So, the Schaeffer trial is over. The debate over human sexuality in the UMC is not. I’ve been watching social media pretty closely during this time. There are lots of hurt feelings and many people who feel a great distance from one another in the denomination. The rhetoric has been wild. The emotions have been…

Let’s get this out of the way: good people within the United Methodist Church, with all the best intentions, disagree on matters of human sexuality. There’s no way around this. Whether or not the General Conference petition by Mike Slaughter and Adam Hamilton would have made for effective legislation, the fact of the matter is…

United student Joseph Graves makes some very interesting points about the new atheist “churches.” I commend this blog post to your reading. The most salient point he makes has to do with the degrees of difference between many “mainline” churches and these atheist gatherings. To what extent is God the center of our ecclesial life? http://josephdavidgraves.com/post/66778305173/church-without-god-lessons-from-atheists

I recently gave a talk at United Theological Seminary on United Methodist Beliefs. The following constitutes part of the introduction to that talk. I welcome your comments, questions, agreements, and disagreements.  Imagine you have before you two people: The first is 35 years old, an up and coming scientist with an impressive c.v. and an IQ in…

A very interesting post from Jason Vickers on the nature of holiness, and the ways in which we have diminished its meaning in contemporary Wesleyanism…..

Jason Vickers asks some interesting questions about the need for those within the church and religious academy who resist the prevalent culture. Check out his blog here. 

Jason Vickers of United has a new blog called “Voice From the Holler.” His first post is called “Coming Out: A Redneck Confession.” You may find it both entertaining and enlightening. 

Congo is one of the most desperate and war-torn places on earth. This video by Rolland Baker of Iris Ministries is really worth watching. Amazing stuff. 

For a colleague of mine who is in the hospital: O Christ, who alone art our Defender: Visit and heal Thy suffering servant, delivering her from sickness and grievous pains. Raise her up that she may sing to Thee and praise Thee without ceasing, O Thou who alone lovest humankind, in the name of the Father,…

Earlier this year Billy Abraham and I published a book together called Key United Methodist Beliefs. The book started out simply as a catechism, but soon morphed into a ten chapter account of the Christian faith from a Wesleyan perspective. Obviously, you don’t write that kind of book unless the Church’s central doctrinal heritage is…