A question United Methodists seem to love to hate is about our rules. Are our rules, mainly delineated for us in our Book of Discipline, made to be followed or to be broken? Are rules absolute and unquestionable or are our rules evolving and bendable? Why have rules if we […]
Someone stopped me in the hallway today and asked me, “Do you think God wants you to be a bishop?” The question took me by surprise. I have been endorsed by the delegation of my conference (Wisconsin) as a candidate for the Episcopacy. It is both humbling and an honor […]
I unearthed an old file from my GBOD (General Board of Discipleship; now, Discipleship Ministries) days, and I discovered an article I wrote that was never published. It focused on interviews with pastors, district superintendents, bishops, authors, and other key movers-and-shakers in The United Methodist Church, and it raised a […]
While working for the General Board of Discipleship, I developed a resource that was never published called “Your New Appointment: The First Hundred Days.” Not a flashy title, but very descriptive. It was rejected because “it wasn’t practical.” I will outline it here and let you decide. It was predicated […]
Slowly, but surely, I am plowing through old files in a feeble attempt to clean and organize my office. This process is entering its third year, so success is a remote hope. However, I do come across some interesting artifacts as I dig through each new (old) layer. Just this […]
Okay, here it is — the answer to all our problems in The United Methodist Church. It is so simple, you probably won’t believe/accept it. It comes in two parts — the first part is fundamental conventional wisdom, the second part, not so much. It answers the question: “what is […]
What is it about we human animals and our tendency to climb the ladder of inference and leap blindly into a steaming pile of assumptions? Each and every day we create chaos, confusion and pain for ourselves by ascribing intention, assuming motives, projecting values and jumping to conclusions. Compounding this […]
In my experience, United Methodists tend to be problem solvers in search of the quick fix. All too often, we wait until a challenge reaches crisis proportions, then we seek a simple, easy solution. Frustration sets in and we begin looking around to see if someone else can solve our […]
I received an email from a long-time colleague finding herself in an all-too-common situation: asked to “grow” a church where the leadership begged her to help bring them into the 21st century, she now finds that this same leadership effectively blocks each and every attempt she makes to lead. Her […]
Okay, this is one of those cases where I probably should run what I am writing by my Korean-American bishop before I make a fool of myself – but, oh well, why start something new at this late date… I spent time this week at the North Central Jurisdiction Urban […]
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