I recently finished reading Phil Tallon and Justus Hunter’s new book The Absolute Basics of the Wesleyan Way. My zeal for this marvelous little book causes me to pause and write this blog post and a direct email to the pastors and lay leaders of the...
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 ...
“Come, sinners, to the gospel feast, let every soul be Jesus guest. Ye need not one be left behind, for God hath bid all humankind. Come and partake the gospel feast, be saved from sin, in Jesus rest; O taste the goodness of our God, and eat his ...
On Tuesday, Feb. 25, Bishop Lowry kicked off his latest teaching series titled The Cross and Resurrection. The video teaching is the first of a four session class designed to be used during by individuals and/or small groups during the Lenten ...
United Theological Seminary and the Central Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church announced today (Jan. 30, 2020) that Bishop Lowry will become the first Bishop-in-Residence at United following his retirement as the episcopal leader of the...
Tomorrow (Saturday, May 4th) opens a period of activity that comes around with all the regularity of blooming, perennial spring flowers. I will fly to Chicago to participate in the regularly scheduled spring meeting of the Council of Bishops of ...
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 ...
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 ...
I am pausing my “Reclaiming the Heart of the Wesleyan Way” series to share a brief word on a pilgrimage in leadership development. By the time this is posted, I will be in Iona, Scotland with a group of young adults from the Central Texas Conference....
Like many of you, I found myself working at home on Monday, February 23rd. Outside the study window, both our driveway and the street are covered in a sheet of ice. Such winter days often leave me in a thoughtful reflective mood. I try to catch up on...
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 ...
Beginning Monday, June 10th we will have the joy and privilege of having Dr. Kenda Creasy Dean as our Conference Teacher. She is renowned for her insight in ministry to youth and young adults. Significantly those insights translate beyond ministry to...
Most of us know the great closing of I Corinthians 13, "And now faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love" (I Corinthians 13:13). What many of us are unaware of is the old King James Version translation of love was ...
One of our vital strategic objectives is to develop a new generation of leadership. As the “baby boomer” pastors & lay leadership retire this becomes increasingly critical. We must be focused on forming and developing a generation of young disciples ...
At a recent meeting of the United Methodist Publishing House Board of Directors, we received a great report on a new online ministry. MinistryMatters.com (www.MinistryMatters.com) is the United Methodist Publishing House’s new ministry resource site....
I sat through a discussion recently about whether a church-related college or university should require a course in religion as a part of a liberal arts education. Science classes, fine arts classes, language classes (to mention a few) are a ...