Catalyst Publications
Publications by Category
I was deeply convicted about my provincial ways of reading scripture recently by a work of fiction—William Styron’s 1968 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Confessions of Nat Turner (Random House, 1967). Nat Turner was a slave and preacher fr…
Jul/27/2020
The first time I remember hearing the story of Jesus was around a Christmas tree as a child. I also remember hearing it again when I was baptized in junior high school. I remember thinking about it again as I was confirmed. I remember heari…
Jul/20/2020
It’s difficult to imagine a time in which the church would need to rely more on digital forms of social media than the coronavirus pandemic. From the initial days of the outbreak, recognizing an almost instinctual need to protect vulnerable…
Jul/13/2020
On June 3, 2020, I drove from my home in northern Maryland to Washington, DC, about 70 miles, to participate in a prayer vigil at St. John’s Church, Lafayette Square. Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington had inv…
Jul/06/2020
Delighted: What Teenagers Are Teaching the Church about Joy
Kenda Creasy Dean, Wesley W. Ellis, Justin Forbes, and Abigail Visco Rusert
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2020). 176 pp. ISBN: 978-0802877802.
There are certain authors who…
Jul/01/2020
I am concerned about our current climate of political polarization. My concern is not that people have different views about a wide range of issues or that they come to different conclusions. What concerns me most is that there is a lack of…
Jun/29/2020
[Warning: This essay contains spoilers about The Good Place.]
While watching the final season of the NBC sitcom The Good Place, I couldn’t stop thinking about Gregory of Nyssa. A strange connection, perhaps, but, then, The Good Place is …
Jun/22/2020
In my previous article, I talked about some ways the newly distanced church can think about worship, discipleship, and outreach in the still-developing COVID-19 crisis. Here, I offer some practical steps to consider for discipleship and out…
Jun/15/2020
Whether one was introduced to Wesley’s General Rules for their historical significance in a seminary class or encountered them in sermons from pastors and bishops steeped in the Wesleyan tradition, the General Rules have an enduring legacy.…
Jun/10/2020
Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, be…
Jun/08/2020
Public first responders are rightly honored for their courageous work. They are heroes and heroines who intervene to save and protect lives, often at the risk of their own. In many cases they are specially trained to accomplish feats others…
Jun/01/2020
For several years I served as a pastor in a town located hours away from the nearest theological library, so I have experienced the need to invest in good resources for preaching and teaching. Given that Catalyst is for ministry practitione…
May/27/2020
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A Foundation for Theological Education (AFTE) John Wesley Fellowships have been awarded to three doctoral stud…
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Announcing that 2026 John Wesley Fellowship Scholarship Applications are now being accepted. Please see the at…
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JWF and Friends of AFTE, we look forward to you joining us Thursday-Sunday, January 15-18, 2026, for the AFTE …
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Twenty John Wesley Fellows, spouses, and friends were able to experience a trip of a lifetime. The travel itin…
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