Four Great Wesleyan Distinctives (Part I)

This is the 1st of a 3 part series. Read Parts II and III titled “Four Great Wesleyan Distinctives.” Asbury Theological Seminary 6th Convocation Address Estes Chapel, September 02, 2014 Florida-Dunnam Campus, September 04, 2014 — The Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the modern world. The Taj is located in Agra, […]

Live Dead

One of the greatest joys which my wife and I share is the knowledge that our daughter Bethany serves as cross-cultural minister of the gospel, bringing hope and God’s grace to an unreached people-group in Tanzania known as the Alagwa. She is now in her fourth year there. She speaks a language called Alagawesi and […]

11 Ways Popular Culture Steals Biblical Ideas

Over the last fifty years, the Western church across Europe and North America has been losing between 7,500 and 11,000 members per day. It is a collective loss of over 100 million Christians. These staggering losses have been offset some by the dramatic growth of the immigrant churches in the West. But, we are clearly […]

The Global Church is on the Move

On Wednesday I had the opportunity to meet with several dozen seminary Presidents from around the world who are part of a ministry known as Overseas Council. For over forty years, Overseas Council has been mentoring and training leaders from around the world who are now leading emerging seminaries, churches and mission agencies to serve […]

A Way Forward? My Response Part 7: The Way Forward. Let’s Not Divide, Let’s Multiply!

This is the seventh and final part in a blog series reflecting on the document, A Way Forward for a United Methodist Church Is There a Way Forward? We now come to the time for proposing positive, alternative solutions. First, we must begin with the realization that we cannot legislate our way to unity and […]

A Way Forward? My Response Part 6: Biblical and Theological Reflections on the Proposal.

This is the sixth part in a seven part blog series reflecting on the document, A Way Forward for a United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church has been discussing homosexuality in earnest for decades. This month marks thirty years since my ordination as a United Methodist pastor, so I have listened to this debate […]

A Way Forward? My Response Part 5: What about the whole LGBTQIA community?

This is the fifth part in a seven part blog series reflecting on the document, A Way Forward for a United Methodist Church Andy Crouch, in a recent article in Christianity Today helpfully observes that the church is mistaken and out of touch by framing the current debate about sexuality as whether the church should […]

A Way Forward? My Response Part 4: Why this “Third Way” will not Succeed.

This is the fourth part in a seven part blog series reflecting on the document, A Way Forward for a United Methodist Church. The entire argument found in the proposal, A Way Forward, is centered on the hope for a “Third Way.” The proposal sees a church at war, torn between two angry groups; one […]

A Way Forward? My Response Part 3: Legislation in a Post Modern Church

Legislation in a Post-Modern Church This is the third part of a seven part series in response to Adam Hamilton’s proposal, A Way Forward. Let us now focus on the actual legislative aspect of the proposal. The proposal seeks to keep the current Discipline language which states that homosexual behavior is “incompatible with Christian practice.” […]

A Way Forward? My Response. Part 2: What is the Basis for Church Unity?

What is the Basis for Church Unity? This is part 2 of a seven part blog series on a recent proposal put forth by leading United Methodists entitled, A Way Forward. The underlying assumption of the proposal, A Way Forward, seems to imply that the cause of the church’s dis-unity is a fight over homosexuality […]