November/ December 2008 Contents
FEATURESMeeting People Where They Live
Boyce Bowdon offers a tour of one of America’s
robust Methodist churches.
Hot Metal Offers Dramatically Different Worship James Melchiorre travels to see a Pittsburgh church in action.
Mercy Ministries: Healing HospitalityFounder Nancy Alcorn describes the crises of today’s young women.
God’s Call to Ministry Chris Bounds presents the mystery — and marks — of the call.
Notes on Spiritual Warfare: Bulletin from the Front Lines David Campbell shares lessons learned as a chaplain in Iraq.
The New Abolitionists: Call + Response Catherina Hurlburt pursues the mission behind a compelling new film.
The Church’s Need for Godly Administration John Grenfell urges ordained ministers to know their rights.
COLUMNS
Editorial Appreciation for a Remarkable Ministry
RENEW Women’s Network A Bittersweet Goodbye
The Great Commission The Headlines We Never See
From the Heart Alpha and Omega
DEPARTMENTS
Straight Talk
Bonhoeffer achieves
martyr status
African bishops issue renewed call
against poverty
Wisdom through the written word
Culture in View
Spiritual formation and imagination:
Q & A with Sarah Arthur
Worth Reading: volumes of value
The wise teacher writing Ecclesiastes 3:1 states: “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. There is always a beginning and an end.” In January of 1993—fifteen years ago—I began to show up in your living rooms, excited about sharing what the living God was saying to me. After all, this column is called “From the Heart.” From the earliest days, I have tried to maintain Jesus as my focus.
In the very first issue, I began with a treatise on hope. I have asked questions of God in your presence and God has made his presence known with a few of his own queries. I have confronted you and called all of us, starting with me, to repentance. I’ve been open about my journey as I’ve shared a trembling heart that God has been steadily transforming. I have shared ministry successes and failures and, through it all, I’ve tried to be vulnerable, transparent and real. Some of you have graciously encouraged me. Thank you for your heartfelt words.
I’m grateful to George and Carol Anderson, our good friends and former United Methodist pastoring team, for introducing me to Jesus and to…Good News. The association has been a privilege. I’ve met wonderful, godly people and I’ve learned something about writing; mostly how to be more concise. I have prayed for you, my reader, and have longed for it to be true by God’s grace “that through my being with you again (and again) your joy in Christ Jesus would overflow on account of me” (Philippians1:25-26).
For a year I’ve known that God was prompting me to step down from this writing post. I have prayed for the perfect parting words. What profound thing could be stated? What part of God’s Word would he be pleased to highlight? Ultimately, of course, I need to leave you with what God wants to say to all of us and I think that is what it has always been. Jesus! So, I leave you with the best I know.
Jesus is the God of acceptance, touching our longing to belong “as is” and to be in a place where we can be known in safety (1 Peter 2:10). Jesus is the God of blessing, touching our longing to see evidence of divine hands at work (Ephesians 1:3). He is the God of compassion reaching the desire for someone who will look past our faults and see our needs (Psalms 103:8).
Jesus is the God of deliverance. He touches the yearning for release from cages that may have no names; freedom in Christ (Luke 4:18). Jesus is the God of enablement. He helps us become all we dream we can be and all he dreams through us (Philippians 4:13). Jesus is the God of faithfulness, touching our hunger to know someone unchanging to count on (Numbers 23:19).
Jesus is the God of grace and mercy. He touches our longing for a second chance (John 1:14). He is the God of humility; the One who has known brokenness and can lead us in dependence on the Father (Philippians 2:6-8). Jesus is the God of illumination, shining his light on any number of life difficulties (John 8:12).
Jesus is the God of joy, going way beyond any empty pursuit of pleasure (Zephaniah 3:17). He is the God of kindness. He touches the craving for someone who will bend down, reach out and lift up (Hosea 11:4). Jesus is the God of love; someone who adores us with no strings attached. He is someone who won’t just preach words, but show us (Romans 5:8). Jesus is the God of majesty; the king reigning over an unshakable kingdom (Psalms 8:1; Hebrews 12:28).
Jesus is the God who is near, holding us close and exploring us with genuine interest (Ephesians 2:13). He is the God of obedience. This touches the yearning for the safety of authority over us even though on the outside our lives may demand independence (John 15:10). Jesus is the God of power, answering the longing for a dynamic source that supersedes nagging personal insufficiencies (1 Corinthians 1:18).
Jesus is the God of quietness and rest, giving relief from the overwhelmingness of life (Psalms 23:1-2). Jesus is the God of reconciliation. He is the fool-proof way to make a difference in relationships (Colossians 1:19-20). Jesus is the God who is supreme. At last, someone above all (Colossians 1:18-19). He is the God of truth; the stable bottom line (John 14:6). Jesus is the God of unity, touching our craving to be part of a team (John 17:22-23).
Jesus is the God of victory. In him we are winners; more than conquerors (1 Corinthians 15:57). Jesus is the God of worth and, so, we must worship him. And, as we do, it touches our longing to see him face to face (Revelations 5:12). Jesus is Lord! He is all we need and all we really want! He is the great I Am; he is enough for us (John 8:58).
So, after all is said and done, I bid you fond farewell and leave you with Jesus. He is not the God who exists just to make our life work better. He is our Life! “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Revelations 22:13).
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