United Methodist circles have been abuzz over the last eighteen months or so regarding the topic of guaranteed appointment. For those of you unfamiliar with our lingo, guaranteed appointment is the United Methodist practice that for all practical purposes grants tenure to all those ordained as elders. The mantra is: there is a charge for every Read the full article…
PREACHING AT GOOD SHEPHERD AND PREACHING AT RAIKIA On Sunday I preached at the Raikia Baptist Church, a congregation of 350 or so located in heart of the Kandhamal District in the state of Odisha here in India. (It is enough of a miracle that I have any internet connection, but I don’t have enough juice Read the full article…
The best moment of today’s teaching at the Orissa Follow-Up Ministry didn’t come while I was teaching. It came in a conversation with six different pastors who all shared one thing in common. They’d all been arrested. For preaching the Gospel. Some were incarcerated for a few hours; others for several days; and another for Read the full article…
As I write this, it’s Wednesday night, India time, and Wednesday morning, US time. In other words, I’ve already been where you are right now. It’s the way time works. Our team of James-Michael Smith, Brent Burdick, and I, along with host P.R. Misra, spent our first day with our Indian pastor friends at the Read the full article…
As you can see under the “Books I Like” heading, I recently read Peter Ames Carlin’s new biography of Bruce Springsteen. And in reading it, I discovered something I share in common with him. Not guitar talent. Not singing voice. Not ability to write lyrics. Not even time in New Jersey — my seven years pale in Read the full article…
