Pastors who want to inspire their congregations to social justice action will be more effective when they follow John Wesley’s model to establish relationships with church members and learn their needs, say experienced preachers. Stephanie Arnold and Kendall L. McBroom…
What a Baptist learned from the Methodists at Duke Divinity School and why I left both denominations behind
I was one of a handful of Baptist students at Duke Divinity School in the mid to late 1980s. Rocked in a Baptist cradle, baptized in a Baptist church and educated at a Baptist university (Wake Forest), I wanted to…
Seeing mortality as blessing
Memories have become capricious things as I approach my seventh decade on Planet Earth. Conversations I could swear happened just a few days ago actually stretch back 20 years or more, yet there are days when I can’t remember whether…
Why breaking up is so hard to do for United Methodists: Connectionalism
Why is it so hard for dissident church units to leave the 12-million-member worldwide United Methodist Church? The ties that bind United Methodists together are contained in one arcane word: “connectionalism.” The concept of connectionalism was confirmed May 9 when…
Methodists still follow John Wesley’s rules — mostly
Many of today’s United Methodists may not recognize it, but they’re still following the framework of Christian discipleship their founder John Wesley laid down for his “united societies” in the 18th century. The framework, known as “The General Rules,” comprises…
The scattering yet unifying Spirit and the place of LGBTQ persons in the Church
How do we discern how the Spirit works in our particularities for the sake of the larger mission? Today I imagine the Spirit’s fire would fall down on LGBTQ folk, enabling them to speak to God’s testifying work in their lives and in their communities.
Make every day Earth Day
“The great lesson from the true mystics … is that the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one’s daily life, in one’s neighbors, friends and family, in one’s back yard.” —Abraham Maslow, Religion, Values…
A pioneering spirit
The church in America was built by men (and some women) who were itinerant preachers. Some followed the example of John Wesley and were circuit riders, traveling from church to church or gathering to gathering on horseback or foot to…