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
Fear
Perspective
One of the more hurtful experiences in my ministry was when a United Methodist pastor, a predecessor at the churches I serve, did a funeral for a member of my church. The act itself was not very hurtful, but the pastor's response to me calling out the inappropriateness of it was. I wrote a letter explaining why I thought it was wrong and how it violated the Book of … [Read more...] about Perspective
Messiness
The United Methodist Reporter featured a blog post by Scott Fritzsche entitled "Breaking up is hard to do (Let's Admit it is time)." The title aptly sums the essence of the post. I would politely contend though that he is wrong. Breaking up is obviously an option, but it is not the only option. While it may be the most expedient possibility, there are other possibilities … [Read more...] about Messiness
Living in Tension
Folks on Twitter today are disappointed that the bishops of the UMC did not come up with a plan to save the UMC. For faithful people who care deeply about Jesus and the church, this seems a bit weird. We have a savior and the bishops are not Jesus. Why should the bishops be the ones to save the church? Salvation in the Bible takes time. God did not immediately free the … [Read more...] about Living in Tension
Tension
In Andy Stanley's last leadership podcast, Andy raised the issue of conflicts vs tensions. Conflicts and tensions are often conflated with each other. Conflicts are situations that can and need to be resolved. Tensions are situations that need to be lived with. Stanley contends that tension can be healthy in the life of an organization. He gives three questions to be used … [Read more...] about Tension