Are All Divisions of the Devil?
Are All Divisions of the Devil? By Rob Renfroe I don’t mind people thinking differently than I do. I often learn from such people, and I regularly benefit from considering opinions different than my own. But I admit I am upset when influential leaders express views...
Same-Sex Wedding Prompts Bishop to Act
Same-Sex Wedding Prompts Bishop to Act By Thomas Lambrecht Bishop Sharma Lewis (Mississippi) has responded to two clergy persons who performed a same-sex wedding in January. The Revs. Elizabeth Davidson and Paige Swaim-Pressley officiated at the wedding ceremony of a...
Gratitude and the Rock of Ages
By Steve Beard - I can still faintly visualize it. Many years ago, I was watching the first game of the NBA Championship series when it was announced that the rock band U2 would be performing for the half-time show. U2’s concert was in Boston while the basketball game...
Both Conservative and Liberal
By Tom Lambrecht - The United Methodist Church inherited from the Church of England via John Wesley the idea of "the middle way." For Anglicans, this "middle way" meant the church could be both catholic and reformed (the two major theological poles in the 1500's and...
Who Will Prevail in Minneapolis?
By Rob Renfroe - In six months, the General Conference of The United Methodist Church will meet once again. And once again the business of the conference will be consumed with our differences regarding sexual ethics. Various groups have filed their plans for a way...
The Wesleyan Way to Read Scripture
The Wesleyan Way to Read Scripture By David F. Watson - Last semester I taught a class called Wesleyan Biblical Interpretation. We read a considerable number of Wesley’s writings along with a couple of secondary texts. Rereading these primary and secondary sources led...
Where the Mainline Got Sidelined
By James V. Heidinger - In an ironic twist of fate or providence, it was a Jewish scholar who helped spark the intellectual and doctrinal renaissance in Dr. Thomas C. Oden (1931-2016), the pre-eminent Wesleyan theologian of our modern era. Will Herberg was a world...
The Issues that Divide Us
By C. Chappell Temple - After more than forty years of discussion and debate, it’s clear that United Methodists are more divided than ever over how the church should respond to questions relating to homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Far too often, however, the...
