By Jim Nichols Consider with me the following list of categories: UnthinkableRadicalAcceptableSensiblePopularPolicyPopularSensibleAcceptableRadicalUnthinkable In the 1990s Joseph Overton developed the concept of the “Window of Political Possibilities.” This has been an influential concept in public policy, and it has enough logic that we can spin it into church policy and, in fact, personal behavior policy as followers of God. As you
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By Danny Minton As I thought back about my past this week, I remember going from Plano to Howe to see my Mamaw (Mother’s mother). I remember the smell of the creosote that soaked the fence posts. We drove with the windows down in those years since many cars did not have air conditioning. Another memory I have is seeing
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By Loretta Fulton First Christian Church will host a dedication ceremony for an extension to its building on Sunday, Aug. 10, but the celebration could just as easily be a “tribute to dedication.” That’s what members of the church showed when they sold their historic downtown property in 2021 and took a leap of faith by relocating to far south
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By Jim Nichols It was a conversation I had multiple times in my academic office at the university. A student (frequently in their second or third year of college) appears in my office. They have a serious expression on their face and, eventually, appear to be pushing back tears. A compressed version follows. “I came to college with a well-defined
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By Glenn Dromgoole I thought I was a better than average hitter in the City Church Slow Pitch Softball League, playing for the Methodists that summer. I was the catcher and leadoff hitter, but I wasn’t a Methodist (I was a Baptist), but then neither were our pitcher (Lutheran), first baseman (Church of Christ), shortstop (Catholic), left fielder (Agnostic) or
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By Nancy Patrick I think I have become more naïve in my senior years than I was in midlife. I ponder such ideas as motivation, value, family, forgiveness, understanding, and all the other virtues Galatians 5:22-23 lists as fruits of the Spirit: joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I want to believe that most people exhibit goodness.
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By Danny Minton Why do men and women quit the ministry?Why do church leaders resign?Why do members change congregations?Why do people, once active, give up? I’m sure we could all come up with our personal list of reasons. Chances are they’d all be different, and they’d all be right in one way or another. However, no matter what our lists
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International Sanctuary Ministries, Inc.sanctuaryministries.orgoffice@sanctuaryministries.orgPO Box 2238Abilene, TX 79604 By Loretta Fulton It started with a desire to do more, like most good ideas that eventually grow into something much larger. Back in 2011, Matt and Cheryl Merritt decided they wanted to do more than just support the ministries at their home church, Hillcrest Church of Christ. Specifically, they were looking
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By Loretta Fulton Aldersgate Methodist Church will soon begin the process of finding a new minister following the announcement that Dustin Wilhite will be leaving effective Thursday, July 24. Wilhite came to Aldersgate in 2019 from Grace United Methodist Church in Alamogordo, New Mexico, where he had served for five years. At the time, Aldersgate was a United Methodist congregation,
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Spirit Of Abilene 