We pick up our conversation with Peter Block, emphasizing the importance of changing the narrative we live by from one of deficiency and need to one of sufficiency and giftedness. Peacemaking can’t be done for others. True peacemaking can only be done with others. Enjoy this concluding entry in our […]
I have no idea whether the concept of “inference categories” ever caught on, but I read a book (whose titles I cannot remember for the life of me) years ago that used this construct and I have found it valuable ever since. It is a concept that fills in a […]
This week and next, we offer a conversation with Peter Block, author of numerous books on leadership, community, and creating lasting change. Please click on the banner above or the People’s Peace Talks icon to listen to this wonderfully provocative and informative vision for the power of community to make […]
No, not the Holy Trinity. Trinitarian belief is one of the few shared values and cornerstones of our faith that both ends of the United Methodist theological spectrum agreed upon. God as Father/Son/Holy Spirit survived our simplistic fray. The trinity that did not seem to matter much to either extreme […]
We launch a new feature on People’s Peace Talks, our inaugural Bits ‘n’ Peaces segment where we present our own ideas, practices, and processes for peacemaking. Along with resources, interviews, and devotional reflections, these teaching sessions are intended to provide you with all the tools you need to shift focus […]
My favorite quotation from this year’s Rotary President Elect Training: “In the 1970s we made the commitment to cut children with polio in half.” Owwwieeee!
Teachers gonna’ teach, I guess. Believe it or not, I am at the President Elect training for Rotary Interntional in Illinois this weekend. Yes, I will be the president of Oregon (WI) Rotary from July 2024 through June 2025. Go figure. However, I was in a breakout session this morning […]
Complex problems require critical thinking and in-depth analysis, not simplistic solutions based in binary thinking. This proved to be a great stumbling block, on both sides, to the disagreements rampant in The United Methodist Church, especially surrounding issues of human sexuality and identity. Our greatest fallacy was that we could […]
Today’s Peace Full Thoughts explores the familiar and comforting John 14:27, and examines the difference between God’s peace and the peace that human beings seem so incapable of achieving here on earth. We cannot give what we do not have or experience, so learning to live in peace is the […]
One subtle and little discussed difference that fueled the split within United Methodism was the definition of good old-fashioned sin. More importantly, the theological distinction between sin and sins defined the debate. On the progressive side, sin is a condition of estrangement from God (turning focus away from God’s will), […]
United Methodeviations 