Revitalize Your Church

A great post by David Mathis at Desiring God: The Baby in My Womb Leaped for Joy : Luke uses the word "baby" to denote not only the post-born Jesus in the manger (2:16) but also the preborn John in the womb ( Luke 1:41 , 44 ). Luke also notes that the preborn John was "filled with the Holy Spirit," a reality which the Bible only ascribes to persons. The assumption is that the baby in the womb is a person. And the implication is that human life in the womb should be protected.

I've just finished reading a powerful, missional book by Joseph D'Souza and Benedict Rogers, called On the Side of the Angels. It is a plea for Christians to become advocates for human rights and justice. These, they argue, are central to Kingdom mission, and not secondary activities. Interestingly, although neither author is Wesleyan, they refer to the Wesleyan Methodists of 1843, who gave themselves to the abolition of slavery and women's rights. On the Side of the Angels stretched me out of my comfort zone. I disagree with a few of their points, but the general theme is an important correction to the evangelical church. Purchase Here Reading this book, I recalled these words of John Wesley: "The Gospel of Christ knows of no religion, but social; no holiness but social holiness. 'Faith working by love' is the length and breadth and depth and height of Christian perfection." Along the same line, here's an interesting article by Keith Drury: The Holin...