What the Regionalization Agenda Tells Us about the Future of the UMC, Part 1
What the Regionalization Agenda Tells Us about the Future of the UMC, Part 1 -- By Thomas Lambrecht -- In a recent article, Mainstream UMC (a centrist advocacy group within The United Methodist Church) outlines the case for the regionalization of the church. They...
Surf City Disaffiliation or Eviction?
Surf City Disaffiliation or Eviction? -- The Los Angeles Times recently published a comprehensive 2,000 word piece about the excessively costly disaffiliation process for traditionalist United Methodist congregations in Southern California. It is worth reading...
Chaplains Comfort and Grieve During COVID-19
By Jim Patterson - Flexibility is key for United Methodist chaplains as they cope with families who can’t see their loved ones – sometimes even dying loved ones – because of the coronavirus that has killed thousands as it spreads around the world. United Methodist...
Take Away our Pride: The Lordship of Jesus
By David F. Watson - The year 1906 marked the publication of G.K. Chesterton’s poem, “O God of Earth And Altar.” It subsequently was put to haunting music and adapted as a hymn. Although it was written over a century ago, it is nevertheless a song for our times. O God...
Depending on God When it Doesn’t Make Sense
By Elizabeth Glass Turner - Sanctification is fun when it’s under our control. Out of the corner of our eye, we have peripheral awareness of how close to being faith consumers we really are. We choose to go to a conference so we can grow spiritually. We choose to show...
Weapons of Our Spiritual Warfare
By Frank J. Beard - Our world is under attack by a ruthless enemy – one that does not come from God. It is the job of every Christian and every church to unify and wage spiritual warfare against this destructive evil until it is defeated. As I was praying the other...
Discipleship in Quarantine
By Beth Felker Jones - There are so many losses right now. Vacations. Celebrations. Planned evenings with friends. Jobs. Mental health. Precious human beings. As we live through a deadly pandemic, it is OK to feel the losses. It is OK to ache as carefully laid plans...
Covenant Groups Unite Moscow Seminary Students
By Sergei Nikolaev - When self-isolation and mandatory quarantines became part of the social distancing required to hinder the spread of the coronavirus, students of the Moscow Theological Seminary of The United Methodist Church turned to their online covenant groups...
