“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…

I’m teaching a course in church renewal right now, and one of the topics we’re examining is renewal through the liturgy, and particularly the Eucharist (or Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, etc.). We might well consider our celebration of this sacrament one of the most important keys to the renewal of the Church. After…

A few friends of mine and I have been discussing the matter of whether or not John Wesley was committed to a creedal version of the Christian faith. I asked my friend and colleague Scott Kisker what he thought about this question, and his answer was, “Of course. He was an Anglican.” I suppose I could…

I’m going to start this post with an admission: I don’t understand atonement. I don’t believe that any of the various popular theories adequately describes the mystery of the cross. Penal substitution, moral influence, Christus Victor, the ransom theory, and others all point to elements of the atonement that we should take seriously, but none…

Your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. This is what Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 15:17. Our entire salvation depends upon the resurrection of Christ. As we enter into Holy Week, there will be a number of posts in social media about how the resurrection of Christ is a metaphor…

There must have been a time when life was simpler. There must have been a time when there were conservatives, moderates, and liberals, and these categories were largely unconfused. And in this time of categorical clarity, it must have been possible to identify conservatives with the right side of the spectrum, moderates with the middle, and…