Ministry

Using people is wrong. It seems absurd this needs to be said, but after reading Jay Therrell’s “Throwing Rocks” and Rob Renfroe's “Colonialism in Glass Houses” this week, I feel I must say it. Reading how easily they dismiss folks concerned about the WCA’s desire to vaccinate delegates to General Conference, they are missing the gist of what makes this proposal ethically and … [Read more...] about Using People Is Wrong

In desiring to respond to an open letter to centrists, I am not sure I qualify as a centrist. In some contexts I would appear conservative, in others progressive. Yet, I feel a need to respond to the Reverend Stephen Rankin’s “An Open Letter to Adam Hamilton and Other Centrists: Where Lie the Boundaries?” I really disliked his commentary “It is time to separate.” The more I … [Read more...] about Boundaries

Schism begets schism. When I was in policy debate in high school, an opposing team once argued that we should not be talking about a potentially dangerous situation, because the more we talked about it, the more likely it was to occur.  After hearing their contention, I was incensed.  The argument was so generic it could be used against almost any case.  I also wondered how … [Read more...] about More Love, Less Schism

If I had a big furry hat like Stephen Colbert and could make decrees, I would declare that fear could no longer be used in argumentation in the life of the church.  At two different annual conferences I attended this year, the speeches against constitutional amendment two centered on the fear of an unknown future where the word gender might be more fluid than a binary … [Read more...] about Fear