A Collapsing “Big Tent”?
A Collapsing "Big Tent"? By Thomas Lambrecht Throughout this season of disaffiliation, many United Methodist bishops and leaders have attempted to convince traditionalists to remain in the denomination. They have assured traditionalists that there is a place for them...
Contrasting Views of Scripture
Contrasting Views of Scripture By Thomas Lambrecht The essence of the conflict currently roiling The United Methodist Church is a disagreement over the teaching and authority of Scripture. This disagreement is manifested in the...
The Myth of “Progress”
By Thomas Lambrecht - One often hears that Methodism used to believe the "wrong" thing about slavery, the ordination of women, and the affirmation of same-sex relationships, and that Methodism moved to believe the "right" thing about slavery and the ordination of...
How Long, O Lord?
By Tom Lambrecht - Someone shared a video with me the other day that showed a three-year-old girl sitting in her house by the glass patio door looking out. She repeatedly shouted, "I hate this house! I hate this house! I hate this house!" I think many of us are right...
Weapons of our Warfare
By Bishop Frank J. Beard - "... Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever." - II Chronicles 20:21b Our world is under attack by a ruthless enemy -- one that does not come from God. It is the job of every Christian and every church to unify and wage...
Regard for the Weak
By Tom Lambrecht - In this time of pandemic and "lockdown," we are all dealing with new realities that we have never experienced before. As I work from home, I can look out the front window of my house. Half the traffic during the day on our street is delivery trucks...
Implications of Postponing General Conference
By Thomas Lambrecht - By now, I am sure you are aware that General Conference has been postponed until sometime in 2021. A date and place for the rescheduled conference has not been announced and may not be for a few weeks. Beyond question, this was the right...
The Impact of Social Distancing
By Tom Lambrecht - We have a new phrase in our vocabulary: "social distancing." In this time of the novel coronavirus, keeping a distance from other people can help stop the spread of the disease. It is ironic to me that this virus has caused an extreme form of what...
Broad Traditionalist Group Casts Vision for Future Denomination
By Thomas Lambrecht - A group of nearly 30 diverse United Methodist bishops, clergy, and laity -men and women, African-American, Asian, Caribbean, Caucasian, and Hispanic persons from every U.S. jurisdiction, and three central conferences -recently concluded a...
8 bishops join in planning new denomination
By Heather Hahn, UMNS A group of United Methodist leaders, including eight bishops, has issued a statement sharing its vision for a global traditionalist denomination focused on evangelism and the “primacy of Scripture.” Among the group’s essential doctrinal beliefs...
Breaking News: New Methodist Wesleyan Movement Announced
God calls us to embrace a new day as the people called Methodists. Established in the faith entrusted to us by our forbearers, we discern the Holy Spirit reviving the Methodist movement in a new work. We are committed to God’s vision given to our predecessors “to...
Is Structural Unity Mandatory for the Church?
By Thomas Lambrecht - In a recent blog, Bishop Gary Mueller makes the case for yet another plan to resolve the conflict in The United Methodist Church. His "2 X 4 Plan" calls for two regional conferences in each part of the globe -- Africa, Europe, the Philippines,...
