Monthly Archives: November 2015

In-Sight: Oh, How Marvelous!

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Steve Harper

This coming Sunday, we celebrate the First Sunday in Advent, the beginning of another new year in the Christian telling of time.  In preparation for this holy season, I have been thinking about The Story in its summary essence, remembering … Continue reading →

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UMC: We’re Best in the Open

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Steve Harper

My advocacy of a an interim period between 2016-2020 has been viewed by some as creating a predilection in a particular direction so as to influence what the Plan for Unity (I mentioned yesterday) would contain.  But that is not … Continue reading →

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UMC: Prayerful & Paced Decisiveness

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Steve Harper

Chris Ritter characterized my position as one calling the UMC to a quadrennium of prayer and deliberate action between 2016-2020.  I stand by that conviction, and the more so when I saw that my friend, Bishop Rueben Job, wrote similarly … Continue reading →

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UMC: Theme Introduction

Posted on November 21, 2015 by Steve Harper

The Rev. Chris Ritter has done us a good service on his blog (peopleneedjesus.net) by providing helpful overviews and summaries of key issues in The United Methodist Church today, and particularly with respect to the upcoming General Conference next May.  … Continue reading →

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In-Sight: Attitude of Gratitude

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Steve Harper

I am not usually a cliché Christian–you know, the kind of words that fit on a bumper sticker.  But truth be told, the phrase “the attitude of gratitude” is difficult to improve.  We must not allow the brevity and cutesy … Continue reading →

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In-Sight: Soul Calming

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Steve Harper

The sign read, “Traffic Calming Ahead.”  I had never seen a sign like that, so I wondered what was awaiting us around the corner as we neared the KOA campground we were going to stay in for the next few … Continue reading →

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Editorial: No Christian Persecution in USA

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Steve Harper

For months I have been seeing one allegation after another that Christians are being persecuted in the USA.  The “evidence” is drawn from things as diverse as marriage licenses and coffee cups.  Hardly a day goes by without some new … Continue reading →

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Editorial: We Need a H.E.R.O

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Steve Harper

The defeat of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance reveals how easily issues of human freedom can become knotted up with confusion, caricaturization, and complexity.  The issues of civil and religious liberty are creating a cauldron of contention in our nation, … Continue reading →

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In-Sight: Transformation #3

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Steve Harper

A third dimension of transformation is the move from darkness to light.  At first glance, this move seems so obvious that everyone would want to make it as soon as possible.  But it’s not so.  Jesus said that we prefer … Continue reading →

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