Every day closer to General Conference intensifies the feeling of apprehension I have about The United Methodist Church. It prompts the question, “What does the church need to persevere and (even) to thrive?” In the following answer, I’ve tried to
United Methodist Polity: A Question
United Methodism’s current agonies uncover a deep problem related to our polity. Maybe it’s a good time, then, to ask a basic question. What does it mean for us United Methodists to live with a specific polity? To get
Exposing Bad Thinking: An Illustration of Why Method Matters
My most recent post spoke to the importance of good method in having arguments. I follow up here with a specific example to show why it matters in crucially practical ways.) A recent flurry of blog posts and “sharing” among
A Practical Lesson in Church Order
Wendy Deichmann’s essay on Order in The United Methodist Church, found here (http://www.catalystresources.org/the-ministry-of-order/) prompted a memory of how I learned – up close and personal – about Order. It was the mid-1980s and I was a young pastor. I don’t
Grown-Up Discipleship: Loving Enemies
John Wesley begins the concluding paragraph of his third discourse on the Sermon on the Mount in this way: “Behold Christianity in its native form; as delivered by its great Author! This is the genuine religion of Jesus Christ.” When