Yes, Fighting Church Folk: There IS a Great Bunny of Wisdom
The often-funny Pearls Before Swine comic strip with its “Great Bunny of Wisdom” wish speaks specifically to our crazy political world. The fights in the church world, particularly the UMC one, nearly...
View ArticleMy “Don’t Knowness” Is Bringing Me To The Breaking Point
It is that “don’t knowness” that is now bringing me to a breaking point. I, deeply educated as I am about the Holy Scriptures, about church history, about the nature of theology, am aware that when I...
View ArticlePearls And Their Imperfections Mirror The Church
That the thing about pearls: in their imperfections, they mirror the church. Furthermore, the more they are worn, the more beautiful they seem to become. They grow richer with age. They come in many...
View ArticleLet Us Pray: Day One At General Conference: Brokenness And Surrender
Brokenness and surrender. These are the themes of the morning. Very triggering for those who have suffered much at the hands of an autocratic church which has offered few open doors and limited welcome...
View ArticleSunday GC2019 Opening Worship: A Passionate Call For Unity
The words of Bishop Carter and his passionate call for unity ring in my mind. May they do so in the minds of these 864 people, whose hard work now awaits them. But I’m worried. Sunday morning: Worship...
View ArticleWhat If The Holy Spirit Did Indeed Fall Upon Us? Could We Survive It?
Yes, should the Holy Spirit fall here, no one will walk away unchanged. We’ll all recognize ourselves as hopelessly in need of grace, utterly thankful when it falls upon us, and devoid of judgment over...
View ArticleGC2019: The Craziness Of The Organizational Day
The real craziness of the organizational day is just about to start. I’m going to sign off here and start a fresh post. Forgive me for the typos and run-on sentences. All written quickly. Hope we all...
View ArticleGC2019: Sleepless, Grieving Night At The Conservative Takeover
My sleepless, grieving night accompanies my fatigue and my frustration as I see yet another conservative takeover. They’ve done a great job taking pages from the Southern Baptist playbook. As most...
View ArticleMonday Afternoon At GC2019: The UMC Has Just Died
The delegates have spoken and the UMC has just died: gays are irredeemably bad, evil and unacceptable. I can barely write about this. The delegates have been debating the inclusive One Church Plan, one...
View ArticleSears And The UMC: Both Bankrupt, Looking For Easter
Sears and the UMC: both, bankrupt, looking for Easter. GC2019 lit the charge for the explosion for the UMC. The changing notions of how to shop set up the bankruptcy for Sears. I predict a resurrection...
View ArticleThe IRD’s Mark Tooley Reveals All: The Full African Takeover Of The UMC
Yes, Mark Tooley reveals all. However, I feel sure the Wesleyan Covenant Association people, who now have gotten their hopes fulfilled by continued exclusion of the LGBTQIA community, will be delighted...
View ArticleThe UMC: Matted Hair And Wrinkled Ladies
Here’s the deal: The United Methodist Church is a wrinkled old lady. Just like many aging people do, we bought into our versions of magic skin creams to try to push back the damage. However, when it...
View ArticleThe Holy Act Of Sex OR Report Rape After Every Sexual Encounter
After every single sexual encounter that could possibly lead to pregnancy, all females, especially including any girls or teens who could possibly conceive, need to make police reports and claim rape....
View ArticleThe Forces BEHIND Political And Religious Discord: Who Profits?
So who profits in a split of some sort? The Evangelicals. The UMC is ripe for the pickings because of the fragile nature of our connection and the massive underlying financial assets. First, the...
View ArticleResponse To The Great Divorce, i.e., “Protocol Of Reconciliation & Grace...
Even as I appreciate their attempt to mediate the great divorce, frankly, every single one of the people who created and signed this document is himself/herself guilty of disobedience to The Discipline...
View ArticleBradford Pear Snow, Coronavirus Diary March 15 2020
And then I went outside and saw the “Bradford Pear snow” from our currently flowering tree. These trees, planted in abundance 20-30 years ago, are now officially labeled as “junk” trees and are slowly...
View Article“Will Your Church Survive?” Coronavirus Diary, March 18, 2020
Will your church survive? Not in the form it is in now. Some budgets cannot recover, mainly if we stay in recession mode for a while. Unpaid mortgages could easily lead to many buildings going back to...
View Article“Leave The Children Out,” The Mediated Reality of Streaming Worship
If we are not going to leave the children out in this new world of necessary mediated worship, we must engage in extremely creative, barrier-breaking holy thinking. Remember the novel coronavirus...
View ArticleYes, Church, The Stock Market DOES Matter To Your Survival
Remember, Church: the stock market does matter to your survival. Embrace this perilous time as the best of all occasions to practice serious self and institutional reflection, repent from and leave...
View ArticleDear COVID Diary: It Has Been 132 Long Days; Fear Hangs In The Air
Yes, Dear COVID Diary, it has been 132 long days. And I expect little change for the next 132 days. Fear hangs in the air, occasionally relieved by puffs of hope of effective vaccines on the horizon....
View Article
