COVER STORY

“The Pothole of Legalism: or ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Highway of Holiness’”
by Bud Reedy

If legalism is more than a gnat on the neck
of the church, perhaps it’s time for an uncomfortable but necessary self-examination. It starts with each individual.

Read this story now.

FEATURES

“Amazing Grace: The Cure for Self-Achieved Holiness”
by A. Brent Cobb
Never did words collide more violently than “self-achieved holiness.” The antidote to such heresy is God’s grace at work in us every moment.

“A Glorious Church?”
by Roderick T. Leupp
One traditional hymn about the Church seems to set the bar impossibly high. Can anyone in good conscience still sing, “’Tis a glorious Church, without spot or wrinkle”?

“Spiritual Simplicity”
by Victor M. Parachin

By cultivating spiritual simplicity, we will increasingly experience harmony and balance in daily living.

“Where Is the Lamb?”
by Stan Meek

The Lamb of God intends for us to be like Him. Are we exhibiting Lamblike characteristics of holiness, or are we imitating lions and wolves?

COLUMNS

Commission: “Perfect Love—Can It Be?”
by Jim L. Bond

The belief that we can experience and emanate pure, perfect love in all our relationships with God and others is the fountainhead of Wesleyan theology. The fiery crucible where this belief must be lived out is the church—the local body of believers.

The Deeper Way: “Behind Enemy Lines”
by Linda Seaman

How can we reveal the holiness of God through our lives if we are so uncomfortable and afraid in this evil world that we “circle the wagons”?

Essay: “And the First Will Be . . . First?”
by Gay L. Leonard

Competitive eating as a sport? Any more a paradox, I wonder, than competitive holiness?

Family Tree: “Thanks for the Memories”
by Les and Leslie Parrott

I like to think God smiles on this written collection of memories. It’s reminiscent of how He recorded His love for us in His Word.

Front Line: “The Real Middle East Peace Talks”
by Sherry Pinson

An intensely forthright witness for the Lord, Khalil Halaseh, pastor of Ashrafieh Church of the Nazarene in Amman, Jordan, is a visionary leader in a country he calls Christianity’s gateway into the Middle East.

Fruit of the Spirit: “Gentleness”
by Tim Green

Because gentleness is a response to aggressive opposition, it is the active attitude of calmness and peacefulness rather than a passive submissiveness.

Globally Speaking: “Hot or Cold: Which Will It Be?”
by Louie E. Bustle

Like the Ephesians, either we will be saturated with the power of God, or we will lose our own lampstand.

Metro: “The Message of the Malls”
by Fletcher L. Tink

Despite their excessive costs and sensory overload, what can malls tell us about how we ought to present the gospel?

Portraits: “Aaron Walling: Splash Zone”
by Dean Nelson

The symbolism of coming to a church for clean water is not lost on Aaron or on the people who stand in line.

COMING NEXT MONTH
POINT—COUNTERPOINT

“Capital Punishment: Right or Wrong?”

“Sometimes It’s Necessary”

by Joseph E. Coleson

Certain acts of murder and treason ought to be regarded as deserving capital punishment even in light of the Cross.

“We Never Have the Right”

by Stephen K. Shaw

The death penalty is a morally and theologically indefensible reflection of the law of revenge. To abolish capital punishment is to reaffirm the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the inherent sanctity and dignity of life in the image of God.