By Brother Matthew Henson Preparing for any kind of travel to a new location requires some research prior to departure. I put my starting point and my destination into my mapping app to see the quickest and the shortest routes to get where I am heading. I look at the overview map in my planning […]
by Sister Cheryl Jacobs “Are you tired? Worn out? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace” (Matthew 11:28-30, The Message). The United Christian Ashrams International website […]
By Brother Brian Shimer Brother Stanley in A Song of Ascents tells the story of a Hindu government official, his wife and their 8-year-old girl at the Sat Tal Ashram. After a personal interview with Jones, the girl asked her parents, “Why did you go see Brother Stanley?” Her father replied, “We went to talk […]
By Brother Stephen Rankin The Bible mentions the heart somewhere in the neighborhood of a thousand times. This is a fact worth pondering. In everyday life, we think of the heart as a symbol for the central and essential. “Getting to the heart of the matter” means getting down to its core reality, whatever the […]
By Sister Cheryl Jacobs “In the beginning, God created …” “In the beginning was the Word” Praise and thanks to God the Father, who through Christ Jesus and Holy Spirit, created us, redeemed us , and beckoned us to begin real life – a life lived out in relationship with our good God and with […]
By Brother Matt Henson As the son of a pastor; the grandson of a pastor; and the brother of a pastor, my calling to ministry was limiting in the beginning because I only knew of ministry in one way: local church Pastor. When I knelt at an altar in response to God’s call on my […]
Brother Matt Henson and Brother E. Stanley Jones “You belong,” is an invitational message I have seen on several signs in my travels over the years. As I consider our vision for the United Christian Ashrams International Ministry, we want our fellowships to be a place where people can find belonging. In Brother Stanley’s ministry, […]
By Brother Stephen Rankin If you’ve spent any time reading leadership books, you’ve undoubtedly run across the central importance of leaders casting a vision. A number of years ago, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner co-authored The Leadership Challenge, which has become a best-seller. They offer five principles that leaders should embody. The first is “model […]
By Brother Brian Shimer I have this favorite scene in the scriptures: Jesus enters the house of the synagogue ruler, Jairus. He sends away the professional mourners, takes the parents along with Peter, James and John into the room of the girl, and then we read: “He took (the girl) by the hand and said […]
The Sunday bulletin included an announcement, “Join us for a time of fellowship after worship today.” The congregation moved from the worship space/sanctuary to the fellowship hall for coffee, donuts, oatmeal, and juice. The fellowship hall went from a quiet space to a dull roar of laughter, conversation, and people moving around. There was a […]
