Editorial: More Hopeful Than Ever
Editorial: More Hopeful Than Ever -- By Rob Renfroe -- I have enjoyed the reports coming out of Global Methodist annual conference meetings from all over the United States and Europe. Delegates report that the conferences have been filled with an air of excitement,...
Polishing the Golden Rule
Polishing the Golden Rule -- By BJ Funk -- It was a beautiful spring day as I prepared my kindergarten class for our Easter egg hunt. Outside my classroom were plenty of trees and bushes to hide eggs, and several of my parents were doing just that as I stayed inside...
Regular General Conference postponed; Bishops call Special Session
Meeting on February 20, the Commission on the General Conference made a decision to further postpone the 2020 General Conference until August 29 – September 6, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minn. as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the safety of mass gatherings and...
Approaching Separation: A Rejoinder to Adam Hamilton
By Thomas Lambrecht - I recently expounded the primary reasons I see for separation taking place in The United Methodist Church. That article drew the response of the Rev. Adam Hamilton, who felt that my characterization of centrist and progressive understandings was...
Coalition of Traditional Leaders Continues to Support the Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace through Separation
Over a year ago, a diverse group of United Methodist Church leaders released the Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace through Separation. Never before had leading bishops, general church officials, and leaders of advocacy groups representing centrists, progressives,...
The Case for a Virtual General Conference, Part 2
By Thomas Lambrecht - In last week’s Perspective, I outlined why an in-person General Conference in 2021 is unlikely to occur as scheduled. The virulence of the Coronavirus pandemic and the slow rollout of vaccines to the global population make a return of...
The Case for a Virtual General Conference, Part 1
By Thomas Lambrecht - There is much anxiety about whether and how a General Conference will meet in 2021. General Conference was originally scheduled for May 2020, but was postponed to August 29 through September 7, 2021, due to pandemic travel and meeting...
Primary Reasons for Separation
By Thomas Lambrecht - As we approach a possible separation in The United Methodist Church this year, one of the important questions to answer is, “Why should we separate?” There are many reasons for the conflict in our church that have led us to this point. Rob...
