There is an unfortunate myth floating about that evangelicals want to divide the UMC. The fact of the matter is, I know a lot of evangelicals, and while a few of them really want division, the vast majority want us to work out our differences and move forward without any kind of major separation of the denomination.…

What we consider hate speech, what is simply considered rude, and what is entirely allowable represent a set of moving targets. At times I hear people–even in professional settings–use the word “retarded” without blinking an eye. These same people would consider a slur based on race, gender, or sexual orientation to be completely inappropriate. CBS Pittsburgh reports…

Some legislation from the UM Centrist Movement is coming before the West Ohio Annual Conference session this year. The legislation calls for the following: [T]he 2016 General Conference [shall] create a theologically balanced and globally inclusive task force of no more than 25 members to be chaired by a retired bishop, who would lead this…

How do we get more millennials into church? In the ecclesial world I live in, this seems to be the question of the day, and there is no shortage of answers. I’m not a millennial. Many have been my students. I count several as friends. There are even a couple of professors on my faculty who…

Much of the talk in the UMC these days has to do with how we will govern ourselves. Will we stay with a more centralized polity located in a single General Conference? Will we become more congregational in polity? Will we eliminate the General Conference altogether and divide up into smaller bodies of like-minded communities?…

“Unity” is a big topic in the UMC these days. People are worried about institutional division, and rightly so. Acts of intentional and public disobedience to the Discipline by those who have taken vows to uphold it have caused many in our denomination to ask whether a unified future is possible. Most mainline Protestant denominations…

I’ve been teaching a class on church renewal this semester, and as part of the course I asked my students to watch and critique a video that kicked off the “Rethink Church” campaign. This video is a few years old now, and I remember blogging about it when it came out. Call me crazy, but I found it irksome that we would…

There are certain words in intra-Christian discourse that get (over)used to the point that they lose all real significance. The term “prophetic” is quickly becoming such a word. Standing up for a particular iteration of social justice does not make one a prophet, though many are quick to claim that mantle.  Being a prophet means…

I’ve known Ken Loyer for well over ten years now. We overlapped in graduate school at SMU, and even though we were in different fields, we were able to have some really good conversations about the church, ministry, and Christian theology. Additionally, I’ve had the opportunity to hear him give some fine papers at the…

The Committee on General Conference met recently. Its members made some decisions that seem to be of considerable significance going forward. For example, they decided to move the GC out of the USA in 2024 (Manila, Philippines) and 2028 (Harare, Zimbabwe). Great idea! The North American church will almost assuredly represent a minority voice in the denomination…