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10 Oct 2010

Why I Love The Wesleyan Church: Apprenticeship

“He says he’s a pastor, but he hasn’t got any kind of education.” I was amazed at the disgust in my friend’s voice, himself an ordained Wesleyan pastor. It was clear not just by what he said but how he said it that a ‘real’ minister is defined by the organized schooling he or she has endured. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy learning and am indebted to the kind of education I’ve received in organized environments in the pursuits of diplomas and degrees. I’m looking forward to continuing my education and hold institutions of higher learning in high regard–especially those operating out of a passion to equip men and women for ministry. But the attitude that our value or function as ministers is directly related to our (organized) education stands in stark contrast to the way Jesus developed his own followers and the history of The Wesleyan Church. Jesus utilized an apprenticeship* process whereby he allowed his followers (more…)

Tags: church, church planting, Discipleship, Joshua, Leadership, The Wesleyan Church
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04 Oct 2010

Why I Love The Wesleyan Church: Freedom

There is something about the notion of “freedom” which, for those of us brought up in America, brings with it the idea of Founding Fathers breaking away from the tyranny of British rule; “freedom” is an ideal—a philosophical concept which crescendos in our national anthem as we sing of “The Land of the Free/and the home of the brave.” But, for me, it is easy for ‘freedom’ to remain a mere concept because I have never known the cruelty of actual slavery. For what would become The Wesleyan Church, the concept of freedom meant something much more than fireworks on the Fourth of July; it meant bringing people out of the very real, very harsh, very evil clutches of physical slavery—where men, women, and children are bought, sold, traded, and handled as things owned by another person. The Wesleyan Church’s history in North America is intimately intertwined with the abolitionist movement; the fight for freedom is a very identifiable part of (more…)

Tags: church, history, Leadership, slavery, The Wesleyan Church
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23 Sep 2010

Why I Love The Wesleyan Church: Equality

As we get ready to welcome our daughter, Jubilee, into the world, I love being part of a church that won’t disqualify her from ministry leadership just because she will be a girl. I’ve often told my wife that I love the fact she would not be denied the chance to lead in a local church just because God gave her two X instead of an XY chromosonaI combination. I won’t use this post to defend the Wesleyan stance on women in ministry—there are enough resources dealing with the issue and I don’t really have anything to add that might change your mind if you disagree with the idea. The Wesleyan Church’s history of being deeply involved in the women’s suffrage movement (even hosting the Seneca Falls Convention) is awesome. Our push for equality in the era of Jim Crow is something to be proud of. It seems we really hold to the idea that in the Jesus Kingdom (more…)

Tags: church, history, Leadership, The Wesleyan Church
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21 Sep 2010

Why I Love The Wesleyan Church: Holiness

“Holiness” is a funny word: it can bring to mind strange rules and fiery preachers… and sometimes things are done in the name of ‘holiness’ that make it appear the antithesis of love. So, please don’t let the topic of this post keep you from going any further. I freely admit that some of our definitions of holiness are misguided and potentially hurtful; I also admit we’ve been distracted by conversations related to but not central to holiness. Discussion about the Wesleyan stance on alcohol is best left to another post (or ginormous tome). No, we’re not perfect in how we approach the outward look of holiness… neither am I perfect in how I live, believe, or do life. But our passion is the truth that the work of Jesus who lived, died, rose again ascended into heaven and even now pleads for us really does make us new. The impossible call of God’s Spirit to be holy is met (more…)

Tags: church, faith, Holiness, Holy Spirit, The Wesleyan Church, victory
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20 Sep 2010

New Blog Series this Week:

I wasn’t introduced to The Wesleyan Church until I ended up attending a Wesleyan school, but my time at Bethany Bible College exposed me to some things of Christ that I saw in The Wesleyan Church which made me want to be part. Sure, there are things I might change and I know the denomination is looking at a number of creative solutions to a number of issues, but over the next few days I’ll be sharing what I see as some deep-in-our-DNA aspects of The Wesleyan Church I don’t think we can ever lose without fundamentally altering who we are. Keep in mind, these are just my opinions, and I hope you feel free to chime in. I also hope none of this comes across as though I think the Wesleyans are ‘better’ than others or the only ones invited into heaven–I know there really is only one Church and I love Jesus much more than denomination–but I love (more…)

Tags: church, history, Leadership, The Wesleyan Church
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31 Mar 2010

Whatchamacallit…

As we have announced the name for the Pittsburgh Church Plant, The Bridge, reactions have been interesting to gauge. Most people a generation before mine are thrilled with the name. Most people in my own generation seem to like it, but don’t have a particularly deep affinity for it. People in the generation after mine could care less about the name and what to see something done before they develop any connection at all. That really doesn’t have much to do with anything, but I thought I’d throw it out there as food for thought. Regardless, in my last post, told you I would share the highly scientific, market research-intensive, professional process we used for landing on a name. I’m not sure how ‘real’ church planters do it, but this was our process: Talking. Praying. Talking. Killing bad ideas. Praying. Discussing names with people. Killing bad ideas that we thought were good ideas. Starting over. Praying. Talking. Dealing with pressure (more…)

Tags: church, church planting, Leadership, The Bridge
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29 Oct 2009

Retail Reflections: Training

<Image courtesy of DawnAllyn> One of the things I very much appreciate about my current place of employment is the value they place on training. I’ve had jobs before where training consisted of being given a list of duties/responsibilities and being told to “go and do.” Where I’m working now, however, places such an emphasis on properly training their management staff that I spent the entirety of my first two weeks learning hands-on how to function in my new role. This season of training culminated in a daylong ‘evaluation’ of sorts wherein a training manager made sure I knew what I was supposed to know; it was made clear even then there will be other focused learning opportunities along the way. Granted, I was hired because there was a sense of chemistry and I have a certain skill-set which appealed to the person responsible for finding a good fit for the open position. But certain skills and being something of (more…)

Tags: church, Leadership
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02 Oct 2009

Revival!

<image courtesy of clearly ambiguous> Beginning this evening, I’ll be preaching a series of messages for a ‘revival’ being held in Watts Towndship at the Wesleyan Church there. I know it sounds old-timey, and the concept of ‘revival meetings’ has long ago lost its luster in many places… but I’m incredibly excited about this opportunity. The desire of the church’s pastor is true ‘revival’–”to stir up or rekindle a fire which is slowly dying.” The heart of the pastor and many of the people is that by dedicating a few pointed hours of their weekend to hear and heed the Spirit of God, a dying flame will be rekindled into a full-on blaze. As excited as I am, I’m also a little scared: the people are praying for, hoping for, and expectant of a genuine revival in their hearts and church which will spill over into the lives of their community. Why does this scare me? I’m the preacher. And (more…)

Tags: church, courage, faith, personal
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01 Oct 2009

Retail Reflections: StockBoy

<image courtesy of vierdrie> A little while ago, I shared my experience interviewing for a home improvement retailer. You can read that post here. During my recent journey of searching for and being given work, I experienced some interactions with the retail world that might be useful in informing different aspects of the Church world. One of the other potential employers who needed ‘very open availability’ was only able to commit to five hours a week of work. Again, the pay rate wasn’t anything spectacular. But here’s how the interview process played out: Brief, initial phone interview focused mostly on verifying information from the application and confirming ‘very open availability. One-on-one interview with a potential supervisor. Questions covered everything from experience to hypothetical ‘what-if’s.” One-on-one interview with the potential supervisor’s supervisor. More questions, but mostly casual interaction much more conversational in tone. One-on-one conversation and clarification with the “HR Lady.” Pretty involved for a part-time, low-paid position, wouldn’t you agree? (more…)

Tags: church, church planting, Leadership, personal
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17 Sep 2009

Retail Reflections: CartBoy

<image courtesy of iboy_daniel> Since leaving a position as pastor of a local church this summer, I’ve been hunting for work wherever I thought it could be found. Recently, I was provided with a job at a retail store, but this wasn’t the first retail interview I had experienced as of late (a couple of interviews led to job offers which needed ‘very open availability’–read “Sunday-Saturday 8AM-10PM available”–with very low pay and no guarantee of more than five or eight hours a week). But as I’ve gone through the process of interviewing for and engaging with a job much different than my last one, I’ve been struck by some of the lessons/practices which could be used by the Church in its pursuit of invading the world with Christ’s love & power. I’ll share some of them here in between the next few Joshua posts. Here’s the observation for today–simple and obvious, but worth mentioning: Discern Stengths and Abilities One of (more…)

Tags: church, church planting, personal
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