Options for Clergy under the Protocol
By Thomas Lambrecht - As might be expected, the proposed adoption of the Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace through Separation by the 2022 General Conference has provoked anxiety among clergy wanting to understand its implications for their future service in the...
Farewell to a Friend: Remembering William J. Abraham
On Thursday, October 7, United Methodism lost a remarkable scholar who exercised his theological and spiritual gifts with wit and precision. Dr. William J. Abraham was one of the theologian pillars of the church – not just in Methodism, but in broader ecumenical...
A Topic or a Text?
By Duffy Robbins
I’m occasionally asked whether it’s better to do a Bible study or Sunday school lesson based on a text or a topic? Should we be working through one of the gospels, or should we be surveying the Old Testament? Should we use the curriculum that was sent from the Publishing House or should we just abandon traditional teaching altogether and go uber hipster: turn off the lights, bring in the candles, and just play Nooma videos back to back for two hours?
Reconciling Congregations and Covenant Breaking
By Wesley Putnam
Sunday, February 27, was the day when University United Methodist Church in Austin, Texas, was going to vote on becoming a Reconciling Congregation. The vote had been heralded three months previous through The Daily Texan with the headline: “Methodists to vote on GLBT inclusion.” GLBT is the acronym for “Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender.”
Let the Restructuring Begin
By Liza Kittle
In a historic vote, the Women’s Division Board of Directors voted unanimously to “structurally separate” from the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) and become an independent agency within the United Methodist Church. The action took place at its spring semi-annual meeting April 7-11 in Stamford, Connecticut.
Photographer sees beauty despite disease
By Kathy L. Gilbert
“Photography is a form of ministry for me. It always has been. It is just another avenue of expressing God’s love in a different art form,” says Tiffany Chartier. She is doing all this while dealing with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye condition that will eventually make her blind. She only has 25 percent of her vision left.
Military Chaplains Need to Know the Church Cares
By Randolph Cross
Women and men have answered the call to ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church, and have further answered the call to serve as military chaplains, to care as shepherds for military personnel in sometimes very difficult places. Remember that they are sent by United Methodists to represent you, and to offer Christ in powerful and holy ways.
Renewal and the Rising Generation
By Andrew C. Thompson
Pastors and laypeople anxiously ask that question as they look at troubling signs of the church’s decline in the United States. The UM Church is growing in other parts of the world, but statistics on the American church suggest that we have real problems that need addressing. Whether it’s the drop in numbers of young adult clergy or the steady falloff in total church membership over the past few decades, evidence of a shrinking denomination is interpreted by most people as a sign that we need to do some serious self-evaluation to find out what is wrong and how we can address the church’s ills.
