California Mystery Worship Two: The ROCK, No Babies or Children Allowed

Last updated on: July 30, 2014 at 1:22 pm By Christy Thomas

“No children or babies are allowed in the sanctuary and the youth go to a different place.” With those words disturbingly ringing in my ears, since I think children should observe their parents engaged in worship, I was escorted into the cavernous “sanctuary” of The Rock, http://www.sdrock.com/, the gigachurch founded by Miles McPherson, former defensive back for the San Diego Chargers, and former drug addict, now turned motivational speaker/pastor/author. I chose the Point Loma, San Diego, location of this multi-site... Read more

California Mystery Worship One: Hollywood UMC

Last updated on: July 25, 2014 at 1:58 pm By Christy Thomas

“Good Heavens! Do you know what the land under this parking lot is worth?” That reaction came from the mouth of my friend, a real estate professional, when we found the parking lot of Hollywood United Methodist Church, right in the middle of . . . yes, indeed, Hollywood. As in Los Angeles. As in sidewalks with stars on them and grungy-looking stores and famous landmarks. And a place where parking is nearly impossible to find. I am in Southern... Read more

War is Normal; Peace is the Anomaly

Last updated on: July 16, 2014 at 7:54 am By Christy Thomas

I have just learned recently that one of the temples in ancient Rome housed the statue of Janus, the two-faced god of boundaries. The temple had doors on each end, so each side of the statue could face a door. During times of war, the doors remained open. They were closed in times of peace. According to Plutarch, who wrote this in “Life of King Numa,” “[Janus] also has a temple at Rome with double doors, which they call the... Read more

Let The Little Children Come

Last updated on: July 9, 2014 at 11:18 am By Christy Thomas

What are we going to do about the children? Anyone close to news sources knows about the increasingly large number of unaccompanied children making their way to the US through our permeable borders. They make the trek by God only knows what horrific means of transport. I have heard an estimate of about 72,000 coming in this year and perhaps up to 90,000 next year. They come, not just from the increasing economic and social chaos to be found in... Read more

Our Oaths of Citizenship: Earthly and Heavenly

Last updated on: July 4, 2014 at 6:39 pm By Christy Thomas

“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United... Read more

The Religious/Political Connection

Last updated on: June 20, 2014 at 10:22 am By Christy Thomas

A friend of mine who has quite a knack for political analysis wrote this about the growing crisis in Iraq: The problem is that elections don’t work very well in places that do not have a homogeneous population, especially if they have no history of democratic institutions. If you count forced relocation as a kind of genocide, what happened in Europe after the Treaty of Versailles poured democracy over everything was about as big an episode of genocide as the... Read more

Gluten-Free=Gay-Free? A Call to Consistency #UMC

Last updated on: June 18, 2014 at 3:03 pm By Christy Thomas

“Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him, earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with their neighbor unless . . . you can’t eat regular bread and don’t participate in the sexual life of regular people and then the invitation is rescinded.” I wrote this after yet one more time, I was excluded from the Sacrament. It was Annual Conference, Monday morning. As a United Methodist Clergy, Annual Conference is my church.... Read more

Celebrating the Dads

Last updated on: June 11, 2014 at 8:01 am By Christy Thomas

The little girl, perhaps five years old, happily danced around the edge of the beautiful lake high up in Rocky Mountain National Park at the end of a long and grueling hike. The family, mom, dad, a son about 13, another daughter about 10, and this little one had been right behind us on a particularly icy/slushy part of the trail. At one point, I had offered a hand, gratefully accepted, to the middle child for a moment of balance... Read more

The Coup D'Etat Hope of the Good News "Gang of 80" #UMC #UMCschism

Last updated on: May 29, 2014 at 10:37 am By Christy Thomas

Steve Blow, one of my very favorite columnists, wrote in today’s (5/29/14) Dallas Morning News these words about the Tea Party take-over of the Republican Party in Texas: “Texas Republicans can’t keep appealing only to angry, fearful whites. It may be a winning short-term strategy, but it’s long-term suicide. Texas Republicans have to find a platform that is more hopeful and inclusive.” Now, a quick game: let us substitute “The UMC Good News contingent (AKA “The Gang of 80)” for... Read more

The Inerrant, Infallible Bible: The Hermeneutical Crisis #UMC #UMCschism

Last updated on: May 27, 2014 at 7:57 pm By Christy Thomas

The blogosphere exploded last week after the primarily anonymous “Gang of 80” announced through Good News their desire to split The United Methodist Church. In my opinion, anyone who thinks this attempt to separate is “good news” has never been through a church split or divorce, but they feel that an interpretative issue is irreconcilable. Infallibility and Inerrancy One paragraph of their press release leaped off the page: It is a crisis regarding the inspiration and the authority of the Scriptures, where some believe that, rightly understood,... Read more