In 2012, I met the Rev. Dr. Ted Goshorn as my classmate at license to preach school. Ted was one of the nicest humans I have ever met. Since our licensing school, our families have become great friends. I’m also honored to have him coming on season two of the David Donnan Podcast.
In November of 2022, Ted released his first published book Prayer Changes Us. As Ted’s friend I did my duty to read it. I was blown away by the depth and practical application offered.
Here are four reasons Prayer Changes Us can transform your understanding of this vital Christian practice.
#1 Ted Models Continual Learning in the Journey of Prayer.
There is no master teacher here. Instead, we catch a glimpse of someone who is still on the journey with us. Ted shares stories about his personal and professional life. He explains the journey he has been on that has led him to move into more contemplative practices
#2 Ted is a Powerful Storyteller.
One of my favorite stories is about losing power and the lesson he learned about God. Here is what he says:
“It’s like when the power went out one night at our house. A storm raged such that the only light in the house was when a flash of lightning struck. But in the laundry room, where I thought the flashlight was stored, there was absolutely no light because there were no windows. I grasped around the cabinet, trying to find the flashlight, but to no avail.
Jackson, my oldest son, knew just where the flashlight was. Had been playing with it, but had (not) always put it back where I’d left it: not in the laundry room but the pantry. He went into the pitch-black pantry and came back out with the flashlight, knowing exactly where it was.
That’s what life is like in the darkness when we’re disciplined in prayer during the good times. We know just where the flashlight is because we’ve been going to it over and over again before the darkness settled in. God is our light in the dark times. If we’re good about going back to the light in prayer over and over again when times are good, if we maintain discipline, it’s very easy to find the light when the darkness settles into our lives. And finding the light means we’re safe, secure, unmoved, unshaken, unterrorized.” (34)
#3 Ted Has One of the Greatest Practical Appendixes of Any Book I have read.
In the back of the book Ted has summarized different forms of prayer, has historical Wesleyan small group questions, and offers ways to read through the Bible in a year. It is a great reference tool for a seasoned pastor as well as a guide for a beginner.
The Prayer Changes Us appendix includes:
- Different types of prayer and resource guide
- Elements of prayer form the Lord’s prayer
- John Wesley’s Self-Examination Questions for Holy Clubs
- Praying the Psalms Schedule
- Daily Bible Reading Schedule
#4 Ted Connects to the Overall Narrative of Scripture.
One theological skill that is undervalued is having the ability to show how a certain passage connects to the wider Biblical narrative. Ted does this throughout his book. Here is one example:
“Throughout scripture, we hear this pledge from God: I am with you, always. In the garden, God is with Adam and Eve. Even after sinning and being banished from the garden, they still have God with them. God is guiding the generations that followed, through Abraham, through Joseph, through Moses and Joshua and David and the kings and the prophets, including Elisha.” (p. 55)
Overall, Prayer Changes Us is an enjoyable read that adds value to the spiritual formation of the reader. It will help almost anyone learn more about prayer and how to practice prayer.
Why Scott Jones is a Bigger Deal than You Think
January 16, 2023
On January 11th, 2023 the Global Methodist Church announced that “United Methodist Bishop Scott Jameson Jones, the former leader of the UM Church’s Great Plains and Houston Episcopal Areas, has resigned from the episcopacy of the church and withdrawn from the denomination. Jones was received into the Global Methodist Church as an elder on January 9, 2023.”
The article went on to say that Bishop Jones has been appointed a bishop in the Global Methodist Church. This is the second bishop to move from the United Methodist Church to the Global Methodist Church this year.
Bishop Jones is recognized as a renowned Wesleyan scholar. I’ve taught his study, The Wesleyan Way, in churches I have served. In seminary I read his book on United Methodist doctrine.
What makes this move significant is the work Bishop Jones did as a United Methodist Bishop. Bishop Jones had positioned himself as someone who wanted to hold the extreme center position theologically.. In his book on United Methodist doctrine the title is United Methodist Doctrine: The Extreme Center.
In United Methodist Doctrine: The Extreme Center he says, “At its best, United Methodist doctrine holds together a number of concerns in dynamic and mutually reinforcing tension. On the theological spectrum Wesley occupies the extreme center, and his approach has shaped the church’s doctrine” (19).
Bishop Jones also has leaned into this centrist branding on his website called extremecenter.com.
Finally, Bishop Jones expanded his ideas in a book of essays called Stay at the Table where he dialogues with other Methodist thinkers.
Yet, Bishop Jones has made the decision to leave the United Methodist Church and join the Global Methodist Church. By moving he is demonstrating how his views align better in the Global Methodist Church. This more than any person moving. This is the extreme center poster child himself moving out.
Bishop Jones said recently “The Global Methodist Church represents traditional Methodism with a strong focus on reaching new people for the gospel… It is a new start that will help clergy and congregations move past the disputes of the last several years and focus on our mission. I am excited about forming disciples who worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly.”
Bishop Jones has been gracious about his time in the UMC which I believe is the right tract to take. I am grateful he is bringing his strong leadership, deep doctrinal standards, and episcopal oversight to the Global Methodist Church.
David Wesley Donnan is a Methodist pastor in South Georgia.
You can read more from David about the Future of Methodism HERE.
Listen to David’s Podcast HERE.
See David’s Youtube page HERE.
Ash Wednesday 2022 Homily
March 2, 2022
I love the start of lent. “Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection…Christians focus on relationship with God, growing as disciples and extending ourselves, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of ourselves for others.”
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday emphasizes two themes: our sinfulness before God and our human mortality.
Now my go to story of lent is a personal tale of humor but also trauma that happened where my family, some cousins, and I nearly died… yet the past few years we do not need to hear stories to be reminded of our own mortality. We have seen this played out with the covid 19 virus.
This past week brought war to Europe in a way we have not seen since World War II. The U.S. Secretary of Defense has ordered the deployment of 3,800 Fort Stewart soldiers to Europe. This is in response to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Phylis Smith, a teacher on the base, was talking about listening to kindergarteners processing how their fathers got on a plane but they were not allowed to go with their dads.
Once again we are reminded of our mortality and how fragile the world can be.
So what do we do with an awareness of our mortality? In Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World the author examines how fitness culture is becoming a new religion. They use a company called Soul Cycle as an example. They say:
“It’s selling a double ideal of purification: one simultaneously characterized by material improvement … and by spiritual transcendence. You’re not just peddling on a bike to lose weight. You’re peddling to become a better person”
Yet as Jesus followers, we do cheer on being good stewards of our bodies… we also acknowledge how real purification, salvation, is not found in what we can achieve.
In Jesus prayer book, Psalm 51 says
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.
5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.
6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
Tonight, as we prepare for the season of Lent, I am inviting you to remember your own mortality. Remember that from dust we came and to dust we will return.
But we do not just reflect on our brokenness to think of ourselves as bad… we do so to better understand and receive the joy that is offered in Christ.
In the same way that the psalmist confesses their sin they also ask God to change them. To create a clean heart. That’s what God does. That’s what God wants to do over lent and for the rest of your life… and that is what God is doing in your life right now.
Over the next 40 days I have a challenge for you. I am going to give you a pocket cross as you leave tonight. I invite you to put this in your pocket until Easter. And I want this to serve as a reminder of God being with you each and every moment (If you are reading this and would like a pocket cross please let me know).
And then I also invite you to a moment of having ashes imposed on your forehead and then for a moment of prayer and reflection.
Ashes are a biblical sign of repentance and can be traced all the way back to Genesis. Using ashes for lent can be traced back to the 10th century.
You will hear me say either “repent and believe the gospel” or “from dust you came and to dust you will return”. Regardless of what phrase you hear, I invite you to pray at the altar or return to your seat for prayer. I encourage you to pray for global peace, examine your life and where God may want to change your heart, or pray however the Lord leads you.
