I spoke with a pastor not long ago who told me a shocking story about confirmation. He had arrived at a new appointment one June and discovered that—in his words—“all [...]
Read More...Faith in Action: Discovering the purpose and potential of confirmation
May 13, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
Faith is balm for ‘collective grief’ after tragedy
May 8, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
By Julie Yarbrough, Special Contributor… “We know that trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” (Romans 5:3-4, CEB) When an entire community is stunned and shocked by large-scale loss, most recently the explosion of a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, a kind of collective grief envelops everyone touched by the tragedy. Usually this grief is exponentially more intense in small communities where there are far fewer than six degrees of separation between neighbors, friends and family. People know each other personally and intimately, many related by birth [...]
Read More...Case ‘is’ a horror, but no reason to leave RCRC
May 6, 2013 Posted by 2 Comments
By Steve Copley, Special Contributor… The Kermit Gosnell case is as horrible as you think it is. And it illustrates precisely why it should not be used to argue for [...]
Read More...How will United Methodists respond to Gosnell horror?
May 6, 2013 Posted by 9 Comments
By Matt O’Reilly, Special Contributor… United Methodists have an impressive record for faithfully responding to tragedy. In the aftermath of the Newtown massacre, Methodist congregations responded with an outpouring of [...]
Read More...Wesleyan Wisdom: Continuing to mine the Aldersgate experience
May 1, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
On May 24, 1738, John Wesley experienced what became a key moment in Methodism, when he felt his “heart strangely warmed” during a prayer meeting on Aldersgate Street in London. Sadly most interpreters have found in Aldersgate evidence to document and justify whatever theological premise they bring to their studies. Wesley was not so precise and systematic as Calvin, Luther or Barth, and the unfortunate result is that one can do with Wesley what we shamefully do with the Bible—find quotes to support our own biases! Those who are revivalists [...]
Read More...Commentary: Faith the size of an indie filmmaker
April 30, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
By Kenny Dickson, Special Contributor… I recently attended the Dallas International Film Festival. This was my fifth year to attend, and again I was inspired by the filmmakers who submitted [...]
Read More...Photo challenge gives us ‘companions on the journey’
April 30, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
By Sophia Agtarap, Special Contributor… I have served since last September as minister of online engagement for the UMC’s Rethink Church campaign. My task? Reaching out, engaging in and encouraging conversation on social media with 18- to 34-year-olds who feel disconnected from the church—as well as those who have chosen to stay—about the intersections of faith, spirituality and culture, and what the church is and could be. As a 30-something young adult who spends much of her life immersed in social media, I see over and over the ways the church [...]
Read More...Consider the consequences of a UMC breakup
April 25, 2013 Posted by 1 Comment
By Ted Campbell, Special Contributor… The possibility of dividing the United Methodist Church as a way out of persistent conflicts over homosexuality has been raised enough times in recent years to warrant serious reflection on what it would entail. The fact that Episcopalians, Presbyterians and Lutherans have all seen either formal divisions or significant withdrawals of congregations from their denominations over these issues does not bode well for the UMC. But as tempting as the idea might be as a way out of our conflicts, we would have to think [...]
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Wesleyan Wisdom: Diagnosis – So you want to be a vital congregation?
In Michigan the 11th largest city in the U.S. is called “Dih-TROIT.” However, in northeast Texas, there is a village called “DEE-troit” with a population of 732 and a United Methodist church whose membership has gradually declined from around 100 to 56. This Easter, they had an alarmingly low attendance of 15. I’ve just spent five days with them, talking about “re-vitalization.” If we can develop a plan for revitalizing Martin Memorial UMC in Detroit, Texas, it might be helpful as a paradigm for other churches in pretty much the [...]
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