By Steve Cordle I stood before the township supervisors, requesting zoning approval so that our new church could build its first facility. “We have thirteen churches in this township already, why do we need another one?” asked one official. It was a fair question, and we did our best to answer. It must have been …
By Carolyn Moore Since General Conference 2019, multiple conversations have produced multiple proposals for multiple ways through our current crisis. Negotiations have produced several significant legislative proposals to be considered at General Conference 2020. The “Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation” seems to have generated more blogs, tweets, resolutions and comments than there are …
By Keith Boyette With the recent announcement of the Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace through Separation, and now the release of its implementing legislation, many United Methodists are focusing on next steps. The protocol has now been endorsed by seven major advocacy groups that have often been at odds with one another: The Confessing Movement, …
By Tim McClendon Will The United Methodist Church separate into two or more denominations? Only its General Conference can say for sure. The recently announced “Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation” has gained a good deal of traction across the UM connection. The press and social media plus the blogosphere have been reporting things …
By Leo Park “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. …
By Talbot Davis I spent most of my childhood and adolescence pursuing a two-fold dream: one, to become the Texas state champion in tennis for kids my age; and two, to use that state championship as a catapult into a pro tennis career. While dream number one ultimately did happen, you may be able to …
By Joseph F. DiPaolo For years there has been tension among traditionalist United Methodists between those leaning in and those leaning out – that is, between some who wanted simply to leave The United Methodist Church, and others who felt called to stay and contend for the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3). …
Leaning Forward: Why I Support the Separation Plan Read More »
By Jeff Greenway When “The Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace through Separation” was released earlier this month it generated a wave of reactions across The United Methodist Church. I have not been surprised by the varied responses. It has been my experience that each step in the process toward some form of amicable separation brings …
An Invitation to Stop Fighting and Heal our Souls Read More »
By Chappell Temple He’s not exactly a theologian, but we could perhaps call him a prophet of sorts. For six years before the United Methodist Church was even formed, Neil Sedaka got it right in his signature song of 1962: “Breaking Up is Hard to Do.” And that is so not only because there are …
By Gregory D. Stover “Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3.13-14 NRSV). With …