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...
A Friendship with Oswald
By B.J. Funk - I could safely say that Oswald Chambers and I are friends, having met over forty years ago. He talks to me daily, and even though I don’t understand all he is saying in his book, I always come back the next day to hear him again. These daily chats...
Human Plans and the Coronavirus
By Tom Lambrecht - I am a planner. I like to have at least a rough plan in mind for any undertaking that I am part of, whether it is a work project or a trip to the beach. I get that from my Dad, who was a high school band director and needed to plan everything from...
Observations from a “Town Hall”
By Tom Lambrecht - The coronavirus pandemic has caused a lot of disruption in our lives, in how our country functions, and in how our churches function, as well. Nowhere was that in greater evidence than in a May 5th "Town Hall" meeting held online by Mainstream UMC,...
Grateful for Care-givers
We are so thankful for the amazing care-givers and first-responders who have stepped into the spotlight during this COVID-19 pandemic. Angela Gleaves, a nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, posted this uplifting photo on Facebook amid...
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...
