by Good News | Dec 28, 2009 | Magazine Articles
By Steve Harper
It happens to all of us sooner or later. Our enthusiasm for Scripture declines. We begin approaching our time of Bible reading more as a duty than a delight. We come to a familiar passage and feel like skipping over it because “we know what it says.” If we are ministers, Sunday school teachers, or Bible study leaders, we may experience this in the feeling that we’re using the Bible as a place to “find” an idea or an outline. All of us come to the time when we need to recover the joy and meaning of searching the Scriptures.
We can be thankful we have somewhere to turn when we experience times like this. Our predecessors in the faith have left us a precious legacy called lectio divina. In English it goes by various terms: sacred reading, formative reading, and devotional reading, to name a few. It is a process of mining Scripture (or any other text, for that matter) in a way that allows God to speak to you through it. It is a process that has helped untold numbers of Christians to personalize their reading of Scripture, the devotional classics, etc. It is one way many have used to find the Word of God again.
The term lectio divina may seem quite new to you, but I expect you have already engaged in a form of it, even without knowing it. Take your Bible in your hands and open it. If you have ever underlined a passage, or otherwise marked it, you have experienced a type of sacred reading. There have been times in the past when a portion of a passage has really “spoken” to you. That is a kind of lectio divina. It is what my colleague, Dr. Robert Mulholland, professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary, calls being “shaped by the Word.” It is something that can happen to all of us, and it is something each of us can enrich and improve.
In this brief article, I want to do two things. First, I want to give you an overview of the sacred reading process so you can begin using it. Second, I want to conclude with some of the benefits I’ve personally received as a result of practicing lectio divina in my own reading of the Bible.
In describing the process, let’s keep the goal clearly in mind. The purpose of lectio divina is to enable us to encounter the Word of God through the reading of God’s Word. It is our goal to attune ourselves, so that as we read we may hear and respond to the particular message God has for us in this moment. We want to come away from our times of Bible reading able to say, “I have met the living God.” To be sure, no methodology is foolproof; nothing works every time. But I do believe that formative reading is a practice that will enable this contact with God to be your experience much of the time. So, with that goal clearly in mind, what are the steps of the process?
Prayer. We begin with prayer. The ancients called this the Prayer for Illumination. Today, we might pray it like this: “Lord, I am grateful for this opportunity to read and reflect on your Holy Word. I ask you to prepare my mind and my heart so that I can hear what you want to say to me. Come, Holy Spirit, and inspire my reading, even as you originally inspired the writer. I ask it in Jesus’ name, amen.”
Such praying is an opening to God. It is our recognition that we are not “in control” of the text. Rather, we want it to “control” us. We are not trying to
master anything; we are seeking to be mastered by God’s Word. We have become accustomed to reading for information, to pass a test, or acquire additional knowledge. In lectio divina, we are reading in order to meet the living God. Information and knowledge may or may not be involved; encounter is the key. The act of reading may fill our minds or warm our hearts (or both). We do not care; we only pray, “Come, Lord Jesus!” Prayer is the first action in lectio divina. Indeed, it is the action that saturates the whole process.
Reading. The second step is reading. We enter the text itself, absorbing it in the hope of discovering what God has to say to us. For one thing, we read slowly; lectio divina has no set amount in mind. We are seeking to be deep, not broad. We are going for quality, not quantity. We may read three chapters or three lines. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that we read slowly enough to sense when and where we need to stop, look, and listen. And whenever we sense that halt, we pause and dig in right there. It may be a word that captures our attention. It may be an idea that speaks to something going on in our lives. It may be a promise we need to claim or an instruction we need to follow. Whatever it is, we stop where we are, accept it as God’s message for us, and allow it to penetrate our lives.
Our slower reading is accompanied by a systematic approach. To be sure, we can skip around and still use the sacred reading process. But ideally, we read systematically and sequentially. We do this because we believe the Holy Spirit inspired the original author to write with a certain progression. We believe we shall encounter God more authentically in the text if we follow the same progression of inspiration. So, the second step is reading, slowly and systematically, in order to hear and respond to God.
Meditation. The third step is meditation. That word has unfortunately taken on negative connotations in our day. But it merely means that we “walk around” the idea that has seized us in our reading. Hugh of St. Victor described meditation as “piercing the core of a particular truth.” In the reading step, we have latched onto a particular truth. In the meditation step, we seek to pierce that truth and be shaped by it.
Here is where we can bring any and all skills we have to the passage. If we know Greek or Hebrew, we can do full-fledged exegesis. If we have learned inductive study skills, we can apply that methodology to our “particular truth.” If we have a chain-reference system, we can trace the idea through the Bible. We can use our concordances, commentaries, maps, cross references, etc. We can use anything and everything that enables us to derive more meaning and inspiration from the passage on which we are focusing. Meditation is the step in which we probe, explore, research, compare and contrast, illustrate, and otherwise walk around the text, seeing and hearing as much as we can.
Contemplation. The fourth step is contemplation. This is the step in which we personalize and own the text. In the phase of meditation, for example, we may have found out what six Bible scholars think about the passage. In contemplation, we now determine what we think about it. We appreciate what we have learned in the meditation stage; now, in contemplation we integrate all the “words” into that personal “word” for ourselves. To illustrate, in contemplation we come to the place where we receive John 3:16 as “ours,” as it was John’s when he first wrote it down. Needless to say, contemplation is a holy moment and a precious privilege.
Application. The fifth and final step is application. What else could it be? We have prayed for God to speak. We have read in a way that enabled us to select a meaningful portion of Scripture to focus upon. We have meditated by using every means at our disposal to ruminate on that portion. And we have prayerfully and sincerely sought to make that text our own, to integrate its message and inspiration into our lives.
Now, in application, we seek to allow the power of that Holy Word to flow through us for the sake of others. We end our sacred reading realizing that “to whom much is given, much is required.” In the first steps, God has blessed us. In application, God is challenging us to become a blessing to others. That blessing may flow out in our words, in our deeds or in both. But in the step of application we are now praying, “Where, when, and how would you want me to live out your Word, O God?”
Do you see what we’ve done? A little while ago, we approached the Holy Bible with no idea of what God might want to say to us. Through the process of lectio divina, we not only have received a word from the Lord, we also have received our marching orders for putting it into practice. The Bible comes alive as the written Word of God becomes the living Word within us and through us.
I do not mean to suggest that this always happens. There are days when even sacred reading seems dull and uninspiring. But I have come to see that this approach to the Bible (and other literature as well) is a precious means of receiving and responding to God. Lectio divina is one way of actualizing the prayer, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” It has been a way for many to find the Word of God again when it has become somewhat dull and routine.
At the beginning of the article, I promised to share some of the blessings I’ve received by using this process. As I have moved along, I’m sure you’ve picked up some of them in the way I’ve described the method itself. Sacred reading has made prayer and study all one fabric. It has freed me from the obsession to read a certain amount whether I get anything out of it or not. It has given me a deepening appreciation for the way each book of the Bible unfolds and progresses.
It has enabled me to utilize many other tools in gleaning truth from the Scripture. And it has challenged me to validate the intention of Bible reading in the first place; that is, to live the message.
In addition to these important things, I would add some others. Sacred reading has increased my sense of intimacy with God. It has enabled me to see that I do not have to wait until some expert tells me what the Bible says. It has given me a sense of anticipation for sharing what I am learning with others, both as a check and balance and also as the basis for fruitful discussion. Lectio divina has enriched my sense of communion with the saints, in that I realize I am using a method which Christians have used for centuries.
Ever find yourself going through a time when you need a boost in your use of the Bible? Try lectio divina. Plug into the process of sacred reading. I predict you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what you discover. I predict you’ll be grateful that God indeed speaks when we use this method to listen. God bless you in the quest!
Steve Harper is Professor of Spiritual Formation and Wesley Studies at the Florida-Dunnam campus of Asbury Theological Seminary in Orlando. He was the founding director of The Pathways Initiative, a ministry of The Upper Room to spiritual leaders. He has authored 12 books and co-authored six others. His latest book is Talking in the Dark: Praying When Life Doesn’t Make Sense. This article originally appeared in the Asbury Herald and is reprinted by permission.
by Good News | Dec 28, 2009 | Magazine Articles
By Rob Renfroe
If you own a television, listen to the radio, or read the newspaper, it’s nearly impossible to not get caught up in the intense debate regarding health care. Few issues regarding public policy have created such emotion and passion. And rightly so—health care literally concerns matters of life and death.
Recently, Jim Winkler, the General Secretary of our United Methodist General Board of Church and Society, weighed in on the subject in an editorial titled “Congregational Malpractice.” His jumping off point was the statement: “The fundamental test of our society is how it treats the least powerful among us.” I don’t disagree. Our Lord had a particular concern for the least and the last and the looked-over; we should, as well.
Who in our society are the least powerful and the most vulnerable? It’s an easy answer. There is no group in this country as powerless or at such great risk as are the unborn. Once conceived, there is a one in five chance that a fetus’ existence will be terminated by an abortion.
One in five. Persons playing Russian roulette have a greater chance of surviving than do our nation’s unborn. No other group is at such risk of not surviving the next nine months—not the poor, not cancer patients, not those suffering with AIDS. Not even those who are without health insurance. And no other group is as incapable of speaking for itself or protecting its rights.
What makes Mr. Winkler’s statement so curious and sad is that the Board of Church and Society is one of two official United Methodist bodies that are “member organizations” of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC). The other is the Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministries.
The RCRC describes itself as “pro-choice,” not pro-abortion. However, it supports abortion not just when the mother’s life is in peril. It supports abortion for any reason and at any time, including late-term and partial-birth abortions.
Our Book of Discipline states: “We cannot affirm abortion as an acceptable means of birth control, and we unconditionally reject it as a means of gender selection.” At the 2000 General Conference, United Methodism voted overwhelmingly to oppose partial-birth abortion by a vote of 622-275.
For too many years now, official bodies within our denomination, supported by our apportionments, have allied themselves with political extremists. The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) has lobbied for issues such as taxpayer-funded abortions and partial-birth abortions. United Methodist boards and agencies should do nothing that even appears to be supportive of that organization.
Within our American society, there are many views as to when human life begins. But can’t we as people of faith who believe that life is sacred agree to err on the side of caution? Can’t we agree that we should neither support nor be affiliated with organizations that want no restrictions whatsoever upon terminating the existence of the most vulnerable among us?
To those who plead ignorance about the beginning of life, I ask, “Why use your claimed ignorance as permission to perpetuate what could be (and I believe is) a great evil upon the most vulnerable in our society? Where you are uncertain, shouldn’t you be most careful, not most reckless?”
“Destruction of the embryo in the mother’s womb is a violation of the right to live which God has bestowed upon this nascent life,” writes German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his notable book Ethics.
In his editorial, Mr. Winkler concludes with this statement: “Any congregation that doesn’t seek health care for all of the uninsured should be sued for malpractice!” I wonder what a general board of the United Methodist Church is guilty of when it calls us to care about the most vulnerable, and at the same time partners with an organization that believes the termination of the most defenseless among us should be legal anytime, anywhere for any reason?
Renewing the United Methodist Church is not just about theology. It’s about bringing our boards and agencies to the point that they reflect what most United Methodists believe. Obviously, we still have a long way to go when those who claim to represent us and spend our apportionment dollars are willing to play Russian roulette with human life.
Rob Renfroe is the President and Publisher of Good News
by Good News | Dec 28, 2009 | Magazine Articles
Archive: The turning tine of United Methodism
By Bill Bouknight
Over the past 15 years, we have witnessed the cresting and subsequent decline of the liberal tide in American Methodism. Simultaneously, the influence of evangelicalism and orthodoxy has been steadily increasing within the last decade.
As measured by membership and influence, the United Methodist Church has been in decline for the last 40 years. A definite low point for the denomination was November 1993, when United Methodists participated in the infamous “Re-Imagining Conference” in Minneapolis. Sophia, the goddess of wisdom, was worshipped, the doctrine of Atonement was ridiculed, and lesbianism was glorified. At least one United Methodist helped plan that conference, and it was an approved continuing education event for many staff members of United Methodist general boards and agencies.
Most UM bishops made no public response to this heretical display. Only a handful of UM leaders such as Bishops William Cannon, Earl Hunt, and Tom Stockton denounced certain teachings of that conference as being contrary to United Methodist doctrines and ethical standards. Despite the silence of most UM leaders, the Re-Imagining Conference had a sobering impact on the denomination—serving as a wake-up call within United Methodism.
The liberal tide in the UM Church, promoted by some bishops, general boards and agencies, and seminaries, began to ebb. Liberalism’s high point may have come in 1996—the year when 15 UM bishops took a public stand at General Conference in favor of liberalizing the denomination’s position on homosexuality. Since then, liberalism has been in decline and the evangelical influence has increased. This trend was clearly evident at the General Conferences of 2000, 2004, and 2008. The apparent rejection in 2009 of most of the 32 constitutional amendments by the Annual Conferences of the church just confirms the theory that a gradual course correction has been occurring within the grassroots of a misdirected Methodism in North America.
The most contentious issue in the struggle between the liberal and evangelical elements of the UM Church is the practice of homosexuality among members and clergy. On this issue and a range of others, United Methodism was considered to be one of America’s most liberal denominations 25 years ago. That perception has changed. A 2009 survey of Protestant clergy on the issue of same-sex marriage illustrates how UM clergy differ from others. Whereas 67 percent of United Church of Christ clergy and 49 percent of Episcopal clergy favor same-sex marriage, only 25 percent of UM clergy do. Though human sexuality dominates the national debate in the UM Church, underneath that issue is a more fundamental one—the authority of Scripture.
Jesus promised that he would build his church (Matthew 16:18) and one of the surest ways we know to be obedient to God is to be faithful to the Holy Scripture. It was Jesus who prayed for the church, saying, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).
God seems to be using at least six factors in the continuing process of renewing and reforming United Methodism toward faithfulness to his Word.
1. Most evangelistically-minded churches grow, while others seldom do. Quite simply, too many of our United Methodist congregations don’t know how to reach out. Though most liberal United Methodists are compassionate, kind people, their churches seldom grow. One definite reason is theological. Most evangelical Christians feel a sense of urgency about lost people. They really believe that people who are outside a relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are at risk of spending all eternity in a horrible place where God is totally absent. By way of contrast, many liberal United Methodists are universalists—believing that all persons are going to heaven regardless of what they believe or do. Such a belief makes evangelism irrelevant.
Recently I studied one particular annual conference in the Southeastern Jurisdiction. The ten local churches with the highest worship attendance figures for the previous year were quite diverse in terms of location (some are inner-city, others suburban) and in worship style (traditional, contemporary, and blended). But these ten churches have one thing in common—all of their senior ministers are evangelical/orthodox in theology. That same pattern probably prevails in most other annual conferences.
Jesus said that he came to earth “to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). The Holy Spirit seems to bless those congregations that focus primary attention and resources on seeking, serving, and saving lost people.
2. United Methodist renewal and reform groups are making a positive contribution. The “granddaddy” of UM reform organizations is Good News, launched in 1966 by Charles Keysor’s article in the Christian Advocate. For 28 years, the Rev. James V. Heidinger II led Good News with prophetic courage and winsomeness. Now, the Rev. Rob Renfroe leads this vital agency of renewal and reform. Other organizations like The Confessing Movement, The Institute on Religion and Democracy, The Mission Society, Lifewatch, Transforming Congregations, and others have joined in the struggle.
3. High-quality biblical material has been introduced into the UM educational curriculum. The Disciple series and Christian Believer program have anchored thousands of United Methodists to the Bible and to Wesleyan theology. The Walk to Emmaus ministry and the small-group movement have merged solid biblical education with Christian fellowship and shared prayer. Most revivals in the history of the church are triggered by a Spirit-led rediscovery of Scripture. The current movement of the Spirit is no exception.
4. Even one seminary can make a difference. Approximately one out of six UM clergypersons is being trained at Asbury Theological Seminary. Though Methodist in heritage and tradition, Asbury is not an official seminary of the church. Because the 13 official UM seminaries are forced to compete with Asbury, the smart ones are actively trying to recruit orthodox faculty and evangelical students.
5. Ph.D.s can contribute to the renewal of United Methodism. A Foundation for Theological Education (AFTE) has sponsored over 100 bright students (usually orthodox in theology) who have completed their doctoral degrees. These “John Wesley Fellows” are becoming faculty members and leaders of UM colleges and seminaries. United Methodist seminary students are getting a far more orthodox and scripturally-centered education than they would have received 30 years ago.
6. The amazing growth of United Methodism outside the United States, especially on the continent of Africa, will transform the denomination. If current trends continue, it is estimated that within 15 years there may be more United Methodists in Africa than in the United States. Most African United Methodists are evangelical and orthodox and embrace a very high view of biblical authority. Thus it is not surprising that most African United Methodists oppose liberal activism.
What will be the future of the UM Church? Currently, the denomination is locked in a battle over scriptural authority (but debated in terms of sexuality). Many liberals are unhappy because they feel that their consciences are being violated by the UM rules governing human sexuality. Some liberals hope that a “middle ground” can be found, allowing each jurisdiction to fix its own standards governing sexuality. Traditionalist leaders are convinced that any middle ground that compromises scriptural standards would be devastating. However this conflict is resolved, it will not address the underlying disagreement over the interpretation and authority of Scripture.
The current stalemate is tragic because it robs the UM Church of vitality and distracts her from her mission. The UM Church has the word “United” in its name, but there can be no real unity as long as such fundamental disagreement persists about biblical authority and the essentials of Wesleyan theology. Martin Luther famously said, “Don’t trouble me with questions about unity when the Word is compromised.”
At this time, the theological and spiritual pendulum is swinging in the evangelical and orthodox direction, but the church is always tempted to sell out to cultural values and desert its “first love.”
The contemporary UM revival will continue only as long as its leaders and membership follow God’s recipe for revival as given in II Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
The Holy Spirit will provide power for a renewed United Methodist Church if we will be faithful to Scripture and will “contend for the faith once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 1:4).
Bill Bouknight served 41 years in full-time ordained ministry until his retirement in 2007. He served twice as a delegate to United Methodism’s General Conference and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the United Methodist Congress on Evangelism. He is a recipient of both the Harry Denman Evangelism Award and the Philip Award for distinguished service in evangelism. Dr. Bouknight is the former chairman of The Confessing Movement within the United Methodist Church and the author of several books, including If Disciples Grew Like Kudzu (Bristol House Ltd.).
by Good News | Dec 28, 2009 | Magazine Articles
By Tim Tanton
The United Methodist Church’s roots in Côte d’Ivoire date back to 1914, when William Wadé Harris arrived in the country from neighboring Liberia.
Completing a prison sentence for his role in a political revolt, Harris heard God directing him to Côte d’Ivoire. Telling the story today, United Methodist Bishop Benjamin Boni says people would walk more than 100 miles to hear Harris preach, and the magicians and juju makers fled before the evangelist.
If Harris were to visit Côte d’Ivoire almost a century later, he would find a church that has grown over the decades into a powerful presence, providing a wide range of ministries.
The church started in the area of Grand Bassam, the French colonial capital on the coast of the West African country. Harris went on to neighboring countries, and in 1923, William Platt arrived and built on his predecessor’s work. In 1924, the Methodist Church was officially established in Côte d’Ivoire. The church was related to the British Methodist Church for most of the 20th century, becoming fully autonomous in 1985.
In 2004, the United Methodist Church’s top legislative assembly welcomed the Protestant Methodist Church of Côte d’Ivoire into the denomination as a provisional annual conference. Four years later, the assembly confirmed Côte d’Ivoire as an episcopal area of the denomination. Boni, who had been president of the church since 1998, became bishop in 2005.
Steady growth. The church has about 700,000 members and serves a wider community of about 1 million, in a country with a total population of 21 million. The Côte d’Ivoire Conference’s main offices are in Abidjan, the commercial
capital.
About a third of Ivoirians are Christian, a third or more are Muslim, and some 20 percent follow traditional African religions. Methodism is the largest Protestant tradition, and the Catholic Church has the largest Christian presence.
The denomination has 900 churches and 100 preaching points, and its membership is growing 7 percent to 8 percent annually, according to the conference. This thriving church is led by a relatively small number of pastors—about 109—with help from 6,000 local pastors and 7,000 to 8,000 class leaders.
Boni also oversees the United Methodist mission to neighboring Senegal, which has 800 to 900 members, and Cameroon, with about 1,200 members. For those countries as in Côte d’Ivoire, training pastors is a priority.
Women and youth. Women and young people are driving the Ivoirian church’s growth. Up to 60 percent of the church’s members are 35 and younger, mirroring the country’s demographics, according to the Cote d’Ivoire Conference.
Methodism’s growth has been accompanied by an expansion of ministries not only into education but also health care and economic development. The church operates dozens of schools, a hospital, and other health care ministries. In a country where governmental resources are under strain, the United Methodist Church is standing in the gap to address the needs of the whole person.
Tim Tanton is director of the Media Group for United Methodist Communications.
by Good News | Dec 28, 2009 | Magazine Articles
By Tim Tanton
When God spoke to Bishop Benjamin Boni, the leader of the Côte d’Ivoire’s United Methodists responded.
It was October 2000, and violence had convulsed the country following public anger over a presidential election that was perceived to have been rigged by the military ruler. Boni heard God telling him to rally the country to prayer.
“One day, a voice clearly said to me, ‘Call on the churches, not only the Methodists, but other churches, to join in prayer, and we did that,” Boni says. “And for (a while)…we had peace.”
Boni’s ability to work with the other religious leaders of his country and mount a national call to prayer reflects his stature as the top Methodist leader in Côte d’Ivoire, and it shows the standing of the denomination, now part of the United Methodist Church, in the life of the country.
The incident also underscores the importance of prayer to the 57-year-old bishop.
Praying for the hopeless
It is about 6 o’clock on a Tuesday morning, and the Boni household is getting ready for the day. For the parents, there is work. For the young people, work or school.
First, the family has worship. Bishop and Madame Boni gather with their five daughters and son, ranging from 20 to 32, plus two nieces. They read from the Bible, sing songs, hear a message, and pray.
This morning, the bishop and his wife, N’Gbesso Berthe Boni, have gathered their five daughters and son, along with other household members, on the patio of their home. Today’s Scripture is Job 28. Bishop Boni talks about wisdom, noting that we can find wisdom only near God. In Christ, we have all the treasures, he says, so if we need wisdom, we must go to Christ.
The bishop cites the proverb that says fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Wisdom should bring a person to know and serve his or her Creator, he says.
When the time comes to share prayer concerns, Madame Boni lifts up the country and people who are sick.
“Family worship is important because without prayer we cannot do anything, as stated by the Apostle Paul,” she says later, in a follow-up interview. “That is why we put Jesus in the beginning of everything. In the morning, we, the parents, lead the family worship. At night, the children will lead. Each has his turn. Everyone has his day. We pray for all subjects.”
Bishop Boni is writing a family prayer book in which he emphasizes the importance of worship time together.
“To be able to fight with victory in this world, we need God every time,” he says. Children must be educated and shown the way of God, so they will be close to him when they grow up, he says.
That close relationship is central in his life, as well. “Being bishop is not easy because you are responsible for a big congregation, so you have to be with God to learn from God,” he says. In times of trouble, he adds, God speaks to him.
A book for the soul
As at home, prayer and worship come first at work. Stepping out of his car, the bishop enters the annual conference office, wearing a dark suit despite the heat and carrying a brown leather briefcase with an elephant sculpted into the side. He proceeds to a room where the staff is seated in a circle for worship. Surrounded by his top clergy aides, the bishop leads the service, and during the sermon elaborates on his message from earlier in the morning about Job 28.
Prayer is the constant in a schedule that changes from day to day. One morning, for example, he participates in the dedication ceremony of a new Bible commentary at the Palace of Culture.
The bishop views the commentary as an important resource for the faith life of the country. Commentaire Biblique Contemporain is the first French-language Bible commentary written by African francophone scholars—Methodist, Anglican, Baptist, evangelical—and has been five years in production.
Being written in an African context makes it particularly important, says the bishop, who wrote the foreword.
His role in the dedication ceremony is to give the final prayer or benediction. Speaking in French, he thanks God for the commentary, which he says “will do good things for our souls.”
In the early evening hours, the bishop will gather again with his family. They will close the day as they began it, in prayer.
Tim Tanton is director of the Media Group at United Methodist Communications. Thanks to Isaac Broune, Cote d’Ivoire Conference communicator, for his help in obtaining the quote from Madame Boni.
