Month: July 2021

METHODISM, Most Sustained Revival in History: A Future more than a “Dead Sect” depends on Doctrine, Spirit and Discipline.

The life and thought of a church is always larger and deeper than its official documents – H. B. Workman In the Old Testament, periods of spiritual decline in the days of the judges and kings were always followed by seasons of quickening (Ezra 7:10). Revival in the New Testament periods is all about Jesus (Is 61:1-3). After days of faithful and continuous prayer, the church was born in revival fire at Pentecost (Acts 1:14, 2:1-4). Revival continues to be through the Holy Spirit in a period of decline. In church and revival history, there have been different revival...

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WHY CHURCHES FAIL: A Missional Response to ‘Why Nations Fail.’ Echoes of Wesley’s Three-part Vision.

The book ‘Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty co-authored by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson sets out to answer why some nations are more prosperous than others.[1] In their examinations of the causes of economic inequality, they conclude that nations fail due to underdevelopment ‘caused by political institutions and not by geography, climate, or other cultural factors.’ Why churches fail as a missional response to Why Nations Fail calls for a change the way we look at—and understand the role and place of the Church, Christ’s ekklesia in the world, the earthly ekklesia (Matt 16:13-20). The...

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A Divided World: Breaking Homes, Churches and Nations: ‘Ascendancy of moral lowlifes’ and lies.

“… all the evil of the twentieth century is possible everywhere on earth” – Aleksandr Solzhenitsn Someone asked me recently, “Does the church still have moral ground to call the government to order?” A divided world shaped by therapeutic culture and ideology made of lies has conquered the churches, hence ‘the idea of bearing pain for the sake of truth seems ridiculous.’ The changing and jargon languages in world politics and secularisation imposes on the church and society controls the categories in which people think. Rather for the church to turn this divided world upside down with the powerful...

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Herod, a Leadership Parable: Raising Prophetic Voices like John.

One renewing and missional feature in Mark’s appalling story is John’s fearless stand for marital fidelity. John challenged the Tetrarch of Galilee, Herod Antipas’s incestuous and sinful relationship. Herod Antipas appreciated the entertainment value that John the Baptist brought to him but not the eternal truth. Herod’s conscience seared by sin, especially sexual sin, ‘something so degrading as incest, normally blinds a person to truth’ (1 Tim 4:2). Leadership or discipleship (beyond saving faces in front of the crowd) is demanding, but only faithful Christians with prophetic voices can do it in the context of fidelity to the full...

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JESUS’ HOME FIELD MISSION REJECTED AT NAZARETH: When Familiarity Breeds Contempt

Familiarity breeding contempt is a present missional danger. Let us do a quick personal missional-check: Has your familiarity with the lyrics to the hymns, many times, resulted in you singing without experiencing the life in the hymns? Has your familiarity with the practical applications of a Bible story, caused you to miss out on many of the powerful implications the story should have had on your life, family and church? Has your familiarity with all the things that Jesus said, led you to very rarely think about all the things that Jesus actually meant? Our awe of God can become unfamiliar as the things of God become more familiar...

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