Search Search I Am Who The I AM Says I Am (Part 4) by Dave Smith July 24, 2024 about the author This is part IV of a five part article outlining a Wesleyan Anthropology arising from a Biblical Worldview.  (Check out Part I, Part II, and Part III) Originally an oral presentation for the Wesleyan Church, it has been revised and updated for a broader Wesleyan Methodist audience.     Finally, to the chapter of our Worldview story that Wesleyans can make the most profound contribution, “What is the solution?” What is our Soteriology and Eschatology narrative? Und ..read more

Search Search Faith Working In Love by Maxie Dunnam July 22, 2024 about the author In my last article I focused on the notion of mission as “making disciples who make disciples.” I introduced the term “discipleship evangelism”, as the essence of evangelism. I hinted at the claim that there is “no great commission without the great commandment”. We must nurture and cherish the bond between word and deed, ideas and consequences, beliefs and actions. Good works do not save us but are the evidence of the transforming work of the Holy Spirit and the fundamental nature of practical C ..read more

Search Search I Am Who The I AM Says I Am (Part 3) by Dave Smith July 19, 2024 about the author This is part III of a five part article outlining a Wesleyan Anthropology arising from a Biblical Worldview.  (Check out Part I and Part II) Originally an oral presentation for the Wesleyan Church, it has been revised and updated for a broader Wesleyan Methodist audience.   What is our Hamartiology? Bill Arnold’s third question to establish a “world view story” has to do with “What has gone wrong? What is our Hamartiology?” (As a review, Harmartiology means our underst ..read more

Search Search Agents Of Hope, Not Optimism by Kim Reisman July 18, 2024 about the author Scripture Focus: It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening, accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, a harp, and the melody of a lyre. You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done. O Lord, what great works you do! And how deep are your thoughts. Only a simpleton would not know, and only a fool would not understand this: Th ..read more

Search Search I Am Who The I AM Says I Am (Part 2) by Dave Smith July 17, 2024 about the author This is part II of a five part article outlining a Wesleyan Anthropology arising from a Biblical Worldview.  (Check out Part I here) Originally an oral presentation for the Wesleyan Church, it has been revised and updated for a broader Wesleyan Methodist audience. What is our cosmology? When my son Joshua was very young and I would put him to bed at night, he would say this, “Daddy, tell me a story. BUT make sure to get me into it.”  We are indeed people of story. But first ..read more

Search Search Make Disciples Who Will Make Disciples by Maxie Dunnam July 15, 2024 about the author Many local churches I know have as a part of their mission statement, We need to be deliberate in our churches in “making disciples  who will make disciples.” It rolls off our tongues so easily, but is demanding in actualizing. As I insisted in my last article, we must nurture and cherish the bond between word and deed, ideas and consequences, beliefs and actions. And I’m certain that the primary place where this kind of evangelizing can and must take place is the local congregat ..read more

Search Search I Am Who The I AM Says I Am (Part 1) by Dave Smith July 12, 2024 about the author This is part I of a five part article outlining a Wesleyan Anthropology arising from a Biblical Worldview. Originally an oral presentation for the Wesleyan Church, it has been revised and updated for a broader Wesleyan Methodist audience.   Being retired from Indiana Wesleyan University means I no longer need to prepare 12 lectures a week or to lead faculty meetings or solve student issues as an administrator. Now, I have time to read for leisure.  The second-best book that I ha ..read more

Search Search Hope: The Singers of Life by Kim Reisman July 11, 2024 about the author Scripture Focus: Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. Hebrews 10:23-24 (NLT) This month we will focus on the theological virtue of hope. Faith and hope are intimately linked in the Christian way. The anthropologist, Loren Eisley, has written some perceptive and challenging commentaries on life form his observation of nature. He provides a dramatic picture t ..read more

Search Search Evangelism And Discipleship by Maxie Dunnam July 9, 2024 about the author Share the post: Georgia Harkness was once considered one of our most outstanding theologians. She was certainly a brilliant thinker and spoke prophetically to the church. Here is such a word: “We must rescue evangelism from the red-light district of the ecclesiastical community.” That’s putting it unquestionably straight. Evangelism has been prostituted for money and personal gain. That’s the reason we need to remind ourselves that the focus of evangelism must be the local congregation, n ..read more

Latest Articles Top Articles Authors Maxie Dunnam’s Perceptions Menu Latest Articles Top Articles Authors Maxie Dunnam’s Perceptions Search Search    A Prophet Present Among Them by Maxie Dunnam July 2, 2024 about the author Share the post: This is the season in many denominations when changes take place in clergy leadership. I’m in a good bit of conversation with clergy and lay leadership about the nature of ordained ministry. I urge clergy and lay leadership to read and consider chapter 2 of Ezekiel as a part of the experience of “clergy appointment.”&nb ..read more