Dr. David Drury |
August 15, 2019 |
Blog Thrive in 5
Challenging My Ministry Mind As a pastor, you know the importance of continuing to learn and grow in your leadership. Our world is changing fast, and we need to challenge our thinking and keep it sharp. In this “Thrive in Five,” David Drury, pastor and chief of staff...
Jennifer Richardson |
August 14, 2019 |
Pastor Spouse Connection
Today is my fifteenth anniversary. And instead of cruising through a blue Caribbean sea, or driving through the sparkle of big city lights, we are spending it staying still. Living with my parents. Almost all of our worldly possessions are in a storage unit ten...
Jerolyn Bogear |
August 1, 2019 |
Blog Emotionally Healthy Leader Thriving Clergy
Tom, a local church pastor, was struggling with how to lead his board well. He would present his vision and some ideas, but they never seemed to take ownership and join Tom on the journey to reach those goals. He’d tried several different approaches, but now he felt...
Jessica White |
July 29, 2019 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development
When asked to sum up his goal as a professor at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Mark Shannon, assistant professor of leadership and management, simply said, “My goal is to help all my ‘Sams.’” That answer necessitated the follow-up question of, “Who is Sam?” Sam is the...
Sarah Linder |
July 29, 2019 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development
Brian Webb, sustainability coordinator at Houghton College, wants “to leave the world a better place.” Webb’s responsibilities as sustainability coordinator include student engagement with events, meetings and seminars that focus on campus energy use and how to...
Jessica White |
July 19, 2019 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development
SWU University Singers witness 18,000+ military persons make commitments to Christ “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus...
Jessica White |
July 18, 2019 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development
Rev. Dr. Lenny Luchetti came to Wesley Seminary as a full-time faculty member in 2009, the seminary’s first year of existence. Currently, he is responsible for the development and teaching of the doctoral and masters level preaching courses offered by the seminary....
Sarah Linder |
July 18, 2019 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development
As an assistant professor of religion at Southern Wesleyan University (SWU), Andrea Summers walks a delicate balance of supporting and challenging each student who enters her classroom. Summers enjoys teaching students and having informed dialogue. But her favorite...
Jessica White |
July 18, 2019 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development
Once per year, College Wesleyan Church in Marion, Indiana, celebrates World Communion Sunday by inviting congregants from a variety of cultural backgrounds to serve communion in their native languages. Nuk Kongkaw attends College Wesleyan and over the past few years...
Jessica White |
July 18, 2019 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development Featured Blog
For Elyse Garverick, “family” always included her church family. Growing up as a pastor’s kid at Northridge Wesleyan Church in Dayton, Ohio, church was home and the congregation was family. Now as an adult, Garverick has again found her family at church. “Growing up...
Dr. Virginia Holeman |
July 2, 2019 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development Thrive in 5 Thriving Clergy
Self-justification Do you own a yahbut? No, this is not a new designer-dog breed. It is a common mutt. Self-justification is a common human tendency. Psychology refers to the “yahbut” as self-justification. Think: “Yeah, but...
Dr. Toddy Holeman |
June 18, 2019 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development Thrive in 5
Contempt is the corrosive acid in any relationship. Relationship experts, John and Julie Gottman, define contempt as verbal (e.g., name calling) and non-verbal communication (e.g., rolling your eyes at something your conversation partner says) that says, “You...
Jessica White |
June 17, 2019 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development
Americans are ranked as the loneliest people in the world. National surveys show the United States is in a loneliness epidemic. Despite being more connected through the internet, cell phones and social networking, loneliness is a real problem that can foster...
Linda Gist |
June 6, 2019 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development Thrive in 5
Thrive in 5 – Spiritual “What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us … Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, ‘What comes into your mind when you think about God?’ we might predict with...
Sarah Linder |
June 4, 2019 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development
“Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) has been my spiritual and intellectual home,” said Cassie Olson, a new IWU philosophy and theology graduate. Olson was introduced to IWU by a spiritual mentor who saw potential in her and began helping her prepare for college. Olson...
Jessica Sheets |
May 29, 2019 |
Pastor Spouse Connection
“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: “What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” ~ C. S. Lewis I am an extrovert. I like being around people and I thrive on conversations. I’ve been accused of smiling too much and,...
Marietta Williams |
May 29, 2019 |
Pastor Spouse Connection
Imagine an ultrasound picture of a precious baby. Or better yet, imagine holding that child in your hand while reading this Psalm (139): 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and...
Sarah Linder |
May 29, 2019 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development
Photo credit: Bailey Karfelt, Houghton class of 2012 A textbook introvert who likes to throw out the textbook every once in a while just to see what happens, Laura grew up in Buffalo, New York, where she learned valuable life skills like how to clear a snowy driveway...
David B. Lewis |
May 22, 2019 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development Thrive in 5
Developing an Exercise Routine (Part 2) Faith persists: “Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him” (Colossians 2:6). Christian faith has a “starting point” along with the admonition to “continue in the faith.” Applying this...
Gabriela Garver |
May 16, 2019 |
Blog Education & Clergy Development
When Amy Spaugh and her husband, James, came to Bagley Swamp Wesleyan Church in the small town of Hertsford, North Carolina, Spaugh didn’t put curtains up in the parsonage, fairly certain that as a young pastor’s family, they wouldn’t stay at the congregation long....
Shannon Bradford |
May 14, 2019 |
Pastor Spouse Connection
I never dreamed of being a pastor’s wife. Never did a thought enter my mind that it would be a possibility for me. In fact, when a friend wanted to introduce me to my future husband, I told her no because the thought of dating a pastor was so odd to me. Well, here I...
Dr. David Higle |
May 7, 2019 |
Blog Thrive in 5
Leadership that is Christian Henri Nouwen challenges us to remember that all leadership that is Christian must be grounded in the greater reality of God’s love. Nouwen provides important ballast to Wesleyan ministry leaders since, according to the latest research...
Dr. Virginia Holeman |
April 17, 2019 |
Blog Thrive in 5
Peacefulness through Prayer May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord. Psalm 104:34 This Lent I (Dr. Toddy Holeman) committed to engage in 20 minutes of centering prayer every day until Easter. Centering...
Jessica White |
April 11, 2019 |
Blog Colleges Education & Clergy Development Featured Blog News
In its first year, Southern Wesleyan University’s (SWU) online doctorate program in curriculum and assessment has 37 students enrolled. The faculty at SWU is excited about how well the program has taken off and looks forward to positive outcomes as it progresses. Many...
