I haven’t blogged on this site in over a year. That’s mainly because I’ve poured most of my public writing into Firebrand, and in all likelihood most of my more substantive pieces for public consumption will continue to appear there. My hope, though, is to post shorter pieces here from time to time. I recently…
Some time back I met a remarkable Christian leader named Davies Musigo. He is the pastor of the Huruma Tent of Prayer United Methodist Church in Nairobi, Kenya. Davies is a humble, dedicated leader who oversees many different ministries with very few resources. I’d encourage you to listen to the eye-opening interview we did with…
A friend recently sent me a link from the official website of The United Methodist Church. Specifically, he sent me a link to a page describing our church’s beliefs about Jesus. The content I found there prompted me to offer a few reflections on proper Christology and why it matters. For those who are concerned…
It’s a time of great flux in the United Methodist world. Two, three, or possibly even more denominations may emerge from the UMC in the next few years. As this takes place, various groups will ask, “How can we represent our Wesleyan heritage most faithfully?” This is a complex question. In part, our answers will…
A formal separation of The United Methodist Church is imminent. The only question is what it will look like. Will one group force out the other? Will one group simply become so frustrated or disgusted that it leaves? Will we go to court over property? Will there be a long string of church trials? Will…
The recent Spirit and Truth Conference was a great experience! The worship was amazing and we heard from powerful speakers and preachers.
I wanted to get some distance from the General Conference before writing. It was an gut-wrenching experience, full of sadness and conflict. If you were a delegate, I can’t imagine how hard it was. I’m sorry for what you went through. Since I returned I’ve been pondering a tweet by Chris Ritter: The folks back…
I was recently invited to participate in a dialogue on the authority of Scripture at United Theological Seminary with friend, Rev. Dr. Mike Slaughter. We were each given fifteen minutes to talk about how we conceive of Scripture’s authority. The following is the basic text of my presentation. I’ve edited it a bit to make…
Methodnerds, this one’s for you. Recently the Council of Bishops asked the Judicial Council to rule on the constitutionality of the plans that have come from the Commission on a Way Forward. (If you understand that sentence, you are a Methonerd.) My interest here is not in the rulings on specific proposals within the two…
After a brief hiatus, we’re back with season 2 of the podcast. During the Merging the Streams conference at United (a celebration of 50 years of the UMC), we had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Ted Campbell of Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. The result was a conversation that I think…