A blog designed to develop missional leaders
By: Dr. Clark Armstrong In my denomination (the Church of the Nazarene), senior pastors and churches are required to provide a written job description at the time that they ask their district for permission to add any Associate Pastor (Manual, 159.3). Thus, generally speaking, Associate Pastors know what their area of specialization is supposed to... Continue Reading →
By: Rev. Dr. Clark Armstrong There is an intricate subway system in London with many levels and sub-levels transporting hundreds of thousands of people every day in thousands of directions underneath the city. Not only can you get lost trying to get from place to place in The Tube (its nickname); danger lurks all around.... Continue Reading →
By: Dr. Clark Armstrong One idea stands prominent to describe Christ’s Transfiguration; in Greek, it is the doxa or glory of God (glorify, glorious, glorification). The most overlooked, underemphasized, least preached, and most taken-for-granted doctrine in the ordo salutis is by far the doctrine of glorification.[1] Yet the ordo salutis makes it the final and... Continue Reading →
By: Frederick Buechner Last week I came across the following reflection by Frederick Buechner, originally published in his book Peculiar Treasures. It’s a reminder that effective leadership requires constant vigilance and attentiveness to the will of God. I call Gideon “The Reluctant Leader.” Enjoy Buechner’s insight. THE BEST THING THE JUDGE GIDEON ever did and... Continue Reading →
Dr. Eddie Estep, Kansas City (USA) District Superintendent When we use the word filled in English, we normally think of something being placed into a container, such as milk being poured to the brim of a glass, water being run into a bathtub, or gasoline being pumped into a tank. This is also the classic... Continue Reading →
By: Rev. Daniel Pesado “Don’t add fuel to the fire.” I heard that phrase a lot growing up. When there was an argument or tense situation, the adults around me would use it to suggest that it was better to keep quiet and not make circumstances worse. But there are areas and moments in life... Continue Reading →
By: Eddie Estep You have to read halfway through the Old Testament before the idea of a human having a pure heart is even suggested as a possibility. Prior to Job and Psalms, the only things referred to as “pure” are gold (about 40 times), frankincense (4 times), and water (once). When we get to... Continue Reading →
By: Emily Armstrong We are quickly moving into the third year of living in a global pandemic, and I’ll be among the first to admit that it’s been hard. In general, I’m pretty good at change – in fact, I like it. Ask my husband, Scott, and he might say that I like change too... Continue Reading →
By: Scott Armstrong Recently our Regional Director asked all the regional coordinators a very interesting question: What challenges do you foresee the Church facing after the pandemic? He needed us to answer a bit quickly, so I took a few moments to reflect, and then wrote the following response: Find a hybrid balance between virtual... Continue Reading →
By: Scott Armstrong A few months ago, General Secretary Gary Hartke and Nazarene Research Services released the annual Church of the Nazarene statistical reports for 2021. Soon thereafter, I wrote an article with 13 observations on those global trends and numbers, and we also recorded an episode of The Worthless Servants podcast to share what jumped out at us.... Continue Reading →
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