USA odyssey coming to an end!

Hi folks,

Yes, our amazing odyssey here in the United States is fast drawing to a close. We continue to be most grateful to all those who helped us get here, for Asbury Theological Seminary and the Beeson programme and so many Americans who have extended warm hospitality and friendship.
Since the last blog entry we made a foray to Washington D.C and to Houghton (Wesleyan) College in Western New York. Washington is without question one of the great cities of the world and we were pleased that Nathan Fussner was able to show us around as he works downtown and we learnt from him how to navigate the subway and to get around all the amazing museums (including the Air and Space Museum - the world's most popular museum -no surprise to me!). We loved walking around the long mall and seeing the Lincoln Memorial (and the spot where Martin Luther King gave his famous "I have a dream" speech in 1963), Washington Monument and the pool into which Forrest Gump and Jenny jumped! We were pleased to stay in the parsonage basement of Rev's Wayne and Jo Anne Lyon. United Wesleyan Church is a remarkable multi-cultural church with many different ethnic congregations with bi-vocational pastors and Wayne as the senior and supervising pastor. Jo Anne is the CEO and founder of World Hope International and we were delighted to visit their HQ and see the remarkable compassionate ministries they are enabling around the globe. Just as remarkable was Jo Anne's willingness to put her name forward for General Superintendent nomination of the Wesleyan Church in North America at the forthcoming General Conference. Her success would certainly be good for the church, not only being the first woman to a GS position but her global, ecumenical and political experience would be invaluable.

Leaving Washington we drove up to Western New York to Houghton College which is a long established liberal arts college in a beautiful rural setting. New Zealand has many friends at the college, especially Wayne McBeth, Jonathan Case and Mike Walters. I had the opportunity to offer a prayer in chapel, meet with the President and share with a number of of interested students about missionary service in "Middle Earth". The college is a remarkable place with about 1200 students and a strong Christian ethos as well as amazing facilities. What a shame that in Australia and New Zealand we don't have access to such liberal arts colleges for our Wesleyan Methodist young people. It is so foundational to have a good education by professors and institution that are clearly Christian in such a profound way. Who knows what the Lord might have in store for our South Pacific region through the ministry reach of places like Houghton or Indiana Wesleyan University.

Not long after getting back from our big trip (2000 miles) I was off to Korea with the Beeson pastor group. Our visit was hosted by the large Kwang Lim Methodist church (the largest Methodist Church in the world with 75,000 members). Asbury has a high profile in this church as the senior pastor is an Asbury Beeson graduate. We were treated like royalty and had many and varied experiences in worship, meetings, visiting their old folks rest home, climbing their beautiful prayer mountain and going out with some of their pastors on home visitations. In addition we also worshipped at Yoido Full Gospel Church (largest church in the world with 800,000 members). Our pastor group was even introduced in the service and we politely bowed! Despite the smoggy skies the blossoms were out and the Korean people were generous, polite and industrious. One other experience I won't easily forget was our trip to the DMZ which is the "hot spot" border between South and North Korea. The regimentation and seriousness of the soldiers facing each other, only metres apart, was surreal especially as since the cease fire in 1953 many people have been shot trying to escape from the communist north to the free south. I felt proud to see New Zealand mentioned as one of the many nations who fought the good fight in the early 1950s and have also contributed to the maintenance of strained peace since then.

It was a long trip back to Kentucky (14 hour flight from Seoul to Atlanta) and good to see the family after the nine days away. In the weeks since my return I have been busy with dissertation work ("Discover Your Wesleyan DNA") and writing my 5 part curriculum that I will be teaching back in Auckland later this year. I have been working (and wrestling) with the essential characteristics of the Wesleyan theological tradition and the way in which Wesley and his spiritual descendants have held theological truths in conjunctive tension e.g grace and truth, head and heart, evangelism and social justice, process and instantaneous transformation and so on. I have my proposal hearing with the D.Min faculty on 16 May and am hoping to gain their approval for my fieldwork before leaving the seminary. In recent weeks Jane and I have also been having lots of lunches and other meetings with faculty about our South Pacific/New Zealand situation and it would seem many are keen and willing to come to New Zealand to preach and teach (as well as have some vacation time!). We particularly enjoyed time with Ben Witherington III, one of the seminary's most prominent professors and a New Testament teacher with international prominence. Our meeting with the President of the seminary, Dr Kalas, was also positive as we discussed how Asbury's "ministry reach" might stretch into the South Pacific. Apparently there are some resources that might help with travel and other things. Again who knows what the Lord has in store!

Yesterday Jane and I made the long day trip to the World Methodist Headquarters at beautiful Lake Junaluska in North Carolina. About five hours driving each way but so worthwhile and we were warmly welcomed by Dr George Freeman, General Secretary. They even had the New Zealand flag flying in honour of our visit and our New Zealand church. Dr Freeman and his wife Virginia were very warm and inviting and we enjoyed lunch and meeting discussing our new New Zealand church membership and the blessings of belonging to the global network of Methodists/Wesleyans who now make up a membership of about 43 million people and a wider participatory community of about 73 million people. It was a pleasure to go through the Wesley museum and even to see our WMCNZ membership listed in the Oceania display.

We leave Asbury and the "Holy City" of Wilmore at the end of May and spend a brief time in Indiana before heading to Grand Rapids and our many friends in West Michigan before flying to Orlando in Florida for the first International Wesleyan Conference and part of the North American General Conference. So lots of meetings, presentations and things to be involved with, representing our New Zealand church.

As a family we will be sorry to say farewell to our many friends, especially in the Beeson pastor programme and the lovely setting of Wilmore, Kentucky. Yet we are very excited at the prospect of returning to New Zealand and our family and friends. Not to mention our own home and the new ECW Church Centre. We hear great things about all the work being done to finish the major renovation work and especially that by Project manager Jonathan Lane. Jeff and Beth Fussner have done a wonderful job in the senior pastor role and we look forward to seeing them in Orlando in a few weeks time.

What a privilege to belong to the great Body of Christ and for us to serve in such a special way. Our New Zealand church has a special place in the Wesleyan and Methodist world and there is so much goodwill and support for our mission. May this be a great encouragement to our pastors, leaders and people in New Zealand who have sacrificed much to build a new scriptural holiness church which proclaims grace and truth from a Wesleyan perspective.

Blessings to all.

Richard