FEATURES
- "Is This Woman a Crusader?" by Jacque Cork. Broken and scarred by
her choice for an abortion, Dawn McClelland now works to spare other
women the pain that plagued her for years.
- "Hazlo Por Amor," by Abigail Stein. God's best surprises sometimes
come from unlikely sources when you hazlo por amor-do it for love.
- "Challenge: A Denominational Church," by Russell D. Bredholt Jr.
Nearly 100 years after its founding at Pilot Point, Texas, the Church
of the Nazarene now exists in a culture that continually questions
the purpose and usefulness of denominational structures. The final
installment in a series of articles on challenges facing the church
in the 21st century considers the productivity of this structure for
ministry into the next millennium.
- "Drawing Marys," by Doug Runyan. If we are children of our Heavenly
Father, should we not also resemble Him? We know many things about
Him because of our elder brother, Jesus Christ. When the same compassion
Jesus shows springs up spontaneously in us, then we are reassured
of our bloodline to the Father.
COLUMNS
- The Deeper Way: "Please, Let Me Do It," by Theodore P. Esselstyn.
I hadn't thought that the people of the poverty-stricken, violence-torn
land of Mozambique could teach me much, but I was the one who learned
what it means to be a Christian.
- Metro: "Who Needs Sugarplums?" by Fletcher L. Tink. That Christmas,
visions of sugarplums were supplanted by realities of faith, hospitality,
and friendship that will forever dance in our heads.
- Editor's Forum: This month's forum answers the question "What do
you do when your testimony falls on deaf ears with an unchurched,
unbelieving friend?"
- Footprints: "Johnny Hill Jernigan: Rocking the Cradle and the Boat,"
by Stan Ingersol. Her mission led her to the brothels, saloons, and
street corners where she bore witness to her faith and offered prostitutes
a way out.
- In the Mirror: "We're Barking to Zion!" by Mark Reighard. What if
a collection of hymns, anthems, and choruses just for dogs was created?
The volume could be titled Paws and Worship and include such songs
as "Joy Unbarkable," "Amazing Growl," and "He Has Made Me Wag!"
- Worldview: "Faith or Logic?" by Mario J. Zani. When all logic seemingly
fails, we hold on to our faith in an Eternal Father who invited us
to throw ourselves into His arms.
- Family Tree: "The Triple-Braided-Cord Principle," by Tom Barnard.
Just as it is hard for a braided cord to be broken, so it is difficult
for a few disgruntled persons to overcome the power of an equal number
of persons who are bound together in faith.
- Touching: "Is Life Really Fair?" by Hermann L. Gschwandtner. Who
cares about statistics when it is your home that has been washed away,
your livelihood that has been destroyed, your son or daughter who
is missing?
- Portraits: "Frank Hyson: A Ward of Grace," by Dean Nelson. "When
the Lord saved me, my past was gone. I no longer had anything to prove.
I was a new creature, not a 'state kid' or a stepchild. Instantly,
I was as good as anybody else."
- Heartbeat: "The Phone Rang," by Michael R. Estep. Our phone on Beech
Street became the earthly communication tool we used to share requests
so that supernatural communication -- which goes beyond the bounds
of any electronic device -- could take place about very critical needs.
- Essay: "Welcome, Christmas," by Karen Dean Fry. Welcome, Christmas
. . . to our neighborhood . . . to our congregation . . . to our home.
Light the way to the stables in our world where we can become incarnations
of your love.
- Commission: "Compassion -- The Jesus Way," by Jim L. Bond. We must
put flesh on compassion daily as a lifestyle. It is the Jesus way!
COMING IN JANUARY: CHRISTIANITY IN
THE WORKPLACE
- "Taking Salt to the Water Cooler," by Chip Ricks. The goal-driven,
survival-of-the-fittest work world is a foreign environment to the
Christian who must enter its realms regularly. Choices constantly
confront godly workers who face this tension created by earthly vs.
eternal perspectives. How can Christians reconcile their upward focus
with their daily grind?
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