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Christ the Lord is risen today! Hallelujah! This Sunday marked the core of our Christian faith: the death on the cross and resurrection of Christ. What a day of celebration of the...

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PATHWAY TO HIS PRESENCE B.J. FUNK Every night, the frogs in my pond make music for the neighborhood. I like to think they’re singing songs of praise to their Maker. Psalm 150 reminds us that everything that has breath can praise the Lord! When the frogs in my pond praise Him, they don’t seem to care how loudly they sing or how exuberantly they sound. Their songs of praise are not based on how they feel, how muggy the night, or on how many bugs they could not catch that day. They were created to...

Important Days in the Life of John Wesley: October 14, 1735

October 06, 2014

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Stop working in problems and start working on them

October 06, 2014

LEADERSHIP REALLY MATTERS ANNE BOSARGE REV. JAY HANSON How much time do you spend working in problems instead of working on problems in your church? Think about some of your most difficult issues. Does your list look something like this? Lack of volunteers Everything that needs to get done never does Always a shortage of resources Discouraged and unmotivated people Enthusiasm to reach the unchurched is just not there Resistance to change always seems to win the day How much time and energy do ...

Literal Lydia

September 13, 2014

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The pursuit of diversity

September 13, 2014

Rev. J. Michael Culbreth Drastic changes are occurring around us constantly. One of the changes taking place in the United States is that our nation is becoming less homogeneous. Unfortunately our churches remain homogeneous. In fact most of our congregations consist of people from the same racial, economic and cultural background. Yet as we read God’s word we see a church that is multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and economically diverse. Consider how the scriptures challenge the church to pursue ...

Moving the Church from "In Here" to "Out There"

September 01, 2014

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Why John Wesley came to Georgia

September 01, 2014

Mercy received must morph into mercy given

August 17, 2014

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John Wesley and James Oglethorpe

July 29, 2014

You ARE a leader. So be a GOOD one!

July 29, 2014

LEADERSHIP REALLY MATTERS ANNE BOSARGE REV. JAY HANSON You are a leader. You are a leader not because of the title you have or the position you hold but because God created each of us to be Christian leaders. Stop thinking of leadership as a position and start thinking of it as personal influence. Leadership is using your influence to make a difference in the lives of people around you. Good leaders leverage their relationships with others to move them closer to Christ. We are all leaders, ...

In Transition: When priorities begin to shift

July 06, 2014

GROWING IN GRACE BEN GOSDEN This is one in a series of columns documenting Rev. Gosden’s transition from associate pastor to senior pastor. Read more on his blog, www.mastersdust.com. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="false" DefSemiHidden="false" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99" LatentStyleCount="371"> w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true" ...

John Wesley's father's death, April 25, 1735

July 04, 2014

Frogs and Pearls

June 18, 2014

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John Wesley's Holy Club, 1729

May 27, 2014

Stuck in forward

May 18, 2014

What did Jesus look like?

May 05, 2014

GROWING IN GRACE BEN GOSDEN Recently, National Public Radio ran a story about a controversial sculpture installed at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Davidson, N.C. The statue depicts Jesus as a homeless man, wrapped in a blanket, curled up on a park bench. The only signs that give away his identity are the crucifixion scars on his feet, which are sticking out from under the blanket. w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="false" DefSemiHidden="false" DefQFormat="false" ...

1727-1729 - Two Important Years in John Wesley's life

May 04, 2014

Security Light

April 21, 2014

August 4, 1727 - An Important Day in the Life of John Wesley

April 02, 2014

JOHN WESLEY MOMENTS DAVE HANSON On Aug. 4, 1727, John Wesley left his classes at Oxford to help his father. A “Fellow of Lincoln College” during those days could do that sort of thing. Samuel Wesley needed his son to help him get out of debt. So John became his curate (assistant pastor) and served a little church at Wroote across the river from Epworth where his father was pastor. Except for his time in Georgia, this was the only pastorate John Wesley ever served. Epworth was located ...

Hey, wanna write for a Bible?

March 17, 2014

LAUGH & LEARN CATHY LEE PHILLIPS About this time last year, an editor with Zondervan Publishing called and asked, “Cathy, how would you like to write for a Bible?” That question stunned me into silence. I stumbled for an answer and finally said, “Uh, I thought that book was finished.” She laughed and then invited me to write four short devotionals for a new Study Bible being published by the Zondervan Corporation. This publisher is well-known for their New International Version of the Bible. ...

What's so special about Lent?

March 03, 2014

GROWING IN GRACE BEN GOSDEN Wednesday marks another observance of Ash Wednesday and begins the season of the church year known as Lent – 40 days of denying ourselves fun things like chocolate and gossiping. It’s a bit of a drag, but it’s a predictable drag. We’ll begin, ready for the test of endurance. We’ll hear the story of Jesus, alone in the wilderness, being tempted by Satan, and we’ll say to ourselves, “If Jesus can resist temptation for 40 days on an empty stomach, surely I can forego a ...

John Wesley's life at Lincoln College

March 02, 2014

JOHN WESLEY MOMENTS DAVE HANSON On March 17, 1726, John Wesley was unanimously elected Fellow of Lincoln College. His father was so proud of him. Samuel Wesley wrote, “Wherever I go now, my son, Jackie, is a Fellow of Lincoln College…!” At the College he taught Greek, Latin, Bible, Philosophy, and Logic. He gave lectures in “Natural Philosophy,” “Moral Philosophy,” and “Religion.” He served as moderator of the daily debates. Later in life Wesley credited his work with the debates at Lincoln...

Yellow Ribbons

February 15, 2014

PATHWAY TO HIS PRESENCE B.J. FUNK Perhaps some of you will recognize this story written by an unknown man: “Many years ago, I was sentenced to federal prison. I had a beautiful wife and wonderful children. I said to her, ‘Honey, don't write to me. I won't write to you. The kids should not know their dad is in prison. If you want to, go ahead and find another man - somebody who will be a good father to those boys.’ “I do not know if she kept her part of the bargain. I kept mine. Last week when I ...

September 19, 1725 - An Important Day in the Life of John Wesley

January 26, 2014

JOHN WESLEY MOMENTS DAVE HANSON John Wesley was ordained Deacon in the Church of England on Sunday, Sept. 19, 1725. He was 22 years old. He was ordained at Christ Church Cathedral at Oxford University by Dr. Potter, Bishop of Oxford, who later became the Archbishop of Canterbury. After his ordination John wrote in his diary, “Leisure and I have taken leave of one another. I propose to be busy as long as I live, if my health is so long indulged me.” He determined to seek God and...

The Chickenator, The Mrs., and The Sauce

January 18, 2014

LAUGH & LEARN CATHY LEE PHILLIPS Dr. John Pemberton in 1886 brewed a sassy drink to alleviate headaches and calm nerves. Asa Candler of Atlanta purchased the formula and gave it a name. Today the whole world recognizes the Coca Cola brand. Tasty and beloved, the Coca Cola recipe remains perhaps the most highly-guarded trade secret in history. In 1930, Harland Sanders magically blended eleven herbs and spices and established his Kentucky Fried Chicken. The details still remain under lock and key....

Resolutions

January 06, 2014

GROWING IN GRACE BEN GOSDEN It’s a new year. We’ve come through the season of Advent. We’ve celebrated the coming of the Christ child in the manger. We’ve thrown away our old calendars and hung new empty ones showcasing a year full of promise. So how are you going to fill that new, empty calendar? Better yet, how are you different in this new year? I’m not a huge fan of making New Year’s resolutions. I confess that it’s largely due to the fact that I have a hard time keeping the resolutions I ...

June 21, 1720 - An Important Day in the Life of John Wesley

December 31, 2013

JOHN WESLEY MOMENTS DAVE HANSON On June 21, 1720, John Wesley became a student at Christ Church College, one of the 40 Colleges that make up Oxford University. His father and both of his grandfathers had been students at Oxford. His older brother, Samuel, Jr., had graduated from Christ Church, and his younger brother, Charles, enrolled there four years later. John’s father had made arrangements for John to visit Dr. Sacheverell, a prominent pastor in London who...

Living inside a White Christmas

December 16, 2013

PATHWAY TO HIS PRESENCE B.J. FUNK Tonight I watched the 1954 movie “White Christmas,” with Bing Crosby. The costumes were bright, the scenery was inviting, and there was not even a hint of immorality the whole way through. Refreshing! I don’t remember Bing’s voice being this rich and mellow, and I don’t remember Vera Ellen at all. Her waistline would make Scarlett O’Hara jealous! I sat glued to the screen, welcoming a more innocent time in Hollywood movies. Living in South Georgia, we don’t ...

January 28, 1714 - An Important Day in the Life of John Wesley

December 02, 2013

JOHN WESLEY MOMENTS DAVE HANSON John Wesley was 10 years old when, on Jan. 28, 1714, the Duke of Buckingham, a long-time friend of the Wesley family, nominated him as a student at Charterhouse. John had been homeschooled by his mother and was ready for advanced education at Charterhouse in London. His father advised him to run three times around the garden each day to keep in physical shape. Charterhouse was a large mansion which had once been a Catholic ...

Keeping Christ in Christmas

December 02, 2013

Christmas has a special way of really bringing out both the best and worst in many of us. I was reading an article the other day about how we can “save Christmas” by demanding that retail stores drop their conventional “Happy Holidays” line for the more religious “Merry Christmas.” And it made me think of one particular experience I had that has just stuck with me. I vividly remember one particular day of the Christmas season a few years ago when I was trying to finish my shopping. I was at a ...

How to Win Friends and Influence People ... And Be More Christlike

November 04, 2013

GROWING IN GRACE BEN GOSDEN A church member and good friend recently gave me a book that meant a great deal to him. He’s a very successful young business owner and I’m a pastor. He’s trying to grow in the area of discipleship and how it relates to his vocation and I’m trying to grow in the area of leadership. Since the two of us come from such different yet similar worlds, we’ve begun a relationship of giving each other meaningful books that we think might help the other person grow. The first ...

B.J. Funk

Twas the Night Before

October 21, 2013

PATHWAY TO HIS PRESENCE B.J. FUNK My heart is jumping and I cannot sleep. My mind is twirling with a thousand exciting thoughts. It’s not Christmas Eve. It’s not even December, but my thoughts are racing in and out as I pack my bags and prepare to drive the short distance from my home in Chula to Camp Tygart. Tomorrow begins another wonderful Walk to Emmaus weekend, and I have the awesome privilege of working on the team. For me, the joy and excitement come from two sources: one, God always ...

Ben Gosden

On Sabbath and giving

September 03, 2013

GROWING IN GRACE BEN GOSDEN There was a wonderful article that recently ran on NPR written by Diedre Sullivan entitled, “Always Go to the Funeral.” Sullivan writes about how her parents taught her as a teenager that you make time for someone's funeral when they die. She takes the lesson a step further and says, “I have to do the right thing when I really, really don't feel like it.” Her parents were the kind of parents I want to be. They taught their child that no matter what, you don't get to ...

Ben Gosden

Changing Rhythms, the Heart of Worship, and Being Disciples

July 08, 2013

GROWING IN GRACE BEN GOSDEN It’s 1:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. I’ve finished my lunch and settled in for another routine Sunday afternoon filled with reading and writing and baseball whenever I’m not chasing my 16-month-old daughter around the house. By all accounts it’s a typical Sunday afternoon except for the fact that this particular afternoon didn’t follow a typical Sunday morning worship service. You see, I felt the Spirit of God this morning in a way I’ve haven’t experienced for some ...

B.J. Funk

Mercy Kept the Light On

June 24, 2013

PATHWAY TO HIS PRESENCE B.J. FUNK Motel Six television commercials are known for their “We keep the light on” advertisements. They might not mean much to some people, but they send a comforting beacon to many for whom the light has been turned off. For those who have ever had a door slammed in their faces or a rejection that feels like hard fists in the stomach, the encouragement of finding a place that actually keeps the light on is an oasis of hope, a contrast to their desert of darkness. ...

Dave Hanson

John Wesley and the Sunday school

June 07, 2013

JOHN WESLEY MOMENTS DAVE HANSON Did you know that perhaps the first Sunday school in all of Christendom was started by John Wesley, Charles Wesley, Benjamin Ingham and Charles Delamotte? The place was Savannah, Ga., and the date was 1736. John had come to Georgia to be pastor of Christ Church in Savannah, the third pastor of this Anglican (Church of England) congregation in the new colony of Georgia. These four young men came to Georgia with General Oglethorpe who had started the colony ...

Ben Gosden

What if...?

May 06, 2013

GROWING IN GRACE BEN GOSDEN It was a hot, June day in South Georgia. The word “hot” doesn't even seem sufficient. After all, June in South Georgia can bring days when the heat sits on you like a 50 pound backpack. It was the sort of day when you couldn't keep water cold for long. But you don't care because you'd settle for tepid water if it means rehydrating after just a few minutes in the oppressive heat of the day. It was the sort of day when any indoor space became a Promised Land flowing ...

Dave Hanson

John Wesley's Letters

April 08, 2013

JOHN WESLEY MOMENTS DAVE HANSON John Wesley was a prodigious letter-writer. For much of his life he spent hours each day writing letters. Many of these letters were to his mother, his father, his brothers and sisters, and to fellow Christians and church leaders. Many more letters were sent in response to people who wrote to him asking for advice and guidance in their Christian walk. Wesley saved letters he received and people saved his letters. These letters have been preserved in “The ...

Ben Gosden

Lent and the strangeness of being a Christian

February 27, 2013

GROWING IN GRACE BEN GOSDEN I’m writing this column around 2:30 p.m. on Ash Wednesday. We’ve completed two of the three services we’re offering today. It’s been a busy day of activities and our night will end just as the day began – with a worship service reminding us that we are dust and to dust we shall one day return. “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” You know, sometimes it’s strange to be a Christian. This is only my third Ash Wednesday in the role of “pastor.” I’...

Dave Hanson

John Wesley's Diary

February 26, 2013

JOHN WESLEY MOMENTS DAVE HANSON John Wesley’s diary is one of the most outstanding diaries in English literature. He actually had two diaries. One was a series of small leather-bound volumes in which he wrote every hour. This diary was written in a personalized shorthand – a code. Then each week he would take these notes and write his journal in clear English sentences, paragraph style. He would often make copies of his journal and send them to friends. Some were published English papers so the ...

Dave Hanson

John Wesley's Holy Club

January 31, 2013

JOHN WESLEY MOMENTS DAVE HANSON John and Charles Wesley were students at Christ Church College, a part of Oxford University. John became a teacher at Lincoln College, which was also a part of Oxford. John left for a few months to help his father who was pastor of St. Andrews Church up at Epworth. While John was gone, Charles started a small gathering of fellow students who met for prayer each week. Some say it was really only one other student and they would simply go to worship together. ...

Creede Hinshaw

Rediscovering the awe of Advent

December 11, 2012

BEYOND THE NEWS CREEDE HINSHAW Merchants have always touted shopping. It’s de rigueur to complain about greedy moneymakers and aggressive, insane shoppers on the recently dubbed Black Friday. Decry the madness if you must but remember that it’s not a recent phenomenon; shopping on the day after Thanksgiving has simply grown in a logical, efficient progression over the decades. Internet shopping and increasingly earlier store openings were anticipated in a quainter way some 40 years ago by ...

Ben Gosden

Some dos and don'ts for young adult ministry

November 05, 2012

GROWING IN GRACE BEN GOSDEN I currently serve as an associate pastor at Mulberry Street United Methodist Church in Macon. One of my primary responsibilities is young adult ministry. During the past two years I’ve learned a good deal about what ministry with young adults is like and I’d like to take a moment to share a few ideas with you. Take them, leave them, question them, it’s up to you. Do NOT over-generalize the demographic. Statements like “all young people want…” are simply not ...

Ben Gosden

Living as disciples in the middle of an election season

September 06, 2012

GROWING IN GRACE BEN GOSDEN I guess I can’t really help it, but every four years I follow political races like they’re sporting events. Now you must know that my interest comes from the fact that my background was in political science. Before I was called into the ministry, I majored in political science in undergrad and planned to go to law school. My great hope was to work in politics or cover politics as a journalist. So I admit that I can be a bit of a political junkie at times. There is, ...

AGING WELL: Epworth "Grand Camp" fosters special bonds

May 06, 2012

By Missy Buchanan UMR Columnist A grandmother paused while her 9-year old grandson tried to scoop up sand with his bare feet. For the last half-hour, they had been strolling along the wide beach of the Atlantic, feeling the mist on their faces and picking up sea shells. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so free to enjoy her grandson in the beauty of nature. Over the years she had traveled many places with all three of her grandchildren. They had ridden horses in the mountains ...

News from your South Georgia Conference Delegation - March 2

March 05, 2012

By Rev. Robert Beckum The South Georgia Annual Conference Delegation for General and Jurisdictional Conferences continues to meet in its preparation for General Conference. Central to our preparation is a careful study of The Call to Action. This Call to Action will be the center around which most proposed legislation before this General Conference revolves. Some proposals seek to implement the plan and others seek to modify the plan, but there is no comprehensive “alternative” plan of action ...

News from your South Georgia delegation - Sept. 2

September 02, 2011

By Rev. Robert Beckum* Your South Georgia Conference delegation will meet on Friday, October 21, for an overview of General and Jurisdictional Conference issues. We have invited representatives from the General Board of Pensions to brief delegates on the significant changes proposed for our current clergy pension plan. The first thing that strikes me about the upcoming General Conference is the profile and makeup of delegations, comprising the voting members for 2012. Of the 988 voting ...

What Facebook can teach us about ministry

August 05, 2011

By Rev. Ben Gosden It’s become everyone’s guilty pleasure. It’s that one place you go when you don’t feel like working or paying attention and you just want to see what’s going on in the world. It’s become one of the biggest time-wasters in life and yet, it’s also become one of the first places where we share and announce life events. Relationships are no longer “official” until they are announced here. Acquaintances and friendships are not legitimized until they are “official” here. Job ...

News from your South Georgia delegation

June 29, 2011

By Rev. Robert Beckum It is an honor to serve in the 2012 South Georgia delegation to General and Jurisdictional Conference. As Larry Price and I lead the delegation’s work and preparation for these conferences, we want to stress the representative nature of our delegation. It is our responsibility to faithfully represent the churches of the South Georgia Annual Conference. In order to be faithful in our representation, we need your help and your input. The General Conference is the top ...

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