Catalyst Publications
Publications by Category
In his 2017 book Offering Christ: John Wesley’s Evangelistic Vision (Kingswood), John Wesley Fellow Jack Jackson encourages readers to see proclamation of the gospel, “the practice of a person telling the gospel story to another person or g…
Aug/05/2019
The summer after I graduated high school, I became infatuated with Edgar Allen Poe. Perhaps it was because the thought of leaving home and being on my own for the first time put me in a macabre state of mind. Perhaps it was because I am a s…
Jul/22/2019
Atheism has been on the rise within western culture since the mid-nineteenth century. Many scholars have given rebuttals to this movement and their arguments against God’s existence. However, it might be instructive for the western church t…
Jul/08/2019
Not that God needs defending. God doesn’t need defending. But I have two friends—one ordained, one lay, both theologians—who don’t think the concept of the Trinity is essential. They believe that God is three and one, but they don’t think t…
Jul/01/2019
Long before I ever had an idea that I would be a seminary professor—let alone enroll in seminary—I was a high school chemistry teacher. Instead of beginning each year with the proverbial “BANG!” of an explosive demonstration, my classes per…
Jun/17/2019
Some years ago, I learned that a name is a powerful thing. For example, while working to complete my undergraduate degree in education, on various occasions my professor would observe us as we taught lessons in classrooms at nearby schools …
Jun/10/2019
Every calendar year the strength of the Christian sense of time recedes just as it faces its greatest test. Christians derive our sense of time from our worship. Even where the lectionary is not read and the liturgical calendar is unknown, …
Jun/03/2019
The simplest word in the entire Easter narrative is perhaps its most profound: “go.” It is Jesus’s first and only command to his disciples after his resurrection and just prior to his ascension: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nat…
May/20/2019
The Bible is frequently referred to as “the word of God.” God speaks in the Bible and through the Bible. God is personal and uses words and actions to communicate to humanity. The primary way God speaks in the Bible, however, is not by writ…
May/13/2019
A bog. The kingdom of God is like a bog. Maybe Jesus didn’t include it in his kingdom parables (or the gospel writers left it out), but I think it’s true all the same. If they’d had bogs in first-century Palestine, Jesus would have said it.…
May/06/2019
Those of us with university or seminary training with biblical texts typically learned exegetical tools and methods in our biblical studies classes, but discussed the nature of the Bible in our theological classes. The two—what we believe a…
Apr/26/2019
Who is John Wesley for us today? Thirty years ago, Richard Heitzenrater documented the challenges of creating a definitive, accurate portrait of the founder of Methodism in his Memory and Mirror (Kingswood, 1989). He noted the possibilities…
Apr/22/2019
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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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