Supporting Maui Relief
Supporting Maui Relief -- We know that Methodists of all stripes are generous people when there is a tremendous need. If you have been watching the news over the last few weeks regarding the tragic and heartbreaking fires in Lahaina town on Maui and are looking for...
Centrist Misconceptions
Centrist Misconceptions -- By Thomas Lambrecht -- Over the last several weeks, this Perspective has been in dialogue with the weekly e-newsletter of Mainstream UMC, a caucus group representing United Methodist centrists. Mainstream’s articles have been illuminating...
Guest Commentary: Why Progressives and Traditionalists should Support the Protocol
Jack Jackson is E. Stanley Jones Associate Professor of Evangelism, Mission, and Global Methodism at Claremont School of Theology in California. Some of the opinions expressed in this analysis will be provocative to both progressive and traditionalist readers....
UMC Africa Initiative supports Separation Protocol
Press Release from Africa Initiative February 27, 2020 Clergy and lay leaders from the three Central Conferences of Africa, representing the UMC Africa Initiative from thirteen annual conferences, gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 24th to 27th February 2020...
What Separation Means for Clergy
By Thomas Lambrecht - As the details of the "Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace through Separation" become better understood, questions arise about how the Protocol of Separation would affect groups within the church. I have already looked at how it affects...
What Separation Means for Central Conferences
By Thomas Lambrecht - Now that the enabling legislation for the "Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace through Separation" has been publicly released, I am at liberty to share more fully the details of what it proposes. I previously wrote about how the process of...
Advocacy Groups From Across the Church Endorse the Protocol
The governing boards of advocacy groups who often are referred to as traditionalist, centrist, or progressive today announced their endorsement and support of the Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation. The following organizations join in this...
A Primer on Local Church Assets
Dr. David W. Scott- Today's guest post is by UM & Global blogmaster Dr. David W. Scott, Director of Mission Theology at the General Board of Global Ministries. It originally was posted on UM & Global (umglobal.org) and is reprinted here by permission. The...
What Separation Means for U.S. Churches
By Tom Lambrecht - The legislation that would implement the Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace through Separation has been completed. It has been sent for formatting and will be forwarded to several annual conferences that are supposed to have special sessions in...
A Protocol for Peace
By Chappell Temple - He's not exactly a theologian, but we could perhaps call him a prophet of sorts. Six years before the United Methodist Church was even formed, Neil Sedaka got it right in his signature song of 1962: "Breaking Up is Hard to Do." And that is so not...
Where’s the Money?
By Tom Lambrecht - Faced with the possibility of an impending split in the denomination, United Methodists are rightly worried about the financial impact of the newly proposed Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation. Giving to the denomination's...
Are Traditionalists “Leaving” The United Methodist Church?
By Tom Lambrecht - The recently announced separation plan called the "Protocol on Reconciliation and Grace through Separation" has aroused many reactions in and beyond the church. Some are satisfied and even hopeful that the long-running conflict in our church can...
