The Best and Worst of Disaffiliation
The Best and Worst of Disaffiliation -- By Thomas Lambrecht -- As we reach the end of the regular annual conference season, the prospect of over 20 percent of United Methodist congregations disaffiliating from the denomination has aroused varying responses, from...
John Wesley Birthday Reader
John Wesley Birthday Reader -- John Wesley's birthday is a bit unusual. While the great evangelist and founder of Methodism was born on June 17, 1703, according to the Julian Calendar in use at the time. Midway through his life (in 1752), however, Britain shifted to...
Are Traditionalists Only a Small Group Within the Denomination?
By Thomas Lambrecht - Recent communications from proponents of the One Church Plan have attempted to portray traditionalists and evangelicals as a small group within The United Methodist Church seeking to divide the denomination. In 2016, moderate leaders suggested...
A Matter of Belief or Action?
By Thomas Lambrecht - Ask the wrong question, and you will get a wrong or misleading answer. Asking the right question will help move toward understanding. A recent newsletter from the One Church Plan advocacy group "Mainstream UMC" makes the claim that, "The central...
Staying the Course: The Biblical Witness
-- By Maxie Dunnam From the first General Conference of The United Methodist Church, we defined ourselves on social issues on the basis of our commitment to Scripture. This has certainly been true in relation to marriage and homosexuality. Dr. Richard Hays,...
Some Progressive and Centrist Groups Reject Exit Path
By Thomas Lambrecht - Recent statements from two different groups portend an agenda of institutional survival taking precedence over resolving the conflict in The United Methodist Church at the upcoming General Conference. Many across the theological spectrum...
Billy Abraham: Staying the Course
By Maxie Dunnam The way some folks talk and write about the issues facing our upcoming special General Conference suggests they don’t know or care about how our United Methodist Church has been faithful in subjecting its teaching on homosexuality to serious...
Watershed Moments
By Maxie Dunnam In times like these, when a special General Conference within a few weeks will determine the future of my beloved United Methodist Church, I’m spending a lot of time remembering, hoping, and praying. I’ve been a minister in this church all the years it...
The Plans’ Impact on Clergy
By Thomas Lambrecht - As the special called General Conference in St. Louis is less than two weeks away, it is understandable that one group of people is experiencing perhaps the most anxiety --clergy. Clergy are on the front lines of ministry in local churches. They...
Revisions to the Modified Traditional Plan
By Thomas Lambrecht - In November, the Judicial Council declared portions of the Traditional Plan unconstitutional. Since that time, a team has been working on revisions to the Traditional Plan to bring it into compliance with Judicial Council Decision 1366. Any of...
The Plans’ Impact on Local Churches
By Thomas Lambrecht - As the upcoming General Conference considers the three plans from the Commission on a Way Forward and other proposals for resolving the conflict in our denomination, one question many want to consider is: How will this proposal affect my local...
What is the Modified Traditional Plan?
By Thomas Lambrecht - There are four comprehensive plans being considered by the special General Conference in February in an attempt to resolve the deep theological conflict within our church. Three of the plans (Traditional Plan, Connectional Conference Plan, and...
