Evangelicals Unite in Chicago
During the first hour of its launch event in Chicago on October 7, leaders of the Wesleyan Covenant Association (WCA) were scrambling to find more chairs to accommodate the standing-room-only gathering, as well as swaying and clapping to the enthusiastic and impromptu...
Bill Hybels and the Virtuous Spiral Upward
“For 60 minutes I sat in my own personal agony, watching this guy, who was probably only ever going to come to church once. I could viscerally sense him being pushed further and further away from the God that he was interested in, albeit mildly.” That was one of the...
The Gospel According to Nightcrawler
When moviegoers were first introduced to Kurt Wagner more than a dozen years ago in the blockbuster film X2: X-Men United, he was darting through a legion of hapless Secret Service officers at the White House. At first glance, he appeared as a fierce blue...
The Martyr’s Invitation
“Jacques, you were a faithful disciple of Jesus.” If he were given the opportunity to overhear the proceedings at his own funeral, these are the words that Father Jacques Hamel would have been most pleased to hear. They were said with a mixture of solemnity, sorrow,...
Pentecost at the Crossroads
“The United Methodist Church is at a crossroads,” Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa told the more than 500 assembled for the African Worship Service on Pentecost Sunday at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. Nhiwatiwa welcomed the international congregation and made it...
Portlandia at General Conference
This was my seventh United Methodist General Conference and I had a sneaking suspicion that it would be like trying to ride a tornado. There are, after all, 162 marijuana dispensaries in metro Portland and one of the top tourist destinations is Voodoo Donuts. Dropping...
Jesus, Our Compass
“We begin, not with business and legislation — as important as these are — but with a fresh emphasis on Jesus Christ for all our living,” said Bishop James S. Thomas as he launched into the Episcopal Address of the 1976 General Conference of The United Methodist...
Remembering Orphans
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). United Methodists of all political stripes should be able to agree on ministry...
Saxophone Sermon
It is one thing to listen to John Coltrane’s album A Love Supreme – and it is completely another event to hear the art behind the notes. Jazz is like that. It’s an acquired taste. With no shame, I readily admit that it took many, many listens before I actually heard...
Love the Bomb!
"Joy is the most infallible sign of the existence of God.” That was the message on a note taped to the computer of Stephen Colbert, the new host of The Late Show. There is something seemingly subversive about a late night comedian who teaches Sunday school and has...