Nazarene Caffeine

  Dear Reader, If you are reading this letter, you may have walked away from the church at some point. I understand, because I have been there, too. I once left the church, and later came back. Today, I am glad that I gave the church a second chance. If you have walked away from the church, I want to meet you where you are at in this letter. At least, I want to do this for as many of you as possible. The reasons why people have left the church are varied, and it is not possible for me to talk about everything in a single letter. It is my hope that the conversation that I am trying to start does not end at this letter. It is my hope and prayer that this little letter simply serves as a beginning to a bigger, and longer, conversation. Some of you grew up in the church and walked away when you reached adulthood. Some of you came to church as an adult, but left after a short time. Some of you may have attended church once and never looked back. No matter what your situation is, I want ...

The book of James is one of the most practical books in the New Testament. James was written early in the life of the church and focuses primarily on practical issues in the Jewish-Christian communities that he wrote to. Issues such as pride and humility, faith and works, the tamed and untamed tongue, trials and temptations, and the proper treatment of the poor were issues that James felt compelled to address in these new communities of believers. The timeless nature of James addresses these issues that still need to be addressed in some corners of the church. This letter is both thoroughly Jewish, yet distinctly Christian. James has rightly earned the title "The Proverbs of the New Testament." This book reads less like a theological treatise and more like a sermon. Perhaps because of this, the book of James has been notoriously difficult to outline.  Dr. J. Michael Walters  notes, "For centuries, the conventional approach to the book of James was to view it as a loosely...

Introduction When I read studies and surveys on the state of Christianity, one thing that strikes me as odd is how heavily many of these surveys rely on self-identification. In many cases, if someone says they are a Christian, they are considered a Christian for the sake of the survey. I am not convinced that this is the best way to measure whether someone is a Christian or not. In fact, I am positive that it is not the best way. The fact that a person claims something about themselves does not, in fact, make it true. I can claim that I am a mechanic all day long, and I may be able to handle small repairs and maintenance on my own car. If you were to trust me to make a major repair on your own car, you would not be very impressed with the work that I do. You would need to find a real mechanic to fix your car. If I were to claim to be a mechanic, I would be wrong. My self-identification as a mechanic wouldn't be enough for you to trust me with your car. A person who claims to be a m...

Introduction Today, September 26, 2025, Nazarene Caffeine is proud to announce a new effort that we call The Barnabas Initiative . The Barnabas Initiative is a new effort designed to walk alongside those who are exploring faith in Jesus or have recently taken their first steps as followers of Christ. The Barnabas Initiative is named after Barnabas, an early Christian who was known as the "Son of Encouragement." Barnabas is most well-known as the person who served as the bridge between Saul--who was known for his persecution of early Christians--and the early church after Saul became a Christian. The Barnabas Initiative desires to follow this example by providing initial spiritual care, guidance, and connection for people who are often overlooked or unreached by the church, and those who want more information about following Jesus. Whether someone is curious about Christianity in the wake of cultural events, considering taking the step of faith, or simply looking for a suppo...

Introduction All of us face difficult times in life. There is no one living who will be immune to difficulty. Stop for a moment before you read the rest of this blog post. I want you to think back to a difficulty that you have faced. It doesn't matter what it was. It may have been something that happened 20 years ago, or something that happened last week. The important thing is that we think about something that stretched our faith. It may seem weird for me to ask you to think of something like this, but stick with me. Whatever may be in your mind as a result of my question, there is something that you need to know: Your difficulty was not wasted. We tend to think of difficulties, trials, and temptations as things that we should not have to deal with. But what if God has a purpose behind every difficulty that we face? What if our difficulties are actually intended to make us stronger in our faith? What if God may actually do something good in our lives or in the lives of others b...

  Introduction Some of our regular readers may have noticed that we have not posted in a few months. There is a reason for that and, as readers, I believe that you deserve to know what has been happening. In 2023, I accepted a position as Senior Pastor of the Georgetown Church of the Nazarene in Georgetown, Ohio. I have served there for two years, and we have seen great things. We have discipled people of all ages, from senior adults to toddlers. We have seen people get excited about studying the Bible. We have celebrated baptisms. We have seen 8 people come to faith in Jesus through our work at the Georgetown Church of the Nazarene over the past 2 years. We have seen more than one person rededicate their life to Christ. We have received members into the church. We have celebrated what God has done among us. For those who have done pastoral work in the past, you understand how hectic it can be much of the time. For those who haven't, there may not be a perfect way to describe the b...

.  Peter Ruckman is best known for his view that the 1611 King James Version of the Bible is the perfect Bible in English. He held the view that the 1611 King James Version was so perfect that it could be used to correct the Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. We have explored some of this in a previous post . In short, Ruckman believed in a type of "re-inspiration" of the King James Version such that it was rendered superior to even the Greek and Hebrew manuscripts from which it was translated. Ruckman's work consistently makes it clear that it is the 1611 KJV that he believes was "re-inspired," and not a later update to the KJV (we will look at these in a minute). It is the 1611 KJV that he defends with his arguments from crown authority and lack of copyright. 1  It is the 1611 KJV that Ruckman argues was re-inspired when he claims that the Holy Spirit urged the King James translators to write. 2  It is the 1611 King James Version that Peter Ruckman defended through...