April 18, 2010

Congratulations! It's a Church!

Pentecost has been called the birthday of the Church. In what way is the Church still being born today? Peter's sermon on that first Pentecost became not only a model for gospel proclamation, but also a model of effective ministry in every generation. (Acts 2:14-23, 32-41)

"Your Daughters Shall Prophesy"

Our heritage in the Wesleyan-Holiness Movement of accepting and celebrating women in ministry makes us somewhat unique among the various branches of the Christian church. The Church of the Nazarene and other holiness bodies have been pioneers in this area, affirming God's call to women and welcoming them into the ranks of the clergy long before most older denominations. Why have we been such pioneers in this? Part of the answer is because of our debt to Phoebe Palmer. Read about this remarkable woman in this week's Illustrated Bible Life article, "Your Daughters Shall Prophesy."