Pension Liability Declines Dramatically
By Thomas Lambrecht One of the important financial costs for local churches to disaffiliate from the UM Church is a payment of that local church’s proportional share of the annual conference’s unfunded pension liability. That liability is calculated monthly by...
Keys to doing separation right
By Thomas Lambrecht In the midst of the sometimes heated rhetoric around separation and the conflicts engendered by bishops and annual conferences who are imposing draconian requirements on churches desiring to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church, it...
Commentary: Moving from Moderator to Advocate
By Walter Fenton- Florida Bishop Ken Carter recently released a video citing seven reasons why he believes The United Methodist Church will remain united. This is a notable move since Carter is one of three moderators for the denomination-wide Commission on a Way...
New York Clergy Member Resigns from Board of Ordained Ministry
The Rev. Chuck Ferrara, until recently a member of the New York Annual Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, sent the following letter to Bishop Thomas Bickerton: Dear Bishop Bickerton, I know you are somewhat familiar with my background. But just in case you...
Two Boards of Ordained Ministry Spurn Judicial Council Rulings
By Walter Fenton- The Boards of Ordained Ministry of both the New York and Pacific Northwest Annual Conferences have announced they will not abide by recent rulings of The United Methodist Church's Judicial Council, the denomination's final arbiter of church law. In...
Largest Congregation in Mississippi Parts Ways with UM Church
By Walter Fenton- The largest local church in the Mississippi Annual Conference in terms of worship attendance and one of the 25 fastest growing churches in the U.S. has now officially exited The United Methodist Church. According to lead pastor Bryan Collier, The...
Eyes of Faith
By Rob Renfroe- Years ago I heard a preacher say, “It’s not what happens to you, but what happens in you that makes the difference.” I have come to believe that statement is true. And I’m grateful it is because we cannot control what happens to us but we always have a...
A Cup of Joe & John Wesley
Coffee drinking may be an essential component of any modern day United Methodist church, but John Wesley was not a big fan. Neither did he champion the cause of tea: “But three cups of strong tea will now make my hand shake, so that I can hardly write.” In his health...
