The Art of Holiness

Mark Webb was a United Methodist for more than four decades, where he served as pastor, district superintendent and bishop, before moving into the Global Methodist Church to become one of two active bishops in this new movement that we call the GMC. He and Bishop Scott Jones are reshaping how we understand what Methodists call the episcopacy, and that’s what we talk about in this episode. We’ll talk not only about the role of bishop, but the broader concept of spiritual leadership and the nature of the church and how all this impacts how you and me.

In February, 2023, Zach Meerkreebs -- writer, speaker, & Pastor in Residence at Asbury University -- preached a solid but "normal" message at a morning chapel service at AU. Chapel was dismissed and most students moved on to class ... but some lingered to reflect on the message and what God was doing in their lives. By that afternoon, the chapel was beginning to fill up again with students who were sensing a move of the Spirit. By the end of this outpouring, Asbury's chapel was overflowing with folks from around the world. This incredible phenomenon -- and all that has happened in the year since -- is what Zach and I sat down to discuss.

Ivan Filby is one of my favorite people in the world, He has a prophetic gift that bears such good fruit, and he has lived most of his call at a unique intersection of church, academia, and the business world. Today, he serves as the CEO of Seedbed (that's the publishing house birthed by Asbury that has published most of my books, so yeah ... I'm a fan). I love this conversation about publishing, prophecy, and holiness. I hope you listen.

Suzanne Nicholson is a professor at Asbury University. She received her Ph.D. in New Testament Studies from the University of Durham in England, an M.Div. at Asbury Theological Seminary, and a B.A., magna cum laude, in journalism from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Nicholson is an elder in the Global Methodist Church, and in this podcast she talks to us about how Wesleyans read the Bible. Its a great conversation, and includes Bob Kaylor, a new cohost for AoH. Thanks for listening!

Dr. Ryan Danker is the Director of the John Wesley Institute, which is part of the Institute on Religion and Democracy. Danker is an author, historian, and Wesley scholar committed to the Wesleyan vision. He has some great books, like Wesley and the Anglicans: Political Division in Early Evangelicalism; and edited another one on Exploring a Wesleyan Political Theology. He has published articles in all kinds of professional journals. Today he talks about The School of Methodism, a very cool new initiative he's working with some very cool colleagues.

This is a special episode. Its just Pierce and Carolyn, talking about the last three years of podcasting together, and about the nature of transitions. This will be Pierce's last episode on AoH. The podcast continues after this week with Carolyn, some occasional co-hosts and a fresh focus on Spirit-filled Methodism. So much gratitude for Pierce and his idea to do this together ...

Friends, this is a deep and beautiful conversation with a man who has found faith in the fire and who has borne such fruit for the Kingdom. Rich Wilson is the founder of the Fusion Movement, reaching college students for Christ in the UK and US. You'll appreciate Rich's story and and the depth of his wisdom. And this is the last of our New Room 2023 podcasts ... we didn't want you to miss any of the "good!"

Pete Hughes is the founding pastor of King's Cross Church in London, and one of the best thought leaders on the emerging Church -- renewal, revival, planting ... all of it. Pierce does this interview with Pete at the 2023 New Room Conference and we're sharing it here to get you ready for this year's New Room Conference. If you don't have your tickets yet, get 'em here.

Rica McCroy has been with us before. She is a favorite among New Room attenders, and always brings such a fresh and rich word … which comes from a deep well of faith. Find her articles on the Holy Spirit at seedbed.com, along with her featured Bible study, called Wildfire. Today, she’s talking to us about her latest passion, which is deliverance ministry … which might not sound passion-worthy, but keep listening. She gives us a ton of great insight as well as a compelling reason to pursue a ministry that comes against the darkness and wounds that hold us back.

Reward Sbanda became a friend of the New Room Community through his work with The Potters House in Dallas, Texas, where he was steeped in, modeled, and taught the deep-end work of community prayer. He is originally from Zimbabwe, and is now on staff at Saddleback Church where he serves at the intersection of Kingdom and justice. He thrives on this kind of conversation. He has such a fresh and deeply discerned perspective that challenges conventional thinking, and today’s discussion puts us right in the middle of Reward’s best …

Last week, we interviewed our first Canadian. This week, we interview our first Australian. We are covering some miles, friends! Rev. Dr. Mandy Smith is the pastor of St Lucia Uniting Church in Brisbane, Australia. She is a regular contributor to Christianity Today and author of three books — The Vulnerable Pastor: How Human Limitations Empower Our Ministry, and Unfettered … Imagining a Childlike Faith Beyond the Baggage of Western Culture. And her newest book, Confessions of an Amateur Saint: The Christian Leader's Journey from Self-Sufficiency to Reliance on God, releases in October 2024. She is a recent graduate of the Doctor of Ministry program at Western Theological Seminary. Mandy and her husband Jamie, a New Testament professor, live with their family in Australia. Her work can be found at TheWayIsTheWay.org.

Our first Canadian guest, y'all! Dr. Gordon T. Smith is the president of Ambrose University and Seminary in Calgary, Alberta, where he also serves as professor of systematic and spiritual theology. He has written extensively on gifts and call, and he comes at this conversation from a deep place — challenging us to consider how we make decisions for our lives and take responsibility for our place on this earth. We talk to him today about his latest book, Your Calling, Here and Now, and also about an earlier publication called Courage and Calling.

Jeff Haanan is the founder of The Denver Institute for Faith and Work. He has a lot to say about practicing faith in the marketplace but also about how to live and work from a deeply authentic place. He also writes for Christianity Today and is the author of two books on work. One is An Uncommon Guide to Retirement, and his most recent is called Working From the Inside Out. When Jeff talks about work, he talks about things like thinking theologically about your job, and about living a holy life through your work. Its a great conversation about a huge chunk of our lives … I hope you listen. Show Notes: Jeff's Study Guide: A0331-study-guide.pdf (ivpress.com)

This week, we talk to Dr. Dennis Edwards, an author, pastor, educator, and activity, about the fascinating topic of humlity. In his latest book, Humility Illuminated, Dr. Edwards talks about an under-processed character trait that is actually central to holy living. Dr. Edwards is associate professor of New Testament at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago. He has planted churches and worked in inner city ministries, was educated at Cornell, Trinity Evangelical, and Catholic University of America. He writes on race and power and justice, and now he offers a word on the personality of Christ.

Maxie D. Dunnam is the former president and chancellor of Asbury Theological Seminary. He is now Senior Pastor Emeritus and Executive Director of CCGlobal at Christ United Methodist Church in Memphis. Dr. Dunnam is a powerful and prolific writer, having authored more than forty books, including the Workbook of Living Prayer, which sold more than one million copies.

Sandra Glahn has a PhD from the University of Texas and teaches at Dallas Theological Seminary. Her interests range widely from art, gender, sexual intimacy in marriage, first-century backgrounds as they relate to gender, bioethics ... so you can see why she advocates for "thinking that transforms." She is a thinker, and among the best. She has more than twenty books to her credit, along with multiple Bible studies and online ventures. It is a privilege to talk with her today about her latest book, Nobody's Mother which addresses the topic of women in church leadership through the lens of Paul's word to the church in Ephesus about women and childbearing.

Brian Russell is a gentle force. He is an author, blogger, coach, mentor to many, and among the most accessible academics we know. He is a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida, but he is so much more. He has written deeply on the devotional study of scripture and also on the practice of centering prayer. On his website, brianrussellphd.com, he makes the bold statement, “I can help you thrive and flourish as the person God created you to be.” And that’s his mission. It is to help the rest of us flourish as followers of Jesus. Today we talk to him about his passions — centering prayer and reading scripture transformationally, and about his new book, “Astonished by the Word: Reading Scripture for Deep Transformation.”

Dan Wilt is the co-author of Sheltering Mercy and Endless Grace: Prayers Inspired by the Psalms (Brazos), as well as Jesus in the Wild (Seedbed), and is a writer, speaker, worship leader, songwriter, and encourager of Christians in many streams of the Church. Dan is part of the Vineyard and Anglican communions of the Church, and has taught in conferences, university settings, seminaries, and churches across streams of the Body of Christ. He is completing his doctoral studies with Asbury Theological Seminary in KY, and is a part of the team at Seedbed and New Room—serving the church with resources and events encouraging awakening in our generation. Dan lives with his wife Anita outside of Nashville, TN, and they have three grown children.

Mark Elliott is a retired professor of history, having taught at Asbury University, Wheaton College, Samford University, and Southern Wesleyan University. Dr. Elliott has a remarkably deep global perspective with particular expertise in East-West Christian studies. He has traveled extensively in Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe. And he brings all this experience and a well-honed mind for history to the work of chronicling the Asbury outpouring. We are thrilled to have his wisdom, perspective, and experience in this conversation about just what happened in Wilmore in February, 2023.

This is another great conversation with Dr. Steve Seamands, who is one of our favorite people in the world. Dr. Seamands served as the Professor of Basic Christian Doctrine at Asbury Seminary for close to 40 years. In addition to that class, he taught Introduction to Spiritual Warfare, Introduction to Healing Prayer, and a class studying the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. So Steve knows healing! He has authored several books, including Wounds That Heal and Ministry in the Image of God (a Christianity Today book award winner), and his new book, Follow the Healer: Biblical and Theological Foundations for Healing Ministry (Zondervan, 2023) is maybe his best yet. He takes us “under the hood” of healing ministry and helps us understand the theory behind the practice. I (Carolyn) am so excited about this book, because it roots the charismatic work of healing solidly in the Wesleyan tradition.