It is, at this point, impossible to predict what the Steering Committee will be recommending to the Connectional Table and the Council of Bishops on how the United Methodist Church can be re-formed, restructured, and renewed.  The decision is being driven not only by a 45-yea...

    Through the Steering Committee for Action, a special task force put in place by the Connectional Table upon recommendation of the Council of Bishops, the United Methodist Church has a wonderful opportunity to re-align, restructure, and refocus itself for the coming years. &nb...

   The question, “Can UMC break out of its institutional mold?” is the headline affixed to Donald Haynes’ current article in the United Methodist Reporter.  Haynes, who was quoted extensively in the last Happenings article, continues his discussion of renewal in The United Meth...

   For 225 years, or for as long as the United States has officially been the United States, Methodism has been part of the American religious scene.   Organized in America at almost the same time the United States was birthed, Methodism has been a major force in helping to fashi...

   United Methodism is presently celebrating its 225th anniversary as an American Church.   The occasion offers opportunity not only to rejoice for the way God has used United Methodist Church in the past, but also to consider what lessons can be learned for the days ahead.

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    In 1955 Roy L. Smith, author, once pastor of Methodism’s largest church (Los Angeles First), former editor of The Christian Advocate, and known as “Mr. Methodist,” wrote a well-received book, Why I Am a Methodist.   Methodism at the time seemed at the height of its influ...

   225 years ago the first preachers of the newly formed Methodist Episcopal Church were riding out of Baltimore to win America for Jesus Christ.  John Wesley had understood that the Americans needed to be independent of British oversight. 

    To achieve this ...