June 2013

Stan Toler: Pastor, leader, friend

Any tribute to Stan Toler would do well to begin with a quote from one of his many books that have challenged, inspired, and encouraged thousands. Here is one of my favorites, from God's Never Failed Me Yet:

'When you are sure of God's calling and you are obedient, it's reassuring. My value, my self-esteem, and my happiness are all found with my being in God's place.' (152)

Jesse Middendorf, a Pastor's Heart

I appreciate preachers who don't waste my time. Plenty have. But not Jesse Middendorf. His sermons were not shallow, risible, or cute. He did not traffic in the spit-shined 12-minute sermon, or the hour-long, power-pointed meandering of some 'teaching pastors.'

Thank God for Our Families

In late 1975, then General Superintendent Eugene Stowe came to visit the new work of the Church of the Nazarene in the Dominican Republic. His wife, Faye, invited my 25-year-old wife, Toni, to join her for breakfast.

Arlindo Mondlane: Committed Disciple

Arlindo Mondlane is bi-vocational pastor of the Vinte Cinco de Junho (the 25th of June) Church of the Nazarene on the Maputo Mozambique District of the Church of the Nazarene. June 25th is a national holiday/independence day for Mozambique. His other jobs include work in the field of telecommunications. He and his wife, Juvenalia, have two girls and a boy: Helena, Virginia, and Diamante.

Where were you born?
In the southern part of Mozambique in Tavane. It used to be a Nazarene mission| now it is a village.

Stepping Forward with a Holy Message

The challenges facing the Christian church never end. Many years ago, my grandfather, Harry J. Felter, pastored the Church of the Nazarene in Dover, New Jersey. At that time, Dover was as far as one could go riding the train that took you into New York City (NYC). There might have been points further west that were served by other transportation systems, but the train into NYC began and ended in Dover.