October 2012

Q&A: What is it like to minister in Europe?

Q: How does the church minister in post-Christian Europe?

A: That is a big question. If you asked a hundred people in Europe, you probably would get two hundred different answers. One problem in the mainline churches in Europe is that over the centuries, Christianity, which was meant to be a movement, has become institutionally encapsulated.

Tell the Kids I Love Them

I can't juggle. I don't do magic. I'm not good at puppets. I can't even make a decent balloon animal. But believe it or not, I am a Nazarene children's pastor! I did not enter seminary to prepare to be a children's pastor. Ministering to children and their families is something that God brought into my life. And I am forever thankful.

Changing Minds and Hearts

Althea C. Taylor was born in New Rochelle, New York, and grew up in the Bronx, one of the five boroughs comprising New York City. Raised in the Church of the Nazarene, she is the youngest of three sisters. In 1999, she left the corporate world to pursue full-time ministry and ordination. Prior to her current role as coordinator for Nazarene Compassionate Ministries (NCM) USA/Canada, she served as associate pastor of Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene. In late 2012 she is leaving the NCM assignment and returning to Bronx Bethany to serve as the executive pastor.

Q&A: Dealing with an Affair

Q: Once it is discovered that someone in the church, clergy or lay, has had an extramarital affair, how can we balance grace and forgiveness with proper discipline and rebuke?

Lessons in a Barbershop

As I entered a barbershop that was new to me, a bench in the waiting area caught my attention. It was a church pew! The beautiful crosses carved on the ends of the pew made me wonder, "What is this doing here?" I have heard about church services being held in barbershops, and I wished I could have been walking into one of those that day.

God's Tender Mercy

At two, Lucca was a happy and bright little boy. I kept him on Fridays and nicknamed him, "Sweetness."

But then came the headaches, screaming headaches, and problems with balance, speech, and breathing. The problem was diagnosed as Chiari malformation, a condition in which the brain grows faster than the skull. Lacking room, Lucca's brain was growing down the back of his neck. Within weeks he could be dead.

A Dead Silence

Looking to the ground, his face is engulfed with hands searching to cover up feelings of shame and regret. Her back to him, her eyes are gazing toward the window, fighting back tears of betrayal. A dead silence exists between the couple. A silence that reflects the magnitude of a self-disclosure that could alter their relationship forever.