I came to the conviction long ago that my ministry should be obedient to both the great commission and the great commandment. I joined the (w)holistic ministry camp. Two decades later, I still don’t know how to spell what I am. My spell checker rejects the spelling “wholistic”. (Technically, “wholistic” is not in the dictionary and is not an alternative spelling of the word “holistic”). On the other hand, many of my colleagues argue that “holistic” is closely identified with alternative medicine or eastern religion and is therefore inappropriate as a description of Christian ministry.

Now I am planning a (w)holistic ministry conference and have to face the question of how to spell the word head on. What do we name the conference? Do we name it the “International Holistic Ministry Conference” or the “International Wholistic Ministry Conference”?

Some of us spell the word with a “w”, and some without a “w”. Some of us use different words altogether, such as “integral” or “integrated”. Whatever word we use, we are united in the pursuit of loving God with all our being, loving all people selflessly, and reproducing disciples of Jesus around the globe.

With that as our united mission, let me invite you to join us at the first International Wholistic Ministry Conference facilitated by the Global CHE Network in Phoenix, Arizona, January 9-11, 2013. For more information, visit http://wholisticmissions.com/.