When Renewal Groups became Removal Groups, they lost their credibility at the General Conference. Depositphotos All Part of the Plan For the past few decades, the traditionalist caucus groups in The United Methodist Church have called themselves “renewal groups.” Their stated purpose has been to renew United Methodism by reforming its practices and polity to reflect the renewal groups’ antigay and power-obsessed theology. Back in 2019, Hacking Christianity was the first reporter of a buried text: a 2004 strategy document by Renewal Group leaders that outlined five different ways they would ach ..read more

A tale from Japanese folklore holds a metaphor for the UMC of today and tomorrow. DALL-E rendition The Crane Wife One of the stories from Japanese folklore is Tsuru Nyōbō (鶴女房) translated as “The Crane Wife.” As with any folklore, there are many variants and versions–now there are anime versions and a popular band the Decemberists’ version of this folktale. But here is a retelling of the first version that I saw that had little details that I think were the Holy Spirit’s way of capturing my imagination, and I hope yours too.  The story goes that one winter, a man was heading toward the lo ..read more

The following are ~1000-word attempts to describe the current state of The UMC in a succinct manner that likely oversimplifies things with broad brush strokes. Nonetheless, they will be useful primers for newcomers to United Methodism, longtime members, or passersby looking to enter the conversation. How did we get here: Power & Polity versus People & Places (LINK) What happens now: General Conference 2024 (LINK) What future awaits us: Avoiding the Fundamentalist Future Trap (This Article!) Part III: Avoiding Narrow Futures Source: Hacking Christianity photo. Post-disaffiliation ..read more

The following are ~1000-word attempts to describe the current state of The UMC in a succinct manner that likely oversimplifies things with broad brush strokes. Nonetheless, they will be useful primers for newcomers to United Methodism, longtime members, or passersby looking to enter the conversation. How did we get here: Power & Polity versus People & Places (LINK) What happens now: General Conference 2024 (This article!) What future awaits us: Avoiding the Fundamentalist Future Trap (Coming Soon!) Part II: General Conference 2024 Source: Resource UMC The worldwide level of The ..read more

The following are ~1000-word attempts to describe the current state of The UMC in a succinct manner that likely oversimplifies things with broad brush strokes. Nonetheless, they will be useful primers for newcomers to United Methodism, longtime members, or passersby looking to enter the conversation. How did we get here: Power & Polity versus People & Places (This article!) What happens now: General Conference 2024 (Coming soon!) What future awaits us: Avoiding the Fundamentalist Future Trap (Coming Soon!) Part I: Power & Polity versus People & Places Methodist History R ..read more

The clock is ticking on the most momentous General Conference since 1988. By The Numbers… It has been five years since the last General Conference that enshrined the Traditional Plan, a vindictive antigay plan that broke The United Methodist Church. It has been 36 years since the 1988 General Conference when antigay traditionalists rode the culture wars to dominance of United Methodism, and they didn’t lose that grip until they squandered their majority during the 2022-2023 disaffiliations. It has been 40 years since the launch of the Reconciling Ministries Network (then the Reconciling Congr ..read more

A new adventure for Hacking Christianity. Edmonds UMC I come back to the water, no matter how hard I try. It was recently announced that I will become the new Senior Pastor of Edmonds United Methodist Church, a waterfront community north of Seattle. The Bishop expects my appointment will begin on July 1st, 2024. I’ve served as the Senior Pastor for an incredible seven years at Seattle First UMC. Our third daughter was born here, my public voice was sharpened here, and my pastoral presence has been bettered by working with the amazing laity and staff in the congregation. I learned a lot about c ..read more

By making subtle changes to traditional worship imagery, you can tell more of the story of Jesus this Lent. Tell the Lenten story. Use words if necessary. Lent is the period of 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday. In the Christian tradition, it is a time of reflection, restriction, and participation in intentional acts of mercy and missions. As a pastor, I want to tell the story of Lent and invite people on this journey via spoken word, yes, but also through artwork that draws people in. Just like stained glass and Renaissance artwork in days of old, every church community has to figure out h ..read more

January 22nd is “Mac Day”, and 2024 celebrates the 40-year anniversary of the infamous 1984 commercial. What can churches learn from the Mac at 40? 2004 iPod Mac Cred I was not a Mac user growing up. My family had Windows PCs, and we were early adopters thanks to my dad’s geeky interest. As a teen in the early 1990s, I got my AOL email address before many of my friends, we had a blazing fast 28.8k modem, and my dad and I bargained over who got to stay up late playing Dune II. I also worked in churches since I was 19, and churches all had PCs thanks to Microsoft Publisher being the program of c ..read more

Lent starts soon, so let’s look at “Where We Meet: A Lenten Study of Systems, Stories, and Hopes” for individual or congregational study. Lenten Study Time! Lent is the annual observance of 40 days of reflection during the weeks leading up to Easter, including the Last Supper with the Disciples on Maundy Thursday, the death of Jesus Christ on Good Friday, and the in-between waiting space of Holy Saturday. The church traditionally considers 40 days to be a manageable time to commit to a new rhythm of worship, justice, service, and study. Thus Lenten Studies are often popular as settl ..read more