Barry Davis

~ When Ministry Happens Off the Platform

Ministry doesn’t always happen from the pulpit. Some of the most powerful, Spirit-filled moments happen in quiet, unscheduled spaces—the hospital room, the hospice bedside, the nursing home hallway, the rehab center waiting area.

These are the margins of ministry—places where life is raw, time is short, and hearts are wide open.

No one claps. There’s no livestream. But God is there.

In these holy moments, pastors do what they were always meant to do: represent Christ in flesh and tears, truth and tenderness. Continue Reading…….

The Wounds of Words

If you’ve served in ministry for any significant length of time, you know that criticism is inevitable. Some of it is constructive. Some of it is cruel. Occasionally, it’s a whisper behind your back. Sometimes, it’s a full-on confrontation in the church foyer.

Every pastor faces it—Jesus certainly did. The very people He came to save insulted, misunderstood, and ultimately crucified Him. Yet, He absorbed their cruelty without retaliation. His response wasn’t weakness; it was divine strength rooted in trust.

The question is not whether criticism will come. It will. The question is: how will we respond in a way that reflects the cross, not the flesh?

Real-Life Examples—When Criticism Hits Home

Let’s consider a few hypothetical (but very real) scenarios most pastors will recognize—and how to respond with grace. Continue Reading…….

Jeffrey Rickman

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Complicit Christian Leaders

Every Christian pastor is implicitly, if not explicitly, asked to be complicit in lies that people want to believe about themselves. Namely, the lie of the carnal Christian. Each of us has in our covenant communities a number of individuals who want to live as worldly people, yet refer to themselves as Christians. Men who look at pornography, women who slander their neighbors, children who disrespect their parents, old people who justify their pettiness—the church has every demographic of sinner. This in and of itself is not scandalous; the church has always been a spiritual hospital for sinners. The problem is that the hospital is now often full of people who don’t self-identify as sick. “Oh I’m fine, Doctor. You don’t need to treat me. I’m here for so-and-so over there. I’m here for my kids or wife. I’m here just because it is how I was raised. But I don’t need your attention. Thanks.” Continue Reading……..

Alone, But Not Abandoned
Leadership can be a lonely place. Especially pastoral leadership.

You stand at the pulpit each week, surrounded by people, but feel unknown. You shoulder burdens you can’t share. You carry expectations too heavy to voice. People seek your prayers, your counsel, your strength—but few ask, “How are you really doing?”

You can lead a full church and still feel empty. You can offer hope to others while wrestling with discouragement behind closed doors.

This is the quiet ache of the lonely leader—and you’re not the only one who feels it. Continue Reading…..

The Lincoln Diner is my go-to lunch spot when I head over to the Gettysburg battlefield for a long walk and some Sabbath time nearly every week. I usually park myself in a booth or at the lunch counter with a book and my journal and enjoy the ambience of this very old school American eatery that serves nothing by the most comfortable of comfort foods. I’ve been coming here for years, ever since I lived across the railroad tracks during one of my summers working for the National Park Service. The diner’s food was (and is) inexpensive and plentiful and the service is always friendly.

A few Fridays ago, my server seemed to be a bit stressed. The lunch crowd has been picking up at the weather has been getting nicer, and a steadily stream of tourists and locals pack the place out. The wait staff hustles from kitchen to booth to table in a blur, and I imagine that a busy shift at the diner must sometimes feel like the culinary equivalent of a trauma center (“Give me a patty melt and fries, stat!”). It sometimes feels odd to find this a place of peace for me when there is so much chaos swirling around. Continue Reading……

Posted by Deji Okegbile 

While John Wesley’s life parallels many religious trends today, John Dewey, born in 1859, the same year Darwin published his Origin of Species, continue to be the source of much of today’s moral education and social reform. Wesley, a master of 18^th century social media and a prophet way out ahead of others faced an era in which many bright people walked away from the church. In the midst of skeptical winds of the Enlightenment that had been blowing across Europe especially after Wesley’s death, John Dewey particularly did more to shape educational methodology in the twentieth century.

Dewey, influenced by his mother, was born and grew up in an evangelical home and experienced conversion he called  a ‘mystic experience.’ In college, he went through a spiritual decline under the influence of a ‘liberal form of theology shaped by German idealism.’ Similar to Process theology that teaches that God and the world are both  in a process of constant change and evolution, Dewely who later adopted a naturalistic philosophy offered himself ‘as a quite-spoken evangelist of a redeeming form of humanism and naturalism.’ His acceptance of Social Gospel that redefined salvation as social progress where humans were merely biological organism seeking to control the environment through scientific inquiry.’

Revival delays, moral decays because many have imbibed deeply at the well of Dewey. According to Pearcey, ‘teachers are rigorously instructed not to be directive in any way, but only to coach students  in a process of weighing alternatives and making up their own minds. Any value that students choose is deemed acceptable, whether or not it comports with accepted moral standard … each individual has to become an autonomous decision maker, determining his values strictly on his own.’ Philosophical naturalism liberate students from the moral standards they bring in from home and church and acknowledge whatever the individual values. Moral education that inspires most civilisation no longer matter so as not to offend or upset anyone. Professor William Kilpatrick in his book titled Why Johnny Can’t Tell Right from Wrong, explained the danger of drinking from the well of Dewey including moral illiteracy. Today’s generation are drinking from Dewey’s well hence, they cannot tell right and wrong, ‘they are encouraged to develop their own values, with no right or wrong answers.’[2] Gospel and knowledge has become social construction, the goal of salvation and education is to guide people how to construct their own faith, reality, and knowledge. Continue Reading…….

Two Voices, One Mission

In every healthy church, there are two sacred voices shaping the spiritual life of the body: the pulpit and the pew. The pulpit carries the voice of leadership, the proclamation of truth, the charge to guide and guard. The pew carries the voice of response, reflection, and relational weight.

When both are aligned—truthfully led and humbly followed—the local church becomes a force of grace and transformation. But when the pulpit speaks with pride, or the pew responds with rebellion, the health of the church suffers.

God designed the church to thrive when authority is exercised with humility, and when submission is given in trust and spiritual maturity. The pulpit and the pew are not in competition—they are partners in the mission. Continue Reading……..

It is with deep sorrow and a heavy heart that we write to inform members of the Global Methodist Church of a devastating and tragic event that occurred in our mission field in Nigeria. On May 23, 2025, the community of Munga Lelau in Taraba State, Nigeria—part of the Northeast Annual Conference of the Global Methodist Church—was brutally attacked by armed assailants identified as members of the Fulani militia, an Islamic extremist group. More on the ongoing violence can be found here.

This act of terror is not connected to the previously reported violence involving inter-community tensions, but instead was a coordinated and targeted assault carried out by an organized Islamic militia.
Despite recent efforts and a public appeal by Global Methodist leaders for peace and reconciliation among the communities of Munga Dosso, Bandawa, Gomu Wanzami, and surrounding Fulani settlements—urging peaceful coexistence and mutual understanding—this unprovoked attack resulted in the loss of 42 innocent lives, including women, children, and members of the Global Methodist Church. Dozens of homes were burned to the ground, leaving families without shelter. Many survivors, particularly women and children, are now displaced with no access to food, medical care, or basic necessities.
Bishop John Pena Auta shares, “We are mobilizing our local churches and pastors on the ground to begin response efforts, but we are overwhelmed by the scale of this tragedy. May we act swiftly in compassion as the hands and feet of Christ in this broken world.”

The trauma, fear, and devastation caused by this attack cannot be overstated. Survivors have scattered to surrounding villages with no organized aid, and many are seriously injured and in urgent need of medical attention.
As the Apostle Paul reminds us, “If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26). In that spirit, we—the Assembly of Bishops—call upon all Global Methodists to respond with compassion, urgency, and fervent prayer.

We further call on the government of Nigeria to act justly in protecting Christians and to provide tangible relief for those displaced by this violence. The most immediate needs include:

Food supplies for displaced families and children

Emergency shelter and clothing

Medical treatment for the injured

Increased security and protection for vulnerable communities

Continued intercession and prayers for safety and peace

To offer tangible support, we invite Global Methodist congregations and individuals to participate in a special humanitarian offering. Your generosity will directly support those suffering in the aftermath of this tragedy.

You may give in one of the following ways:

By Check: Make checks payable to Global Methodist Church, noting “Global Methodist Humanitarian Relief Fund” and mail to:

Global Methodist Church

P.O. Box 1360

King George, VA 22485

Online at: https://heyor.ca/A8ks2v

We appeal to all members of the Global Methodist Church for both prayer and practical support—that we might be a light in the darkness, the hands and feet of Jesus in the midst of evil and suffering. We grieve the profound loss of life and cry out for peace, justice, and understanding among all people. And we remain hopeful that—even in the shadow of despair—the Church of Jesus Christ will continue to shine with healing, compassion, and the everlasting love of God.

Faithfully,

The Assembly of Bishops

The Global Methodist Church

If you’ve been in ministry for any length of time, you know the feeling: you’ve prayed, fasted, and sought God’s direction—but there’s no answer. No breakthrough. No clarity. Just… waiting.

It feels like you’ve been put on spiritual hold.
And unlike earthly phone lines, there’s no hold music—just silence.

It’s in these “waiting rooms” of life and leadership that our faith is tested, refined, and matured. God is never late—but He is rarely early. His delays are not denials; they are often developments in disguise.

The question is: what do you do while you wait? Continue Reading……

Barry Davis

Pastoral ministry is a high and holy calling—but so is fatherhood. So is being a godly husband. So is nurturing the emotional and spiritual health of your home. The tension between church demands and family needs is real. Sermons must be prepared, members must be visited, crises must be answered. But in the midst of all that, your wife needs your attention. Your children—whether toddlers or grown adults—need your presence, your wisdom, and your love. Let’s be clear: you can grow a church and lose your home. Continue Reading………