In the wake of General Conference 2019 session (GC2019) in St. Louis, bishops have issued pastoral calls for healing, congregations have gathered for worship and prayer, and both Methodist and non-Methodist friends have asked me what I think will happen. I do not have a crystal ball, but having studied the church’s historic and current…
Category: United Methodist Division
A House Divided
The United Methodist Church (UMC) continues to struggle over the place of LGBTQ Christians in our church, and as the Commission on a Way Forward (COWF) resumes its work, the idea of schism lurks around that process. We see how the issue divided other churches, as the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Evangelical Lutheran Church of…
Holding Together
One of Methodism’s strengths has always been its ability to hold within itself diverse beliefs and political views. Whereas many denominations tilt left or right, Methodism includes people across the theological and political spectrum. Overriding beliefs have held us together despite internal differences. Methodist unity is facing its greatest test since the 1840s when the…