Love and Lent By Shannon Vowell A strange day today. Much of the Christian world will begin a season of fasting and prayer by receiving ashes and the somber injunction to “remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Simultaneously, much of the secular world will exchange over-priced
Downsides of Regionalization By Thomas Lambrecht The last Perspective spoke about the unfairness of “regionalization” in its treatment of Africa and other parts of the church outside the U.S. As I wrote, “The top agenda item for the 2024 General Conference in April for most progressives is to adopt ‘regionalization’
Divisions in Africa – By Thomas Lambrecht – Recent meetings have clarified a developing divide in Africa between some bishops and other leaders who want to remain in The United Methodist Church and other leaders who are seeing the need to disaffiliate. The question will be: which group is more
Regionalization: the New Colonialism? By Thomas Lambrecht The top agenda item for the 2024 General Conference in April for most progressives is to adopt “regionalization” as the new mode of United Methodist governance. This proposal would be a dramatic shift in how the UM Church functions. It would move from
Start Off 2024 with an Act of Rebellion By David F. Watson There’s nothing more central to the postmodern Western mind than radical autonomy. Put more simply, we can express the common mindset of our age as something like, “I’ll do what I want and be who I want. I’ll
Faithful from the Start – By Jenifer Jones – It’s 84 degrees when church begins at 10:00 A.M. The high for Monterrey, Mexico is forecast at 102 today. Pastor Florencio Guzman puts on his suit jacket and steps behind the pulpit. The building has no air conditioning. Speaking over the
Leave Your Stuff Behind By Maxie Dunnam Tucked away in the Old Testament story of Joseph’s journey into Egypt is a verse packed with far more meaning than appears on the surface. It teaches an eternal truth that we’d do well to consider as we enter the New Year. Rehearse
Faith in a Time of Transition By Thomas Lambrecht Advent is a season of preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and preparing for his coming again. Advent reminds us that we are in the time “between the times.” We are in the time between Jesus’ first and second