You know what The United Methodist Church needs? A Day of Atonement. A good old-fashioned nation-wide, denomination-deep day of saying “I Am Sorry!” — to God, to each other, and to ourselves. For a vast number of reasons, we United Methodists have seemingly lost the capacity to apologize, to humble, […]
It has been an interesting few weeks here in Wisconsin — making the national news almost daily due to our governor, Scott Walker, and his crusade to eliminate collective bargaining rights as a cost-cutting measure to help balance the budget. There is no doubt that it would produce a short-term […]
Recently, there was an interesting discussion being held by some clergy leaders in the Wisconsin Annual Conference about the “ideal congregation.” This brings to mind old conversations we used to have in New Jersey about “the perfect church.” In both cases, most of the answers revolve around faithful commitment on the […]
I will say it again: our future does not lie in our past. Trying to “become” what we once were is like trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube (a lot more trouble than it is worth). Why can’t we be the church we were in the 50s […]
I haven’t been able to blog for a couple of weeks due to an unusually heavy work/travel load, and an unusually large response to a recent post. Every once in a while I will write something that I believe is a “no-brainer” — it’s not overly profound or insightful, but […]
I received an interesting email from a pastor today who “followed my advice” and raised questions about expectations and accountability in the church. He asked the “what is the church?” and “what is the church for?” questions, and zeroed in on what our membership vows really mean. He was shocked […]
Meeting with a group of clergy last Thursday, the conversation turned to prayer and the idea of teaching people to pray. There was general consensus that prayer is a good thing, but it became quickly evident that most in the group view prayer as something we “have” to do rather […]
Okay, I understand disagreements over theology. I understand disagreements over fundamental beliefs — between different religions. I think most of the divisions and debates are pointless, but I understand them. What I don’t understand is the virulent and vehement disagreement over discipleship and church membership. What are our defining features? […]
Church. What a concept! There are two simple questions I believe every congregation should take some time to seriously consider: 1) what is “church,” and, 2) what is church “for”? We assume we know what church is, but much of what we think and believe is nothing more than validation […]
Why are we here? I don’t have one answer that applies equally to all congregations, but I believe this question is THE question every congregation should discuss and wrestle with. Why do we exist? What difference are we making — in the lives of our members and friends, in our […]
United Methodeviations 