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We are just under two weeks away from Camp Meeting, July 14-21, 2024. Our Camp Meeting Chairman, Rev. Kevin D’Ettore, and the board have done a terrific job preparing a week packed full of terrific activities with a Worship and Preaching Team that are second to none. Rev. Nick Robertson led the worship team at General Assembly and is gifted and Spirit led. Drs. Graves and Chambo are known for their preaching and will move us to let the Spirit transform our lives. Rev. Dennis King will be leading our devotions each morning and if you have never heard Pastor…

ReTool Road Trips: Detour Ahead” I drive a lot as a superintendent and one of the most frustrating signs I encounter is, “Detour Ahead.” Sometimes my GPS alerts me in advance. Other times I have to figure it out on my own. If you know me and my sense of direction, you’re probably laughing at the prospect of me finding my own detour. A week ago I let you know of my recent election as Director of NDI for our denomination. If you were making plans for the “ReTool Road Trips” announced at district assembly, you might be expecting that…

Dear SCO Family, I’m writing today to make you aware of something very unexpected that has happened in our lives. Pentecost weekend the Board of General Superintendents (BGS) phoned me and asked me to seek the Lord regarding serving as the next Global NDI Director (Nazarene Discipleship International), a post recently vacated by Dr. Scott Rainey. We had no idea that this request was coming. We agreed to talk it over, spend some time in prayer and then speak again with the BGS. In full transparency, this request has upended our lives for the last few weeks. I did what…

Have you ever had a conversation with someone where they did all the talking? It’s not much of a conversation, right? In fact, a few minutes of that verbal barrage and I’m looking for a polite way to exit the chat. Conversation is a two-way street, so to speak. This week I’ll be sharing at a local church a few thoughts entitled, “The Other Half of Prayer.” The idea stems from healthy interpersonal communication. In a healthy interaction, there is both speaking and listening. I contend that prayer is exactly the same. I further contend that the listening “half” of…

I’ve been studying Ezekiel 37 and Acts 2 this first week of the Season of Pentecost. I’ve read these texts many times, but I’m not sure I’ve read them with one another. In my journal I’ve begun to list all the things that jump off the page as I read. Do you journal? I’ve found joy in it over the years once I decided that I would journal in a way that suited me and not get hung up over “doing it correctly.” I’m intrigued by the gift of the “breath” to the re-assembled dry bones in Ezekiel 37. Ezekiel…

Scrambling up the sycamore tree, Zacchaeus had no idea what awaited him. Before the day ended, he would take up a life following Jesus and give up half his possessions to the poor. An encounter with Jesus is so life altering that we are never again the same. Another thing happens in Luke’s account of Zacchaeus and Jesus. We sang it as kids. Remember in the little Sunday School song, “…for I’m going to your house today. Yes, I’m going to your house today.” In the original language of the New Testament, the word Jesus used for “I must stay…

SCO Family, I hope this email finds you all in high spirits after a busy weekend. I wanted to take a moment to extend my heartfelt congratulations and appreciation to each and every one of you for the incredible impact you made during the Big Serve weekend. Your planning, commitment, and selflessness have truly made a difference in the lives of those around you. It is a blessing when a group of individuals comes together with a common goal to serve and bless the community. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed, and I believe that your actions align with the…

I love the emphasis of The Big Serve coming up April 19-21. I have heard so many exciting plans describing how our SCO congregations are preparing to love their neighbors in Jesus’ name. We are attempting to collect some of those plans now. Pastor, if you haven’t done so yet, Please place your information in the form by clicking here: This will help us as we send this story on to news outlets and our own Holiness Today. Don’t forget to snap some photos of your group serving as well and upload them to the link we have provided in this email recently. This is the…

As the season of Eastertide continues, my devotional readings have focused on resurrection events. Mark 16:2-3 intrigues me. “Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” Their impulse was to honor Jesus’ body in the manner they had been taught. To have permitted the body of one you loved, more importantly, one you believed to be God’s Son, to be treated inappropriately would have been unforgivable. So, they gathered the necessary resources…

“Ugh…Monday” I can’t count the number of times I’ve read the resurrection passages in the gospels. I marvel at angels, the empty tomb, dense disciples, and I imagine myself on the scene. All these years, until last week, I have missed the introductory phrase in all four gospel accounts. The phrase is either, “…after the sabbath…” (Matthew and Mark) or “…on the first day of the week…” (Luke and John). Both phrases mean essentially the same thing. I bet you’ve hustled past those words as well. We know the timeline, let’s get to the good stuff! Not so fast. That…