Late on a Tuesday afternoon, while reviewing my lecture notes for an evening class, I received a call from the doctor who had recently removed a cyst from my arm. He told me that a second pathology report from UCLA was “interesting and challenging.” It was lymphoma.

My immediate prayer exposed my denial, “O God, let this be a mistaken pathologist’s report!” At a later date I heard the hematologist say the words, “Stage four.” Cancer has been rare in my family, so there were other medical conditions one might expect with my gene pool – but not cancer. I had no preparation for a reaction.

My wife Gayle and I had established a healthy habit for nearly twenty years — we maintain a “daily office” every morning with coffee, prayer, scripture reading, silence, conversation, and walking. Two practices we’ve added to our morning ritual in the last year are anointing with oil (or a massage), and reciting a prayer by 16th century St Ignatius, Anima Christi (Soul of Christ).

We prayed, as we always have prayed, for openness to divine healing and the daily grace of faith, hope, and love from the almighty, loving God who desires to share good gifts with us.

I have had no symptoms or treatment since the lymphoma was discovered in November, 2011. Yet, after five PET/CT scans, the radiologist noted in January that the “decreasing metabolic activity … probably represents treated lymphoma.”

Growing up in a Pentecostal minister’s family that has experienced a number of healings, I still have much to learn about being treated by the Divine Physician. I also have much to learn from my wife about becoming a soul friend who companions another on a challenging journey.

I submit this with gratitude for each day, and for the days to come!

Roger Heuser, Ph.D. is Professor of Leadership Studies at Vanguard University, specializing in leadership studies, spirituality, and practical theology. Contact Dr. Heuser at rheuser@vanguard.edu

Much like Jesus, who stood boldly amidst the crowds to voice His message of truth, Christians also have a call to speak to the masses, and now have new online tools with which to do it. Learning from what Jesus did, it’s vital to understand the difference between preaching at a crowd, and ministering to the multitudes with a thoughtful, personal touch.

Here are my “best practice” tips for this new age of online communication. How can you have your message really heard online—and maybe have that message passed on again and again?

1. TELL A STORY: Avoid speaking at audience through canned messages—instead tell stories, provide value, and deliver insight with each engagement.
2. ASK QUESTIONS: Ask your audience what they think – whether it’s a comment on a blog post, a comment on Facebook, offer a chance to engage your audience.
3. PROVIDE A CLEAR CALL TO ACTION: At the end of an email, a post on a Facebook page, wherever you are communicating with your online audience, ask them to do something and make it clear what you want them to do. Examples of this are “RSVP NOW!” “SEND US AN EMAIL!” “READ MORE NOW!” or “COMMENT BELOW & TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!” It’s simple, but highly effective in getting your audience to ACT!
4. SHORT & SWEET: When your audience reads an email, a post on Facebook, a tweet online, 90% of the time, they’re in a hurry. They want you to get straight to the point…so do it! Keep your message short and sweet and to the point. Make it hard for people to miss your message even if they just skim your email.
5. GIVE BACK: Become a resource to your online community, providing relevant news about your community, the culture in your city, current events in your industry—ultimately becoming a news source that gives back.

So now it’s your turn (see what I did there?): what are some ways that your congregation communicates most effectively? Comment below and let us know!

Holly Clinard serves as Associate Director of Marketing & Digital Media in the office of marketing and communications at Vanguard University. She manages leadership in the areas of social media marketing, website content management, enewsletter campaigns, and video production. Contact her at holly.clinard@vanguard.edu or visit http://give.vanguard.edu/contact/ for more information. 

1. Be biblical. Evangelicals and Pentecostals share a common commitment to the authority of Scripture. Many evangelicals will acknowledge a connection between the coming of the Spirit and prophetic (Spirit-inspired) speech and action once they realize it enjoys broad biblical support (not just from the book of Acts).
2. Avoid coming off as confrontational. Many Pentecostals use “filled with the Spirit” and “baptized in the Spirit” inter-changeably. Most evangelicals, on the other hand, use these phrases differently. If we aren’t careful, we can communicate the idea that unless our dialogue partners have spoken in tongues, they aren’t saved. It’s amazing how many evangelicals assume that this is precisely what most Pentecostals believe.
3. Make it missional. Evangelicals and Pentecostals also share a common commitment to mission. A missional approach to ministry asks: What is the Spirit up to in this ministry context and how can we cooperate with him? Prominent evangelicals tell me privately that the Pentecostal perspective is needed as we think about the mission of the Church.
4. Point out the practical. I recently received an email from an adult student in our SPS program thanking me for the way I articulated the personal, real-life benefits of “praying in the Spirit.” Too often Pentecostal doctrine and practice comes off as weird and/or impractical to evangelicals. We can do better at indicating what praying in the Spirit actually accomplishes in our lives.
5. Keep it real. Most evangelicals, despite their wariness about basing doctrine on experience, are really eager to connect with God. Let’s do more than talk about the benefits of a Pentecostal spirituality. Let’s exemplify it!

In conclusion, I want to suggest that there are two types of Pentecostals in the world: those who simply want to be different from other Christians, and those who desperately want to make a difference in the world for Christ. Let’s be that second kind!

Gary Tyra, D.Min., a veteran pastor, author and leader, is Professor of Biblical and Practical Theology at VU, and available for local church ministry. Contact Dr. Tyra at gtyra@vanguard.edu, or visit his website: www.garytyra.com

. . .

John Amos Comenius was a young teacher, pastor, and scholar, serving the small Christian community known as the Moravian Brethren (heirs of the Reformation legacy of John Hus). When the religious wars of the early 1600s swept through what is now the Czech Republic, his wife and children were killed, as were many other Moravian believers. Comenius led a small band of survivors across the border into Poland.

Comenius (1592-1670) would live the rest of his life in exile, shepherding the fragmented Moravian church. During 42 years of exile, Comenius became one of the world’s most recognized scholars and its preeminent educator. He advised kings, established dialogues with philosophers like Descartes, authored 150 books, and revolutionized European education with his ideas about teaching. Among other radical ideas: his notion that girls as well as boys should be educated and that all children, poor as well as rich, should go to school. Comenius’s influence was so great that he was invited to be the first President of Harvard College, but refused so that he could continue to serve his exiled church.

Today, Comenius is remembered as the father of modern education. What is less well known is Comenius’s role in launching the modern missionary movement. Two generations after Comenius’s death, the scattered Moravians were re-gathered in Herrnhut, Germany by Count Nicolaus von Zinzendorf. Drawing on the writings of Comenius, the Moravians established a community deeply devoted to prayer, launching a round-the-clock prayer meeting that lasted for 100 years!

In 1727, a visitation of the Holy Spirit, known as ‘the Moravian Pentecost,’ empowered the Moravians to undertake a global missionary movement that changed the world for Christ. Especially notable (and controversial) were their missions to live with, evangelize, and educate the Africans who had been taken as captives to the Americas.

In Comenius and the Moravians, we see the power of God integrating spirit, mind and heart. Through Comenius and the Moravians, God brought redemption to millions of lives. May God likewise bless us with faith, learning, and a life that brings Him glory!”

To connect with Dr. Hittenberger, email jeff.hittenberger@vanguard.edu