Dear Theophilus

The University I attend held a vision clarifying contest. Students could submit their ideas for how to interpret the school's vision statement. Here is my submission - submitted hastily (sorry the flow is not obvious). This essay was awarded somewhere in the top 8 - but not 1st, 2nd, or 3rd :) It has been long believed that engaging the culture and changing the world meant taking on power and influence. This has been recently labeled "the captains of industry" model and it suggests that if only enough Christians were equipped to leadership positions in the realm of politics and business, Christians would be able to leverage enough pull for the kingdom of God to shape the culture. The allure of this idea is that it is at least partially true. If Christians become the majority deciders and main policy makers, the world will be changed. The goal, then, is to have followers of Christ become CEO’s, legislators, school board members, governors, mayors, teachers, and admi...

I wrote 4 songs for school. I worked very hard on them and have decided to share them. I hope you like them. This is song 3 of 4. Here are songs ONE and TWO if you are interested. Now on to Song 3 - I Will Wait. This song may be familiar to some of you. I have been recording and messing around with it for a while. There is a new ending for sure. The reader's digest version on my opinion of this song is that I like it but I don't love it. I love how technical the song is and I spent a great deal of creative time on the song, especially adding the Taize part at the end, but its ok. The full effect of what I was aiming for is described below! “I Will Wait” Your love has hit me from the start, filled the holes in the deepest part I cannot wait but I will wait forever Hope for me I am not strong; tell me what takes so long I cannot wait but I will wait forever And I will faint in your presence Please I pray you come and meet...

In the news in my circles is the forming of a new alliance known as the Global Wesleyan Alliance . This is a group of denominations that have a shared heritage deriving from John Wesley and the revolution that spawned from his ministry. Wesleyans are an interesting bunch, namely in diversity. We can be as diverse as possible in Christianity with a range from heretical hyper liberal theologies all way down to the strictest, legalistic of heretical conservative theology. I am talking a range of literally "anything goes" down to "everything is sinful." The merger seems to be of Wesley-inspired denominations that are middle of the road or more conservative. "The 11 denominations include the Free Methodist Church USA, Church of the Nazarene, The Wesleyan Church, Church of God (Anderson), The Evangelical Church, Evangelical Methodist Church, Churches of Christ in Christian Union, The Missionary Church, Congregational Methodist Church, Church of Chr...

Below is one of the first major papers I have had to write for my schooling. It is an integrative between two week long classes, the first being about worship and the second about Justice and Mercy. I wish I could have had about 5 more hours with it. Please feel free to critique ideas... I am not so interested in grammar and punctuation :) Faith without Works is Dead In finding the connection between acts of Justice/Mercy and the Acts of Piety, I feel there is a tendency to over-play the connection. Many Christians and churches and even scholars want to convey an idea of consequence; that proper worship will beget proper mission. I feel that this tendency is so strong it has been a lens through which I have read the readings and interpreted the theologians. But the scholars aren’t completely guiltless in forming this causal relationship. There seems to be a purposed set of scholarship that is fighting for a middle way between the conservative individualism that has plagued...

This Chapter of The Radical Wesley is mostly about Wesley's travels to America coming out of the Holy Club at Oxford. My wife took this picture when we visited Oxford This is where the term Methodist was derived from his detractors calling names. It was a term to make fun of them for being so methodical. "The members of the Club spent an hour, morning and evening, in private prayer. At nine, twelve, and three o'clock they recited a collect, and at all times they examined themselves closely, watching for signs of grace, and trying to preserve a high degree of religious fervour... they frequently consulted their Bibles, and they noted in cipher [that is, coded] diaries, all the particulars of their daily employment. One hour each day was set apart for meditation... They fasted twice a week, observed all the feasts of the Church and received the sacraments every Sunday." Do we know anyone like this? Who takes the faith so seriously? Part of me yearns for something...

I am most definitely reading a book that should blow my mind. It has been in my sights for a long time and now I have a chance. It is "The Radical Wesley & Patterns for Church Renewal" by Dr. Howard Snyder. Howard Snyder is a Free Methodist thinker who tends to be on the more radical side himself. He is deeply involved in the creation-care movement. He was involved in South American church life for years. He currently teaches Wesley Studies at Tyndale University College and Seminary in Canada. All in all, a prophet, who wrote way before his time. Recently I had a chance to sit down with him. When I visited Asbury Theological Seminary in an attempt to decide if I would relocate there to finish the M.Div., I had a short list of three that I just had to meet. I was bold and emailed all three and all three were gracious enough to give me some time. I wanted to meet Donald Demaray (our signals got crossed and we didn't meet), Dr. Ben Witherington (my intellectual hero)...

We will first look at three common wealth passages of Jesus, look at the justified interpretations, then the contextual interpretation with Scriptural and early church quote support. There are three passages that the church argues over when it comes to wealth and accumulation. Many men have justified these passages but I have seen a revelatory connection. The first passage comes from Matthew 6:19-21 & 24: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also... No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." There are generally two interpretations of this passage; sell everything or do not over-value w...