Heart Strangely Warmed

Today is May 24,

and marks the birth of a movement.

On this day in 1738, John Wesley had his famous 'Aldersgate Experience.'

He was never the same.

And neither was the world.

the golden sessions

My brother Josh is graduating from Asbury this week. Over the last three years, we have had the honor and pleasure of sharing this seminary experience with each other. Who gets to do that? Who gets to walk through seminary with his brother? I am humbled by the privilege.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about friendship and brotherhood. I have been blessed in my life, with brothers that are my best friends, and friends that are like brothers. They are sure signs and symbols of God’s grace in my life. And I am deeply thankful. CS Lewis said it right (imagine that) in his rich work, The Four Loves:

“…each member of the circle feels, in his secret heart, humbled before all the rest. Sometimes he wonders what he is doing there among his betters. He is lucky beyond desert to be in such company. Especially when the whole group is together, each bringing out all that is best, wisest, or funniest in all the others. Those are the golden sessions; when four or five of us after a hard day’s walking have come to our inn; our feet spread out towards the blaze and our drinks at our elbows; when the whole world, and something beyond the world, opens itself to our minds as we talk. Life- natural life- has no better gift to give. Who could have deserved it?”

Embrace Souix Falls

As graduation nears, there is another group of men and women stepping out to serve the Lord as teachers, preachers and evangelists. We just want to give a little shout out to one of our friends, Adam Weber. He and his wife are leaving this month for Sioux Falls, SD where they will be planting a new church called EMBRACE. Check out their website - www.embracesiouxfalls.com

What makes a Christian???

While thinking the other day about life, death, and how to avoid hitting that stupid little dog with my mower. I got to thinking...What makes a Christian today? It seems that at one time a Christian could be defined, but in this world of relativism and psychobabble is it as clear cut? There are scriptures that refer to works...scriptures that refer to relationship...some justice...some mercy. Is it really as simply as rote praying a prayer from a 30 page book when your 8 and then living as if it never happened? Or, is it possible that if you love mercy and justice yet have never "accepted" Jesus that you are not a Christian?

also...

What happened to Hell?

Growing up in a charismatic AG church I heard the, "what happened if you died today" sermon every Sunday...do you know, know, know that you would not go to Hell? I am not trying to affirm or deny the validity of this type of sermon, but I must ask the question. What happened to preaching/teaching that there is a Hell?

I cannot remember the last preacher that mentioned that the road to Heaven is narrow and the road to Hell is wide and that we are not all going to go to Heaven.

and just for fun...

Who wants to join my Osteenist denomination?

No, seriously...I would like to hear what y'all think about the next 500 years. If you consider the last 500 years of Theologians there are many that come to mind. Are there any theologians, preachers, philosophers that are alive today that will be referenced at Seminaries in 2507?

Just in case you haven't seen it yet...

One of our very own (not mentioning any names) is featured in this video below. This is his youtube debut! If you laugh be sure to give it a good rating!...and oh yes, you will laugh :)


If you didn't catch the lyrics to this deeply moving song, click here and drag down to reveal them:
"Come life, shaker life, come life eternal , shake shake out of me all that is carnal"

A new little girl in the world!

We just want to celebrate the birth of a special little girl! Ava Ruth is the newest addition to the Summers family and our small group. She was born yesterday afternoon.

Just thinking about the gift of life, isn't it amazing that this tiny little baby is so close to the heart of God??? If she could only speak :) Praise God for this child... Congratulations Jeremy and Andrea...And, welcome to the world Ava Ruth!

Shared Ordeal

If you're reading this, hopefully you've already checked out the video. If you haven't seen it yet, go ahead a click play, you are sure to have some laughs and probably some second thoughts about what we're learning in seminary.

Really though, one of the key things that we've learned is the impact a shared experience has on a group. Having that common ground to learn about each other and to draw from creates a bond within the group, a bond that is lasting. As a group we have decided to be intentional about these shared experiences. In fact, we've decided to take it to another level and make it, well, an ordeal. Our goal and plan is to have at least one intentional shared ordeal per semester.

This semester is what you saw there in the video. Our wives took us out to a location in Jessamine County unknown to us, and we had to find our way back to Wilmore. Last semester we had a little overnight outing. If you want to know more about that, just ask one of us about the "Pioneer Playhouse." From these two "ordeals" (and they were ordeals) we have memories to laugh about and draw from in discussion.

While some may see these experiences as more of a "shared agony", we have grown together and are becoming more prepared for the real life, unintentional ordeals. If you would like to know more about shared ordeals, or your small group is interested in doing one, feel free to email us for some ideas or to share your stories.