I wonder what would happen if I were to invade a meeting of the Connectional Table…. I could march in with a few of my like-minded friends and begin singing about the fact that people with Down Syndrome, including children, are routinely denied organ transplants. Consider the case of Annie Golden Heart (you can find her…
I’ve always thought it significant that the great creeds of the church are statements of doctrine, rather than statements of ethics. The teachers of the faith who handed on to us our doctrines of the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Resurrection knew that without a clear sense of who God is and how God has…
The latest proposal for dealing with the crisis in The United Methodist Church is now public (here). The so-called “local option,” as David Watson called it here, leaves local congregations to determine whether “they will, or will not, allow for homosexual marriages or unions.” This proposal would turn us into congregationalists. Methodism’s connectionalism is one…
A plan has recently emerged to preserve the unity of the UMC. I encourage you to read it carefully and prayerfully. The proposal begins by diagnosing a very serious problem in our denomination: we have reached an impasse on matters related to “self-avowed, practicing homosexual” people. The proposal then offers a potential solution which I…
The beginning of this coming academic year represents the beginning of my thirtieth year at Perkins School of Theology. I am now in the last quarter of my academic career with prospects for overtime. It was a great decision to come to Southern Methodist University and to move to Texas. Coming to Southern Methodist University…
I’ve thought for some time that, while we have significant theological and ethical disagreements in the UMC, a large part of our difficulty with ecclesial disobedience at present is structural. Every tradition has internal disputes, but how we deal with these will come to bear in important ways on our life together–and whether life together is…
Good News has just published a press statement regarding some eighty pastors and theologians who are calling for a division of the denomination. A group of leading pastors and theologians released a progress report on their considerations regarding the future of The United Methodist Church. Hailing from all five jurisdictions, the more than 80 pastors and…
Last weekend I attended the Aldersgate Covenant meeting at the Church of the Resurrection. At this gathering, I think I finally learned what holy conferencing should be. We immersed ourselves in prayer, worship, and conversation. We prayed for unity, repented of partisanship, and confessed before God that we ourselves–and not just our neighbors–are sinners. It…
With all the talk of division in the UMC, I really don’t think this is what most people want. I think it is the will of the most vocal among us. Nevertheless, I would like to know what readers of this blog think. Therefore I’ve decided to conduct an entirely unscientific poll asking readers to opine…
Many of my theological friends in the UMC–brothers and sisters in Christ–are much more progressive than I am. I feel the need to state publicly that I value these friends a great deal. I learn from them. They challenge me and keep me from becoming too comfortable with my own positions. They remind me that…
Pursuing Jesus
These are the thoughts, prayers, stories, sermons, and devotions from a simple pastor. May you be blessed by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as you read...
Musings and whatnot....
Finding the humor, beauty, and purpose in the mess of motherhood
Doctrine Matters
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Reflections from Jacob J. Prahlow
humor | musings | fiction
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work and prayer of a jesus follower
Who is my ideal reader? Well, ideal means non-existent. I have no notion of whom I’m writing for. Guy Davenport
'An arrow through the air' - Notes of a Methodist pastor
Holiness, Sustainability, and Tending Good Soil
two of us are tall and the other one of us is short and has Down syndrome
Comments on the New Testament and Early Christianity (and related matters)
David F. Watson 