New Life for Fractured Churches
New Life for Fractured Churches -- By Walter Fenton -- According to the latest figures, more than 6,100 local churches have disaffiliated from The United Methodist Church since 2019. According to a recent Christianity Today article, many more would as well, save for...
Taking Stock of Methodism’s Shift
Taking Stock of Methodism’s Shift -- By Thomas Lambrecht -- At the end of July, we reached the climax of church disaffiliations for the year. The flurry of spring annual conferences approved several thousand church disaffiliations, meaning most of the churches that...
Learning God’s Ways
By Thomas Lambrecht - We human beings do not like to be told what to do. Our DNA was formed in disobedience and rebellion in the first garden, when Adam and Eve decided they knew better than God. We sometimes feel bound or restricted by the law. We tend to obey those...
Protocol on Track
As we begin a new year, I know many United Methodists are wondering, “Where do things stand regarding the protocol for separating the church? Is it still on track? Why haven’t we heard much about it lately?” The Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace through...
Progressives Launch Denomination
By Heather Hahn - A group of progressive United Methodists and other Christians launched a new denomination named the Liberation Methodist Connexion, or LMX. The new church aims to center on the voices of people of color as well as queer and transgender individuals —...
The Joy of Providing Food
By Jim Patterson - Potatoes connect former NFL player Jason Brown and part-time nurse and mother-of-four Lindsey Whitley, though they don’t know each other. Whitley’s home in Indian Trail, North Carolina, is about 200 miles from Brown’s farm in Louisburg. Potatoes...
National Treasure
By Steve Beard - I spent the holidays with Dolly Parton. Well, not literally. Like everything else in 2020, it was all virtual – and it was a whirlwind. Throughout her rhinestone-studded career, Dolly has sold over 100 million albums, starred in countless movies and...
Creating in Chaos
By Jessica LaGrone - 2020 was a mess. It was a global health mess, an economic mess, a political mess. It messed up our events, our holidays, our plans, and our lives. Some lives were certainly more devastated than others, whether by illness or grief or financial...
