The Art of Holiness

This episode drops on the first day of the Mega-Manila Annual Conference, where Dr. Luther Oconer presides as Conference Superintendent in the Global Methodist Church. So its fitting that we should listen to him today and get excited about the kind of faith and leadership that is leading that Conference.  Luther Oconer currently serves on the faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary, as an officer w...

Some of our best podcasts have been with historians, and today will be no exception. This is a great conversation. Beth Allison Barr is The James Vardaman Endowed Professor of History professor at Baylor University, specializing in Medieval and Early Modern England, Women’s History, Medieval Sermons, and Church History. She received degrees from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Bayl...

We had Dr. Tim Gaines on the podcast last fall, after I discovered him while speaking at a Salvation Army event. Tim is a professor of religion at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, where he teaches courses in theology and ethics and directs the graduate program in theology and biblical studies. He also serves as a pastor at Trevecca Community Church and as the director of The Center for W...

Brian Russell is a fine academic, a strong leader, a giving spirit, a remarkable multi-tasker, and man of deep prayer. That mix of gifts and traits makes him a rare treasure in this field called the Body of Christ. He is also an author, blogger, coach, mentor to many, and among the most accessible academics we know. He is a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida, who has auth...

Today’s conversation is with Dr. Grant Wacker -- academic and author, and distinguished professor emeritus at Duke Divinity. His studies have focused on American Christian History, particularly on Pentecostalism and American culture. Today, we are talking to him about the Pentecostal life, and also what we might learn from the significant ministry of Billy Graham about how to do evangelism in the...

Linda Adams serves as a Bishop in the Free Methodist Church. She first served in the U.S. and now serves in Canada. In this episode, we talk about doing evangelism in a thoroughly post-Christian or secular culture, and also about prophetic gifts, and secularity, and some other things, too. As our producer said of this episode, this one "spanned just about everything.  Such wise and humble ins...

Bishop Keith Cowart has served as a bishop in the Free Methodist Church since 2019. With has degrees from Asbury Theological Seminary and a very warm heart toward the Global Methodist movement, Keith brings a lot of affinity to this conversation. He is a Methodist-minded follower of Jesus who gets us. I am finding some of the best wisdom comes from friends in other tribes and it was one of those c...

J.D. Walt is one of my smartest friends and he's been here before. He has served as Dean of the Chapel at Asbury, and as Chief Sower at Seedbed. He's the creative genius behind so many good things happening in the Methodist stream. As a mutual friend says of him, "If you cut JD, he bleeds Jesus and vision!" Amen to that! In this conversation, we talk about the marks of a moveme...

Bishop Leah Hidde-Gregory is a leader in the Global Methodist Church, serving as both Conference Superintendent (Mid-Texas Conference) and General Bishop. She served as chair of the Transitional Leadership Council when the GMC was just coming online, and she has inspired so many toward vocational ministry. Our conversation with her today is about challenges and opportunities for women in spiritual...

Today’s conversation with Dr. Joe Dongell is part two of a discussion about holy love. Listen for part one on the October 21 AoH episode. Joe, as he prefers to be called, is part of the team at  Asbury Theological Seminary, where he serves as Professor of Biblical Studies. Dongell has several books to his credit, including a commentary on the gospel of Mark (must-read) and a small but packed book...

In today's episode we kick off a new project for 2025. I'm combining mentoring with podcasting, with the hope that we might all work together to raise up three women into spiritual leadership while we all enjoy the same amazing conversations we've grown used to at AoH. Want to learn how it all fits together? Listen to this episode! 

In this final episode of 2024, Pierce returns to AoH to chat with Carolyn about her election to the role of Bishop in the Global Methodist Church. AND!... Carolyn shares a new series coming in January, 2025. Listen all the way through to get to the good stuff! 

David Thomas was a business professional before becoming an ordained pastor, serving in both the local church and on staff with Seedbed Publishing and the New Room Conference. He serves on the Board of Alpha USA and helps to steward a new movement on college campuses called The Awakening Project. I’ve known David for years and can attest to his passion for seeing an awakened spirit in the Church o...

Today we’re going to talk about the legacy of a great Bible teacher and about the sanctifying power of God. Warren Weirsbe’s commentaries and Bible studies are legendary. Weirsbe’s commentaries and Bible studies were on every shelf and in every small group in the late 20th century, and I keep them on my shelf. So I am excited to talk to Dan Jacobsen, Weirsbe’s grandson, who has spent the last two...

Dr. Craig Keener is a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary, where he teaches subjects as varied as New Testament background (check out his HUGE commentaries on Acts ... yes, multiple volumes), the historical Jesus, miracles (check out a previous podcast with him on this subject), and ethnic/racial reconciliation. Dr. Keener received his M.Div. from an Assemblies of God seminary and his PhD fro...

Dr Kenneth Collins is a theologian and professor who has been teaching at Asbury Seminary since 1995 (he and I arrived on that campus at the same time!). He is internationally known as a scholar of historical theology who has spoken in England, Finland, South Korea, Japan, Russia, Estonia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Australia … lots of places. And that’s why I want to talk to him today. I want to talk ab...

This one is like drinking from a chocolate fountain. Dr. Joe Dongell (Asbury Theological Seminary), who is not just a New Testament Bible scholar but a legit theologian. In this podcast, he gives us his best thinking on the biblical notion of love, and helps us understand love as the center of everything. He goes deep on this, and still barely scratches the surface so we'll have to have him b...

I met Tim Gaines when we were teaching together at a Salvation Army Bible camp (where I discovered so many very cool people). Tim immediately captured my attention with his teaching on what it means to serve the gospel in a secular culture, and that's what we'll be talking about on this podcast. Dr. Gaines serves as Associate Professor of Religion at Trevecca Nazarene University, where h...

Together with her husband, Bill, Diane Ury serves as the National Ambassador for Holiness in The Salvation Army. That’s the best job title I’ve ever heard, and I admit to being just a little jealous of her job! I also admit to being a bit of a fan-girl. Diane  excels at everything her job description calls for --  a strong preacher, inspired teacher, articulate writer, and courageous communicator...

My brilliant and beautiful friend Sandy is on AoH for the third time with this episode, making her the most interviewed (and also the most listened-to) of our guests. We love Sandy Richter! This time, she is talking about Deborah the prophet, subject of a newly released study in the Epic of Eden series. Professor at Westmont College, Dr. Richter is an OT scholar and an epic (pun intended) story-te...

Rev. Dr. Jerry Kulah is an Elder in the United Methodist Church. He serves as an Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher, and Administrator.  Since 1997, he has served in the Liberia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, and currently serves as Vice President of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies at the Graduate School of Theology at United Methodist University (UMU). He also serves a...

Today, we’re talking to someone I met while helping another friend with her doctoral work. One of her professors on that journey was Winn Collier, who is the Director of The Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination, and Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Christian Imagination at Western Theological Seminary. He is also the authorized biographer for Eugene Peterson’s story. His bi...

Today, I’m talking to Amy and Rob Dixon, authors, academics, and ministry leaders. Amy is an editor, marketer, and the author of several children’s books. Rob serves on the faculty of Fuller and on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Together, they've written a marvelous children's book called Penny Preaches ,  illustrated by Jennifer Davison. This beautiful book is why I got i...

Sean McGever talks like an academic, but he has the heart of a pastor and the gifts of a prophet. He has a PhD from the University of Aberdeen, and serves on the faculty of Grand Canyon University. He is also an area director for Young Life in Phoenix, Arizona and has written books on evangelism and the theology of conversion. Today I want to talk with him about his latest book — Ownership: The Ev...

Dr. Matt O'Reilly is Lead Pastor of Christ Church in Birmingham, Alabama, a fellow of the Center for Pastor Theologians, and Director of Research at Wesley Biblical Seminary, where he provides leadership for their Doctor of Ministry program. He has a ton of honors to his credit, and it doesn't take much of a listen to understand why. Today we talk to him about two things he is passionate...