Catalyst Publications
Publications by Category
Unite the pair so long disjoin’d
Knowledge and vital Piety:
Learning and Holiness combined,
And Truth and Love, let all men see,
In those who up to Thee we give,
Thine, whole thine, to die and live.
We do not learn b…
Sep/12/2022
One of my most memorable teaching triumphs occurred in a course for United Methodist lay pastors (“local pastors”) about four years ago. The course was on the “Theological Heritage” of United Methodism, and in it, somehow, we were to cover …
Sep/05/2022
Theological education is demanding. It requires endless reading, memorization, absorbing information through lectures, writing, dialogue, and more. Students today usually balance academic work with jobs, family commitments, and church respo…
Aug/15/2022
“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask …
Aug/08/2022
There’s an undercurrent in North American Christianity that says the Christian life is a good one, that God protects us and gives us all good things and keeps us well. That’s all true, but only when we understand that God is, and sets the d…
Aug/01/2022
I recently attended a Sunday morning worship service at a non-United Methodist congregation. To my surprise, the opening hymn was Charles Wesley’s “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing.” As we began to sing, however, I quickly recognized differ…
Jul/18/2022
Things were not as they should have been. The air conditioning unit normally cooling the children’s worship space was not working. Without some fast, ingenious thinking, conditions would be miserable for all its occupants. Doors were proppe…
Jul/11/2022
“What’s your beast?” I paused after reading that question in the conclusion of a paper I was grading. My student had written a thoughtful analysis of Rev 13:1–10, but I was confused by the query. Specifically, I was thrown by the reduction …
Jun/20/2022
Many of us continue to deal with the effects of the pandemic in our schools, communities, and churches. No matter the location or size of the church, one universal and lingering effect of the post-pandemic reality is that church attendance …
Jun/13/2022
Dear Students,
Lately, a lot of you have brought questions to me. Hard questions. Questions born of your hard experiences, often in the church. I hear you. You’ve been told you’re not allowed to be in the church or you’ve watch…
Jun/06/2022
I’ve been a fan of Star Wars since its beginning. I’m enough of a fan to know my depth of knowledge, nuanced understanding, and level of involvement are considered casual (at best) in the scheme of things. I’ve never been to a Star Wars Cel…
May/16/2022
As of May 1, the largest body of Methodists in the world has split, officially, into The United Methodist Church (UMC) and the Global Methodist Church (GMC), formalizing divisions that had until now been contained, mostly, within United Met…
May/09/2022
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News & Events
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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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John Wesley Fellows and Friends of AFTE, We look forward to you joining us Thursday-Sunday, December 10-13,…
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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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