Articles
Did you know D.L. Moody was a farmer?
When people think of Mr. Moody, most immediately picture him in Chicago at Moody Church or traveling around the world preaching to massive crowds. While these are accurate images, when you read his letters, another Mr. Moody emerges – Mr. Moody the gentleman farmer....
A Prayer for Faithfulness: Reflecting on Integrity Post-Election
The longer I live with and think about what it means to have integrity, the less I concern myself with being effective. "What is it that I need to do to get this or that done?" is simply not that compelling a question to me anymore. To be sure, I don’t intentionally...
A Prayer to Witness Faithfully
One of my most popular blog posts is entitled “No Flinching.” In it I describe a posture that I developed throughout my time as a leader in higher education. Essentially, not flinching requires (1) the development of a non-defensive posture that remains curious and...
Praying as Jesus Prayed
The theology of the prayers of Jesus You may have heard the common phrase, “God is not a vending machine,” but why is that? Should I not ask for what I want? And how should I pray? Prayer becomes further complicated while pondering when (and how often) we should pray....
2020 and the Chicago Fire of 1871
As I write this, best estimates put the worldwide death toll for COVID-19 at a little over 930,000 people worldwide. At this point, one can only guess at the economic damage. Some of us have lost loved ones or property. This has been a devastating year for many of us....
Our Stories
It is not hard to believe that Dwight Moody inspired those who followed him to share the gospel and to build the body of Christ. The more I read about him, the more I come to understand why this man was particularly compelling. While Moody’s connection to Billy Graham...
D.L. Moody in the memory of his contemporaries
In compiling the D.L. Moody Digital Archives, it has been inspiring to see that the same project has occurred to others before us, much closer to Moody in history, but similarly interested to understand his life and the great scope of his impact. Our project today...
DL Moody and Jesse Overholtzer: Great Child Evangelists for Christ
Pictured above: D.L. Moody (back row, left) with one of his first Chicago Sunday school classes, with Sunday school superintendent, J.V. Farwell (back row, right) The story of how God worked through humble men, a time of pandemic quarantine, and a small booklet of...
Where we’re headed: The future of the church in the United States, Part 4
My final aspirational prediction is informed by the house impeachment process and the reactions of various members of the evangelical community (e.g. the Christianity Today article entitled “Trump Should be Removed from Office”), as well as the upcoming election. As...
Online Course: Thinking Christian
Moody Center is pleased to have strong leadership and staff who are working with other Christian organizations to serve the church. In addition to serving as Moody Center’s COO, James Spencer recently launched a course on Multnomah Plus Based on his book entitled...