CM Happenings

The Happenings articles are commentary on the United Methodist Church. They were sent originally as e-blasts to leaders in the United Methodist Church and interested persons. They are arranged by year and subject matter.

2018

Aug. 15, 2018 The One Church Plan--A Denominational Disconnect
July 6, 2018 Glide Church and The Way Forward
June 1, 2018 The Purpose of the Confessing Movement
April 28, 2018 Contextualizing the Scriptures
March 2, 2018 Division and Unity

2016

Nov. 15, 2016 What United Methodists Can Learn From the Trump Election
Oct. 20, 2016 The Wesleyan Covenant Association--Reflections
Sept. 10, 2016 How Many Different Religions Can the UM Church Support?
Aug. 9, 2016 What Divides United Methodism (2) What Is the Gospel?
July 27, 2016 What Divides United Methodism--Players in the Present Drama
June 29, 2016 What Divides United Methodists (1) Scripture
June 1, 2016 General Conference - Encouragement and Sadness
April 29, 2016 Some Thoughts Before General Conference
April 8, 2016 Long After Christianity Has Died Away the United Methodisst Church Will Go Marching on
Feb. 27, 2016 Holy Conferencing at General Conference--Not
Jan. 27, 2016 Saving the World By Resolutions
Jan. 4, 2016 Is There Hope for 2016?

2015

Dec. 9, 2015 RESPECTING CONSCIENCE
Nov. 11, 2015 ERAL CONFERENCE LEGISLATION--ACCOUNTABILITY
Oct. 15, 2015 THE CONFESSING MOVEMENT AND THE UPCOMING GENERAL CONFERENCE
Aug. 26, 2015 CULTURAL WARFARE AND SPIRITUAL WARFARE
July 12, 2015 THE SUPREME COURT AND EVANGELICALS: GUILTY AS CHARGED
June 22, 2015 WHAT IS THE BASIS FOR UNITY IN UNITED METHODISM?
May 25, 2015 INDIANA’S RFRA LAW AND THE WAR AGAINST CHRISTIANS
May 2, 2015 FLOPPING, BULLYING, PROPAGANDA, WEDDING CAKES AND THE INDIANA RELIGIOUS FREEDOM LAW
April 1, 2015 UNITED METHODISTS BEHIND THE CULTURE?
March 16, 2015 UNITED METHODISM’S CORPORATE CULTURE AND CHANGE (PART 3) --MUSIC AND HYMNALS
Feb. 19, 2015 UNITED METHODISM’S CORPORATE CULTURE AND THE INABILITY TO CHANGE (PART 2)
Feb. 5, 2015 UNITED METHODISM’S CORPORATE CULTURE AND THE INABILITY TO CHANGE (PART 1)
Jan. 4, 2015 IS THERE A GOOD WORD for 2015?

2014

Dec. 23, 2014 CAN “UNITY” BECOME IDOLATROUS? (PART 2)
Dec. 22, 2014 CAN “UNITY” BECOME IDOLATROUS? (PART 1)
Nov. 17, 2014 THERE ARE MORE CHRISTIANS THAN MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY IN CHINA
Oct. 30, 2014 SHALL WE DREAD GENERAL CONFERENCE 2016?
Oct. 12, 2014 CAN WE LEARN FROM A SURVEY?
Sept. 21, 2014 ECUMENISM: A LOST CAUSE?
Sept. 1, 2014 ON GETTING MESSAGES FROM GOD
Aug. 9, 2014 OLD CROACKERS (Part 2)
July 19, 2014 OLD CROAKERS (part 1)
June 3, 2014 USING WORDS LIKE “PROGRESSIVE” AND “EVANGELICAL”
May 31, 2014 USING WORDS LIKE “PROGRESSIVE” AND “EVANGELICAL”
May 16, 2014 COVENANT AND SCHISM IN THE UMC: A TIME TO SPLIT?
April 18, 2014 CHRISTIAN DISCRIMINATION AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

2013

Dec. 24, 2013 Can the Connection Be Saved Part 4 More on Ethos
July 4, 2013 Independence Day the Supreme Court
June 10, 2013 The Demise of the United Methodist Reporter: a Sad Day
May 21, 2013 Can We Still Speak About Purity?
May 3, 2013 Keeping Up With the Renewal Groups: Aldersgate Renewal Ministries, Renew Ministries, Transforming Congregations
April 5, 2013 Keeping Up With the Renewal Groups: Institute of Religion and Democracy Life Watch, Concerned Methodists
March 15, 2013 Keeping Up With the Renewal Groups: The Confessing Movement, Life Watch
Feb. 16, 2013 Keep Up With the Renewal Groups: The Mission Society, Bristol Books
Feb. 2, 2013 Keeping Up With the Renewal Groups: Good News, a Fund for Theological Education
Jan. 4, 2013 Try Harder, Do Better

2012

Feb. 9, 2012 How Much do we Trust our Bishops?
Feb. 3, 2012 General Conference, Restructuring, and the Future of the Church

2011

Dec. 6, 2011 Call to Action, Reform, and Diversity
Nov. 21, 2011 America, Thanksgiving, and the Pessimistic Index
Nov. 6, 2011 The Call to Action and Seminary Reform
Sept. 24, 2011 Struggling for the Soul of the Church
Sept. 7, 2011 Could we Learn from the Evangelical Covenant Church?
Aug. 22, 2011 Liberalism's Defective Doctrine of the Church
April 21, 2011 The End of Christianity in the West (part I)
April 1, 2011 On Hell
March 11, 2011 Theological Orientation and Renewal in the Church
Feb. 10, 2011 Retired Bishops Want to Reverse Church's Stand on Homosexuality
Jan. 21, 2011 Seminaries and the Decline of the Church (II) - Is There Hope?

2010

Sept. 20, 2010 Jesus Is Lord And The Muslims
Sept. 12, 2010 Judicial Council Decision 1032 And Exploiting Ambiguity
Aug. 30, 2010 An Evangelical Approach To Reform (II)
Aug. 22, 2010 An Evangelical Approach To Reform
July 4, 2010 Call To Action And The Agencies
May 24, 2010 The Ministry Study And Guaranteed Appointments
April 27, 2010 The Board Of Global Ministries And Renewal
April 14, 2010 United Methodist Restructuring - Can We Move Beyond the 1960s
April 1, 2010 Restructuring, Superboards, Church and Society, and Health Care
March 5, 2010 On a Wholistic Church
March 22, 2010 Restructuring and United Methodist Decline - Learning from the Past - The Methodist-EUB Merger
March 10, 2010 Can UMC Break Out of its Institutional Mold
Feb. 4, 2010 Happy 225th Anniversary, American Methodism (Part 3)
Feb. 22, 2010 Happy 225th Anniversary, American Methodism (Part 4)
Dec. 3, 2010 On Using the Word 'Progressive'
Nov. 13, 2010 United Methodists And The Supernatural
Oct. 5, 2010 What Might United Methodist Reform Look Like
Oct. 17, 2010 Methodist Bishop Calls For Recovery Of Supernatural
Jan. 2, 2010 Seminaries and the Decline of the Church (I)
Jan. 19, 2010 Happy 225th Anniversary, American Methodism (Part 2)
Jan. 10, 2010 Happy 225th Anniversary, American Methodism (Part 1)
Jan. 1, 2010 URBANA 09 and Winning the World for Christ

2009

Sept. 25, 2009 The Bible Belt, Revivalism, And Amendment 1
Sept. 13, 2009 On Being Generic Evangelical
Aug. 30, 2009 Full Communion Lutherans, UMS And Homosexuality
Aug. 19, 2009 Diversity, Or Not So Much
July 9, 2009 In Praise Of Calvinism
July 31, 2009 A House Divided
July 20, 2009 The Imploding Episcopalians
June 24, 2009 How about getting rid of some seminaries
June 15, 2009 Megachurches And America's Church Membership
June 11, 2009 Latest Report on Megachurches
May 27, 2009 Western Civilization, Missions, And Methodism (Part 2)
May 21, 2009 Western Civilization, Missions, And Methodism (Part 1)
May 9, 2009 Problems With New Church Starts
April 7, 2009 Here Come the Atheists
April 22, 2009 Global Ministries And Mission Society
March 4, 2009 There is Power in the Blood
March 26, 2009 Good News or Perhaps Not
March 19, 2009 Inclusiveness and Membership Decline
Feb. 20, 2009 On Prayers in Jesus Name
Feb. 11, 2009 600 New Churches for United Methodism
Dec. 2, 2009 Three Simple Rules (Part 4)
Dec. 15, 2009 Ecumenism And The Manhattan Declaration
Nov. 19, 2009 Three Simple Rules (Part 3)
Nov. 10, 2009 United Methodism's Three (Perhaps Not So) Simple Rules (Part 2)
Oct. 7, 2009 What About Those Local Pastors
Oct. 29, 2009 United Methodism's Three Simple Rules (Part 1)
Oct. 20, 2009 British Methodists And Inclusivism
Jan. 30, 2009 Week of Christian Unity Comes and Goes

2008

Sept. 23, 2008 United Methodists And The Africans Part II
Sept. 20, 2008 United Methodism And The Africans Part I
Aug. 29, 2008 Doctrine And The State Of The Church Part II
Aug. 18, 2008 Doctrine And The State Of The Church
Aug. 10, 2008 Homosexual Marriage a Civil Right
July 22, 2008 Do United Methoidsts Live Longer
July 1, 2008 Slavery, homosexuality, and 'not being of one mind'
June 9, 2008 Extremism And The Mainstream Part II
June 5, 2008 Extremism And The Mainstream
June 19, 2008 Shall we repent for liberal theology
June 12, 2008 Was it worth the effort
May 24, 2008 General Conference Legislation - Group 2 Church and Society 2
April 8, 2008 More on General Conference Legislation - Group 3 - Conferences
April 19, 2008 More On General Conference Lelgislation - Group 10 - Judicial Administration - Group 11 - Local Church
April 19, 2008 More On General Conference Lelgislation - Group 12 - Ministry And Higher Education - Group 13 - Superintendency
April 16, 2008 More On General Conference Lelgislation - Group 8 - Global Ministries - Group 9 - Independent Commissions
April 15, 2008 More On General Conference Legislation - Group 6 - Faith And Order - Group 7 - General Administration
April 11, 2008 More On General Conference Legislation - Group 4 - Discipleship - Group 5 - Financial Administration
April 1, 2008 Heading Toward General Conference
March 3, 2008 By What Name Shall We Baptize
Feb. 22, 2008 Doctrine and the State of the Church
Feb. 11, 2008 United Methodists and Poverty
Dec. 14, 2008 The Double Standard and the Bishops
Dec. 1, 2008 United Methodists, Alcohol, and Loss of the High Ground
Nov. 24, 2008 On America and God's Blessing
Nov. 11, 2008 United Methodists and the Election
Oct. 26, 2008 On Using The Name United Methodist - Part II
Oct. 24, 2008 On Using The Name United Methodist - Part I
Oct. 14, 2008 United Methodism And The Africans Part IV
Oct. 10, 2008 United Methodists And The Africans Part III - Hopeful Signs
Jan. 29, 2008 Fighting the Caterpillar Corporation

2007

Sept. 27, 2007 Political Fasting
Sept. 22, 2007 Presbyterians, United Methodists, And Church Membership
Aug. 8, 2007 The Importance Of Significant Large Churches
Aug. 31, 2007 The Importance Of Listening
Aug. 17, 2007 Shall We Name the Name
Aug. 10, 2007 Is Methodism a Movement
July 3, 2007 Methodist Institutionalism And The Seminaries
July 12, 2007 Atheist Books - A Challenge For The Church
Dec. 6, 2007 On Using the Word 'Evangelical'
Dec. 30, 2007 Progressives and Optimism
Dec. 2, 2007 New Hope for the National Council of Churches
Nov. 21, 2007 In Defense Of United Methodism
Nov. 18, 2007 MFSA Reaches 100
Nov. 10, 2007 Whatever Happened to Marriage
Oct. 6, 2007 The Ministry Study A Bureaucratic Maze
Oct. 30, 2007 Holy Conferencing And Civil Discourse