Catalyst Publications
Publications by Category
A vegan, an atheist, and a cross-fitter walked into a bar. We know this because they each announced it to everyone in the bar within two minutes of entering.
Virtue-signaling, such as we find in this joke, is certainly not a new phenomen…
May/04/2022
When efforts to reform one’s church fail, is separation a prudent choice? Or is it better to spare the church yet another division and do one’s best to worship and live faithfully as a diehard reformer within a broken or corrupted ecclesias…
May/02/2022
Years ago, in the New Testament postgraduate seminar at the University of Aberdeen, we took a break from our usual diet of engaging each other’s papers and guest presentations in order to read through Romans together. The late I. Howard Mar…
Apr/25/2022
“What if evangelism is one of the things that our world needs most?” Brian McLaren’s penetrating question offers an apt avenue to launch this essay. His question takes us on a different tack from most essays and books on evangelism, particu…
Apr/20/2022
In an earlier period of my life, I slogged through a master’s degree while working for a business in Midtown Atlanta. One day, I found myself idling in the city’s famously inert rush hour traffic, stressed because I still had schoolwork to …
Apr/18/2022
I had one opportunity to spend time one-on-one with the late James D. G. (“Jimmy”) Dunn. In that delightful time, we bonded over our love for the letters from Hebrews to Jude, and he shared that, for him, that love was born out of the fact …
Apr/13/2022
I don’t always have the best sense of direction. That’s one reason why I was particularly thankful when GPS systems became available for our cars. I no longer had to pull over to look at a map; rather, I could just obediently listen to the …
Apr/11/2022
In the previous Consider Wesley, we saw that John Wesley’s answer to why the Methodists, despite the advantages given them by their doctrine and discipline, are in spiritual decline. It was, he said, their failure to practice self-denial. B…
Apr/06/2022
Dearest students:
Your final reflections in History of Christianity 1 were rather discouraging to me. I loved hearing about all the things you learned and how inspiring St. Francis, the desert saints, and Julian of Norwich were…
Apr/04/2022
Drilling for oil in deep-sea conditions introduces some challenges, and not only because it’s a long way down from the ocean surface to the ocean floor. There’s also the problem of how to account for ocean waves strong enough to fracture an…
Mar/21/2022
O Lord, do not let my heart not be proud,
May my eyes not be haughty and look on others condescendingly
The timbre of his voice had a quiet confidence that made the words resonate in the heart as well as the ear. He spoke the opening word…
Mar/14/2022
You could almost hear the sighs of relief between the lines of handwringing op-eds in the buildup to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. For all the noise about the new threat and about the undoing of the world order, there was a palpable sense o…
Mar/07/2022
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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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