Ministry Updates

Psalm 121 and Flattening the Mountain: Gaining Perspective through COVID-19

Psalm 121 is part of a wonderful mini collection within the Psalter known as the Songs of Ascents. It is a collection of fifteen psalms from Psalm 120 to 134. These are the pilgrim psalms that were sung by the Israelites as they journeyed up to Jerusalem. Psalm 121, along with all others in this […]

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The “Crown” in the Coronavirus: A Theological Reflection on the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 virus has dominated the news unlike anything we have ever seen. Thousands of schools across the country have closed, followed by restaurants and other public locations. Air travel has almost ground to a halt. Entire cities, and in some cases, entire countries, are on lockdown with many normal movements around the city prohibited. […]

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Reflections on the Proposed Protocol for Separation (Part V)

May, 2020 will almost surely go down in history as a remarkable development in the history of the United Methodist Church. This will be the time when legislation will be presented to the General Conference adopting a separation agreement between those United Methodists adhering to historic orthodoxy and those who are seeking to move the […]

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United Methodist Church Africa Initiative Consultative Meeting on the Future of the Global United Methodist Church

The following is a press release from the Africa United Methodist Church Initiative, released 27th February 2020. — UMC Africa Initiative Consultative Meeting on the Future of the Global UMC Clergy and lay leaders from the three Central Conferences of Africa, representing the UMC Africa Initiative from thirteen annual conferences, gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa, […]

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Reflections on the Proposed Protocol for Separation (Part IV)

For the United Methodists readers of this blog, you are all aware that these are momentous days of decision, which will determine the future of a major slice of the Wesleyan/Methodist movement in the USA and the world. The United Methodist Church is facing a separation that will have consequences for our witness and our […]

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Reflections on the Proposed Protocol for Separation (Part III)

In May, 5-15, 2020 the United Methodist Church will be holding a General Conference in Minneapolis which will likely be the time when some agreement will be made to resolve our denominational struggle over historic orthodoxy and issues related to human sexuality. The agreement which is being hailed as the best legislation for resolving our […]

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Reflections on the Proposed Protocol for Separation (Part II)

Like many United Methodists, I have been reading various reactions to the Protocol for Separation, which is being widely heralded, for the moment, as the leading hope for our future as a way out of the chaos we are in as a denomination. You can read my initial reflections here. I have noticed that some […]

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Reflections on the Proposed Protocol for Separation

Quite a stir has rippled out across the country because of reporting by Christianity Today, CNN, New York Times, among others, with headlines like this: “Methodists Agree to Split Denomination” (Christianity Today headline), “United Methodist Church Proposes Historic Split over Gay Marriage and LGBT Clergy” (CNN headline), and “United Methodist Church Announces Plan to Split […]

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Five Offices of Christ: A Reflection for the Year 2020

Regular readers of this blog will know that my wife and I dedicate a certain portion of each day reading and singing the Psalms. We work through other biblical books (for example, we just completed the book of Revelation), but we always focus on one psalm per day. The psalms are valuable as a daily […]

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How the Trust Clause Got Turned on Its Head

May of 2020 will be a momentous General Conference for those in the United Methodist denomination. This could likely be the Conference where the denomination formally divides into two or three separate expressions of Methodism. Central to the negotiations of a possible split are issues centered in the Trust Clause of the United Methodist Church. […]

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