Clever Free Methodist

I believe one of the greatest fears amongst Christians is the one thing we are called to do most often: evangelize ! I think the reason most Christians find it so hard is that they have this idea that to evangelize “properly” you must "bombard them with everything" all at once to “win them to Christ” on the first encounter. Evangelism, instead, is not an “all at once” cold-sell approach, but a process of allowing God to work over a period of time through your personality, talents and faithfulness to draw someone into His kingdom. It is through our constant actions and attitudes that God builds the bridges that allow us to share the Gospel when the opportunity presents itself. It cannot be forced. It must be allowed to come in its proper time and place. The time will come and we must be ready. The saying is true: “People will not listen until they have first been heard and people will not care unless they first see that you sincerely care about them.” Because evan

Our Church has hosted many funerals in the short time that I have been here. In fact, we have another one this weekend that the Pastor is leading. That has gotten me to thinking, especially since I have been able to stand in the background to “see and hear” all that goes on during a funeral service. I must admit (to no surprise) there is a trend! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it is safe to say that if you REALLY wanted to hear how much someone was loved, appreciated and admired, you would have to attend their funeral! When you go to a funeral, you normally hear all these amazing and wonderful things about the person who is now gone. The bulk of these amazing words comes in what is referred to as “the eulogy.” Why do we wait until the funeral to say all the things that we should have said to them when they were alive? Why do we have such a backwards understanding of what a eulogy is in the first place? How did our society ever become comfortable with associating

When I was a kid, it seems that every time an adult asked me about "my future" the question was always stated as "what do you want to be when you grow up?" I can't say that anyone ever asked me "what do you want to do when you grow up?" I think I know why! I've learned there is a HUGE difference between "doing" and "being." What we want to do in life is not nearly as important as what we want to be in life. "Doing" is related to earthly things such as "vocation" or "career." But, "being," on the other hand, goes much deeper because it relates to character, who we are, and how we use our life. "Doing" is related more to tangible things such as annual income, trophies, medals, awards or material possessions. "Being" has more to do with the things in life that can't be measured by literal yardsticks, trophy cases, or bank statements. "Being"

I've had my copy of the "2015 Book of Discipline" of the Free Methodist Church for a few years, and our new 2019 edition should be published after this Summer's General Conference in Orlando, Florida (July 2019).  I always take the time to go through it for review and return to it many times for reference and teaching. I hope you are aware of this publication (republished/updated every 4 years). Yes, I know...you're thinking  " oooh , that sounds so exciting!"  But, you know...it is.  It is a good practice to revisit this wonderful manual that is 220 pages of our history, mission, doctrine and polity. It declares our identity of why we claim to be "Free" Methodists.  I was particularly struck by some of the distinct principles of our Wesleyan-Armenian heritage that have guided us since  August 23, 1860.  Beyond the depth of our theological emphasis on sanctification, is the freedom and simplicity of just being committed to  &q

1 John 2:27 is pretty “straight to the point” as it says “Just as [the Holy Spirit] has taught you…remain in fellowship with Christ.” As we move into the New Year, I recall over the last month (December) during Advent, we opened our hearts to be ready to receive Jesus. We were challenged to grow ever closer to Him. After the world-changing,  calendar-defining, cosmos-altering birth of Jesus, we flocked to Church to  receive Jesus in a deeper way at Christmas. Now it is just over a week past Christmas. Numerous people are packing away the ornaments and taking down their Christmas trees (even though the Christmas season doesn’t officially end until January 6, 2019). The verse from 1 John (at the start of this article) challenges us to "remain in" Jesus   rather than, like our Christmas decorations, to "pack Him away until next Advent" (which, by the way, starts Sunday, 1 December 2019). The worst possible condition for a human being is to “not remain” in Jesus