Ah, another Advent. The pressing question is: are we ready? Or maybe the pressing question is: do we even care? Our United Methodist Church can’t seem to be bothered with preparing for a Savior; we are too busy focusing on divisive issues of morality grounded in abominable biblical misinterpretation and […]
Deserve — origin: “to devote oneself to the service of“ In the past few days I have heard people use the term “deserve/deserving” in troubling and distressing ways. In all cases, those identified either “deserved” something bad, or were “undeserving” of something good. In no case was the thought that […]
Like many, I am trying to make sense of the tragedy in Orlando. But I confess, as I talk to people and listen to different perspectives, I am embarrassed and ashamed. Well meaning, kind, caring people are inadvertently being callous and insensitive. I am going to speak from my own […]
When we look at the marvelous work of God’s hands, the majesty of God’s creation, who are we that God should care for us? Who are we? Who do we think we are? We have spent millions of dollars, hundreds of hours, personal time and energy to hold a religious […]
Early on last week, I wrote that I was appalled by the behaviors I was seeing displayed by my United Methodist brothers and sisters. Some wrote back to say they didn’t know what I was talking about — that no one was behaving badly. Since then, Gere Reist, Secretary of […]
There are very few people here in Portland who would say that The United Methodist Church is in a good, healthy place (no, I don’t mean Portland). We have come to a crisis point, where we cannot say we are united in Christ, or of one mind, heart, soul, and […]
Is a global gathering of thousands of “members” for a two week legislative meeting a community? General Conference does not feel to me like community. It could be. We are baptized to the same faith, confessing the same God and Savior, believing in the Spirit of God to be present […]
Today is the first day the rumor mills churned out of control. If you skim social media, you might pick up any of a hundred different rumors about what is happening behind the scenes at General Conference. It caused us to change our agenda so that Bishop Bruce Ough could […]
This General Conference has been a true test of what exactly we mean by “united” in United Methodist Church. What’s in a name? Is the “united” merely a carryover from our Evangelical United Brethren heritage, and therefore not a descriptive term? Is it an appellation that sounds fine, but has […]
Deja vu, all over again. Informally polling people on their feelings about launching into week 2 of General Conference, I am encountering a great deal of ambivalence, frustration, and a “here we go again” vibe. Expectations are very low, fear and anxiety very high, and a wariness that we may […]
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