(By John Lomperis, Juicy Ecumenism). [On Friday, July 7, 2017] I and others received official notification that our denomination’s [the United Methodist Church] supreme court, the Judicial Council, had unanimously decided to reject the request from the Western Jurisdiction bishops to reverse their April ruling against the attempt by this increasingly schismatic, numerically tiny region of…
By Mark Tooley, Juicy Ecumenism. Since the small Western Jurisdiction of United Methodism elected an openly lesbian bishop in defiance of church law, there’s been renewed conversation about schism. Some predict it with regret while some hope it would end decades of controversy between conservatives and liberals. Typically schism talk does not focus on the…
By Joseph Rossell, Juicy Ecumenism. The Presbyterian Church (USA) wrapped up its biannual General Assembly last Saturday. Liberals largely got their way, passing numerous progressive resolutions. Delegates agreed to explore divestment from Israel, declared that a peaceful two-state Israel/Palestine solution was nearly “impossible,” affirmed Christian pacifism, and issued apologies to Native Americans and the community….
By Chelsen Vicari, Juicy Ecumenism. You might say a Baptist dropped a bomb on the Justice Conference in Chicago on June 4. The annual gathering of young evangelicals is described as “one of the largest international gatherings on social and biblical justice” and is a project of World Relief. The Justice Conference customarily invites members…
By Jeffrey Walton, Juicy Ecumenism. Advancing the Kingdom of God includes establishing justice, love and good works, but is not limited to these things, according to speakers at a major conference of Anglican missionaries. “We also need to ‘tell the story’: minister the power of the Gospel and disciple new believers,” declared Anglican Bishop of…
By Joseph Rossell, Juicy Ecumenism. ABC has decided to cancel its biblical drama Of Kings and Prophets after just two episodes. The move came after the show received low ratings and sponsors were pressured to pull their advertising. The show attempted to tell the story of King David’s ascent to the throne and King Saul’s…
By Joseph Rossell, Juicy Ecumenism. Jesus warned his disciples that it was “easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Research by the Pew Research Center confirmed this insight, finding that wealthier societies are less religious. “Overall, people in wealthier nations…
By Mark Tooley, Juicy Ecumenism. There was a sad, revealing story in The Washington Post about a century old Presbyterian church near where I grew up selling its property. The church under the current pastor has lost half its membership, and online statistics reveal average attendance is fewer than 30. I’ve passed the handsome stone…
By Megan Pavlischek Grant, Juicy Ecumenism. As an evangelical Christian and Wheaton College alumna (2009), who has spent years living among Muslims in Morocco and has worked with Iraqi refugees in Illinois, I find that the controversy surrounding Larycia Hawkins appeals to some of my deepest theological, intellectual and emotional commitments. The issue boils down…
By John Lomperis, Juicy Ecumenism. An abbreviated version of the following testimony was delivered yesterday by UMAction Director John Lomperis to the board of directors of the General Board of Pensions and Health Benefits of the United Methodist Church. This denominational agency, which manages billions of dollars of assets and investments on behalf of the church,…