Catalyst Publications
Publications by Category
One of God’s amazing creations, foxglove, contains the potential for great healing as well the potential for sickness and death. Despite its great beauty, the plant is quite toxic. Yet the right amount of the plant can heal various illnesse…
Jun/26/2017
A couple of years ago, my then 16-year-old daughter asked me, “Dad, why do you work so much?” She asked this innocently. She had observed how fatigued I was driving home from work and asked this out of a deep concern for her dad. I had take…
Jun/12/2017
In the documentary for PBS’s Frontline, Atul Gawande — the author of Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End — reveals two troubling facts about medicine in twenty-first-century America: how hard it is for physicians to tell pati…
Jun/05/2017
A recent — and unfortunate — trend in Christian culture is the growth of the “dones.” These are Christians who at one time were active in the church but, for a variety of reasons, have washed their hands of religious institutions. (See Josh…
May/22/2017
I recall a conversation with a friend recently (hardly the first of its kind and one I am betting many of you have also experienced). A generalized version went something like this:
Him: Well, I believe that … (some long and complicated de…
May/15/2017
Throughout its short history, The United Methodist Church has worked ingeniously to sideline its own doctrinal commitments to a third-order theory of knowledge (a.k.a., “the Quadrilateral”). We have forgotten what binds us to other Christia…
May/10/2017
What follows is not a radical proposal. I am confident that Mr. Wesley, let alone Jesus, considers that it does not go far enough, but it is a start. The proposal is not original with me. It comes from A. Q. Smith in the March 30, 2017, edi…
May/08/2017
Fourteen years ago, my family and I planted a United Methodist congregation in Evans, Georgia. We were what is called in church-planting circles a “parachute drop,” as we had no preexisting relationships in the community heading into this v…
Apr/26/2017
The Bible is an invitation to experience liberation from all the powers that bind us. What if the goal of spirituality is to free us to live fully as the people we were created to be?
One of the core confessions in Scripture is the Shema…
Apr/24/2017
Homosexuality is a volatile topic to write on, and I never dreamed of becoming somewhat of an expert on it. (Expert is too bold, actually. Let’s just say student.) And yet — here I stand. Another Christian theologian trying to make sense of…
Apr/19/2017
In his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle offers a common-sense critique of Plato’s idea of The Good. The Good, for Plato, is the form that unites all other forms or ideals. Because the philosopher king knows The Good, he or she is able to unite…
Apr/17/2017
This contribution to the series on building a biblical library begins with suggestions on books that are helpful for honing one’s hermeneutic for studying the Minor Prophets/Book of the Twelve, before turning to a review of recent commentar…
Apr/12/2017
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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…
"The John Wesley Fellowship provides not only financial support, it is an extraordinary community of Christian scholars — and friends."