Imagine the following true story and place yourself in it. You are kidnapped sometime in your teenage years. Hauled in chains to a different country, you are sent to work in hard and dangerous labor – slave labor. Much of your time is spent alone,...
As we move through Lent, we are all struggling with issues of re-opening. The WIG remains our mission with an emphasis in discipleship formation through small group ministry, outreach to the community/mission field, and professions of ...
Last week, I had the privilege of sharing with many of you in a webinar featuring Dr. Thom Rainer and produced by the Texas Conference UMC. Dr. Rainer is the head of a highly respected Christian “think-tank” and coaching platform called Church ...
On Tuesday, March 2, Governor Gregg Abbott issued an Executive Order (GA-34) that ended the current statewide mask mandate in Texas and sets Wednesday, March 10 as the date in which all businesses, organizations and facilities in the state are ...
As I write this blog (Friday afternoon, Feb. 19), we are working as a Conference Team with District Superintendents (DS) and members of the District Discipleship Teams to provide assistance and disaster relief across the Central Texas Conference. ...
In this time of chaos and confusion caused by COVID-19 and, most recently, by the dangerous winter weather conditions throughout Texas that have left many without power, heat and/or water, many find it difficult to know how to best move, much less ...
In C. S. Lewis’ epic tale, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe , one of the first creatures the children encounter is Mr. Beaver. Beaver has great wisdom and insight even in a time of the land frozen and in the grip of the White Witch. Quite soon ...
In the turmoil surrounding us and the uncertainty of the church’s future (both coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and a possible General Conference vote on the Protocol), I do not want us to lose sight of our need and commitment to work on ending ...
As I did four years ago (and four year prior to that, and…), I ask the Christians of the Central Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church to pray for our newly inaugurated President and Vice-President, our Senators and Representatives in the ...
Please see below for Bishop Lowry's message regarding today's mob protests at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. With you, I have watched today’s mob assault on the U.S. Capitol with horror and revulsion. We are a country built on the rule of ...
A video message from Bishop Lowry is available at the end of this post. So then, let’s work for the good of all whenever we have an opportunity, and especially for those in the household of faith. Let’s not get tired of doing good, because in time...
A video message from Bishop Lowry on the CTC's response to the latest spike in COVID-19 across our conference, state and nation can be found at the end of this blog post. To download the video to share with your church or small group, go to the CTC's...
As I write this, the results of the election for President of the United States are not yet known. In many of what political pundits term “battleground states,” there exists a razor thin margin between the two major party candidates. And, at last ...
This Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020 is election day in the United States. This Tuesday, the citizens of the U.S. – at least those age 18 and up – have the opportunity (some would say “duty”) to participate in the democratic processes of selecting those ...
The Martyrdom of Polycarp is a famous story in early Christian literature and lore. Polycarp was an early Christian bishop and probably had a close (student to teacher) relationship with John the Apostle. As a revered older figure of leadership in ...
We look back with a mixture of scorn, dismay, and amazement. It was Nov. 27, a.d. 1095, when Pope Urban II launched the first Crusade to “retake the Holy Land.” At the time, when Pope Urban finished his sermon calling for the First Crusade, there ...
The response to COVID-19 varies throughout the conference – from district to district, county to county, family unit to family unit. The Be the Bridge Racial Reconciliation Training Seminar is an important and excellent opportunity for us to come ...
I ask that we continue to pray for the end of COVID-19 and to specifically pray for President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. It is my expectation that we as Christians have been praying for the end of COVID-19 and the healing of those who are ...
About 25 years ago, when I was pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church in Corpus Christi, Texas, I made the rounds of some of the rapidly growing, missionally committed, very large regional churches in our denomination. I was seeking to gain ...
We are living in a time where we seem to be continually facing societal struggles that come at us at an almost blistering pace. Of course, there are all the ongoing and ever changing (yet seemingly never-changing) issues related to the COVID-19 ...
The Association of Annual Conference Lay Leaders has published the following letter to the Laity of the United Methodist Church (please see below). Mike Ford, the current Lay Leader of the Central Texas Conference, supports the release of this ...
As I write this blog today, I am, along with so many of you, in anguish. The shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, followed by the gunning down of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber pierces the heart. Stunned incredulity at ...
These are wild times. The COVID-19 Pandemic continues to slam us all. International news around the world reports seemingly continual conflicts. Here in the United States, one political party’s convention has just ended, and the other major party is...
In his latest video message to the CTC, Bishop Lowry, having recently returned to Lone Star State after taking a few weeks to go and play the role of Papa with his grandkids, shares words of admiration and thanks to the clergy and lay leadership who...
While “sheltering in place,” Jolynn and I have enjoyed a return to “Sunday night at the Movies.” A few weeks ago, we watched the great old action flick “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” Early this week, I came across an arresting reflection on ...
As Jolynn and I watched the evening news, a report came on about the Tulsa massacre. By now you may know the story. At the end of May 1921 mobs of white residents attacked black residents and businesses of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma....
Moderator's Note: A video in which Bishop Lowry directly and fervently addresses the recent events surrounding the tragic and senseless death of George Floyd and the blight of racism and shares some ideas for concrete, specific action to fight racism...
Racism is a sickness in our soul. It is a scourge which haunts the best of us. Like most of you, Jolynn and I have watched with horror the death of George Floyd and the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery. Many of us are at loss for how to appropriately ...
An Honor The following announcement was recently shared by Bishop Bob Farr, President of the South Central Jurisdictional (SCJ) College of Bishops, and Brian Hammonds, SCJ Episcopacy Committee Chair: “The Council of Bishops has affirmed the actions...
I have recommended Rev. Mike Ramsdell’s weekly email “Endnotes” in several of my blog posts over the past several months. And I’m writing today to do so once again. His recent article “Ten Mistakes to Avoid in the COVID-19 Season” is brilliantly ...
As we continue to engage in effective ministry during and after COVID-19, Bishop Lowry and the Cabinet are convinced that churches hoping to return to “the way things were” are not going to emerge from this season as healthy as those who are willing...
While the COVID-19 crisis clamors for our attention and the struggle on how best to re-open swamps our perceptions, the sin of racism still blights our society and nation. We have witnessed one person, a white woman, being celebrated, encouraged and...
Among the many, many acts of faithful discipleship by CTC churches who are reaching out in the name of Christ during the COVID-19 pandemic is one shared by West District Superintendent Lisa Neslony. According to Lisa, Oakdale UMC is driving around “...
With firm conviction, Bishop Gerald O. Glenn of The New Deliverance Evangelistic Church in North Chesterfield, Virginia, held in-person worship on March 22 despite warnings about the need for social distancing. In the service Bishop Glenn declared, ...
In his latest video update to the Central Texas Conference, Bishop Lowry addresses several topics related to the ministries and business of the CTC - chief among them being what do the reported “reopening of Texas” plans mean for our local churches?...
The Pandemic swept through the world. It is said that 5, 000 died in one day in Rome. Anyone with resources and means fled from major cities and sought sanctuary in remote locations. Social distancing was practiced long before the term was ever ...
Arguably, the most insightful piece of writing I have read during this season of chaos we call the “COVID-19 Coronavirus crisis” is based on a "Redemptive Edge" podcast by Andy Crouch, Kurt Keilhacker and Dave Blanchard called "Leading Beyond the ...
Do you recall the great promise given to Peter when Jesus tells him that “upon this rock I will build my church?” Jesus promises, “the gates of Hades [hell] will not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18, NRSV) Neither will the COVID-19 Coronavirus ...
Last week (March 20), I shared a guest blog from Professor Peter Bellini Associate Professor of Evangelization at United Theological Seminary. Dr. Bellini has written a follow-up to that piece he titled “10 Guidelines for Christian Living in These ...
In a video message to the Central Texas Conference, Bishop Lowry comments on how the Cabinet of the CTC is guiding churches and church leaders to respond to the ever-evolving novel coronavirus COVID-19 crisis. As city, county, state and federal ...
In this time of crisis and pandemic, I invite you to breath deep and remember that Jesus is still Lord. May our response as Christ followers be that of a people guided by faith, not driven by fear. As the coronavirus, known as COVID-19, continues ...
In the fall of 1972, I entered seminary at Perkins School of Theology on the Southern Methodist University campus. Later that same fall, America was riven by a contentious Presidential election. President Richard Nixon was re-elected in a landslide ...
When I started this blog site approximately 10 years ago, I chose to title it “This Focused Center” based on 2 Corinthians 5:14-15. “Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same ...
Moving into the heart of January, we tend to slide easily over the first part of the life of Jesus and settle back into our lives. Amid the chaos of international events, the clamor of impeachment hearings and the ongoing drama of our everyday ...
Yesterday was Epiphany Day, the day of the traditional celebration of the wisemen’s (magi’s) arrival in Bethlehem. Matthew shares this profound offering from Gentile non-believers (probably followers of Zoroasterism). When they saw the star, they ...
The earliest creedal affirmation of Christians is the simple phrase, “Jesus is Lord.” Such a confession stood in sharp contrast to the central claim of the Roman Empire with its assertion that Caesar is Lord. At the heart of discipleship lies the ...
Last week, I joined with other bishops in signing a letter that called for a “new form of unity in the Methodist witness.” Collectively, we went on to say, “We believe God can use our current brokenness as a springboard to multiply our Wesleyan DNA ...
I have joined a group of United Methodist bishops and issued a letter calling for deeper conversations regarding new expressions of the Methodist witness. It is my deep conviction that God in Christ through the Holy Spirit is calling us to a new form...
Last week (Oct. 29), I began a four-part teaching series on The Incarnation - a key doctrinal element at the core of the Christian faith. This followed a live four-session teaching series entitled “Sin and Salvation.” that debuted earlier this ...
The headline in Tuesday morning’s Fort Worth Star Telegram read, “A Day of Outrage in Response to Shootings.” Such a headline calls to mind our need for confession, conviction and response. It is morally bankrupt to simply receive the news of the ...
There is a story which comes back to me as I look forward to Advent and Christmas about a woman who was out Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of looking at row after row of toys (and everything else imaginable), and after ...
As I have indicated in previous blogs during this time of crisis in The United Methodist Church, I find myself being driven back to core purposes for The United Methodist Church. In doing so, I cannot avoid wrestling on a deeper level than I have in ...
A while back, I was in a worship service where someone joined the United Methodist Church via a profession of faith. As the pastor went through the vows, the following question from our official order of worship was asked: “Do you renounce the ...
I returned home from a month of renewal leave last Monday (Aug. 19), and quickly found myself re-immersed in the regular routine of the episcopal office. There were predictable emails awaiting me about this initiative or that problem. A slew of ...
The recent spate of mass shooting leaves me (and I believe most of us) reeling. Texas has been my home for virtually all of my adult life. I have lived and pastored a church in the Rio Grande Valley (Wesley UMC in Harlingen). Our daughter was born ...
John Wimber There is an urban legend about John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard Church movement and professor at Fuller Theological Seminary. The story goes that after his conversion to Christ, he started to attend a local church in his area. ...
As a part of my summer reading, I have enjoyed 8 Virtues of Rapidly Growing Churches. With our focus on the WIG – the Wildly Important Goal of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world – the words leaped off the page: ...
This Blog is part three of a three-part blog series pulled from my 2019 Episcopal Address delivered on June 11 to the lay and clergy members of the 109th Annual Meeting the Central Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church. To view the video ...
This Blog is part two of a three-part blog series pulled from my 2019 Episcopal Address delivered on June 11 to the lay and clergy members of the 109th Annual Meeting the Central Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church. To view the video of ...
This Blog is part one of a three-part blog series pulled from my 2019 Episcopal Address delivered on June 11 to the lay and clergy members of the 109th Annual Meeting the Central Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church. To view the video of ...
For those following larger issues in the United Methodist Church in America, it is an understatement to assert that this is a time of fluid chaos. Conversations, and even threatened action for or against the recently concluded General Conference, ...
On May 1, Bishop Lowry and the CTC Cabinet met with the Central Texas Conference clergy and lay leadership to reflect on and respond to the decisions made at General Conference 2019 and the subsequent Judicial Council rulings on those decisions. ...
I want to emphatically encourage every church in the Central Texas Conference to send at least two people to the Laity Summit planned for 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Sunday June 9 (just before the start of Annual Conference 2019). Mike Ford, our outstanding ...
After the called General Conference in St. Louis, I (along with others) was asked to write a brief article for Circuit Rider, an online magazine put out by The United Methodist Publishing House. The writers were asked specifically to not re-argue or...
It is the morning after St. Patrick’s Day and I find myself musing about what this great Christian hero would teach us. I invite us to get past green rivers, green beer and the wearing of the green for there is a towering Christian who stands both ...
Later this week, Bishops and delegates to the Special Called session of General Conference 2019 will gather in St. Louis. It is not an understatement to assert that this General Conference will have a crucial role in determining the future of the ...
When I began writing my blog back in 2010, I entitled it This Focused Center based on a version of 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 from The Message (a paraphrased translation of the Bible by Eugene Peterson) “Our firm decision is to work from this focused ...
Gil Rendle in his newest book, Quietly Courageous, poses the question of whether many of us operate from a stance of functional atheism. That is, do we believe in God in some vague intellectual sense but engage in ministry as if God does not ...
Late last week , the Bishops across the United Methodist Church received an important communication from the General Secretary of Wespath (previously known as the General Board of Pensions and Health Benefits) Barbara Boigegrain. General Secretary ...
As we watched the evening news together (as is our custom), Jolynn and I were sitting together on the couch holding hands. Halfway through the broadcast, Jolynn shook her hand loose and asked, “Are you upset?” Her question was spot on. I was ...
Over the fall season, I made a total of 10 presentations (two in each geographic district of the CTC) on the upcoming called Special General Conference 2019 to be held Feb. 23-26. This General Conference will receive and act upon the report of the ...
On Saturday, Nov. 3, I preached the opening sermon at the 2018 Global Gathering of the Wesleyan Covenant Association held at Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church in Marietta, Georgia. Below is the text of the sermon. It was entitled “Unashamed!” and ...
While on renewal/study leave, I am reprinting (with permission) a blog Rev. Mike Ramsdell, Executive Director for the Smith Center on Evangelism, Mission & Church Growth posted on June 13. Rev. Ramsdell’s understanding of the way mission and ...
Next week, I will be on renewal leave for a time of study under Dr. Kenneth Collins, Professor of Historical Theology and Wesley Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. For some time, I have been concerned that for many American Christians (and ...
Faith Sharing The story is well known and speaks to the heart of the Wesleyan Way. Roger Ross relates it as follows: On April 2, 1739, at age thirty-five, Wesley took the plunge: At four in the afternoon I submitted to ‘be more vile,’ and proclaimed ...
John Wesley is purported to have said that “worship is the first and primary duty of the Christian.” This crucial act of biblical discipleship is clear. In his decisive interchange with the woman at the well, Jesus says, “But the time is coming - and...
On Tuesday, April 25, Mike Ford, Central Texas Conference Lay Leader, and I sent the following letter (via email) to all the clergy in the Central Texas Conference currently under appointment as well as the Lay Leaders of our local churches. We'd ...
The pictures and news reports are graphic. The flooding is historic in size and scope. The impact has been described as “catastrophic” by The Central Texas Conference’s Coordinator of Disaster Response Rev. Laraine Waughtal. Already the response by ...
Friday, May 13th, the Laity Address was given at the General Conference of the United Methodist Church in Portland, Oregon. Listening to Lay Leaders from Upper New York, Virginia, Missouri, Tennessee, Zimbabwe, and the Great Plains Conference, ...
The United Methodist Church has been engaged in a committed emphasis on building vital congregations who “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” Bishop John Schol from the Greater New Jersey Conference has been the lead ...
The daily news of divisions assault us. I have been watching with many of you the nightly news of debate amongst the contenders for the Republican Party’s nomination for president. Are you for Trump or Cruz, Perry or Fiorina, Rubio or Kasich, Carson ...
Wednesday morning I arrived back in the Central Texas Conference offices from Montgomery, Alabama. Jolynn and I had been gone for the previous three and a half days while I had the honor and joy of serving as the Conference Preacher for the Alabama- ...
Once a quadrennium, the United Methodist Council of Bishops meets intentionally outside the United States, which reminds us that we are truly a worldwide church. As we gather in Berlin, I ask for your prayers, especially for those Christians ...
Aslan is on the Move! © Few Christian writers and thinkers have had such a profound influence on the life of the faith & the church as C. S. Lewis. (Mere Christianity is basic foundational reading!) In his classic Narnia series, The Lion, the Witch, ...
One of the great Focus Areas of the United Methodist Church during the last eight years has been combating killer diseases. In particular, the United Methodist Church has focused on combating the killer disease of malaria through Nothing But Nets and...
The following statement was adopted unanimously by the Council of Bishops in the afternoon executive session on November 7, 2014: As bishops of The United Methodist Church, our hearts break because of the divisions that exist within the church. We ...
I am nearing the end of Michael Green’s book Thirty Years that Changed the World: The Book of Acts for Today. While the first edition was published over 20 years ago (1993) and the second edition was republished 12 years ago, I find its relevance ...
EPISCOPAL ADDRESS TO THE CENTRAL TEXAS CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH June 9, 2014 By Bishop Mike Lowry © Be glad in the Lord always! Again I say, be glad! 5 Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people. The Lord is near. 6 ...
What comes to your mind when you think of a missionary? I must confess that my usual image is both anchored in the past and colonial in genre. I imagine Albert Schweitzer and pith helmets. Intellectually I know better. Here in Central Texas we are ...
The Dictionary defines distraction as: “Having the attention diverted” or “Suffering conflicting emotions; distraught.” From an online Thesaurus the following notation was offered, “having the attention diverted especially because of anxiety.” I am ...
(This Blog is a part of a series of blogs sharing insights from the “Findings, Implications, & Recommendations” reported by Dr. Weems about the Central Texas Conference. This report analyzes key trends related to church size and clergy deployment ...
(This Blog is a part of a series of blogs sharing insights from the “Findings, Implications, & Recommendations” reported by Dr. Weems about the Central Texas Conference. This report analyzes key trends related to church size and clergy deployment ...
(This Blog is a part of a series of blogs sharing insights from the “Findings, Implications, & Recommendations” reported by Dr. Weems about the Central Texas Conference. This report analyzes key trends related to church size and clergy deployment ...
(This Blog is a part of a series of blogs sharing insights from the “Findings, Implications, & Recommendations” reported by Dr. Weems about the Central Texas Conference. This report analyzes key trends related to church size and clergy deployment ...
(This Blog is a part of a series of blogs sharing insights from the “Findings, Implications, & Recommendations” reported by Dr. Weems about the Central Texas Conference. This report analyzes key trends related to church size and clergy deployment ...
(This Blog is a part of a series of blogs sharing insights from the “Findings, Implications, & Recommendations” reported by Dr. Weems about the Central Texas Conference. This report analyzes key trends related to church size and clergy deployment ...
(This Blog is a part of a series of blogs sharing insights from the “Findings, Implications, & Recommendations” reported by Dr. Weems about the Central Texas Conference. This report analyzes key trends related to church size and clergy deployment ...
One of the absolutely crucial areas of concern for the United Methodist Church is leadership development. In a real sense, this is always true for any organization (church, business, military, non-profits, etc.) anywhere, at any time. The Call to ...
June 20-21 the bishops of the South Central Jurisdiction (SCJ) held a traditional event in a nontraditional location and manner. For decades (with only occasional lapses) the bishops of the South Central Jurisdiction have sponsored a learning retreat...