An eager group of people from Germany and the U.S—all under 30. No formal church location or building. A congregation comprised of students, homosexuals, the privileged, homeless, atheists—the searching. And lives "wasted in service" to God and others.

While this may not be what many think of as the "Church," I have come to learn it is truly a beautiful portrait of heaven working on earth. And it's nothing new. As with the Early Church, it's built around fellowship and serving people's needs (Acts 2:41-47).

The phone rang and startled the chaplain awake from a deep sleep. She looked at the clock. 2:00 a.m., it read. An anxious voice on the other end said, “Chaplain, can you come now? There’s been an accident at the plant. We’ve lost someone.”

And so the marketplace chaplain went, donning her steel-toed shoes and grabbing her overcoat as she went out the door.

How often do we see Jesus in the Scriptures stopping what He was doing and attending to someone who seemed to be on the margins, a person of no importance? When parents brought their children to Jesus, the disciples scolded them for bothering Him. Yet Jesus stopped what He was doing to focus on the children and bless them.

The rebuke was painful for two reasons: I deserved it and I should have known better. My careless words could have deepened wounds in a divided congregation. I was sharply reminded of my moral and community responsibility to exercise stewardship over what I say and do.

I had spoken as a 'poster child' for a disease that plagues our culture. It undermines Christian discipleship and discredits the Church. The disease is intemperate and ill-informed speech.

Jesus cares about our friendship with Him! "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you" (John 15:13-15).

Jesus cares about our friendship with Him! "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you" (John 15:13-15).

In each issue, a forum of pastors, laity, theologians, and church leaders respond to your questions on subjects such as doctrine, theology, Christian living, and the church. Send your questions to Holiness Today, Church of the Nazarene Global Ministry Center, 17001 Prairie Star Parkway, Lenexa, KS 66220. E-mail: holinesstoday@nazarene.org. The editor regrets that all questions cannot be printed, acknowledged, or answered.

The history of the Church of the Nazarene has not been without its challenges. Storms of economic dislocation, global war, and political instability have all been weathered by the church. Internal squabbles that moved beyond mere differences of opinion severely stretched the missional and theological fabric of the church. Providentially, the fabric of the church remained secure, preventing a sundering that could have marginalized the denomination to the sidelines of missional effectiveness.

I saw in the distance a sight that nearly took my breath away. It was Mount Kilimanjaro. I stood and stared . . . I was drawn to it by the magnetism of its grandeur. -John Bowling, Making the Climb

It's Sunday morning in Paramaribo, Suriname, and a group of girls dressed in their prettiest attire have gathered to sing a song for the congregation at New Charlesburg Church of the Nazarene. A fresh-faced girl with braids begins to fervently sing the words, and four others follow her lead. The song ends, people clap, and the five smile as they walk back to their seats.