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The Very Grown-up Work of Incarnation

Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is our head, into Christ. – Ephesians 4:15 Becky Stephen, Senior Director of Field

Spin, excuses and denial (or, What pride sounds like)

“This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really

Violence in the Kingdom of God

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. – Jesus (Matthew 11:12) Jesus talked about the

Calvinism, Gender Politics and the ESV

In any attempt to speak into a conversation about Bible translations and theology, I am skating on the edge of my own incompetencies before I even begin. Receive this blog

Jesus is a friend of sinners (and Jesus is a friend of mine).

I’m thinking about a first-century gathering. Jesus is at somebody’s house and he is laughing. It is a deep belly laugh. Someone has just said something (maybe about the irony

Belonging, Believing and Behaving: The Sense of a Faithful United Methodist

The Babylon Bee, a satirical website that pokes fun at Christian culture, recently posted a marvelously ironic “news piece” with this heading: “Pastor Surprised to Learn His Church Has Statement

Biblical … or superstitious? Which are you?

Consider how the following three numbers are related*: 2, 4, 8. What would you say is the likely relationship between these three numbers? Is there a pattern (hint: yes)? To confirm your guess,

God Heals Dis-grace.

I love the way Chonda Pierce teaches the creation story. She talks about how, in the story of Adam and Eve — before they sinned or ever talked to that

We are the Amen.

Did you know the word “Amen” is never used in the Bible to finish a prayer? Or a song? Not once. The posture of prayer in biblical times was not

What’s true in the world

Are these things true? This was the question asked of Stephen, one of the followers of Jesus who served the first century church. Those who asked were antagonistic toward the

Is your spiritual life a system or a pile of parts?

Confession: My life and ministry have suffered greatly for lack of working systems. My problem is not laziness or lack of passion. Pretty much, I like just about every idea

Holiness and the African UMC: An open letter to the U.S. Church

I have stated in other posts (here and here) that it has taken me a while to understand exactly how to posture myself within the current United Methodist Church. While at