"I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it" (1 Corinthians 11:18). Paul's first letter to the Corinthians gives the distinct impression that leaders and laity in the church of Corinth didn't like each other. You almost get the sense that Paul's not sure he likes them either.

What is the secret to unleashing the full potential of the church? How do we call forth a congregation's full measure of creativity and love so we can fulfill the Great Commission in our communities? The answer begins with the leadership team. Today's most effective churches are those developing team-based leadership. Leadership is a function, not a position. That function is much larger than any single person.

Through most of his life, Samuel Carl Winston Vassel knew little of the cityscapes of New York. Born and raised in Jamaica, Vassel is the son of Christian ministers. Both his father and mother were clergy in the Caribbean holiness movement, pastoring congregations in Jamaica. Vassal followed in his parents' footsteps.

Nothing detracts more from the radiance of true Christian holiness than the judgmental spirit of legalism. Legality, the condition of conforming to law, is desirable. "Legalism," however, is a dependence on keeping law as the means of salvation. It is an excessive bondage to the letter of the law, which overlooks the law's purpose and fails to be motivated by love.

This is a poor substitute for genuine Christian faith.

Nina Gunter, general director of Nazarene Missions International (NMI) shares with Holiness Today readers about her passion for missions and how the church around the world can work together for the cause of global evangelization.

Q. We are looking towards the Thanksgiving Offering for the World Evangelism Fund (WEF). Why is this important to the life of the church?

“Institutions are the lengthened shadows of great men and women” (adapted from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay, Self-Reliance). Bertha Munro (1884-1974) was the great woman who cast just such a shadow and Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Massachusetts was, and is, the institution. She was a Christian higher education administrator, writer, speaker, and lay theologian, as well as a beloved professor, a dominant academic voice, and a driving force in the liberal arts tradition.

Q: Is there a "Christian" way to think about, and use, power and authority?

On Sunday, April 13, 2008, the Peniel Church of the Nazarene in Greenville, Texas, celebrated its 100th anniversary. This church was organized in April 1908, six months before the merger in Pilot Point, Texas, which marked the beginning of the Church of the Nazarene 100 years ago. The Peniel church has averaged less than 100 in attendance throughout its history.

"If I really connect, I bet I could hit the ball into the ocean."

When I was a child, many things frightened me: junkyard dogs, lurking shadows in my bedroom at night, and most of all, big bullies. Those threatening guys at Walthall Elementary School, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, stalked me and made my life miserable. Evidently my experience is not isolated.