Proposed Settlement Offers More Questions than Answers

The new year is off to an exciting start within the United Methodist family. A year that was already expected to be fraught with nervousness regarding the church’s future and on-going discussions regarding human sexuality received a jolt of new energy, Friday, when a group of pastors and leaders in the church released a proposed settlement to separate the church at General Conference.

Almost immediately, the proposed settlement was picked up by religious and secular media as a done deal. Headlines were written to suggest that what was proposed was official. As a former reporter, the nature of who was around the table – bishops and leaders of various caucus groups – would lead those unfamiliar with the polity of the United Methodist Church to make that inaccurate assumption.

As we approach General Conference in May, the proposed settlement – which gives $25 million for a new traditionalist church – becomes one of several plans that will be up for consideration regarding the church’s future. It will be up to General Conference to determine the proposed settlement’s vitality and if it wants to approve it or another plan up for consideration.

While the proposed settlement offers an attempt to end the decades-long impasse within the church, there are more questions than answers within the document. Many of those questions will likely be answered during a press availability on January 13. Here are just some of the questions that need to be answered by the proposed settlement group prior to General Conference. Continue reading “Proposed Settlement Offers More Questions than Answers”

Christian Leadership, Christianity, Culture, Devotion, Encouragement, Faith, Life, News, Public Theology

Reversing Church Decline

Noah loves balloons. Every so often, we will purchase some for him, especially around his birthday, that he can enjoy and play with.

Sometimes it is my responsibility to blow up the balloons. With my asthma, I don’t always have the lung strength to blow them up myself. I am thankful for the ability to purchase small tanks that allow me to blow up the balloons that, in turn, give Noah some joy and pleasure.

One of the things about balloons is that over time they lose air. You don’t always notice it happening, but air can seep through the balloon and, thus, shrink its size. Sometimes, it takes a while to notice that the balloon doesn’t have the same amount of air that it did before.

I believe sometimes the church is just like a balloon. Sometimes we don’t always recognize issues or periods of decline until it is entirely noticeable. When we begin to notice issues or decline when it is reached the point that ignoring it any longer would harm the long-term operational structure of the local church.

The truth is that the church has often struggled with issues. As well, in many ways, we have been in decline, as a Methodist movement, for a more than just a handful of years. By percentage of the population, by some accounts, we have been in a state of decline since the 1880s. It was easy to miss for a long time, because the church was able to maintain its funding and support levels.

That isn’t the case, currently. Continue reading “Reversing Church Decline”

Christian Leadership, Christianity, Faith, News, Uncategorized

Enough With Church Politics

For three years, I worked in public policy and gained first-hand experience to the growing polarization that exists in our nation. I went into it, perhaps, with a bit of naive hopefulness believing that everyone would work for the same common principles, especially since we were an issue-oriented group. What I often saw was how some were more interested in defeating the “other side” than about promoting the cause or working towards a consensus.

That experience led me to make one of the most common statements I share about my time before going into ministry: I give thanks to God I had some political experience, because it has helped to find my way through church issues.

It is sad for me to admit that being in politics, even as a staff writer for a higher education policy group, was one of the best training grounds for ministry, because it gave me on-the-field perspective regarding the polarization that exists in the church today. The church, especially my own United Methodist Church, is suffering in the United States because we often reflect of the same political polarization that has crippled Washington, D.C., and state houses across the nation for a generation. We are more interested in winning political arguments than we are about “making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” Continue reading “Enough With Church Politics”

News, Uncategorized

Who is the Greatest President? (2017 Edition)

In anticipation of Presidents’ Day, C-SPAN released its updated list of the greatest presidents. The list was based on a survey completed by historians, professors, and media professionals. It is an interesting list, and like all surveys is subjective based upon the viewpoints of the individual’s ranking bias (conservative/liberal, strong government/weak government, etc.).

The list made me think of my own list that I put together five years ago and the need for it to be updated to reflect the end of the Obama Administration. That list, and the one that will follow, was my own reflection based on my studies of the presidents.

It is fair to list my biases at the start of the listing. I favor the long-term influence of a president over historical popularity. I also look at leadership competencies in the realm of whether the individual was able to motivate the nation to a purpose, was driven, and took control of the issues. Lastly, I want to look at whether the individual was effective in dealing with those issues that faced them.

I also believe it is worth noting that modern presidents are hard to rank. That is because the emotions (both positive and negative) drive a lot of our views on the effectiveness of a particular president. I have argued that it takes a generation to truly get a good perspective on an administration. I am beginning to wonder with the advent of social media that it may take multiple generations to evaluate presidents in this Technology Age.

That being said, here is my list of the greatest presidents … 2017 edition: Continue reading “Who is the Greatest President? (2017 Edition)”

Christian Leadership, Culture, News

Reflections from a Native West Virginian on the West Virginia Floods

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to travel to West Virginia. I grew up in the Mountain State, a native of Shady Spring, and a graduate of West Virginia University. So, when the state experienced some of the worst flooding in its history there was only one thing to do: Act.

The church where I serve as the pastor, Claylick United Methodist Church in Salvisa, Ky., rallied to be a blessing to the people who I call my people. I cannot thank them enough for their love and connection to people beyond our own neighborhood. We took an entire carload of supplies to the state and will likely take more in the days to come. It is the least we can do to give back to people who are hurting. 13501569_10153656035981272_2276381847571286993_n Continue reading “Reflections from a Native West Virginian on the West Virginia Floods”