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I thought those parables about scattering seed, planting vineyards, and chasing sheep were as out of date and ancient as my childhood. I grew up in the country picking strawberries every summer for my dad. My uncles farmed corn, beans, and watermelon. I could run the baler as well as any of my…

Wesleyan spirituality includes a particular method for growth in God’s grace (which is why Wesleyan Christians are often called Methodists). This method begins with what has traditionally been called the General Rules, what we now call the Covenant of Christian Character.1 These rules are not a…

Why are so many Christians willing to believe and share only one side of stories? Shouldn’t we be more mindful? A: It has happened to all of us. We hear a story, an out of context quote, or a prayer concern, and we assume (often incorrectly) that we know the entire story. A college-age child comes…

Q: From the early era on, the church has not observed the feasts, festivals, and dietary laws that God commanded in the Old Testament. Why not? A: This question relates to the bigger question of what Christians should do with the laws in the Old Testament. Rabbis tell us there are 613 different…

ARTICLE OF FAITH XVI: RESURRECTION, JUDGMENT, AND DESTINY “We believe in the resurrection of the dead, that the bodies both of the just and of the unjust shall be raised to life and united with their spirits—“they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil,…

As someone raised in the Church of the Nazarene by committed Nazarene parents and grandparents, the Bible has always been central to my life and my faith. Growing up, I studied the Bible in my daily devotions, in Sunday school, in Bible quizzing, and in Vacation Bible School, just to name a few.…

“How is your church doing?” We get this question a lot. In many seasons of life it’s a welcome opportunity to testify to the goodness of God. Unfortunately, there are also seasons where this question evokes nothing but dread. We think of families leaving our church, finances dwindling, or…

The Christian faith is founded upon the faithfulness of God. On page after page of the Old Testament, God demonstrates His faithfulness. He is the God who can be trusted. He is holy love. He will always to be true to Himself. “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who…

The Church of the Nazarene has always avoided adopting a particular position concerning end-time events. It has consistently affirmed the basic belief in the second coming of Christ as the consummation of history. Like the Apostles’ Creed, which is the classically accepted summation of the…

Heated election cycles. Societal upheaval. Expansion of technology. Overly busy schedules. Shrinking churches. Shallow disciples. Divided families. Addiction. Economic greediness. Oppression. Naming the barrenness around us would produce an exhausting, endless list. In my more cynical moments, I…