by Phillip Wingeier-Rayo | Feb 19, 2020 | Articles
There are several petitions before the 2020 General Conference proposing various separations, divisions, and even dissolutions of The United Methodist Church. If this marks the end of the UMC, what will its legacy be? What would the obituary of the UMC look like? Let...
by Phillip Wingeier-Rayo | Feb 13, 2020 | Articles
From its very inception, the Methodist movement has offered a relevant message as it has attempted to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Mt 5: 13-14). This quest for relevance has led to a close relationship between The United Methodist Church (and...
by Phillip Wingeier-Rayo | May 20, 2019 | Articles
Last of three parts The previous part of this blog series discussed whether the UMC’s polity and election formulas are consistent with the UMC’s mission statement, which emphasizes making disciples. This leads us to another problem with the representative system that...
by Phillip Wingeier-Rayo | May 16, 2019 | Articles
The mission of The United Methodist Church is to “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” The mission statement calls us to make disciples, yet representation to General Conference is awarded to those who make members. Are making a...
by Phillip Wingeier-Rayo | May 14, 2019 | Articles
A representative democracy was established at the founding of the Methodist Episcopal Church at the Christmas Conference in 1784 in Baltimore. The conference system builds on the foundational system of Christian conferencing established by John Wesley in England, and...
by Phillip Wingeier-Rayo | May 26, 2018 | Articles
Among all the polemics and fireworks discussing human sexuality at General Conference over 10 days, this small petition of $30,000 for mission opportunities in Latin American and the Caribbean almost fell through the cracks. Fortunately this petition (No. 60874)...
