Coming soon!
Jesus Worldview Resource Library
WHAT TO EXPECT
The Maralene and Miles Wesner Jesus Worldview Library
Thanks to the generous and ongoing support of Maralene and Miles Wesner of Idabel, Oklahoma, a new, extensive online library is being built to provide a wide array of resources to advance the following of Jesus as the defining Christian priority.
Whether for individual or group study, teaching or worship, these varied resources will be scholarly yet applicable to the daily living out of the Christian faith through the lens of Jesus’ words and deeds.
MEET THE WESNERS
Longtime educators, writers and ministers, Maralene and Miles Wesner have been advocating for the Way of Jesus for many decades.
Their extensive writings often focus on Jesus’ life and teachings, and the call for all would-be disciples to reflect his courage, consistency and compassion.
Many of the Wesners’ books are available here. (https://goodfaithmedia.org/product-category/authors/wesner-miles/)
SELECTED TITLES
Among the Wesners’ numerous books are these titles:
Do You Really Know Jesus?(2021, Nurturing Faith)
“Our most popular book,” said Maralene Wesner — noting its wide use in group studies including with youth. Living in the red-lettered Gospels when writing the book, the authors emphasize Jesus’ role as friend or neighbor. The book explores how Jesus viewed evil, redemption, responsibility and concern for others.
If Jesus Were Here Today (2022, Nurturing Faith)
The idea for this book “has been my focus for over 70 years,” said Maralene Wesner. “Jesus in blue jeans, not a robe.” Their efforts, she noted, were “to pick up every clue in the Gospels that gives information about Jesus.” One of those clues was Jesus’ role as a teacher who allowed for discussions.
Sensible Sermons: Timeless Teachings of Jesus (2023, Nurturing Faith)
After a long pastoral ministry in additional to careers in education, the Wesners revisited their sermons that received the most positive feedback. The consistency was an emphasis on matters of daily living that Jesus addressed and how he called his followers to respond.
SAMPLE RESOURCE
One example of the many and varied resources to be included in the Maralene and Miles Wesner Jesus Worldview Resource Library relates to congregational spiritual formation. It comes from David White, Connections Pastor at Johns Creek Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus; Become like him; Do as he did (2024, Waterbrook)
The Practicing the Way Course: Companion Guide
By John Mark Comer
Recently, when speaking to a group of ministers and lay leaders on “Infusing a Jesus Worldview into Congregational Culture,” I admitted to the difficulty of infusing anything into the culture of a congregation. Then I offered seven tips or suggestions.
Perhaps chief among them was the encouragement to dispel the unexamined idea that Bible study and spiritual formation are synonymous and to significantly elevate spiritual formation as a focused congregational pursuit.
John Mark Comer’s Practicing the Way is a compelling, off-the-shelf resource for congregations and small groups. His writings strike me as “next in line” among the well-known spiritual formation thought and practice leaders of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Comer flows in the same stream of such mentors as Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, Robert Mulholland and others, and references their works often. As a next generation spiritual formation leader, Comer’s language is contemporary, inspiring, easily digestible, and compassionately healthy.
Most importantly, the disciplines — or practices — taught in Practicing the Way are comfortably familiar and readily actionable.
Comer champions a life and worldview in which Jesus is the orienting center. Period.
His clarion call (and the tagline of Practicing the Way) is simply: “Be with Jesus. Become more like him. Do what he did in the world.”
Practicing the Way seeks to encourage and foster this kind of living.
Comer notes that the life of Jesus — as evidenced in scripture — exemplifies a particularly identifiable rhythm composed of several practices or spiritual disciplines. He calls this rhythm “A Rule of Life.”
Practicing The Way is fundamentally a primer to equip and encourage apprentices of Jesus to develop a Rule of Life (note – not Rules for Life) that mirrors Jesus’ own ways of living. Of note to Comer are these practices:
- Scripture
- Prayer
- Solitude
- Sabbath
- Fasting
- Generosity
- Witness
- Service
- Community
The introductory, eight-week study on Practicing the Way is available at no cost at https://www.practicingtheway.org/.
It is video driven (free video download or play from a computer) and is complete with a companion study guide as a free download. A printed copy may be ordered for a fee.
Resources for deeper study abound. Participants gather each week for group work and discussion and are provided with practical, individual “homework” between group sessions geared toward the development of a personal Rule of Life by the end of the study.
As Comer states, this study is a primer — a first effort. The longer we practice our Rule of Life, the better at it we become.
Or the more we are with Jesus the more like him we become and the more likely we are to live like he did in the world.
The study itself works best in a small group setting but the subject matter easily lends itself to larger groups and sermon series. There are also free, four-week studies of each of the practices.
The book, Practicing the Way, while not necessary for group study, is well worth the read and widely available from booksellers.
This resource was enthusiastically received for focused spiritual formation and is making a measurable impact on our congregation. The culture is noticeably changing.
-To discuss how this congregational resource was used, contact David White, Connections Pastor at Johns Creek Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, at dwhite@jcbc.org.
Presentations
John Pierce and other facilitators are available to give Jesus Worldview presentations to churches and other organizations across the nation. These may be customized in various formats including sermons, workshops and retreats.
Individual and group study
The book Seeing with Jesus: Developing a Worldview Shaped by the Gospels (2020, Nurturing Faith) by Jack Glasgow, is a good resource for engaging the Jesus worldview from a biblical perspective. A free daily reading companion guide by Christian educator Frank Granger is also available.
Both the book and downloadable companion guide are available at https://goodfaithmedia.org/product/seeing-with-jesus-glasgow/
Retreats
In recent years, several small-group retreats based in West Yellowstone, Montana, have provided ministers and lay leaders with the chance to explore the Jesus Worldview in a setting that allows for personal reflection and meaningful conversations.
Those interested in future retreats may contact John Pierce at jdpworldview@gmail.com.