ARTICLES

Articles by Dr. Colin Archer

Methodism's, Charles Wesley's hymn, 'And Can It Be.' universally considered one of the greatest hymns of all time.

Charles Wesley, Methodism,s, co-founder with his brother, John Wesley, was a prolific writer of some 6,500 hymns!

John and Charles were both ordained Anglican clerics [John, a don of Oxford University] before they left - or were kicked out! - of the Anglican Church and founded Wesleyan-Methodism. Methodists were first identified by a nickname, "The methodical ones."

Remebering the Words of the Late C.R. Walker during his 1947 address on the aftermath of the Burma Road Riot

The underlying causes for this social unrest are manifold. We are in the majority but we have minority problems. We are poorly housed, poorly fed and poorly educated. Truth to tell, we are the wretched of the earth.

Many years ago, England and American missionaries walked among us intent on souls to save and bodies to enslave, until one day one of my ancestral brothers was forced to remark, 'Fadder, when firs' you come to Bahamas, you had da Bible and we had da land. Today, Fadder, we gat da Bible and you gat da land!

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August 23

Reflecting on the day...

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Wounded Healers

Underneath all the storms and tragedies of life; underneath all our personal storms of separation, isolation, despair and loneliness; underneath the paralyzing storms of suffering, pain and disaster- physical, emotional, mental, cultural and social; underneath that “monster of the seas”, hurricane Dorian; underneath life, underneath death itself; underneath all things known and unknown, are the alpha and omega everlasting and redemptive arms of the Divine, as concretely shown forth in and shines through the life and Spirit of the tortured, suffering, resurrected and ever-present Jesus of Nazareth, The Messiah-Christ - God’s human life.

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Refocusing the Wesleyan Small-Group Church
[Presented to an International symposium of assembled Methodists]

You are being invited to support the premise of this essay, that the most effective way to worship God and carry out the mission of the Church of Christ - to help make real the kingdom of God/heaven on earth - is in and through the unique nurturing format of a small-group church or a church small-group; and to regard the historic Wesleyan small group as a highly effective model for such a distinctly unique enterprise. A profoundly deep and personally satisfying and maturing relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and His devoted followers is best cultivated in the context of a small group. This proposition can be cogently supported on biblical, theological, psychological, sociological and cultural grounds.

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Approaches and Antidote to Suffering
[Bahamas Conference of The Methodist Church, Focus Event]

Good morning Madam president, brothers and sisters, friends.

In my thirty-five-year-old week-day radio program and newspaper column, Investing In Being Human, I’ve elected many times to focus this topic, suffering, as, The Mystery And Miracle of Suffering. Material for those works, and some pertinent data used in this paper, are informed by the thinking of Warren W. Wiersbe’s deeply insightful 158-page booklet, When Life Falls Apart [WLFA], and complimented by Pema Chodron’s When Things Fall Apart [Heart Advice for Difficult Times]. To these are added an infusion of devotional and biblical material.

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Rationale For Establishing A Spirit of Christ (SOC) Gathering

Introduction
The second week of Advent, 2013, is fast approaching as I apply in writing things now pondered many years, and consider today’s reflection by Rev. Bede Naegele, O.C.D. in his unique devotional booklet, Minute Meditations for Each Day, which gives comfort and inspiration. It is based upon the words of St. John’s gospel 1:12: Those who did receive Him [Jesus the Christ] He empowered to become children of God. Reflection: “To be God’s child means to be in holy conversation with the heavenly Father, to walk holding His hand, and to rest in His Heart for all eternity.

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Poverty 2.0 Is Back

Much talk about poverty and the poor is once again in vogue. It has been a topic of conversation since the dawn of time. It was certainly topical in biblical times, with talk of fair play, justice and all that. It was even the topic of my first book, Poverty: The Church’s Abandoned Revolution [a scientific, biblical and theological commentary], published in 1980, 33 years ago. It’s deja vu all over again; we’ve seen this movie before, haven’t we? I call it, Poverty 2.0.

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Depression and Suicide in the News

Of the thousands of pieces I’ve written for my program Investing in Being Human, few have been produced with more passion and fervor than those dealing with depression and suicide.

The suicidal death of popular US evangelist Rick Warren’s 27-year-old son, Matthew Warren, who killed himself last week, presumably with a firearm, brings to the fore once again, the relationship between mental illness, depression and suicide.

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If the Resurrection was a Hoax

Even if it could be proved that Jesus was not raised from the dead, I would still believe wholeheartedly in Him as the Christ, One with God Almighty.

Resurrection is, for me, something that takes place today, in the here and now, or it doesn’t take place at all; it is more a state of mind and being than it is historic fact. In reality, I’ve often seen, felt and touched the resurrection of Christ in the lives and relationships of believers and sometimes, even would-be believers.

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Diversions, Distractions, Interruptions

I didn’t think it at the time, and it certainly didn’t feel like it, but looking back over the years, all the diversions, distractions and so-called interruptions I’ve experienced with consistent regularity throughout life, have, on the whole, proven to be more blessing than bane.

Slowly but surely, I have come to regard unplanned experiences as some of life’s most important, productive ingredients. Unforeseen diversions, distractions and interruptions seem to have a way of freeing me from my overly anxious, ambitious and unrealistic plans, and provide instead fresh opportunities to see, hear, feel and come to know myself and others in new, unexpected even exciting ways, and enter into liberating perspectives that would otherwise be impossible. I am then free to tap, once again, into the wonder fhb, a fallible human being.

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You’re Not the Problem, I Am

Working on the assumption that the problem is me, not you, can literally save your life – mentally, emotionally, physically even spiritually. I know this to be true, because it has given me the most effective way to live my own life - on a practical level - the past thirty and more years.

If we don’t have a tried and tested formula by which to live our lives on a day to day basis, we’ll probably not make it; or, at best, we’ll get thrown way off track. So I offer here a workable ‘to make it’ plan, for living.

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The Nerve Gas Controversy: An Emancipation-Like Event In The Commonwealth of the Bahamas
[August, 15 – 18, 1970]

An extraordinary thing happened to me personally, professionally and nationally, forty-three years ago, in the land of my birth, four days in August, 1970, ending on the 18th. Looking back reflectively, I now realize that something extraordinary happened too at the international level. It was an emancipation-like event.

Back then, I was a twentyish-year old Methodist minister, married with a young son - another child on the way - pastoring seven rural congregations in the parish of St Thomas, Jamaica; back home, in Nassau, on vacation.

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Males and Females in Un-communication

You’ve probably heard it many times. "He never seems to listen to me. She’s always changing the subject. Why does he always turn away when I’m speaking to him? Why does she repeat the same thing over and over again, nagging - I’m not deaf, I am listening! He’s always interrupting me, asking for simple instructions. It doesn’t mean that because we don’t go into every single detail of a conversation that I don’t care, I am interested…How many times have I told you that?"

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The Best of all is God with Us

Our small-knit family drew inspiration and encouragement last year, savoring the readings of Jay Cormier, in his: Daily Reflections for Advent & Christmas: Waiting in Joyful Hope. One of the earliest texts is that of the centurion to Jesus in Matt. 8:8: Lord, I am not worthy the have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.

Cromier says that anyone who has lived with cancer, or has survived a cardiac event or has conquered some debilitating disease will tell you the same thing: every tick of your watch, every second that flashes by on your desk clock, every hour of every day is precious.

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Colin Archer: Towards Greater Christian and Political Accountability

Clergymen representing a diversity of denominational backgrounds have been meeting weekly for a number of months for fellowship and to share views about a number of pressing social, religious and moral issues. We speak today as ministers of the Christian Church. We are bound together by love for our Country, the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Members of a community may differ on the role of the clergy in civic and social life. In some Communions (denominations) ministers are expressly forbidden to become actively involved in politics on a partisan basis; for instance, they are told to “stick to preaching”. In other Communions the minister is discouraged, though not strictly forbidden. In yet others, the matter is left to the individual minister.

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