Neil Alexander is the President and Publisher of the United Methodist Publishing House, and a member of the Steering Committee which produced the Council of Bishop’s Call to Action report, which I recently wrote about. Neil e-mailed me his thoughts on that post earlier today and has agreed to allow me to share them in […]
A couple of commenters on my post on congregational vitality have suggested that critique of the Council of Bishop’s Call to Action report is based in a discomfort with pastoral accountability. To quote one commenter: “Spiritualize it away all you want, but the old tired notion referencing unmeasurables is a transparent attempt to avoid accountability. […]
Several weeks ago after the Britney Spears edition I wrote that I was ready to write off Glee. And frankly, of all the episodes in the catalog, that one still should go on the list of shows that Ryan Murphy refuses to show in reruns. However the next week came on strong with the “Grilled […]
For many years, going back to the Council of Bishop’s “Vital Congregations” initiative (a project I worked on back in pre-1996 UMCom days), the United Methodist Church has talked quite a bit about developing and promoting “vital” congregations. The language of congregational vitality has been on the tips of our tongues as we wring our […]
The word “dechurched” is not a common term in mainstream Christianity. In fact, it doesn’t even appear in Webster’s unabridged dictionary. But for me, it describes a neglected group of Christians: those whose firsthand encounters with Christianity have been negative, painful, and alienating, and because of this significant wounding have left the church or lost […]
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Worship Has a Societal Purpose
Ray Waddle understands… Churchgoers don’t get much credit and don’t ask for it. Worship isn’t glamorous. But it has long been a plank in the search for an ethical life — a way to be accountable to God and to earth-bound neighbor. It encouraged modest living and friendships across ideological divides. It inoculated against paranoia, […]
I’m trying to get a sense of the norm regarding parsonage standards throughout the United Methodist connection and need your help. Here in the Tennessee Annual Conference there are published standards for clergy parsonages in our Standing Rules which lay out certain requirements for the house, and specifies what furniture must be provided. In a […]
I am in the process of reading in detail the Call to Action report produced by a Steering Team at the request of the Council of Bishops. No, really . . . I am reading the document write now, as we speak (uh . . . well . . . we aren’t speaking, but you […]
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Competence Is Boring…
A little while ago I was watching a press conference with John Brennan, the counter-terrorism guru for the Obama administration, on the latest terrorism scare related to cargo from Yemen. I was struck by how different this press conference seemed from earlier terrorist scares. Here was a person who shared what he was willing to […]
I was just reading David Brook’s latest commentary suggesting changes that President Obama will have to make during the next two years in the wake of what seems to be coming defeats on Tuesday’s elections. In the midst of Brooks’s suggestions, a phrase jumped out at me that I’ve been wrestling with for a while, […]
Words matter. Even in our reading from Timothy today, Paul encourages the Christians to take their words seriously: to beware the words that wound and divide – he talks elsewhere in this chapter about the power of the wrong words to bring ruins, to spread like a gangrene, destroying faith – and Paul encourages them […]
In my previous post, I suggested that there were some throughout the United Methodist Church that wanted to use a “franchising model” as the guiding metaphor for how we function. Based on the comments that came in following that post, I need to offer a couple disclaimers: It is indeed probably unfair to tarnish the […]
In my previous post, I suggested that there were some throughout the United Methodist Church that wanted to use a “franchising model” as the guiding metaphor for how we function. Based on the comments that came in following that post, I need to offer a couple disclaimers: It is indeed probably unfair to tarnish the […]
In my previous post I shared the recognition that United Methodist Communications and other agencies are involved in creating a national “brand” for the United Methodist Church based in the language of marketing more than theological identity. I’ve had at least one person suggest that in fact the phrases I mentioned represent “brand statements” rather […]
Earlier today a package from a friend at UMCom showed up in my mailbox. It was a CD of materials for a “multimedia package” for congregations to use during the Advent season. The good folks at UMCom have provided a theme for the season, “A Life-giving Christmas — Keeping it Real” and will be offering […]
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The Joy is Gone…
I first heard about Glee on Fresh Air, Terry Gross’s interview program on NPR. She was interviewing Ryan Murphy, the show’s creator and producer in the days leading up to the show premiere, and I was intrigued by what seemed to be a quirky premise. So my family has watched since the first episode, back […]
I got an email today informing me that Ddani Aguilar died today, his spirit leaving this world and passing on into the other realm. I was privileged to work with Dani for several years during my time at UMCom, and we would occasionally cross paths as we wandered throughout the city. It was during one […]
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A Serious Question
One of the mantras that I hear regularly from folks is the need to “take back our country.” In fact, I heard two Republican candidates for office make that claim this week in a meeting I attended as the reason they are qualified to hold office. I confess that I am clueless about many things, […]
I know that it seems strange for a preacher to weigh in on the predicted demise of cable and broadcast television. Yet given the prognostication on the web today in the wake of Apple’s announcement regarding their TV product (the hockey puck) I have heard all sorts suggesting that cable’s days are numbered. And I […]
My buddy Sam Davidson pointed me to the following video that is both entertaining and enlightening on the movement from being profit centered to purpose centered organizations. For those of us in church circles, it begs the question of whether our focus on “church growth” (with our profits being attendance and offerings) has led us […]
only wonder understands 