Gabriela Garver |
February 15, 2019 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development
Winsome. That’s the first word Grant Wood’s professor Rev. Mark Wilson chose to describe the Southern Wesleyan University (SWU) graduate. When I asked Wood, who is now working as a resident pastor, what he thinks his peers remember him for most, he said: a sense of...
Jessica White |
February 13, 2019 |
Blog Colleges Education & Clergy Development News
“We want to blow the doors off Kingswood Extended, so everyone understands, this could be for you if you want to be an effective lay leader in your church,” said Andrea Gunter, director of Kingswood Extended. Are you a pastor who would benefit from pursuing higher...
David B. Lewis |
February 12, 2019 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development Thrive in 5 Thriving Clergy
Thrive in 5 – Physical Developing an Exercise Routine – Part One Faith is active – it is demonstrated by what we do. As the Scriptures declare: “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17). Applying this spiritual principle to our...
Dr. David Higle |
February 4, 2019 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development Thrive in 5 Thriving Clergy
The Emotionally Healthy Leader As a pastor, you know that leadership is much more than knowing solid management techniques or creating and casting vision. First and foremost, you lead out of who you are. Who you are will manifest itself in how you lead others. The...
Dave Higle |
December 17, 2018 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development Reclaim Sabbath
Throughout 2018, Wesleyan clergy encouraged each other to “Reclaim Sabbath” by coming to a full stop every seven days in order to recognize that our ultimate center is God. Not our work, or our pedigree, or our ministry, but God himself. Henri Nouwen encourages us to...
Jessica White |
December 14, 2018 |
Blog Collegate & Student Education & Clergy Development
Travis Trotman’s journey to Houghton College was across several thousand miles and a stark climate contrast – from the Caribbean island of Barbados. Trotman arrived at Houghton focused on studying music and communications, but his goals for higher education began to...
Gabriela Garver |
December 14, 2018 |
Blog Collegate & Student Education & Clergy Development
Michaela Wickham was in her second year at Southern Wesleyan University (SWU) when she had to miss the division of religion’s annual weekend retreat. The reason was poignant: her parents were getting divorced. Wickham went home to Columbia, South Carolina, to be with...
Dr. Virginia Holeman |
November 27, 2018 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development Thrive in 5 Thriving Clergy
If you have read A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh, are you an Eeyore or a Tigger? “Eeyores” are your typical pessimists. Life is one disappointment after another. Positive things are never as good as imagined. Neutral things are worse than expected. Negative things are...
Sarah Dougan |
November 19, 2018 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development
La imagen en Apocalipsis 7: 9 de una gran multitud de todas las naciones, tribus y personas inspira la pasión del reverendo Rodrigo Azofeifa por la adoración inclusiva. Azofeifa es un padre, esposo, maestro y pastor de Real Connection Church, una iglesia wesleyana...
Sarah Dougan |
November 19, 2018 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development
The image in Revelation 7:9 of a great multitude from every nation, tribe and people inspires Rev. Rodrigo Azofeifa’s passion for inclusive worship. Azofeifa is a father, husband, teacher and head pastor at Real Connection Church, a Wesleyan church formed from two...
David B. Lewis |
October 31, 2018 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development Thrive in 5 Thriving Clergy
Everyone who is interested in living a healthy lifestyle requires physical activity. Regular exercise should include three basic categories: cardio, resistance (weight training) and flexibility. When these activities are implemented into a regular lifestyle routine...
Linda Gist |
October 18, 2018 |
Education & Clergy Development Thrive in 5 Thriving Clergy
Thrive in 5 – Spiritual Christianity strongly affirms the glorious truth that the Christian God is a triune God. What we believe about this triune God will fundamentally affect how we relate to him and how we live out our Christian lives. Linda Gist (see...
Dr. Virginia Holeman |
September 13, 2018 |
Education & Clergy Development Thrive in 5 Thriving Clergy
What is a secret to strong relationships? In his book “The Relationship Cure,” relational researcher, John Gottman, suggests that we should be on the lookout for “bids for connection” and turn toward these bids whenever we can. What is a bid for connection? A...
Jessica White |
August 2, 2018 |
Thriving Clergy
Stepping out of college and into the world of ministry can be a daunting prospect. After graduation, young ministers often feel unsure of how to use their education and apply it in the “real world.” Rev. Miles Welch—executive director of leadership initiatives...
Dr. Virginia Holeman |
July 31, 2018 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development Thrive in 5 Thriving Clergy
Anxiety Have you noticed how often Scripture tells us to not fear or be anxious? This command makes sense when we are in the presence of divine visitations. However, you may find it more challenging to “fear not” in the presence of your daily struggles or an...
Larry Moore |
July 31, 2018 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development Thrive in 5 Thriving Clergy
The Importance of Saving Money Saving money is an important part of your personal financial journey. In John Wesley’s message on money, his three main points were earn all you can, save all you can and give all you can. Unfortunately, many people are not saving these...
Chris Atkins |
June 20, 2018 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development Thrive in 5 Thriving Clergy
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies” (the Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). God has created human...
Dr. Virginia Holeman |
June 6, 2018 |
Education & Clergy Development Thrive in 5 Thriving Clergy
Neuroscientists affirm that we are “wired for connection” from birth. Infant brains develop best when caretakers are in sync—attuned—with babies’ physical, emotional, and relational needs. Obviously, no caretaker is in sync 100 percent of the time; caregivers provide...
Dave Higle |
May 23, 2018 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development Thrive in 5 Thriving Clergy
“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.” –Galileo Maintaining intellectual health is often a neglected part of pastoral well-being. Yet, Jesus included loving...
Emily Hines |
May 14, 2018 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development
Light energy, water, chloroplasts, and time – these are the inner workings of cells that cause most plant life to grow, from the grass in North American backyards to the amazing rainforests of the Amazon. So, too, are there inner workings of a call to ministry; a...
Dr. Virginia Holeman |
May 9, 2018 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development Thrive in 5 Thriving Clergy
How do you feel about the person you are with when you are all alone? This is when your capacity for self-loathing or self-liking reveals itself. The odds are good that you may experience either attitude about your “self” at one time or another. As a pastor,...
Bob Haymond |
April 24, 2018 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development Thrive in 5 Thriving Clergy
One of the hardest things for some pastors to think about is preparing for retirement. There are so many aspects to think about, it can boggle the mind. Yet, it is one of the most important life events many of us will ever experience from both a personal and...
Joel Liechty |
April 13, 2018 |
Blog Collegate & Student Education & Clergy Development
FLAME–a program that provides brings ministry training to lay and clergy–will become a program of Kingswood Extended. Kingswood Extended provides local churches and districts new ways to provide discipleship and ministry preparation, extending the ministry...
Dave Higle |
April 10, 2018 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development Thrive in 5 Thriving Clergy
As Wesleyan pastors, we all know the scriptural truth that loving God and loving others is the central hallmark of the Christian spiritual life. But do we truly embrace this as the ultimate outcome of what it means to be Spirit-filled? As David Benner states,...
