By Keith Boyette June 7, 2019 When delegates were apportioned for the 2020 General Conference, the professing membership of The United Methodist Church worldwide was reported as 12,557,214. Clergy membership for the same purpose was reported as 56,055. There will be 862 delegates when General Conference 2020 meets in Minneapolis, Minnesota from May 5-15. One-half …
By Garry Ingraham May 24, 2019 As a man who once fully identified with the LGBTQ+ community and embraced homosexuality as an identity I have also experienced the power of a God who never gives up and a God who insists on working through His imperfect sons and daughters to love powerfully, restoring all kinds …
By Carolyn Moore April 14, 2019 Thomas Jefferson once took a penknife and cut most of the miracle stories out of the Bible, leaving only the teachings of Jesus. He included the tomb but cut out the resurrection. What was left, mostly the teachings of Jesus, Jefferson entitled, “The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth.” What …
What Does It Look Like When Wesleyans Embrace Supernatural Ministry? Read More »
By Erik Grayson May 10, 2019 The crusty South African bishop crowed that when a church loses the poor, it loses the gospel. As a seminary student interning in Johannesburg I found poverty around every corner. Able-bodied men laid out on street medians just waiting to be hired. Refugees pawning for money to start handicraft …
By Keith Boyette May 3, 2019 According to The United Methodist Church’s Book of Discipline, all local United Methodist churches hold their properties, real and personal, tangible and intangible, in trust for the benefit of the general church. Typically that means that if a local congregation decides to withdraw from the denomination, it must leave …
Can Churches Depart The United Methodist Church with Their Property? Read More »
By Keith Boyette April 30, 2019 On Friday, April 26, the Judicial Council of The United Methodist Church issued its much anticipated decision on the constitutionality of the Traditional Plan (TP) adopted by the special General Conference in February. The plan’s opponents were confident the Judicial Council (JC) would rule the plan unconstitutional arguing that …
Legislation to Restore Church’s Order Constitutional – What Now? Read More »
In two separate rulings, The United Methodist Church’s Judicial Council (its “Supreme Court”) has rejected the argument that the entire Traditional Plan (TP) adopted at the 2019 special General Conference is unconstitutional, and it has also ruled that a local church exit plan is constitutional. The nine-member Judicial Council (JC) said the General Conference delegates …
Traditional Plan and Exit Provision Are Constitutional Read More »
By Jerry Kulah April 26, 2019 Has your dream ever died? Have you ever lost the purpose and meaning of life because circumstances so disrupted your plans that you lost hope? That was surely the situation for Jesus’ disciples following his suffering, brutal death, and burial. Their dream of a savior that would liberate them …
The Meaning and Power of the Resurrection: When a Dream Dies and is Resurrected Read More »
By Keith Boyette April 12, 2019 Along with our emphasis on the grace of God, connectionalism is a key distinctive of The United Methodist Church. Connectionalism involves a large body in making key decisions after a process of holy conferencing, culminating in a decision of the General Conference, the only body that can speak authoritatively …
By Keith Boyette April 5, 2019 At its November 2018 Global Legislative Assembly, the Wesleyan Covenant Association adopted a “Statement Offering Radical Hospitality and Genuine Community.” The statement declares, “We long for and are working for a church that offers radical hospitality and genuine community to all persons. While we affirm the orthodox, biblical view …
LGBTQ+ People Are Welcome in The United Methodist Church Read More »