Author Archives: Richard Heyduck

About Richard Heyduck

Pastor of Hardy Memorial Methodist Church, a Global Methodist Congregation. PhD Fuller Seminary MDiv Asbury Seminary BA Southwestern University

Wright on Justification – 2

Posted on November 13, 2009 by Richard Heyduck

Notes on N.T. Wright, Justification: God’s Plan & Paul’s Vision, Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2009 Chapter 1 The dominance of a particular reading of justification within the reformed tradition has tended to shape the understanding of theologically concerned protestants the … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, N.T. Wright, Salvation | Leave a comment

Wright on Justification – 1

Posted on November 12, 2009 by Richard Heyduck

In this and future posts I will be sharing my notes on N.T. Wright, Justification: God’s Plan & Paul’s Vision, Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2009. If you haven’t read it yet, it’s well worth your time. In light of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, John Piper, Justification, N.T. Wright, Salvation | 2 Comments

Three Cheers for Failure!

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Richard Heyduck

“Too big to fail.” we’ve heard that more than we like lately. A euphemism for businesses that are so intertwined with other businesses and societal institutions that we must do whatever it takes to keep them from failing, lest even … Continue reading →

Posted in Health Care, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Our Audience

Posted on October 22, 2009 by Richard Heyduck

Eric Bryant asks, “Has listening to church attenders led to the decline of the church?” Declining churches, in his experience, focus on the people they already have. What do they want? How can we keep them happy? Innovative churches, on … Continue reading →

Posted in church growth, Discipleship, Ecclesiology, Evangelism, Jesus | 1 Comment

Ancient-Future

Posted on October 15, 2009 by Richard Heyduck

I sure have heard the adjectival phrase “Ancient-Future” thrown around a lot these past few years. As one who sees value in recovery of historic Christian doctrine, I can see “ancient” as embodying a willingness to be associated with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Ecclesiology | Leave a comment

Asking Questions

Posted on October 15, 2009 by Richard Heyduck

From ancient times, theologians have had a motto, “Faith seeking understanding.” As followers of Jesus we don’t start from doubt or from skepticism. We don’t even start from a position of knowing nothing, from a blank slate. We start from … Continue reading →

Posted in Discipleship, Spirituality | Leave a comment

Kirbyjon Caldwell at the Gathering

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Richard Heyduck

This year’s Gathering (Texas Conference Pastors Retreat) began with a message from Kirbyjon Caldwell of Windsor Village UMC. Kirbyjon is always worth listening to. He began with a statistic about our current situation: The United Methodist Church is losing 73,000 … Continue reading →

Posted in Texas Annual Conference, United Methodism | 5 Comments

Letter to a Pilgrim

Posted on September 17, 2009 by Richard Heyduck

One of the phrases I’ve heard all my life is “If you want it done right, do it yourself.” I’ve seen the truth of it in much of my life. What amazes me is that God doesn’t think that way. … Continue reading →

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A Dry Brook

Posted on September 9, 2009 by Richard Heyduck

Today’s a normal Wednesday – prayer meeting & bible study in the morning (along with the requisite preparation), Rotary at noon, later picking up HRH at school, then cooking dinner since my wife will be running the church children’s program … Continue reading →

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Success in ministry

Posted on August 29, 2009 by Richard Heyduck

Several years ago we had an after-school ministry for upper elementary aged children. By the time we stopped it, it looked like a whopping success. Our little small town church would have 40-50 kids, mostly not from our church, show … Continue reading →

Posted in church growth, Leadership, Local church, Ministry | 1 Comment