www.francisasburysociety.com Winter 2010 T H E High Calling A PUBLICATION OF THE FRANCIS ASBURY SOCIETY Tuurningrning PPointsoints

God’s Word is alive! We can claim His promises. We can survive and even thrive during the turning points in our lives. Inside this issue: ______oral Turning Points ...... 3 PPastoralast by Mark Royster s ip Through the Pit and Back Again ...... 4 Point LLeadershipeadersh by Lisa Friedeman Ausley Turning Making Disciples – More Than Sitting Around and Talking ...... 7 by Matt Friedeman

The Road Not Taken ...... 9 RRevivalevival by John Oswalt

Living for Stephen ...... 11 - TheThe by Jerry Forbes

Titus Discipleship Summit – Holy ...... 12 PPastor’sastor’s Hearts for the Next Generation A Continual “YES” ...... 13 RRoleole by Stephanie Hogan

Revival in Lauderdale ...... 14 by Roy Gamblin

Stuck in a Moment ...... 18 Recordings of the Cliffview 2009 Retreat by Brian McLaughlin Pastoral Leadership — Revival–The Pastor’s Role 9 Tape or CD Set; 9 Video or DVD Set Special Memories of Annie ...... 20 (individual messages may also be purchased) McDonell Mathews Session 1 ...... Dennis Kinlaw by A. L. “Buddy” Luce Biblical Roots of Revival (DK892/V581) FAS Now on Facebook ...... 22 Session 2 ...... Sam Kamaleson by Jim Harriman Pastor: The Man of Vision - Acts 26:19 (KA100/V582) FAS Upcoming Conferences ...... 24 Session 3 ...... Sam Kamaleson Congregation: The People of Vision - 1 Cor. 1:26-31 (KA101/V587) Session 4 ...... Mark Royster Kairos: The Stewardship of Readiness (MR113/V584) THE HIGH CALLING – WINTER 2010 Session 5 ...... John Hong Prayer in Revival (HO100/V585) The High Calling is published by The Francis Asbury Society, Inc., Wilmore, Kentucky. It serves as a link Session 6 ...... John Hong between FAS and its constituents and builds loyalty Stories of Revival (HO101/V586) and awareness of the Society so that the doctrine of Session 7 ...... Paul Blair Scriptural Holiness may be proclaimed throughout the world. The Francis Asbury’s sole purpose is to promote A Fire in the Pastor’s Belly (PB159/V583) the teaching and experience of Christian Holiness as it is Session 8 ...... Sam Kamaleson revealed in the inerrant Holy Scriptures. To accomplish Mission: The Servant Leader Within a Bureaucracy (KA102/V588) this purpose, it is committed to sponsoring itinerant ministry, conferences, publishing, and the education of Session 9 ...... Dennis Kinlaw Christian leaders. Your contributions fund the ministries The Mediational Role of the Pastor in Revival (DK893/V589) of the Society including the publishing of this magazine. Cover image istock.com

9 tape set $38.00; 9 CD set $50.00; 9 video (VHS) set $112.50; 9 DVD set $112.50 Individual messages — tapes $6.00 each; CDs $7.00 each; The Francis Asbury Society videos $12.50 each; DVDs $12.50 each P.O. Box 7, Wilmore, KY 40390 Order online at www.francisasburysociety.com under the link Phone: 859-858-4222 Fax: 859-858-4155 Retreats and Conferences, by email at [email protected], E-Mail: [email protected] or by phone at 859-858-4222. www.francisasburysociety.com ______2 The High Calling, a publication of The Francis Asbury Society - Winter 2010 Tuurningrning PointsPoints BY MARK ROYSTER

he theme of this issue of the High Calling is need Him the most? For every turning point we celebrate “Turning Points.” We have all had them—decisive there are also places where we wonder, “Lord, why didn’t Tmoments that signifi cantly change the direction of you stop me. Why wasn’t there are turning point at that our lives. juncture of my life?” During my second semester in seminary I went There is mystery here, for sure. But amid the to see Dr. Dennis Kinlaw. Convinced that I did not need unanswered questions there are ample assurances that to wade through two more years of theology in order to God does speak to His children and that He is active in the do some good for God, I told him that I just wanted go events of their lives: orchestrating, altering, redeeming, out and preach the “simple gospel.” He looked at me for a guiding, correcting, testing and building our faith and few seconds, raised his eyebrow, and said: “Mark, what is testimony. The larger question is this: Am I attentive to simple about the gospel?” Those seven words hit the bull’s His voice? Am I open to His leading? Am I ready for a eye of my youthful arrogance and changed the direction course alteration? Am I prepared to trust and honor Him of my life. There was nothing more to say. I left his offi ce when circumstances change, when doors close or open, humbled, yet encouraged. In that moment, in that haunting when the reasons aren’t clear? question, it seemed all other options vanished for me; I’ve The answer to these questions will not be decided been exploring the wonders and mystery of the gospel ever in the moment of crisis or encounter but in the months since. and years that go before, in the habits of mind and heart In the following pages you will read a collection that we have cultivated over time. We hope the stories of stories written by members of the FAS family. Each one collected here will become part of your preparation shows another aspect of what we might call the “grace of for whatever may lie ahead, as they describe God’s interruption.” Some are more dramatic than others, but faithfulness in the turning points of life. May they help us collectively they prove that we are all in this together. all to cultivate that continual yes to His guiding hand and In each one there are common themes illustrating the the deep trust that sings, consistent nature of our Heavenly Father. He is not content All the way my Savior leads me; to watch us head down the wrong road or walk past a great What have I to ask beside? blessing unaware. Can I doubt His tender mercy, The Holy Spirit is always active in these turning- Who through life has been my Guide? point moments. He prepares us in advance to receive them. Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort, Sometimes He allows us to make such messes that we are Here by faith in Him to dwell! fi nally ready to admit our need and accept His solution. For I know, whate’er befall me, Sometimes the process seems random or coincidental. Jesus doeth all things well; Sometimes there is no sign of a guiding or loving Hand. For I know, whate’er befall me, Sometimes all we see is the claw of the enemy. Often only Jesus doeth all things well. in distant retrospect do we see the redemption, and say with Joseph, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for A doctor’s error left Fanny Crosby blind at the age good.” of six weeks. Later, as an adult she said, “If per fect earth- Some people fi nd the idea of a God who breaks ly sight were of fered me to mor row I would not ac cept into human affairs offensive. What kind of God “tinkers” it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I with our lives and circumstances or alters our chosen had been dis tract ed by the beau ti ful and in ter est ing things direction? Or perhaps more troubling, what kind of God about me.” In her blindness she left us 8,000 hymns to the doesn’t “tinker” or intervene or interrupt when we seem to glory of the God of turning points. ______www.francisasburysociety.com 3 Through the Pit and Back Again BY LISA FRIEDEMAN AUSLEY

Who was it? It was God. He IS here and He DOES care!

xtravagant misery is taking your young child to the wardrobe into Narnia, but this Narnia was a total twenty-two doctors and fi nding they are as baffl ed nightmare, with no Aslan present….or so I thought. Eas you are about how to heal or even diagnose him. A few years ago we were stuck with a debilitating I began begging God and praying James 1:5 dozens crisis in the life of our twelve-year-old boy. Over two of times daily: “If any of you lacks wisdom he should years, we watched him deteriorate mentally, physically ask God who gives generously.” But it seemed that His and emotionally. Nothing in life had prepared me for the wisdom eluded me. After months of strain and numerous war zone that became my everyday existence. I feared efforts to prevent my child from taking his own life, my constantly for his life. I feared for our lives, too. own health began to plummet.

Psychotropic and antipsychotic medications became my Nightmares consumed my days and now my nights. best friends and worst enemies. No professional could Early one morning, after hours of fi tful restlessness, tell me a thing of value. I spent hours hovering over my I realized I had been weeping in my sleep. My liquid computer exploring on-line support groups in an effort to sorrow woke my husband. When he asked me why I was fi nd any clue that would help us get our son back. I read crying, all I could squeak out was, “You know.” Then it medical fi les and researched alternative methods and seemed that despair grabbed his ankles and jerked him earned my “Ph.D.” from Google. I became an “expert” in under as well. His voice joined mine in a pitiful chorus fi elds I never knew existed! It was like walking through of sobs as we clutched one another for strength.

______4 The High Calling, a publication of The Francis Asbury Society - Winter 2010 During a pause in our desperation, I pleaded, “Do you fl ipped one into my tape player. It was Dr. Dennis Kinlaw. think you are strong enough to say some kind of prayer?” I was transported into the middle of a sermon and the Clearing his voice and pulling himself together, he fi rst sentence I heard was: “I will restore the year of the demanded, “God, if you are even there and if you even locust.” Listening to the mellow, familiar voice of a dear care, we must hear from you TODAY!” mentor stating these precious words was balm to my soul. I listened to the rest of the sermon but those words from Simultaneously with his last word, the phone by our Joel 2:25 resonated in my mind for the next several days. bedside rang. Being a pastor and knowing that unexpected So, Joel’s words became my mantra along with James 1:5. calls at early hours were usually emergencies, he automatically picked up the phone. His voice still rather Now, four years later, that promise from Joel is coming shaky, he handed the receiver to me. I barely uttered, true. My research led us to a doctor in Baton Rouge “Hello.” who knew something about recovering autistic children. With her help, along with consultations with a pediatric The strong voice on the other end stated, “This is Bob. psychiatrist/nutritionist from California and a nutritionist/ I’m sorry to wake you, but I had to. I am at home praying biochemist from Maine, some of the issues began to and God told me to get up immediately and call you. dissipate. Somehow the techniques we learned applied He said to tell you he well to the weirdness we were IS here and he DOES experiencing. The protocol care!” was hard, challenging, costly and exhausting. But slowly Utterly stunned, I hung God knew our pain and and surely we were making up the phone. When progress and realized God was my husband asked me our sorrow. He didn’t fl ooding us with wisdom, His who it was, I truthfully wisdom. answered, “It was God.” remove it that day, Today, restoration is a reality In the half-century plus in our home. Our son is an that I’ve been alive, but He KNEW IT! 11th grader succeeding in our this has been the most collegiate high school. He’s remarkable, direct, That knowledge alone an organized, diligent, hard- immediate answer working, stable young man to prayer I’ve ever changed everything who needs no medication to experienced. Was my thrive. We’re headed out this son healed that day? No. for me. afternoon to Texas to visit a Did all pain and stress Christian tech school. We still evaporate? No. Did I struggle with a few bumps that regain my strength and stamina? No. Did I receive a huge are normal in the world of parenting teenage boys, but the bundle of hope? Yes! Did I experience God’s presence in change has been miraculous, our hearts are joyful and we a powerful and unique way? Yes!! Was I able to press on? give all glory to God! Yes!!! God’s is here and He cares! His Word is alive! For me, that moment was a spiritual and emotional turning By reading it and holding on to verses that we point. I had gone to the pit, to the darkest place that I can claim as His promises to us, we can survive hadn’t even known existed, and GOD WAS THERE! I thought I was alone, but I was not. That morning, God and even thrive during some very tough spots became tangible to me. He knew our pain and our sorrow. in life. God is reaching out to us with his love He didn’t remove it that day, but he KNEW IT! That letters, his words of hope and encouragement. knowledge alone changed everything for me. Drink deeply at His well. ______A few days later, I was driving down the highway in my Lisa Friedeman Ausley is the teaching pastor of the van. When I was able physically to be away from my St. Mark United Methodist Church in Crestview, FL son for a few moments, I tried to leave mentally as well. and Deacon in Residence at the Niceville, FL 1st Earlier that day, in my desk drawer, I had found some old United Methodist Church. Her lifelong passion has cassette tapes of Asbury college chapels from the ‘70s. I been to impart the lifechanging Word of God and to teach others how to study it for themselves. ______www.francisasburysociety.com 5 Francis Asbury Society presents LifeChanging Bible Study PRACTICAL KEYS TO A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORD by Matt Friedeman and Lisa Friedeman Ausley

LifeChanging Bible Study is a fresh look at inductive Bible study. The authors—both of whom are pastors, teachers and speakers—consider mastery of this method essential for Christian communicators. With years of experience using inductive Bible study in their own ministries, they provide benefi cial perspectives and practical applications for communicating the Word. Their primary intent is to provide tools so that the student of God’s Word can unlock Truth for himself and then effectively convey it to others, rather than merely passing along insights from other experts.

The authors cover key observational principles including the use of structural laws, making any extended piece of writing more understandable and opening up the text for more accurate and insightful analysis. They offer practical techniques for interpreting the text, correlating fi ndings with other biblical sources, and application. In addition to these fundamental inductive techniques, this book gives clear examples of how to create meaningful character studies, as well as topical and detailed word studies, including many helpful tips for presentation and communication of Biblical insights.

LifeChanging BIBLE STUDY PRACTICAL KEYS TO A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORD ISBN 978-0-915143-14-6 $10.95 Fap francis asbury press www.francisasburysociety.com Making Disciples: More Than Sitting Around and Talking

BY MATT FRIEDEMAN

was once on a TV show as part of a four-person panel The primary discipleship discussing our Jackson, Mississippi community. As a I weekly columnist in the statewide daily and the host model of contemporary of a radio talk show, I had been included as some kind of “expert” with a perspective. evangelicalism is not The city council was in disarray. The president of the council and another elected offi cial were on their enough. We have got way to jail for making a behind-the-back deal with a strip club for the purposes of a re-zoning ordinance. The moderator, a Jackson newscaster named to move from our Katina Rankin, looked at me during the give-and-take and, trying to get a rise out of me, asked something sermons, our studies, which ought to have been extremely self-evident: “Matt, who’s fault is all of this?” and our churches and do Mission accomplished. I suddenly became agitated. My face grew red and I prepared to tell her in something. dramatic on-air fashion that we are a nation of laws and ______www.francisasburysociety.com 7 that, frankly, the city council president had looked at that teacher at Wesley. But instead of just pontifi cating about law, trampled on it, tried to get some cash fl ow to which the problems that beset post-modern America and the he had no right as a public offi cial and, well, if we were church within her, I have written into the syllabus that looking for culprits there was only one place to put the students who hope to receive a grade higher than a “C” blame, smack dab in the council president’s lap as he sat had better get in the van and head with me to the prison in his well-deserved jail cell. to preach or to the abortion clinic to reach out to women That is what I was going to say. But I never got in crisis. the words out. My students, my family and my church are there One of the panelists sitting next to me was with me even this week, every week, doing something a gentleman named John Perkins, author, teacher, more than waxing eloquent about the lessons of community developer, national evangelical leader, Scripture. Perkins and Coleman taught me to be a doer of Christian statesman. As my fi nger stiffened and my the Word, not merely a hearer or articulator of it. face reddened, I prepared to answer Ms. Rankin with I have a saying in my classes: “If you make my vehement tirade. But before I got a word out, I was disciples by sitting around and talking to each other don’t interrupted by Dr. Perkins. be surprised if your future disciples just sit around and “Its my fault,” he answered Rankin. All heads, talk to each other.” The primary discipleship model of quizzically, turned his way. contemporary evangelicalism is not enough. We have got “I have lived in this community for decades as to move from our sermons, our studies, and our churches a Bible teacher,” Perkins said. “I should have been able and do something. Jesus said, “Follow Me,” and then to do something to create an environment where our started moving. I have come to think those two words are council president wouldn’t have even thought of doing the most important in the life of a teacher and pastor. what he did. You want someone to blame? I’ll take the “Follow Me.” It is how Jesus made disciples. blame.” It is how Perkins and Coleman made disciples. I remember sitting there a bit dumbfounded and It is how, after a decade and a half of trying thinking that I was, alas, a mere boy sitting beside a great something else, I fi nally caught on to using real ministry man of God. His was a heart full of sorrow, but also of to the least and the lost in order to make disciples of the love. Mine was a heart more than ready to cast blame, nations, for the nations. hardly compassionate, surely not mournful. Slow learner that I am, God gave me grace Mississippi has some problems, but while I fi nally, even reluctantly, to step into the light and do might still do the occasional media commentary, that’s discipleship. not the answer that will make a difference. The answer is ______accepting some blame, having some sorrow, and getting to work. Dr. Matt Friedeman is Professor of Evangelism When I was in seminary, Dr. Robert Coleman and Discipleship at Wesley Biblical Seminary, pastor of DaySpring Community Church decided somewhere along the line that the classroom and hosts The Matt Friedeman Show on the was a limited venue for molding men and women in the nationally broadcast American Family Radio. life of holiness. And so, to add to his teaching repertoire he would head down to the bus station in Lexington, Kentucky, with students in tow to preach to whoever would listen—usually the homeless, the addicts, the poor and certainly the lost. On Being a Christian His students, somewhere in the midst of his thoughts from preaching, would be called upon to counsel, to preach, or to offer help in a desperate situation. We learned through John the Apostle by John Oswalt a methodology not unlike that of Jesus who, after calling some disciples to Him, traipsed out into Galilee to preach, teach, heal and engage in spiritual warfare. Love, obedience, and faith — I had been a professor at Wesley Biblical three essential elements of Seminary for fourteen years before it dawned on me the Christian life that the examples of Perkins and Coleman ought to have some impact on my teaching. And so they have. Paperback $8.95 each I still do a daily radio show, still write a column www.francisasburysociety.com from time to time and can be reluctantly forced to do a little TV. Most importantly, I am in my third decade as a ______8 The High Calling, a publication of The Francis Asbury Society - Winter 2010 TThehe RRoadoad NNotot TakenTaken BY JOHN OSWALT

he call came one evening late in January1970. 1970, Elizabeth was born. It was a very diffi cult birth, Karen and I were living in a rented house near consigning Karen to bed rest for a couple of weeks. A TBarrington College in Rhode Island where I had century earlier, I might well have lost both Karen and been teaching since fi nishing my doctorate in 1968. Elizabeth. Barrington was a wonderful place to start, but as much as In that situation, the phone call came. Dr. I enjoyed college teaching, it was becoming clear that if Frank Stanger, president of Asbury Seminary, told me I continued on that track I would not do much in the area that the person to whom the invitation had been given of scholarship. This was all right with me, but I was not had ultimately turned it down, but late enough that the entirely sure it was what God wanted. department had not felt that they could fi ll the position Right after my graduation in 1968 Asbury for the 1969-70 school year. Now, after consideration, Theological Seminary had invited me to interview for a they were offering the position to me. Of course, I was position in Old Testament that had opened when Dennis honored, but it could hardly have come at a worse time. Kinlaw left to accept the presidency of Asbury College. We were both emotionally exhausted, and Karen was There were two other interviewees. One was a few years physically exhausted as well. Elizabeth, our daughter, older than me with a well-established track record in was a very challenging baby, whom we two fi rst-time teaching. The other was about my age, but already had parents had not the least idea how to care for. We had some signifi cant publications to his credit. So I was not this house into which we had not even moved. And we very sanguine about my chances, and not very surprised were being asked to make a soul-wrenching decision. To when the word came back that the position had been top it all off, there was no word from the Lord. Complete offered to one of the others. That seemed like a clear sign silence. from the Lord, and I was quite content to settle into my Finally, with the deadline for the decision role as a college professor. looming, we agreed simply to try to list the pros and In the fall of 1969, when Karen was pregnant cons and go from there. Both of us remember being in with our fi rst child, we began looking for a home of our our bedroom, with me in the chair and Karen in the bed, own. We bought a “fi xer-upper” and, while remaining going through this process. In the end, it seemed to me in our rental, began the fi xing up. On January 23, that it was 51% to go (Karen remembers that it was 51% ______www.francisasburysociety.com 9 to stay!), so I called Dr. Stanger and told him we were coming. The next six months were some of the darkest of my life. One day I thought I had made the right Channels Only decision, and the next day I was sure I had made the by Mary E. Maxwell wrong one. On top of my full teaching load with its new preparation, we still had that house to fi x up so we could put it back on the market. (Elizabeth wonders if all those paint fumes she inhaled while sitting in her baby chair How I praise Thee, precious Savior, as her mother and I painted had some ill effect on her. That Thy love laid hold of me; We can’t see any!) Every weekend I was off preaching Thou hast saved and cleansed and fi lled me somewhere, trying to make enough money to pay the mortgage interest on top of our rent. Karen was stressed That I might Thy channel be. out with motherhood and recovery. And we had to pack up! Where was God? The Seminary gave us some money to help Just a channel full of blessing, with moving expenses, but it was not enough to cover To the thirsty hearts around; everything. So we rented a trailer and early in July said goodbye to New England and our friends there, and To tell out Thy full salvation headed off to Kentucky. We were not going actually to All Thy loving message sound. be able to move into the rented house in Wilmore until August, so I dropped off Elizabeth and Karen at my parents’ house in Mansfi eld, Ohio, and drove on down Emptied that Thou shouldest fi ll me, to Kentucky to put the stuff that was in the trailer in the A clean vessel in Thy hand; basement there. As I was passing in front of Almahurst Farm (now Ramsey Farm) on old US 68, I was suddenly With no power but as Thou givest fl ooded with peace. I heard God say, “This is right. You Graciously with each command. have obeyed me and done what I wanted.” I might have asked, “Why did you wait until now to tell me?” But I did not because I was so full of joy. I knew we had made Witnessing Thy power to save me, the right decision, and all was right. In the years since, as I have refl ected on that Setting free from self and sin; time, I have come to believe that walking by faith is not Thou who boughtest to possess me, so much having a blinding revelation (I have had one or In Thy fullness, Lord, come in. two of those) and then doggedly following it out. No, it is walking in the dark believing that God is guiding even though we cannot see his hand. That is faith. Jesus, fi ll now with Thy Spirit In any case, that January evening telephone call and the decision to respond favorably to it changed our Hearts that full surrender know; lives forever. I think of the poem “The Road Not Taken” That the streams of living water about two roads diverging in a wood and the fact that the poet’s life was forever different because he chose one From our inner self may fl ow. road and not the other. That is certainly true for us. God’s road has always been the right one. Chorus: Channels only, blessed Master, ______Dr. John Oswalt is a professor of Old Testament at But with all Thy wondrous power Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky. Flowing through us, Thou canst use us He has served as professor of Old Testament at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Mississippi, served Every day and every hour. a previous term at Asbury as professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages, served as president of Asbury College, and served as a member of the faculty at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Illinois. He has written eight books—the most recent is a study of 1 John, On Being a Christian.

______10 The High Calling, a publication of The Francis Asbury Society - Winter 2010 That single moment has led to countless others that have altered and shaped my life in ways that I could have never imagined. Following the Lord so that I might be what for Stephen needs has freed me from so many expectations iving that the world puts on us. That moment led to a new LLiving for understanding of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)— one that continues to “ring true” in my life today.

Love has become about giving without expecting SStephentephen anything back. Joy has become a byproduct of celebrating small successes in Stephen’s life as well as the life of others.

Peace has come with the knowledge that Stephen and I were both fearfully and wonderfully made when God knitted us together in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13-14).

Patience is stretched each day as Stephen has now grown into a teenager trying to fi nd his place beyond LLivingiving fforor our family. Kindness used to be about being nice; now it much more about listening, acceptance and affection. Kindness extends way beyond our immediate family. CChristhrist Goodness is about praiseworthy character, doing the right thing for the right reason with everyone you meet. Stephen never meets a stranger, is never put off BY JERRY FORBES by a difference or disability and doesn’t see skin color (everyone is the same). Slowly I’m being set free.

hen he was about six months old, we noticed Faithfulness for Stephen is about keeping our promises that our son Stephen was lagging behind in his and being loyal. There is no room for infi delity in faith Wphysical development. We were told that he had or friendship. poor muscle tone. Eventually, a child neurologist linked his physical Gentleness leaves little room for the hard charging, condition to mental retardation. Although the words “mental frank personality of my youth, but this virtue has led retardation” were a devastating blow, we assumed that God me towards a disposition of mildness and seeing and would heal Stephen, that Stephen might be “fi xed” through drawing out the potential in others. love and education or, worst-case scenario, he would be a year or two behind in his development. Self-control is still the big battle. Both of those words The next couple of years were spent in therapy, often trip me up as sometimes I care more about special schools, doctor’s offi ces and the children’s hospital wanting to control people and situations rather than with the hope of repairing Stephen. Eventually we realized controlling myself and letting God do a wonderful work that progress was minimal, and we began to accept our new in and through me. reality of caring for a beautiful child that was a little different from the other children. This turning point is new every day. By seeking the Lord I can remember returning from the hospital on one on how best to meet Stephen’s needs, I have learned to live occasion and thinking, “It doesn’t matter that he might for Him, to put others fi rst and to rise above what the world not become all that every parent dreams for his child; God wants for us. doesn’t make mistakes. I love my boy and I would be willing ______to die for him if ever necessary.” At that moment, it was as Dr. Gerald (Jerry) Forbes is a 1981 graduate of Asbury College. He has if the Lord said to me, “Yes, you are willing to die for him, had a successful career in student development and higher education but are you willing to live for him? Are you willing to let my administration. Currently he is Dean of Students at a regional public Spirit shape you to be what Stephen needs you to be?” university in Arkansas. ______www.francisasburysociety.com 11 Discipleship Summit sponsored by Titus Women’s Ministry Holy Hearts April 22-24, 2010 The Inn at the Amish Door for the Wilmot, Ohio Next Generation

“We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord ... so each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting His glorious miracles and obeying His commands.” Psalm 78:4a, 7b

For additional information regarding speakers, schedule of events, cost, etc. visit www.tituswomensministry.org under the link Discipleship Summit, call 859-858-4222 or email us at offi [email protected].

The Lord Jesus has recently given Titus Women an urgency of commission to share with our children, youth and young adults the incredible message of living in a Sacred Fellowship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Every child has the “right” to receive the blessed hope of victorious Christian living made possible through the blood of Jesus and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

We invite you to participate in this Discipleship Summit Holy Hearts for the Next Generation.

It is our prayer that you will receive renewal, inspiration and resources on holy living personally and for the next generation through the exhortation of God’s word, prayer groups and fellowship with other like-minded women. ______12 The High Calling, a publication of The Francis Asbury Society - Winter 2010 That moment during the summer of 1987 at Junior Camp at the altar of Delanco Camp Meeting in Vincentown, New Jersey was a turning point in my life. It took years before I was able to put into words what I experienced, A Continual but the deeper reality of what Jesus did in my heart did not depend on words. Since that encounter, I have had to learn, grow, trust, abide and struggle walking through life with Him. At each stage and in matters YES big and small, I have faced times the decision BY STEPHANIE HOGAN

ould I say “yes” to the love that was Wdrawing me, to the One who was calling me to Himself? What would my friends think? Would I be the only one to respond? Could I trust Him? What if He asks me to do something hard or to go far away? As I weighed the options, I could sense His presence. His love was so real, so good and so pure. I knew I could trust Him. I knew I could give Him everything. This was not a decision for salvation. I had already asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins and live in my heart. I knew I was going to Heaven. This was different. Jesus was asking more of me. He was calling me deeper into Himself. Again the invitation came: Will you give all of your life to Jesus? Will you surrender one hundred percent of yourself to Him? As I sat in my pew, I weighed the options and struggled a bit in my spirit. Would I say yes, or would I settle for a life I could control? In that moment, I knew in my mind and in my heart that I would not be complete and would not be happy if I whether or not to obey and follow. Would I allow Him to said no and kept control of my life. It no longer mattered draw me deeper into Himself? At times it has meant pain what my friends thought. It did not matter if I was the only and sacrifi ce. Often the tempter comes with accusations that one to respond. I had to go. I did not want to turn away God is not good and does not know what is best for me. In from His presence. I wanted to be all that He wanted me to those moments, my heart and mind quickly return to that be. warm summer evening when He came to me and I settled So I stood and threw myself into His loving the questions of who I belong to and who controls my life. I embrace. And with all an 11-year-old girl had, I said, “Yes, am His, and He is mine. Jesus, I give you all of me, all of my life and all of my Each new “yes” I say to Jesus is an affi rmation of future; I give you everything. I want to be all that you want the initial “yes” I said to Him twenty-two years ago. The me to be. I will go wherever you want me to go and do One who called me then calls me now into the deepest, whatever you want me to do.” richest, face-to-face relationship with Himself, the Living At that altar I gave all of myself to Jesus. I was God. And again I say, “YES!” His, and He met me with His love, His cleansing and His ______presence. He met me. Something was different; something became new in me. I had a new center, and it was Jesus Stephanie is a retreat and conference speaker as well as a Titus Women’s Ministry Coordinator overseeing the Lydia Himself. ______Prayer Ministry. www.francisasburysociety.com 13 Revival in Lauderdale

BY ROY GAMBLIN

When a Methodist pastor arrives at a new appointment, he sees his new church with fresh eyes. He sees things that the members have stopped seeing. Whatever the state of the church, the members are usually abandoned. One was later moved to a new location, and the other I satisfi ed. assume has been torn down or fallen down. One of the churches was an afternoon appointment twice a month. This small congregation consisted of a few families uch was the case when I arrived at my new like real “Beverly Hillbillies”. When I realized their limitations, appointment in Lauderdale, Mississippi I began telling Bible stories leaving the ending in some crisis Sin June of 1954. The charge was listed as situation like a fi fteen episode serial. a fi ve-point circuit. Two of the churches were So, practically speaking, it was a two-point charge. One ______14 The High Calling, a publication of The Francis Asbury Society - Winter 2010 of these was a small congregation with little chance of mine. We had worked together a lot during the early days growth. But Lauderdale was different. of our ministries. The church building, constructed in the early Bob asked that we not schedule a meal just 1880’s, was located in the yard of a typical ante-bellum before the service. This became an opportunity to have a home at least three times as large as the church. I say in meal after the service in the homes of the class members. the yard, because the fence of the home joined two sides It developed into a great time of fellowship, and we of the building. This meant that two sides of the church discovered how important it was to have an informal were on the property line of the house. One side faced setting where the newly converted people could share the street and the other had a three-foot clearance next to their testimonies. Often the Holy Spirit would bring adjoining property. conviction to others. As I remember, the building was about 24 feet As the meeting progressed, the attendance wide and 48 feet long—the typical style of a by-gone era. increased until the sanctuary was fi lled. I crossed the There were three rooms added behind the sanctuary. My railroad on the way to the service one evening and study was in one of these rooms, about ten feet by sixteen picked up a railroad spike. That night I said something to feet. When I say study, I mean a desk and a couple of the effect that when we ran out of seats we would hang bookcases. the offi cial board members on the wall with the spikes. A The sanctuary had some old carpet so worn and little corny perhaps, but a reminder of our need. My little torn that it was a hazard. So I saw that it was taken up. joke was the fi rst hint that we needed to do something One day, an elderly lady who was blind (physically & about building new facilities. otherwise) made a startling pronouncement as she entered Something else was happening in the congrega- the church. “Do you know what this church needs?” We tion. A sense of conviction was permeating the congrega- all waited with bated breath to hear the visionary words tion. Under the infl uence of the Holy Spirit, people began from this long-time matriarch of the church. After a pause coming to the altar to be saved. One skeptical young man she said, “We need to put that carpet back down. People came to the altar with his young boy in his arms. This make too much noise when they come in the church.” man later became one of fi ve county Supervisors, and his Such was the vision of the church. Christian witness touched many lives. Antiquated practices of the church posed another The last afternoon of the revival, the evangelist problem. For instance, the treasurer owned a local small and I went out in the woods to see a young pulp wood mercantile business in the town. He would deposit the logger. His business consisted of a couple of old beat church collections in his own personal account (or his up trucks and a crew of men. When he saw us, he said, business account) and write checks for the church’s “Well, you’ve caught me.” He accepted Gods’ gift of obligations from this account. I am not suggesting that forgiveness while standing by one of his trucks. He had there was anything dishonest in this practice. After all, obviously been under conviction. I told him that we there was not enough to make stealing worthwhile. But it were on the way to talk to his dad. His dad, an alcoholic, was not a wise practice. It was corrected. had not been in church for years, though he had been But as great as the physical needs were, the real attending for several nights. When we got to his house, story is about people. We noticed that there were several he ran to the barn and refused to see us. young couples in the area. So we started a Sunday School As his son passed our house on the way home, I Class with those who were loosely connected to the hailed him down and told him what had happened. In a church. But where could be meet? My study, of course, few minutes, his car rolled into the parsonage driveway. since it was the largest room in the church. They began to He was back with his dad. This older man accepted invite their friends, and we soon had a good-sized group, Christ as his savior kneeling by the swing on the front as many as the room would hold. A monthly fellowship porch of the parsonage. He told us that he had planned to gathered in the homes of the couples and soon developed get a bottle, get drunk and skip the service that night. He a real comradeship. too had been under conviction and was resorting to the I shared teaching responsibilities with one of the bottle to avoid a confrontation with God. members. I had to be at the other church two Sundays a That night the logger’s brother-in-law, just out of month. We had some lively discussions, many times with the army, gave his life to Christ. This united the family Bible concepts confl icting with secular concepts. of a saintly lady who had been praying for this to happen I began injecting the idea of having a Revival. As for years. This included her husband, a son, a daughter, the idea caught on, these young adults said they would and their spouses. The young man’s business developed be willing to do what they could to help with the meals to the point where he had about a dozen well-kept and publicity. I invited Bob Dickerson to preach and Carl logging trucks. That operation included the establishment Jackson to lead the singing. They were good friends of of a rodeo that moved throughout the Southeast. ______www.francisasburysociety.com 15 I led a youth meeting before the service. One The next step was to begin raising money. You youth showed up! We had the meeting anyway. As we must remember that in the mid 1950’s there were no capital neared the end of the week, we came to the point of deci- development programs or teams to run such a campaign. But sion. She confessed her sins to God and received forgive- a basic plan was formulated. I had to adapt this plan and run ness, but she admitted that she felt nothing. I told her that the campaign myself, with the help of some key members of I wanted her to be the fi rst one to step out at the time of the congregation. We called the campaign, “Building for the the altar call, which she did. She told me later that as soon Future.” Our theme was Edgar Guest’s poem, “Somebody as she stepped out into the aisle an unmistakable feeling said it couldn’t be done.” We printed it on the front cover of of God’s forgiveness swept over her. As she continued her the bulletin, and I recited it every opportunity I could. spiritual journey, she came under the ministry of Maxie The total budget of the church was $3,000.00 a Dunham, at that time director of the Wesley Foundation year. That was not very much, even in the 1950’s. When the at Mississippi Southern in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. This campaign was over, the members of the congregation had young lady became an outstanding educator. She ended pledged a total of $10,000.00 to be paid in one year. Over her teaching career at Auburn University. While there, she three times the current budget! We were really on our way. taught our older daughter! Or were we? My fading memory prevents me from relating The architect had developed a plan for a church that more of that week. But we had revival! The power could be built in two stages, a T-shaped building with the touched the lives of sanctuary in the front more than a dozen and Sunday school couples and many rooms and a fellowship adults and youth. hall in other end. With the We decide to build coming of Revival, the Sunday school the need for Building rooms and fellowship expansion became hall fi rst. The cost more acute. But for the of the fi rst stage was how do we expand? $15,000.00. One of We couldn’t take the members of the up any more of committee responded, the front yard. The Future “Where is the other street prevented us $5,000.00 coming from moving in that from?” direction. And the somebody said it Get the land on the other side picture: A three was not available. couldn’t be done thousand dollar We had to move! budget, a pledge of But some of the ten thousand dollars older members of to be paid in one year, the congregation did and a fi nal price tax not want to leave that spot. There were several places we exceeding the promised support. The pledges were coming might go, but there was not much land for sale. People in but then some talk started fl oating around that we were wanted to hold on to their land. going to renovate the existing facilities. With this, the Finally, under the silent (and sometimes not so payment of pledges has slacked off some. silent) pressure of the younger people and the obvious That did it for me. I felt that it was time to leave. need to expand, the offi cial board reluctantly appointed a I felt that I had brought the congregation as far as they building committee to fi nd a location and develop plans would go under my leadership! I had planned to change for a new church plant. conferences when I left Lauderdale. “When” was the only Sometime during this period of time, I visited question. an elderly aunt in Mobile, Alabama. I told her about our I went to see the District Superintendent to tell him plans for the church. She gave me an unopened keg of of my decision and brief him on the situation so he could nails. The next Sunday I told the congregation that this know whom to send to Lauderdale. I told him that I felt was the fi rst contribution toward a new church. I kept that it would take three or four preachers to complete the the keg in the chancel area as a reminder of our need. job. Each preacher had his own set of problems to face. I Whether it helped or not, I do not know. But I think it did. don’t know what they were, but that statement proved to be ______16 The High Calling, a publication of The Francis Asbury Society - Winter 2010 prophetic. The new building was completed in 1960. Interestingly, the man who gave the land for the new facility and was chairman of the building committee when the new Church was fi nished was the young man who came to the altar with his young son in his arms. Now fast-forward about a quarter of a century. I am invited back to preach the homecoming sermon in 1981. The sanctuary built in 1960 in the wake of the revival is no longer being used as a sanctuary. It has now been divided up into classrooms. The worship service is being held in a gymnasium type building. A new sanctuary is being built to accommodate the growing membership of the church. What happened? I would like to say that it was all because of what we started in the 1950’s, but that is not the total story. The town was not big enough then for this kind of growth. A big part of the story is that housing developments were built at a lake nearby. But it is true that when the infl ux of people came, the church had an attractive and adequate building to welcome and provide the space to minister to them. That Sunday I preached on “Jesus, The Man of The Centuries.” On a personal note, I pointed out two Elijah’s God Is Our God things: I looked in the bulletin and noted the giving for the by Beth Coppedge previous Sunday, about $3,000.00. I pointed out to them that last Sunday’s offering was the total yearly budget when I was appointed to Lauderdale. Even considering the The secret to the power in Elijah’s life was infl ation rate, that is impressive. Then I reminded some that he was a man fi lled with the Holy Spirit. (and informed others) that the fruitful ministry of the United Methodist Church in Lauderdale, Mississippi had He not only knew about God, he knew God. grown from the roots of a great outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit in the mid 1950s. Elijah’s God is our God today and in these Fast forward about another quarter of a century to messages taken from 1 Kings, we too can 2010. The Lauderdale United Methodist Church is housed in a complex of fi ve debt-free buildings. They have learn how to know Him and be fi lled with all several services on Sunday morning and a multi-media His fullness. program through the church. The smallest of the buildings is the sanctuary that was built in 1960. I realize that most of this saga seems to have 4 tape set $19.50 – CD set $25.00 been about buildings. But the church is not buildings. The 2 DVD or VHS set $25.00 church is people. And that is the real story. The building at every stage of the development of this church provided adequate facilities from which to proclaim the message available at www.tituswomensministry.org of Salvation to an increasing number of people—people email offi [email protected] whom our Lord loved and for whom He died. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I have planted, call 859-858-4222 Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” Ann and I were privileged to plant. Many others watered and cultivated. But God gave the increase. ______Roy Gamblin is a retired United Methodist pastor and writer from Meridian, Mississippi. Ordained in 1954, he served in the Mississippi and West Flordia Conferneces and has “retired” fi ve times since 1989. He continues to serve actively in teaching and writing ministry. ______www.francisasburysociety.com 17 Stuck in a MMomentoment

BY BRIAN MCLAUGHLIN

May 18th 2009. I had taken this memorable day off from work and was preparing to spend it with my wife in celebration of our 24th wedding anniversary when the dreaded call came. “Your position is no longer required. You have two weeks.You may apply for any open position in the company. Human Resources will be contacting you with information about your separation package.”

______18 The High Calling, a publication of The Francis Asbury Society - Winter 2010 t is a conversation that has swept the U.S. and upper room, and is available to all who fi rst believe that the world over the past 18 months to the point of Jesus Christ is Lord and are willing to receive. Ibecoming formulaic, as depicted in the recent movie “Up in the Air” which is certain to become a classic for It is only by believing and receiving that we these hectic, desperate, and spiritually devoid times. I become. I am learning that the Holy Spirit is the key experienced the full range of emotions that anyone on the to what we do with our time. The presence of the other end of this conversation feels facing the prospects Holy Spirit is like a trump card it enables us to rise of a wrenching transition in my life and circumstances- above our circumstances, jobs, and challenges of the -anger, disappointment, worry, and fear. Yet, I had been day and to encounter the world in a very different light. aware for over a year that the winds of change were Understanding that you matter to God, that you are here blowing in my life. for a purpose, and that through the Spirit you are in fact joined with the Father and with Jesus in this world and On May 31st, 2008, our twenty-three-year-old for eternity is a game changer. With this understanding, niece, who was like a daughter to my wife and me, I have now come to see every day as a wonderful and a sister to our children, was tragically killed while adventure because I have an expectation that I am to give vacationing in Bangkok, Thailand. Her death was like a witness in some way big or small to the gift of grace jolt of electricity awakening me from a deep slumber. It that we can all experience in the risen Lord Jesus Christ. was yet again a fresh reminder that “Man born of woman Getting this attitude of gratitude properly ingrained in is of few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a my heart is critical because without it I risked being a fl ower and withers away; like a fl eeting shadow, he does clanging bell over the unfolding chapters of my life. not endure” (Job 14:1-2). It was also a time to consider Gandalf’s famous quote from J.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the This past September, I found myself seated along Rings, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time side my two sons in the nose bleed section of Chicago’s that is given us. There are other forces at work in this Soldier Field (twenty rows from the top) in the end zone world Frodo besides the will of evil.” awaiting the start of U2’s 360 tour in America. Because the seats were ridiculously far from the stage, we had Figuring out what to do next has and continues little expectation of fully enjoying the concert. But in an to be my quest, but as the journey has unfolded the instant we were transformed by the power of U2’s 360◦ Spirit of God, has taken me into a time of deeper self- technology with huge multi-media video screens and examination. My ego was hurt at being fi red and not powerful surround sound speakers. Where initially Bono appreciated for all the sacrifi ce and effort over the past was the size of ant, he was now larger than life belting ten years. The depth of my pride was exposed when out the lyrics to Stuck in a Moment I accepted the blessing of an open position with the company that had just fi red me. That’s right. I reentered the arena of my recent painful defeat, a spectacle to all “And if the night runs over. who had seen me toppled. I was fearful during these And if the day won’t last. days, not for myself but for my family, particularly my teenage daughter. Driven by impatience over And if your way should falter the discomfort of uncertainty I, like any red-blooded American male, sought to fi x everything myself and along the stony pass. immediately. And of course the energy-source driving It’s just a moment this time will pass” all of this was anger. As the words of the U2 song describe it, I was “stuck in a moment” . . . but for a With the Holy Spirit, our lives and our purpose. circumstances can be transformed from seeming insignifi cance to something magnifi cent. Enjoy the ride. I have come to see that simply moving to ______another job, another community, another school district, another house, another church even as perfect as all these changes might ultimately be is basically putting Brian McLaughlin is a husband, lipstick on a pig; it is not the eternal fi x that a person father of three, and a fellow- like me requires. I (we) need to be transformed by the walking Christian in Lexington, Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that breathed on the water, Kentucky. descended on Jesus like a dove at the outset of his ministry, emboldened the disciples to abandon fear in the ______www.francisasburysociety.com 19 Special Original Mathews Cottage, circa 1902 Painted by Margaret Mathews ories picture courtesy of www.indianspringscampmeeting.org Mof eemoriesm Annie MacDonell Mathews

Editors note: Some of our readers will perhaps recognize the package in half, but there was one extra. He ate it, in the names George and Annie Mathews. George was a order to avoid an argument. After my grandfather’s death Methodist minister in the Georgia conference until his in 1925, Annie Mama received a pension of $32 a month untimely death in 1925. They were also early “pillars” for ministers’ wives. in the ministry of Indian Springs Camp Meeting. The She had a unique way of showing her disapproval. following refl ections were taken from an audio recording Once when George and I ran away, she sent the cook to made by Mr. A. L. (Buddy) Luce of Ft Valley, GA. fi nd us. When we were brought back, Annie Mama said, “Oh, you boys ran away just like a little dog. It’s time for lunch, so you can eat like a little dog, too.” She quietly set y Grandmother Mathews had a great infl uence our lunches on the fl oor in little pie pans. Did you ever try on my life. We lived under the same roof for to eat from a pan on the fl oor, with your legs spread out in M many years in Fort Valley, and we stayed in her front of you? cottage at Indian Springs Camp Meeting. My memories of Her not-so-subtle disapproval was used for adults as her are a blend of our lives in both places. well. One time, after my father had sent Joe, my brother, During hard times, The Depression, my family moved to the kitchen because he spilled his milk at the table, she in with my grandparents, George and Annie Mathews, looked at Dad and said, “As a child I do not remember when I was about four and my brother George was being punished for an accident.” Several meals later fi ve. Joe was born about six months later. That is when we when my Dad spilled something at the table, Annie Mama started calling her “Annie Mama,” because of hearing just looked at him. He picked up his plate and went to the both names used for her. kitchen to fi nish his meal. This was the time when both milk and a small loaf For family prayer at night we had a loaf-shaped box of bread cost $.05. But the problem was that few had a called “The Bread of Life,” which contained Bible verses. nickel to spend. A farm worker earned only $1 for a day’s We would pass it around the table after a meal. Each work, or $5 for a week. person pulled a card and read that verse to the group. If I remember holding my grandfather’s hand as he any of us boys had run off or “did not mind,” when it was walked George and me to the store to buy a package of Annie Mama’s turn, she pretended to read her card but crackers for $.05. He took out a pocket knife to divide substituted a verse from memory that covered our most ______20 The High Calling, a publication of The Francis Asbury Society - Winter 2010 recent sin. My brothers and I wondered how she usually A wagon pulled by a horse or mule would come by the picked the appropriate verse that we needed. cottage each day, fi lled with all kinds of fresh vegetables Annie Mama used to go to the campground at and ice, which cost $.15 for a day’s supply or $.25 for Indian Springs early to prepare the cottage for the many enough to fi ll the icebox. The live, noisy chickens in a pen guests. Since it was quite isolated in the woods at the time, on the side of the wagon announced that the wagon was with no electricity and few people around, she was asked on the way. if she didn’t feel afraid when there alone. No, she felt Kerosene lamps were used all over the camp ground absolutely safe. Her response was always backed by a before we got electricity. I remember cleaning the Bible verse—in this case, “He shall cover thee with his chimneys. That was our morning assignment. feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth When the Camp fi rst started generating its own shall be thy shield and buckler” (Psalm 91:4). electricity, it was only available at night for a short time. Each summer, she chose either my brother After the night service, it stayed on until ten to give people George or me to go with her to the camp ground before time to get home and ready for bed. Even after there was the meeting started. Annie Mama needed us to help by no limit on electricity, the lights-out rule remained in running errands or fetching water from the well. I was effect for many years. quite honored the year she chose me to go with her, Annie Mama could have been called a “manners because the summer before, George had “run off” too police.” We were constantly reminded about the proper often and wasn’t around when she needed him. way to eat—how to hold a fork, never to put our elbows on We had to take a small bucket to one of the two the table, and certainly never to put a knife in our mouths. wells to get water for drinking and cooking, because water She said when I was going away to college, “See here, from the tank could be used only for fl ushing toilets before Albert. I’ve been told that the wife of the president has a camp meeting. One well was near the Benson cottage and back room where she will send people who put a knife in another down the hill, close to the present cafeteria. Just their mouth. You don’t want to be sent to that room, do before camp meeting, they would fl ush the tank, drain and you?” wash it, and fi ll it with fresh water from the spring for In her later years, she lost her sense of taste for general use. most things, but she could still get a little fl avor from Bessie was a helper from Macon who came to run peppermint, ginger, mustard, and guava jelly, her the kitchen. We picked her up on the way to camp meeting favorite. Once, after I came back from the war, I saw her every summer. I would watch her wring the necks of scoop some jelly onto a knife when no other utensil was chickens in the yard behind our cottage. Eventually she available, and lick it off. I said, “Annie Mama! You put let me try to do it myself. After several swings, the body your knife in your mouth!” She said, “Oh, Buddy. I’m would separate from the neck, with blood splattering. It so sorry. Now all the instructions I gave you about table was not a pretty sight, and it certainly did not smell good! manners have gone up in smoke!”

Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes. Ezekiel 36:23 interdenominational women’s conference on the holy heart September 30 - October 2, 2010 rhinehart______music hall, indiana purdue ft. wayne university www.cometothefi re.org www.francisasburysociety.com 21 Fas now on francis asbury society facebook

BY JIM HARRIMAN

ast summer (2009) my wife, Pam, was to come together by year’s end. The following is simply hospitalized in Chicago. After her autologous a sample of the devotionals that have been presented on Lstem-cell transplant for her auto-immune disorder, the Francis Asbury Society Facebook page. she contracted pneumonia in the Spring of last year that almost took her life. As I passed the long hours looking ------after my wife and keeping her company in the hospital, I decided to start a Francis Asbury Society Facebook Devotional by Dr. John Oswalt on 01/20/10 page. It was a good decision. It helped keep me mentally occupied during those long days. I saw it as a great “BRINGING GOD’S PLANS TO REALITY” avenue with a huge potential to inform a lot of people regarding our evangelistic efforts overseas with the “For I know the plans I have for you,“ declares the Lord, Francis Asbury Society. Moreover, I wanted it to be a site “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give where people could come and read quality devotionals to you a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 TNIV start their day. Now, seven months later, those who have joined I often hear this verse quoted at commencements and the group on the FAS Facebook page are 1174 people other happy celebrations of passage, and invariably I (at the time of this writing). I soon began to realize that I think, “but you have not paid attention to the historical needed help in writing the devotionals. It is quite a task setting of the verse.” What is that historic setting? In to write a daily devotional for every day of the year. So, I 598 B.C. the Judeans surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar decided to ask others to help. To date, since last summer, of Babylon after a failed rebellion against him. In we have had devotionals posted from about 42 different retaliation, Nebuchadnezzar took 10,000 Judean people authors! Reading their devotionals has been challenging as hostages (2 Kings 24:14) and carried them off into and inspiring. Authors range from seminary professors, captivity. Their lives were destroyed, their hopes homemakers, missionaries, pastors, and lay people of ruined, and their faith called deeply into question. The from all walks of life. people back home said that obviously these captives The beauty of this medium is that it allows had committed some terrible sins for which they were for the participation of our membership! Some of the being punished, and that they back home were the better comments from the membership suggest that a particular off now that those “rotten fi gs” had been taken out devotional came at a timely moment in that person’s life. of the barrel. On the other hand, there were prophets This has made it all worthwhile for me. Furthermore, our among those captives who predicted that this exile was membership at times presents prayer requests on the site, just a temporary thing and that in a matter of months, which of course informs us all regarding certain specifi c Nebuchadnezzar would be forced to let them go. It is needs to be brought before the LORD. to those exiles that Jeremiah wrote these words. He My desire is to publish these devotionals in book told them to prepare for a very long stay in Babylon, form for the reading public. Hopefully, that will begin most of them for the rest of their lives. But despite that ______22 The High Calling, a publication of The Francis Asbury Society - Winter 2010 disheartening news, God had not given up on them, or sin, God is so creative that he can bring good even out of written them off, as the Jerusalem leadership had. In that debacle in days to come. The only issue is whether fact, God had great plans for them, and he did! It was we will believe him and so live that those plans can be because some of these exiles did not give up on their brought to fruition, perhaps for a generation yet to be faith, but instead determined to live out their faith in born. There is the issue: will we choose to believe and ways their parents never had that Old Testament religion be faithful, or will we succumb to our fears and subside not only survived the exile, but came out of it purifi ed. into the craven quest for comfort, pleasure, and security before we go into the long dark. Let’s choose to believe So what does this verse say to us, and even more to the his good purpose and live in daring faith. point, to whom of us does it speak? It speaks to people who are deeply discouraged, people who fear that they --Dr. John Oswalt-- have sinned away the last of God’s grace, people who suppose that any usefulness for God they ever had is now ------gone. These are not people on the threshold of a bright, new day, but rather at the edge of what appears to be a fading, dying sunset. But no! It is never too late to live for God in the faith that he will bring something out of So why not join us on the Francis our lives that we may never see on this side of the grave. Asbury Society Facebook page! You It is never too late to believe that even if we have sinned and are now living in the wreckage brought about by that will be glad you did! See you there!

Visit Titus Women www.tituswomensministry.org also on facebook

Comingmi soon It is our business to fi ll the role of intercessor, to stand between a OldLectures in OldO Testament Theology Yahweh is GOD Alone God whom the world desperately by Dennis F. Kinlaw nneeds, but whom the world does Testamentandd John N. Oswalttamen not know, and a God who deeply y loves the world but is estranged Theoll by its offensive ways. We are the bridge between them.

Dennis Kinlaw FapF Lectures in Old Testatement Theology Yahweh is God Alone francis asbury pressfrancisf asbury press ______www.francisasburysociety.com 23 The High Calling c/o The Francis Asbury Society P.O. Box 7 Wilmore, KY 40390 (859) 858-4222 [email protected] www.francisasburysociety.com ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Upcoming FAS Conferences and Retreats Hemlock Inn Retreats August 15 - 18, 2010 Hemlock Inn Bryson City, North Carolina

Cliffview Retreat November 16 - 18, 2010 FAS Ministry Center Wilmore, Kentucky for additional information visit our website at www.francisasburysociety.com