Charting a New Direction for the UMC (Part II)
By Thomas Lambrecht With the recent election of thirteen new bishops, the active Council of Bishops will be made up of one-third new members on January 1, 2023. As such, they will play a powerful role in setting the direction of The United Methodist Church into the...
Charting a New Direction for the UMC (Part 1)
By Thomas Lambrecht -- With the recent election of thirteen new bishops, the active Council of Bishops will be made up of one-third new members on January 1, 2023. As such, they will play a powerful role in setting the direction of The United Methodist Church into the...
New wave of United Methodist bishops elected
United Methodist News – After electing 13 new bishops during their November 2-5 meetings, the denomination’s five U.S. jurisdictional conferences announced episcopal assignments effective January 1. Jurisdictional leaders recommended electing 14 new bishops; however,...
Name That Bishop
By Rob Renfroe -- This editorial will be a bit different. It’s an invitation to play a game titled “Name that Bishop.” Bishops in The United Methodist Church play a critical role. They not only provide administrative oversight and vision for their episcopal areas,...
Fit for a Queen
By Steve Beard -- Richard Griffin, a former member of the royal security detail to Queen Elizabeth II, tells a delightful story about walking with the monarch near her beloved Balmoral Castle in Scotland and meeting two American tourists. “It was clear from the moment...
Africa Again the Stepchild?
By Thomas Lambrecht -- This week, 14 new bishops are being elected in the five jurisdictions of the United States. In a few weeks, three bishops will be elected in the Philippines and one bishop in Central and Southern Europe. All these newly elected bishops will be...
Colorful Faith in a World of Chaos
By Jessica LaGrone -- My friend Ryanne is a colorful Christian. Her home is colorful. She often paints a wall or ceiling or the whole front porch on a whim, based on some color that has drawn her fancy. Her family is colorful. Her children’s skin colors are a glorious...
The Scandal of the Incarnation
By David F. Watson -- In Nazareth, there is a large church built over the traditional site of Mary’s house. It is called the Church of the Annunciation. Tradition holds that the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary here: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with...
New Hymnal for a New Day
By Andrew Miller -- For generations, hymnals were the primary tool of worship for churches across denominations. Every few decades, denominational leaders would undertake the task of updating their tradition’s hymnal, containing in it not just hymns to be sung during...
Alpha Leader’s New Role
Since 2005, the Rev. Nicky Gumbel has been the vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton church in London – the largest congregation in the Church of England. He is also the popular leader of the Alpha course currently being utilized in 30,000 churches of all denominations –...
Jumpstarting a New Methodism
By Jeff Greenway and Mike Lowry -- In our recently published book Multiplying Methodism, we discuss in detail why we separated from our present denomination and helped form the Global Methodist Church. The weight and history of this moment is not lost on us. We’re...
The Forgotten Commission
By JJ Mannschreck -- As a millennial clergy in The United Methodist Church, I have joined several Facebook groups designed for ministers. Some of the groups are for a specific area or region. There’s even one for each side of the theological spectrum (a progressive...
