Healing our Doctrinal Dyslexia
In honor of the passing of our friend Dr. William J. Abraham, we are republishing an address he presented at the 1995 national gathering of the Confessing Movement Within the United Methodist Church in Atlanta. By William J. Abraham - One of the most heartening...
Church Hits Airwaves in Kenya to Reach Vulnerable Communities
By Faith Wanjiru, UM News - The Rev. Josam Kariuki of Trinity United Methodist Church in Narok, Kenya, and other clergy began livestreaming worship services and sharing messages of hope during the COVID-19 pandemic. The livestream, however, was only getting to...
Markers
By Stephen Rankin
In Discourse II on the Sermon on the Mount, Mr. Wesley offers this characteristic observation about conventional versus vital religion: “The religion of the world implies three things: (1.) The doing no harm, the abstaining from outward sin…(2.) The doing good, the relieving the poor; the being charitable, as it is called: (3.) The using the means of grace; at least the going to church and to the Lord’s Supper. He [sic] in whom these three marks are found is termed by the world a religious [read Christian] man. But will this satisfy him who hungers after God? No: It is not food for the soul.”
“I Believe” Why we need the Apostles’ Creed
By Jessica LaGrone
Finally, she realized everyone was looking at her. Somebody said: “Well, you’re quiet, what do you believe?” She opened her mouth without even knowing how she would answer. She started out: “I believe… I believe in God.” Then out of nowhere heard herself say: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord.” Almost unable to stop herself she continued: “He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried….”
Letter from United Methodist Men to the Boy Scouts
“We would ask that these new membership proposals being considered at the May, 2013 Annual Meeting of BSA not be implemented at this time. More time is needed for the 50 United Methodist Annual Conferences and the thousands of United Methodist churches to research in a thoughtful and prayerful manner exactly what this change might mean.”
A Matter of Interpretation: Engaging Adam Hamilton
By Rob Renfroe and Thomas Lambrecht
In a recent column in The Washington Post, the Rev. Adam Hamilton, pastor of Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas (the largest United Methodist congregation in the U.S.), stated that Bible verses that prohibit same-sex intimacy “capture the cultural understandings and practices of sexuality in biblical times, but do not reflect God’s will for gay and lesbian people.” This is not a new position for Rev. Hamilton to take. He came to the same conclusion in his 2010 book, When Christians Get It Wrong.
UM Men leader clarifies Boy Scouts statement
The following statement from Gilbert Hanke, General Secretary of the General Commission of the United Methodist Men, was issued on January 31, 2013. It is a follow-up clarification to a UM News Service story entitled “2 agencies agree with change in Boy Scout ban.”...
Archive: The Gold Medal for Jackie Robinson
By George Mitrovich
In becoming the first black man to play in the major leagues, Robinson encountered racism in its vilest manifestations—racial taunts and slurs, insults on the playing field and off, character assassination, death threats, and anything else the wicked among us in mid-twentieth century America could throw at him. But despite the evil of such provocations he somehow found a way to rise above his tormentors, to literally turn the other cheek and demonstrate that however great his athletic skills, his qualities as a human being were infinitely greater. In this story is another story—not about a baseball player, but a story about a man and his faith. It is a story seldom mentioned in the secular press.
