Many times, I hear pastors and leaders who admit to struggling with why and how to intercede for the world. It seems like such a big task. Where do we start? And will our prayers truly make a difference? In the next two entries, I will share an article written by Mark Silvers at crossworld.org,... Continue Reading →
One Year into a Church Plant
Our missionaries with the Genesis initiative are nearing a year of service in Chihuahua, Mexico. We have already heard great reports from them and the district leaders about what God is accomplishing in that city. We have now sent out teams to 14 strategic urban sites in the last decade. Some patterns have emerged, one... Continue Reading →
When Babies Threaten Empires
By: Rev. Chris Gilmore Some days get lost in the shuffle. Days like the Feast of the Holy Innocents. While some of us return to work and return unwanted gifts and continue pretending we’ll start resolutions next week, the historic Church has chosen this week (various branches observe it on different days) to remember the... Continue Reading →
Good News for All the People
By: Rev. Chris Gilmore *The following article was originally published at iamchrisgilmore.com I’ve been radicalized to believe that “good news of great joy that will be for all people” is actually true. That what God wants to do in the world and for the world is truly good. For everyone. Too often we hear only... Continue Reading →
An Unscheduled Appointment
Last week I read the following Advent devotional that a friend and colleague in ministry had sent me. It deals with the elderly Simeon of Luke 2. And it deals with waiting. For many years I have been fascinated about Simeon. The devotional from Christianity Today and Pastor Monty Waldron will help describe a bit... Continue Reading →
Giving Thanks and Thanksgiving
A reflection on thanksgiving by General Superintendent David Busic Over the last couple months, people around the world have celebrated thankfulness in a variety of ways. It has often been said that Thanksgiving is a time to count our blessings. I do not disagree with that sentiment. We all have so much for which to... Continue Reading →
Frederick Buechner: Love Each Other
One of the great and underrated parts of home assignment as a missionary is sharing with a whole lot of different people from different backgrounds and cultures and places. Emily and I have had the privilege in the past three months to eat and laugh and worship with hundreds of faithful and generous people. We... Continue Reading →
Frederick Buechner on Grace
In the busyness of the last weeks and months, and in the midst of my constant striving to accomplish and impact and produce results, it was a refreshing reminder to read the following familiar words from the late writer Frederick Buechner. Lord, help me to recognize and receive your grace more and more in me... Continue Reading →
Celebrating the Life, Ministry of Roger Hahn
One week ago I got the word that Dr. Roger Hahn had passed away. He was my professor at Nazarene Theological Seminary, and he especially helped instill in me a love for the New Testament and an unwavering conviction that theology should always be applied in and through the local church. Later, as I became... Continue Reading →
A Celebration of 75 Years of Alabaster
Following the end of World War II, in the late 1940s, the Church of the Nazarene was experiencing a need for more missions funding. At a meeting of the Global Council of Nazarene Missions International (NMI), Elizabeth Vennum was asked to find a way that could be used to raise funds for land purchases and... Continue Reading →