Although, it would have much easier for the UMC Next conceiving team to lay out a detailed statement of faith and set of action plans during our time in Kansas City, we took time to listen. We sought to hear from God and each other before hoisting the seeds of a new methodist movement into […]
Author Archives: paulrpurdue
These are my general observations. Yesterday was a long day of deliberations, prayer, and listening. We are collaborating at tables and technology. Our tables represent people from all over the US church. After two days together, I count my tablemates as friends from whom I gained much insight. I was reminded how the UMC churches […]
UMC NEXT- I am so right brain, and I am trying to listen deeply: to what is being said by my colleagues but also the Holy Spirit. I want to be fully present at UMC Next! However, here are a few impressions. The opening worship called us to “‘practise living into the beloved community… to […]
No matter what our lesser rules or rulings might say, our United Methodist constitution declares: “The United Methodist Church acknowledges that all persons are of sacred worth. All persons without regard to race, color, national origin, status, or economic condition, shall be eligible to attend its worship services, participate in its programs, receive the sacraments, […]
My mother was terrified of water: terrified. She could sit on the edge of a pool almost shaking with fear. And yet, she sat on the edge of the pool. Mom’s almost irrational fear, of even the shallow end, came to me as a four year old through mandatory swim lessons. After ending one swim […]
May 18, 2019 Dear Belmont Family, As we continue to live into these times of change and transition, I am thankful to be joining a larger conversation about what’s next for the UMC to help shape and create the next Methodism – a Methodism defined by Wesleyan theology, a missional focus, evangelism and social justice, […]
My mother was terrified of water: terrified. She could sit on the edge of a pool almost shaking with fear. And yet, she sat on the edge of the pool. Mom’s almost irrational fear, of even the shallow end, came to me as a four year old through mandatory swim lessons. After ending one swim […]
“As a mother comforts her child, So I will comfort you, says the Lord, You will be comforted.” As babies nurse in their mother’s arms, Lord, cradle us within your love! (from Isaiah 61) Oh God- Our Mother Today, we pause in praise of mothers, who carried us whose labor pushed us into […]
Acts unfolds with acts or scenes as in a grand play, “The Acts of the Apostles.” Our passage begins with directions: “Meanwhile.” Meanwhile, in simultaneous time, God’s unfolding drama leads Philip on one stage and Saul on another. Acts 8 began, “at that time, the church began to be subjected to harsh persecution…those who had […]
Easter sends us out with a benediction to live as Jesus lived: “as the Creator sent me, so I send you.” (John 20) In our passage from Acts 5, Luke recounts actions from the earliest days of the church. “The Apostles On Trial” is a story of holy boldness. Just as Jesus lived with a […]
pastorpaulpurdue 