renfroe’s article “Three Requests of My Centrist Friends: An Open Letter.” Rev. Renfroe is the Pastor of […]

Christian Pacifism or Convenient Pacifism?

Christian Pacifism or Convenient Pacifism?

To announce that you’re a Christian Pacifist is essentially saying that you love my enemies more than you love me.

Is “Gay” the New “Black”?

Is “Gay” the New “Black”?

Homosexual activists are quick to take advantage of any angle to give them an apparent edge or help them win a case in court. They have long maintained (even in the Church) that their pursuit of rights is similar to that of the civil rights movement of the 60s and the women’s rights movement of […]

Distrust of Science Not Just Among the Uneducated

Distrust of Science Not Just Among the Uneducated

Over the last several weeks, I have posted several responses to the essays being posted by the Nazarenes Exploring Evolution website.  According to this site, those behind it seem concerned about the wide disparity between Nazarenes in the pews and Nazarenes serving as educators and scholars.  The clear implication from this site, and the essays […]

Is There a Future for “Holiness”?

Is There a Future for “Holiness”?

I remember the days when we heard alot about the “holiness movement.”  I’m not too young to remember when holiness was the major theme that was both promoted by the denomination of which I am a part as well as regularly preached from the pulpit.  I remember when “Holiness unto the Lord” was more than […]

Top 10 Reasons Our Kids Leave Church

Most of us are concerned about our children.  We hope and pray as they grow up that they will stick with the faith we tried to instill in them as they grew up.  Much of this “education” we leave to the Church, however, which isn’t always successful in making our hopes and prayers come true […]

Helping the Gospel Appeal to Everyone:  Reflections on True Story by James Choung

Helping the Gospel Appeal to Everyone: Reflections on True Story by James Choung

  Some of the primary concerns of young people today are care for the environment, relief for oppressed peoples, and the healing of other “systems” in their world that have been “damaged by evil” and are in need of restoration.  Being concerned, they often jump into the task of attempting to heal those systems without […]

She may be in Hell because of me . . .

She may be in Hell because of me . . .

Whenever I think of her, I nearly always see her looking at me through the blazing flames of Hell.  She isn’t saying anything but in her eyes I see her question, “Why didn’t you tell me?” While I was attending Nazarene Bible College in Colorado Springs Colorado, I had the opportunity to work as a […]

Are We Responsible for Another Person’s Choices?

Are We Responsible for Another Person’s Choices?

The Australian DJs who pranked the hospital where British royal, Kate Middleton, was being treated have reportedly lost their jobs, or at least have had their show suspended.  While the prank itself, received much publicity and air-play, Jacintha Saldanha, the  nurse who the DJs convinced they were the Queen and Prince Charles, has apparently committed […]

Reflections on “The Steward Leader”

Reflections on “The Steward Leader”

Major Themes R. Scott Rodin begins with the point that in the Bible, leaders are not appointed but anointed for service.  He says, “The selection criterion for leadership was not based on who seemed most fit for the appointment, but on whom God had anointed for the task” (p. 14).  This is in contrast to […]