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After I read the story entitled, “Methodist Churches Converting To ‘Virtual Mosques’ For Muslim Migrants,” I spent much of the day in mild shock. I couldn’t believe what was going on inside of a Christian denomination whose founding was so deeply influenced by the great man John Wesley. I had to know what Methodists thought of this. Surely they didn’t go along with it. At least not all of them or even a majority of them. My assumption, and hope, was that it was a very small minority of Methodists who thought that having worship of Allah in their building...

WACO, TX – On-the-ground sources in west Texas confirm that the United Methodist Church (UMC) is potentially engaged in a massive operation designed to reprogram churches as virtual mosques in preparation for a deluge of Muslim refugees. While President-elect Trump announces plans to defund “sanctuary cities,” churches (especially those with far-left theologies) are declaring their intent to invoke “sanctuary” for the millions already pouring across the border, including Muslim refugees. Some churches are even getting visits from “clergy” urging them to virtually roll over and accept an Islamic future. [RELATED: GELLER REPORT: Sanctuary Cities Showdown: Churches Loom As Thorn To...

The men come from any number of backgrounds and range from young to old. In the end, Pensacola police said, they were united by a common goal: having sex with minors. During a five-day stretch that ended Sunday, all 22 of the men — including a pastor from a Florida church — were dragged down by “Operation Undertow,” an Internet sting in which undercover agents lured suspected child predators via computer to an undisclosed Florida location, police said. The men were snagged after they responded to ads for sex with teenage males and females created by agents on “various websites,”...

The minister of a Methodist church made national headlines after she scolded Donald Trump for injecting politics into a campaign stop. The Rev. Faith Green Timmons came on stage and stopped Trump in the middle of his remarks at Bethel United Methodist Church. She told him to stay focused on the water crisis and not Hillary Clinton. “I invited you here to thank us for what we’ve done in Flint, not give a political speech," the reverend told Mr. Trump. Trump graciously complied with her demand. But something doesn't pass the smell test. Consider this screen grab from the minister's...

Donald Trump is lashing out against an African-American pastor who interrupted him Wednesday to chide him for campaigning in her Flint, Mich., church. "Something was up," Trump told Fox and Friends on Thursday morning, calling the Rev. Faith Green Timmons a "nervous mess." "I noticed she was so nervous when she introduced me," he said. "When she got up to introduce me she was so nervous, she was shaking. I said, wow, this is kind of strange. Then she came up. So she had that in mind, there's no question."

On a cold Sunday in January, Cynthia Meyer, pastor at Edgerton United Methodist Church, came out to her congregation. She did so with hope that change regarding the denomination’s stance on homosexuality was coming. But eight months later, that hope, for now at least, is gone. And after the end of August, Meyer will be gone as well. To avoid a church trial, Meyer and Methodist officials agreed that she would give up her duties and go on involuntary leave. Her final sermon in Edgerton in Johnson County will be Aug. 28.

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – The Western district of the Methodist church has elected an openly gay bishop despite the denomination's ban on same-sex relationships.

“Pray for Orlando" we read on Facebook and Twitter. Prayer is vitally important, but is there more we can do? As United Methodist Christians, we mourn with the victims and families of those wounded and killed in the shootings on June 12, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. We may even pray and wonder if anything could have been done to avert this heinous act. But should we do more? Is there anything that can be done to keep something similar from happening in the future? While we may not agree on a solution, many of us agree there is a problem....

You probably have already made up your mind about same-sex marriage. You’ve probably had people try to change your mind about it and had to stand up for your position. Whatever your thoughts on same-sex marriage are, this topic is extremely volatile. In this article, I will not be attempting to argue for LGBTQ rights (the “inclusive” position) or biblical marriage (the “traditional” position). I simply want to suggest that this is a true wedge issue that will indeed divide us. The conversation needs to shift from trying to convince each other to a pragmatic discussion of where we go...

n 2016, the frontline of the war against the legitimacy of the Jewish state isn’t Gaza or Israel’s northern border — or even the Golan Heights. It is the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to terminate the Jewish state by delegitimizing it in the world community. This ugly campaign plays out on our nation’s college campuses, including most recently at the University of California-Irvine, where campus police had to intervene to save (mostly) Jewish women from “activists” protesting a film about Israeli soldiers. BDS-ers, crafting their efforts as “pro-peace,” have had considerable success with mainline Protestant...

The top policy body for the United Methodist Church is struggling to avert a split over gay rights. The Methodist General Conference voted 428-405 to delay all discussion of church policy related to LGBT people during a meeting in Portland, Oregon. Delegates created a commission Wednesday to review all relevant church law on the subject over a period of at least two years, then hold a special meeting to discuss the way forward. …

The United Methodist Church is considering splitting over the full acceptance of gay members, according to reports by top clergy and advocacy groups. Church officials say the president of the Council of Bishops will address the rumor Tuesday in Portland, Ore., where the denomination is holding a major convention. The rumors about the United States’ third-largest faith group began spreading on social media Monday night, when some prominent pastors reportedly told crowds in Portland that a plan is in the works. Details about what the plan entails and who was on board with it were unconfirmed. United Methodist Church spokeswoman...

By Heather Hahn May 9, 2016 | PORTLAND, Ore. (UMNS) On the eve of the 2016 General Conference, more than 100 United Methodist clergy and clergy candidates have come out as LGBTQ religious leaders. “We are here because God has called us to serve in this denomination, and our souls are fed by the theology in which we’ve been raised,” the 111 United Methodists write in what they call “A Love Letter to Our Church.” The signers come from across the United States, and one signer is from the Philippines. They identify themselves as “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, and Intersex” in...

Dozens of United Methodist clergy members came out as lesbian, gay or bisexual on Monday, defying their church's ban on "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" serving in ministry and essentially daring their supervisors to discipline them. In a public letter posted online, 111 pastors, deacons, elders and candidates for ministry said church rules require "that we not bring our full selves to ministry, that we hide from view our sexual orientations and gender identities." "While some of us have been lucky to serve in places where we could serve honestly and openly, there are others in places far more hostile, who continue...

The United Methodist Church General Conference convenes once every four years to make policy decisions and set the direction for the denomination. Beginning Tuesday (May 10), 864 delegates, half of them clergy, will converge on the Oregon Convention Center in Portland for 10 days for the General Conference. More than 40 percent of those delegates will come from outside the U.S. They’ll consider 1,043 proposals listed in the conference’s legislation tracking system. Here are six of the most talked-about issues: 1. LGBT inclusion The United Methodist News Service tallied up more than 100 petitions alone on sexuality. Several plans have...

The voices of the people gathered at Broad Street United Methodist Church resounded from its wooden peaks as they each raised a hand on Saturday and blessed the Rev. David Meredith and Jim Schlachter on their wedding day. "Now that Jim and David have extended their 28-year commitment to one another with solemn vows, we announce to one another, the United Methodist Church, the state of Ohio and the world entire that they are married," the crowd said. With those words, Meredith joined the ranks of United Methodist ministers who have defied the denomination's rules and risk being defrocked by...

Adam Hamilton has once more entered into the fray of making pronouncements about what the Bible does and does not advocate when it comes to same sex sexual activity and same sex marriage, and you can read his post here, http://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/6876/the-bible-homosexuality-and-the-umc-part-one only the first of four such posts leading up to the General Conference in a couple of weeks. My concern is with the misinterpretation of the Bible in this post as well as the misrepresentation of Methodist cultural trends at various points and so once you’ve read what Adam says, then consider the following response. In the first place,...

One of the first United Methodist Church congregations to join the LGBT lobbying group, Reconciling Ministries Network, will close next month. St. Paul United Methodist Church of Denver, Colorado, a theologically liberal congregation that became the third church to become a Reconciling congregation, will soon close its doors. The Rev. Jessica Rooks, head of St. Paul UMC, told The Christian Post the final worship service will be held on Sunday, May 22. "St. Paul has opened its doors and built relationships with the LGBTQ community, the homeless and hungry in Denver, those struggling with addition, and individuals who struggle to...

On March 23, 2016, the Methodist Federation For Social Action posted an anonymous blog that made even the most jaded among us blush.Titled “#HandsOffMyBC” and authored by a United Methodist clergyperson, the blog made an emphatic case for universal access to birth control while also including these admissions: I chose to go on birth control because I didn’t want to get pregnant and I wanted to have sex. Because I am a clergy woman in The United Methodist Church, and I’m single, that information could get me brought up on charges, and I could lose my ordination.Luckily, I can access birth control...

The United Methodist Church has rejected an Intelligent Design group's request to have an information table at the denomination's 2016 General Conference. Reaffirming a decision from December, the UMC's Commission on the General Conference decided last week to not allow the Seattle-based Discovery Institute an information table at the Mainline Protestant denomination's gathering in Portland, Oregon. Diane Degnan, spokeswoman for the UMC, told The Christian Post that this was the first General Conference to allow for "outside exhibitors." "The Commission on the General Conference determined that the application by the Discovery Institute did not meet the guidelines established for exhibitors...