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Podcast — Harry Denman: ‘Are We Making Christ Known?’

Posted in Christian/Methodist History, Evangelism, Laity, Sermons, United Methodist Men, tagged , , on February 22, 2010 | 1 Comment »

MethodistThinker.com is on hiatus from posting new material for several weeks. During this time, we are showcasing podcasts from the fall of 2009.

Last year marked the 60th anniversary of the Foundation for Evangelism, founded in 1949 by Dr. Harry Denman.

Dr. Harry Denman

Dr. Harry Denman

As young man in the 1920s, Harry Denman showed exceptional gifts in evangelism and administration — both in his service at the First Methodist Church of Birmingham, Alabama, and as a lay leader in the North Alabama Conference.

When The Methodist Church was formed in 1939 (through the merger of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Protestant Church, and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South), Harry Denman was elected to lead the new denomination’s evangelism program.

A decade later, he launched the Foundation for Evangelism as a means of supporting the evangelism ministries of The Methodist Church. (Today, the Foundation’s work includes supporting professors of evangelism at United Methodist-related institutions, sponsoring the biennial Harry Denman Lectures at the UM Congress on Evangelism, and honoring outstanding efforts in local church evangelism through presentation of the Harry Denman Evangelism Award.)

Dr. Denman retired from the Foundation in 1965 but continued his ministry of lay preaching and personal witness. Billy Graham once said that he “never knew a man who encouraged more people in the field of evangelism than Harry Denman.”

Harry Denman’s “body” died (that is how he always described physical death) in 1976. He was 83.

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This podcast features a sermon by Harry Denman that probably was recorded in the late 1960s. Listen using the audio player below (17:30) — or download an mp3 file (8.3 MB; on a PC, right click and choose “save as”).

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To subscribe to the MethodistThinker Podcast, use the link near the top of the right column.


Related posts
• Dr. Billy Abraham on United Methodism: ‘There is no common faith among us’ | Harry Denman Lecture at the 2009 Congress on Evangelism
• Sir Alan Walker: ‘Christianity at the Crossroads’ | Harry Denman Lecture at the 1980 Congress on Evangelism

Related information
• About the Foundation for Evangelism | Foundation for Evangelism
• ‘I Delight to Do Thy Will, O My God’ | A sermon by Harry Denman (audio), recorded at Lake Junaluska, N.C. (early 1960s) (posted on the Foundation for Evangelism web site)
• ‘Living and Believing’ | A sermon by Harry Denman (audio), recorded at Lake Junaluska, N.C. (August 1965) (posted on the Foundation for Evangelism web site)
• ‘A Lonely Place for Prayer’ | A sermon by Harry Denman (audio), recorded at Lake Junaluska, N.C. (August 1965) (posted on the Foundation for Evangelism web site)
• Prophetic evangelist: Harry Denman | Ronnie G. Collins, ImageBearer’s Weblog (May 27, 2009)

Books about Harry Denman
• Libraries that have Harry Denman: A Biography by Harold Rogers (Upper Room, 1977) | Where to buy a used copy
• Libraries that have Prophetic Evangelist: The Living Legacy of Harry Denman (Upper Room, 1993) | Where to buy a used copy

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Podcast: Dr. James Heidinger on United Methodist Renewal

Posted in Church Renewal, United Methodist Church, tagged , , on February 15, 2010 |

MethodistThinker.com is on hiatus from posting new material for several weeks. During this time, we are showcasing podcasts from the fall of 2009.

Our mid-October MethodistThinker Podcast featured a presentation by Dr. James V. Heidinger II, who retired last summer from the leadership of Good News, United Methodism’s flagship renewal ministry.

Dr. James V. Heidinger

Dr. James V. Heidinger II

Born into a political family in Illinois (his grandfather was a three-term U.S. Congressman and his father a state officeholder), Jim Heidinger decided his calling was in Christian ministry. He attended Asbury College and Asbury Seminary in Kentucky, and then earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.

For 12 years, he served churches in the East Ohio Annual Conference, then was named the director of Good News in 1981.

In that role, Dr. Heidinger held forth for nearly three decades as a calm and steady voice for United Methodist renewal, through his writings (in Good News magazine and in book form), speaking engagements, and as a media spokesman for evangelical concerns in the UMC.

Jim Heidinger retired from Good News on July 1, 2009, after 28 years of service.

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This podcast features a presentation by Dr. James Heidinger recorded earlier this year at a gathering of the Arkansas Conference Confessing Movement. Listen using the audio player below (23 min.) — or download an mp3 file (10.7 MB; on a PC, right click and choose “save as”).

∞

To subscribe to the MethodistThinker Podcast, use the link near the top of the right column.


Related posts
• A salute to James Heidinger of Good News
• Billy Abraham on United Methodism: ‘There is no common faith among us’

Related articles and information
• Methodism’s SILENT minority | Charles W. Keysor (July 1966)
• Much has changed since Jim Heidinger became a leader of UM evangelicals | Terry Mattingly, Scripps Howard News Service (July 9, 2009)
• Reflections on passing the torch (PDF) | James V. Heidinger II, Good News (May/June 2009)
• Heidinger reflects on Good News leadership | Linda Bloom, United Methodist News Service (April 2, 2009)
• Good News announces new leadership upon Heidinger retirement | Good News (March 12, 2009)
• United Methodism in crisis: Scriptural renewal through the Good News Movement | Chapter 4 of Public Pulpits: Methodists and Mainline Churches in the Moral Argument of Public Life by Steven M. Tipton (University of Chicago Press, 2008 — via Google Books)
• An address to the Faithful and Welcoming Churches national meeting (PDF) | James V. Heidinger II (July 2008)
• 40 years of vision for United Methodist reformation and renewal (PDF) | James V. Heidinger II, Good News (November/December 2007)
• Lessons from United Methodist Renewal (PDF—see pp. 4-8) | An address by James V. Heidinger II to the Presbyterian Coalition Gathering (November 2005)
• An interview with the Rev. Dr. James V. Heidinger II | Katherine T. Phan, The Christian Post (Nov. 6, 2004)
• Turning the Mainline around | Michael S. Hamilton and Jennifer McKinney, Christianity Today (Aug. 1, 2003)
• Good News board honors Heidinger | Tim Tanton, United Methodist News Service (Feb. 13, 2003)
• Coalition speaker Heidinger describes renewal ‘phenomenon’ | Evan Silverstein, PCUSA News (May 27, 2003)
• Good News’ response to Cal/Nevada’s dismissal of complaints against 68 clergy involved in same-sex covenant | James V. Heidinger II on behalf of the Good News Board of Directors (Feb. 14, 2000)
• Good News board urges bishops to preserve unity of church | United Methodist News Service (Feb. 2, 1999)
• Good News celebration emphasizes revival and renewal | United Methodist News Service (July 1, 1997)
• ‘Good News’ says push to accept homosexual practice threatens to split United Methodist Church | United Methodist News Service (May 6, 1997)
• Evangelical leaders from mainline denominations form new association; Heidinger named chairman | United Methodist News Service (Oct. 24, 1996)
• ‘Re-Imagining’ rejects historic Christianity | James V. Heidinger II, Good News (January/February 1994)
• Mainline conservatives protest women’s ‘Re-Imagining’ conference | Carlton Elliott Smith, Religious News Service (Jan. 15, 1994—reprinted in the Feb. 16, 1994 issue of The Christian Century)
• ‘Durham Declaration’ asks for ‘Scriptural approach’ to abortion | United Methodist News Service (March 12, 1991)

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Podcast: Sir Alan Walker — ‘Christianity at the Crossroads’

Posted in Christian/Methodist History, Doctrine, Evangelism, Missions, Sermons, United Methodist Church on February 8, 2010 |

MethodistThinker.com will be on hiatus from posting new material for the next several weeks. During this time, we will showcase podcasts from the fall of 2009.

The premiere podcast of our fall 2009 season featured one of the most influential Methodists of the 20th century: the Rev. Dr. Sir Alan Walker.

Sir Alan Walker

Sir Alan Walker

Born in Sydney, Australia, in 1911, Alan Walker was the 13th person in his family tree to become a preacher.

In the 1950s, he became known for leading evangelistic meetings across the Australian continent. Later, he came the United States to work briefly with the Board of Evangelism of The Methodist Church (a predecessor denomination of The United Methodist Church).

Returning to Australia in the late 1950s, he became the superintendent of the Sydney’s famed Central Methodist Mission (now known as Wesley Mission), a post he held for 20 years. During that time, he founded Lifeline, an innovative telephone counseling ministry that continues today.

In 1978, Alan Walker became the first World Director of Evangelism for the World Methodist Council. In that position, he traveled to more than 75 countries to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.

He was honored with knighthood in 1981. In 1986, he and his wife, Lady Winifred Walker, received the World Methodist Peace Award.

In his 70s, he founded what is now known as the Alan Walker College of Evangelism in Sydney.

The Rev. Dr. Sir Alan Walker died in January 2003 at the age of 91.

∞

This podcast features a recording of Sir Alan Walker from the 1980 United Methodist Congress on Evangelism, held in Tulsa, Okla. Listen using the audio player below (27 min.) — or download an mp3 file (12.3 MB; on a PC, right click and choose “save as”).

∞

To subscribe to the MethodistThinker.com Podcast, use the link near the top of the right column.


Related information
• Honoring Sir Alan Walker | Gordon Moyes, successor to Alan Walker as superintendent of Wesley Mission (from an address originally presented in June 2001)
• Theologian, leader, champion of the poor: Sir Alan Walker dies aged 91 | Wesley Mission news release (Jan. 30, 2003)
• Sir Alan Walker, World Methodist evangelist, dies at 91 | Linda Bloom, United Methodist News Service (Jan. 30, 2003)
• Remembering Sir Alan Walker | Sunday Nights radio program (transcript), Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Feb. 2, 2003)
• A study in word and deed: A eulogy at Rev. Sir Alan Walker’s Thanksgiving Service | Harold Henderson, author, Reach for the World: The Alan Walker Story (Feb. 11, 2003)

Books by Alan Walker
• Standing Up To Preach: The Art of Evangelical Preaching
• Breakthrough: Rediscovery of the Holy Spirit
• The Whole Gospel for the Whole World (The Wieand Lectures in Evangelism)
• The Promise and the Power (The 1980 Harry Denman Lectures)

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