FEATURES
- “Our Story Tells Us Who We Are,” by Dan Boone. The Church of the Nazarene celebrates a grand story: We are recipients of new hearts. We are heirs with the resurrected Jesus. We are the Body of Christ, the Church empowered by the Spirit of God. And we are radically optimistic about our future.
- “Entire Sanctification: No Apologies,” by Philip R. Hamner. While sanctification is sometimes called our “cardinal doctrine,” the Church of the Nazarene certainly did not invent it. Indeed, holiness is not an “add-on” to our doctrine. It is God’s plan from the beginning and is woven into nearly every page of His Story.
- “A Holy Church,” by Jeren Rowell. Though we speak of holiness mostly in terms of personal piety, there is a corporate quality to sanctification as well. The Christian life is at its heart a community life. Nazarenes practice a belief in the New Testament vision of holiness that finds its full meaning as sanctified persons within a sanctified church.
- “The Grand Plan,” by H. David McKellips. Nazarenes believe that God’s grand plan includes both the transforming moments of conversion and sanctification and the transforming journey that begins in these crisis experiences. We dare not neglect either.
COLUMNS
- Essay:“Cardiosclerosis,” by Jeff Crosno. What happens around me may seem overwhelming at times, but my heart is still paying attention to it all. And in that, there is real hope.
- Editor' Forum: This month’s forum addresses numerous questions about sanctification.
- In the Mirror:“Not Just Another Roadside Attraction,”
by Chonda Pierce. Then we saw it. There in the heat, there in the dirt, it towered over us, at least 15 feet tall.
- Passport:“A Missionary to Missionaries,”
by Carmen J. Ringhiser. Seldom does one hear about the paperwork and the enormous effort involved in supporting missionaries and mission fields. So the story of Patti Reynolds is unique.
- Portraits:“Dana Vallangeon: When Lower Lights Are Brightest,”
by Dean Nelson.“Every time I have said, ‘If things continue like this, we’ll have to forget it,’ God has opened another door.”
- The Deeper Way:“Words That Count,”
by Janine Metcalf. Our choice and delivery of words can build or destroy, clarify or confuse, honor or mock the God who gave us the gift of words in the first place.
- Family Tree:“A Serendipitous Journey,”
by Rick and Bonnie Ryding. Planning brings dreams to the level of possibility, but the best part is the serendipity that always happens on the road.
- Commission:“The Most Beautiful Thing in the World,”
by Jim L. Bond. As surely as God designed the flowers to beautify the earth physically, He created humankind to beautify the world spiritually through holy, righteous, godlike living!
- Metro: "The Beau and the Don,"
by Fletcher L. Tink. Two men, two cities, remind us that hedonism and holiness are in constant confrontation.
NEXT MONTH – The Occult
- “The Stealthy Invader,” by Jon Johnston. Occultism used to be limited to the poor, uneducated, idle rich, or religious zealots. But today it is decidedly mainstream. What has led to this widespread acceptance? And how can we spiritually cope with the weapons of the occult?
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