WELCOME BACK
by Jean LeStourgeon

Welcome to the July/August edition of ChristianDiscipleship.com. First, we need to apologize to our readers for this late edition of CD.com. For much of the first half of 2002 I was preparing for my annual short-term mission trip to Romania as well as preparing for my mental health counselor licensure exam. The trip to Romania was the first two weeks in June (you will be hearing about it in an upcoming issue) and my licensure test is in July (please pray for success). We appreciate our readers and thank those who have written to us to ask when there would be new material on the site.

WEEKLY STUDIES
In this edition we are publishing five weeks worth of Bible studies with a new twist. One of Christendom's great hymn writers was Charles Wesley. Wesley, like Martin Luther, believed hymns were a means of teaching theology. My own pastor, Dan Hendley, has often encouraged our congregation to meditate on hymns for that same reason. For those reasons (and because I too love to meditate on the old hymns) we have chosen to develop 5 Bible studies for this issue of ChristianDisicpleship.com based on Charles Wesley's hymn And Can it be That I Should Gain.

Wesley, a prolific hymn writer (he wrote over 6,000 hymns), began writing this famous hymn at the age of 31, the day after his conversion to Christ, which occurred on May 21, 1738ⁱ. The following year, to commemorate his conversion to Christ, he wrote the equally famous hymn, O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing for which he penned 19 original verses. To read and/or sing along to all the original verses of these hymns and hundreds more go to www.cyberhymnal.com.

BOOK WORKS
In keeping with the theme of music this issue check out Book Works, where instead of a book we have reviewed Michael Card's latest CD, Scribbling in the Sand. Card is the Charles Wesley of our day. His lyrics are theologically sound and have a depth of content that rivals many of the old hymns of yesteryear. They are wonderful for meditation as well as for Bible studies. You can learn more about Michael Card's ministry by going to www.michaelcard.com.

WISDOM WATCH & WALKING THE TALK
In Wisdom Watch and Walking The Talk we turn our interests to a different subject, that of mental health from a Christian perspective. In Wisdom Watch you will find a very informative article by Gary R. Collins (former president of the American Association of Christian Counselors) on anxiety. In Walking the Talk you will find a personal testimony by an individual with a specific anxiety disorder called obsessive compulsive disorder or OCD for short. As Paul said many times in his epistles "I do not want you to be ignorant"... And so I say to you, "I do not want you to be ignorant of the reality of problems that plague our minds." Knowledge is foundational to our Christian walk. We need to be well informed of the illnesses that not only plague our bodies but also our minds so that when we encounter these problems we can recognize them for what they are and get the necessary help. As soldiers in the army of God we need to be vigilant of our health and take proper care of our mind, body and spirit.

We pray that this edition of ChristianDiscipleship.com will encourage each of you and build you up in the strength and knowledge of the Lord.

ⁱFor more information about Charles Wesley go to http://www.gospelcom.net/chi/GLIMPSEF/Glimpses/glmps029.shtml

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