Monthly Archives: April 2022

New UMC: Withness

Posted on April 29, 2022 by Steve Harper

This is the final post in this series, at least in the sense of an opening round of posts. I may add to it as time goes by. I have written with the confidence that the new UMC has a … Continue reading →

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New UMC: Movement Networking

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Steve Harper

In the previous post in this series I wrote that a movement mindset in the new UMC will produce a renewed commitment to locality. In the Wesleyan tradition this intention is not toward independence, but remains in the context of … Continue reading →

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The New UMC: Movement Locality

Posted on April 25, 2022 by Steve Harper

Thinking of the new UMC as a third-order movement gives us the opportunity to combine two key dynamics: locality and networking. Early Methodism expressed both, and so can we. In this post we’ll look at Wesleyan locality. In the next … Continue reading →

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New Awakening: Exile

Posted on April 24, 2022 by Steve Harper

From the day after Easter until Advent, we live in two seasons of the Christian year (Eastertide and Pentecost). In this longest stretch of our liturgical journey, we say “the risen Christ is with us.” It is summed up in … Continue reading →

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The New UMC: Becoming a Movement (Again)

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Steve Harper

The UMC resources I listed recently in this series have revived my conviction that the way forward for the new UMC includes recovering a movement mindset. I am in agreement with those who believe the Wesleys intentionally designed Methodism as … Continue reading →

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Christ: Sources for the Series

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Steve Harper

I expect this series will go on for awhile, so before I dive into it, I want to let you know the sources which have formed me with respect to Christ. Maybe it’s the teacher in me that motivates me … Continue reading →

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The New UMC: Resourcing the Renewal of Hope

Posted on April 19, 2022 by Steve Harper

The renewal of hope is a radical task. With respect to the new UMC, it means the re-formation of our identity. We have lost this internally and in the society as we have been consumed with debates, differences, and division. … Continue reading →

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Christ: The Heart of It All

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Steve Harper

Yesterday, Christians around the world exclaimed, “He is risen! He is risen indeed!” We are an Easter people, those who embrace Christ’s promise “because I live, you shall live also” (John 14:19). On this day after Easter we say, “the … Continue reading →

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Along the Way: Reconciliation

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Steve Harper

Midway through Holy Week I am connecting the redemptive work of Christ with something Thomas Aquinas wrote. They both shed light on the word ‘reconciliation.’ On Friday of Holy Week, the grand clarification occurred. Aquinas wrote, “a mistake in our … Continue reading →

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The New UMC: Making Hope Real

Posted on April 8, 2022 by Steve Harper

When we envision a “future filled with hope’ for the United Methodist Church, we often do so using renewal language. And while there is “fire” in using renewal language, there is also the danger that the fire will go out. … Continue reading →

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The New UMC: A Future Filled With Hope

Posted on April 6, 2022 by Steve Harper

[Note: I have written in the “UMC” category here on Oboedire for years. Today’s post in this category is focused on the new UMC which is already taking shape, but does so more formally on May 1st when the Global … Continue reading →

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Along the Way: The Unsettling Bible

Posted on April 4, 2022 by Steve Harper

Once in a while someone will say, “The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it.” There was a time when I spoke the words. They almost always are said in a defense of Scripture and as a declaration … Continue reading →

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Along the Way: You Can’t Handle the Truth

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Steve Harper

The prophetic message to fallen-world priests and potentates can be summed up in the line taken from the movie “A Few Good Men”—”you can’t handle truth.” Walter Brueggemann writes powerfully about this in a recent blog. I have attached it … Continue reading →

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