Back to Where We Started
The latest episode in the 2012 General Conference Follies points the way toward overarching issues that The United Methodist Church must address cohesively, not piecemeal, contends Cynthia B. Astle.
View ArticleA Historical Perspective on a Little-Noticed Action
The South Central Jurisdiction's little-noticed vote to allow its Mission Council to decide issues of property disposal is a sad conclusion to the efforts of those who opposed bringing the Bush...
View ArticleSnippets and Sound Bites from Jurisdictional Conferences
A stroll around jurisdictional delegates' reports on this year's election of United Methodist bishops in the United States.
View ArticleTalk about Radical Hospitality!
Here's a welcome notice from a Catholic faith community that's getting lots of notice around cyberspace. Can your church make this claim to radical hospitality?
View ArticleA Way Out of Insanity?
If a definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over expecting different results, then how do we learn to welcome the "strangers" in our midst when they hold moral views so opposed to our...
View ArticleR-E-S-P-E-C-T in the UMC
Talk about spiritual wisdom unexpected quarters! A noted business guru's blog holds good counsel -- not statistics -- for The United Methodist Church amid its turmoil about the future.
View ArticleAbout That 'Vital' Thing
A regular Internet search for the phrase "vital congregations" turns up a remarkable connection.
View ArticleCreating Space for Faith
When we create a space where God's Holy Spirit can shape our lives, we start finding paths into the future God has for us.
View ArticleOn the Bus with Walmart Associates and Jesus
Standing up with Walmart associates seeking better working conditions sets off questions about whether today's Christians truly believe another world is possible, as Jesus taught.
View ArticleHealing the Moral Wounds of War
Four decades on, a father's early death brings clarity to the moral injuries inflicted by war and the need for a new ministry to repair wounded souls.
View ArticleFollow-Ups Find Changes and Hope of Reconciliation
To everything there is truly a season, as changes at UMCOR, MFSA and Walmart attest.
View ArticleIt Ain't Necessarily So
It's sad that the United Methodist Men's Commission yielded to a backlash against the possibility that the Boy Scouts of America might drop its ban against gay members and leaders -- especially when...
View ArticleForrest Gump Was Right – About the UMC
Think you're still a United Methodist Lay Speaker? Not according to the new Book of Discipline, which has stripped the standing from hundreds of faithful church officers throughout the denomination.
View ArticleLamentation for Matthew Warren
The tragic death of Matthew Warren, son of Rick and Kay Warren, co-founders of Saddleback Church, deserves only to be mourned, not villified.
View ArticleA Remembrance of the United Methodist Reporter
Insight coordinator Cynthia B. Astle recalls the history of the United Methodist Reporter and ponders what its impending demise will mean for the church.
View ArticleHow to Respond to a Bully
What do you do when someone smears your professional reputation with exaggerations and outright misstatements? Cynthia B. Astle responds to recent comments by the IRD.
View ArticleOn 'Making Disciples' Versus 'Making Friends'
What if the future of The United Methodist Church requires more than our current mission statement of "making disciples," and more than a blogger's recent challenge of "making friends"?
View ArticleWhy Are We Silent on Economic Injustice in America?
If John Wesley's economic and social works saved England from revolution, why does The United Methodist Church remain so silent on the destabilizing economic injustice afflicting America today?
View ArticleDear Bishops: Get Real!
Once again, United Methodist bishops engage in an adventure in missing the point regarding how to invite young people into the church and encourage them into leadership, writes Cynthia B. Astle.
View ArticleDéjà Vu All Over Again
The parallels between the recent performance of the U.S. Congress and the 2012 General Conference delegate are eerie and disquieting. What can we expect for the UMC's 2016 global legislature?
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