A new proposal for the future of the UMC has come forward. It is called the United Methodist Centrist Movement Platform. It is not affiliated with any particular caucus group. In fact, that’s kind of the point. These folks believe that our dialogue and decision-making has become too heavily politicized (and I am inclined to…

Evangelicalism is changing. This is not necessarily bad. Traditions inevitably change over time. Right now, the change I see in evangelicalism relates mainly to the prevailing view of the nature and function of scripture. This could have massive consequences for the future of the movement. There are of course many different ways to define an…

I’ve been writing down some theological reflections on Mark’s gospel. Perhaps at some point these will constitute the makings of a short book, but for now they’re just reflections. Here are some brief thoughts on the scribes and Pharisees in Mark. I’d appreciate any constructive feedback you have.  Let’s clear something up about the scribes and…

Some time back I posted a piece called “The Slow Death of Intellectual Virtue.” In this piece, I argued that the way in which we argue is as important as what we argue. I still believe that. Intellectual virtue is one of my core commitments as an educator and as one who engages in public…