Welcome

Grace and peace to you, in the name of God the Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

On behalf of the Board of General Superintendents (BGS), I officially welcome everyone to the 95th General Board, Church of the Nazarene — the first of four Sessions to be held between now and the 2021 General Assembly in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

Of 53 General Board members, 35 are new this term. Each member carries a personal responsibility for engaging in the governing process in the following ways:

A book I read in graduate school revolutionized my understanding of work. Max Weber, a German sociologist and economist of the early 20th century, wrote a series of essays in 1904-05 that later became his famous book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Sociologists regard it as one of the most important books of the 20th century.

“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’”—Mark 16:15

I often have conversations with followers of Jesus Christ who tell me that it’s difficult for them to connect with people who don’t know the Lord. Their lives have become insulated by the church and Christian friends. While this is not necessarily bad, it becomes a challenge when we grapple with Christ’s commission to “go and make disciples” (Matt. 28:19).

“We believe in the resurrection of the body.” This has been the key Christian confession from the very beginning. The resurrection of Jesus changed everything.

The first disciples transitioned from hiding due to fear of death to boldly proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, whom they had encountered after He rose from the dead. Very few Old Testament passages seem to say anything hopeful or positive about death. Yet, the smaller New Testament does not shy away from speaking of death as a defeated foe because of the hope that Christ’s resurrection brings.

Holiness Today (HT) sat down with Pastors Chuck Sunberg and Cara Shonamon, a father-daughter team serving as co-pastors of the Shawnee Church of the Nazarene in Kansas, USA.

HT:  Chuck, I’ll start with you. Tell us briefly about your call to ministry and particularly about raising your family in the pastorate and on the mission field.

Every year, local Nazarene churches report annual statistics to their districts and to the Global Ministry Center. Along with discipleship activity, membership changes, and financial information, each church reports on two of the major symbols of resurrection: number of conversions and number of baptisms.

Q: It is my understanding that the Church started at Pentecost, but Christians were first called “Christians” at Antioch, according to the Book of Acts. Why is that?

At any given moment in North America, just the click of a button can flood the senses with what advertisers produce every day to make millions of dollars: commercials. 

Easter Sunday is widely celebrated. In fact, it is one of the highest attended church services of the calendar year. Easter Sunday is a day when all Christians gather to celebrate the gift of salvation in our resurrected Lord. However, the Lenten season that leads up to this day can be overlooked and under appreciated.