Timothy Tennent

Marriage, Human Sexuality, and the Body: Celibacy and Singleness for the Kingdom (Part VIII)

This is part eight in this blog series on the Theology of the Body. — In Matthew 19:3-12 Jesus amazes the disciples by saying that even in the face of human brokenness and sin, God’s original design for marriage remains intact. Indeed, the force of Jesus’ teaching is so great that the disciples say something […]

Marriage, Human Sexuality, and the Body: Man and Woman as Subject (Part VII)

This is the seventh part of a blog series on the theology of the body. — In this blog I would like to talk about a deep fundamental violation of the sacrament of the body. When we survey the wide landscape of sexual brokenness in our world today; undoubtedly the one which looms above them […]

Marriage, Human Sexuality, and the Body: The Meaning of our Original Nakedness (Part IV)

This is part of a series of articles on marriage, human sexuality and the body. Read Part I here. Read Part II here. Read Part III here. Read Part V here. – I am using as the basis for these homilies the wonderful theological work done by the late Pope, John Paul II which he […]

Marriage, Human Sexuality, and the Body: Man and Woman in their Original Solitude (Part III)

This is part of a series of articles on marriage, human sexuality and the body. Read Part I here. Read Part II here. — One of the great insights of Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body series is his understanding of what it meant for Adam to be “alone.” Before the creation of […]

Marriage, Human Sexuality, and the Body: From the Beginning It Was Not So (Part II)

This is part of a series of articles on marriage, human sexuality and the body. Read Part I here. — The problem we face today is actually much deeper than we realize. The Christian church in the West has largely embraced the wider cultural views regarding the very purpose of marriage—and therefore, we get off […]

Marriage, Human Sexuality, and the Body: Let’s Go back to the Beginning (Part I)

This is the beginning of a series of blogs on marriage, human sexuality and the body. — Brother and sisters, we are living in the wake of a multi-generational neglect of a biblical vision of the body, marriage and human sexuality. The church’s inability in recent years to articulate a compelling response to issues like […]

My 2019 Opening Convocation Address (Part III): The Mind as a Neglected Sphere of Spiritual Formation

This is the third part in this series taken from my Fall convocation message to the Asbury Theological Seminary community. In the first part I explored the problem we face with the loss of the ability to frame a moral argument in our culture, and sadly, within the church itself. I then went on to […]

Reflections on General Conference

Here are a few of my reflections on the recently completed meeting of the 2019 General Conference of the United Methodist Church. First, we must be aware of how the wider global Christian movement who are not members of the United Methodist Church viewed this final vote. I realize that some may not fully appreciate […]

One Church Plan: Key Issues to Think About Before You Vote

The United Methodist Church will be meeting in General Conference on February 23-26 in St. Louis, Missouri. The General Conference has been called specifically to act on the report of the Commission on a Way Forward which was authorized at the 2016 General Conference. This 32 member commission has not produced a single “solution,” but […]

Uniting Methodists Document and the Local Option (Part VI): Is There a Divine Design to Marriage?

One of the areas where I find myself in agreement with the progressives is their exasperation that we, as a church, might be known as “those people who are opposed to homosexuality.” This is a valid point. We must be known for what we are for not what we are against. The progressive solution is […]