Author: Don Wiley, Attorney & Alternate Lay Delegate, North Texas “Great cases like hard cases make bad law. For great cases are called great, not by reason of their importance in shaping the law of the future, but because of some accident of immediate overwhelming interest which appeals to the feelings and distorts the judgement.” ―Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. I was reminded of this … [Read more...] about A Recipe For Bad Law – Trust-less and Grace-free Solutions
WCA Departure Plans
Dear Wesleyan Covenant Association Member or Constituent: Greetings and grace to you. We are now on the eve of the special called 2019 General Conference meeting in St. Louis on February 23 -26. For the sake of being as succinct and clear as possible, allow me to share the following urgent and updated information with you in bulleted form: The WCA has formed a team working on a potential … [Read more...] about WCA Departure Plans
Mary Spradlin
I support the One Church Plan because I believe it allows local churches to give the most faithful witness to their understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I think that it allows churches to most effectively reach the mission field that they are in ministry with and it is faithful to our long-standing Wesleyan tradition of grappling with issues that we know we cannot fully understand. We … [Read more...] about Mary Spradlin
Kevin Gregory
I think for me, the One Church Plan continues to allow us to do ministry in our communities, to do contextual ministry in the ways in which God is calling us to continue to do ministry. It frees us up and gives us the option and affirms the ministries that all of our church is doing. To be able to be in our communities and who God is calling us to be in those places. … [Read more...] about Kevin Gregory
Jason Valendy
I believe that the One Church Plan offers a counter-cultural message to the world, that the church of Jesus Christ is not defined by tribes. There is no longer slave or free, Greek or Jew, male or female, but we are one in Christ. And so, the counter-cultural message of the One Church Plan, I think, is the most important proclamation that our church has for today. … [Read more...] about Jason Valendy
Gretchen Toler-Debus
I am a member of Oaklawn United Methodist Church in Dallas. We are located at the epicenter of a large, thriving LGBTQ community. We also are in a neighborhood that is surrounded by wealth and yet serves a population that is often on the margins. There is a significant amount of homelessness. We find so much strength in our church from our connection with a denomination that provides wonderful … [Read more...] about Gretchen Toler-Debus
Ethan Gregory
I think the One Church Plan holds our church together. It allows us to live together in the midst of tension and in the midst of disagreement. I think that if we were to pass anything other than the One Church Plan we wouldn't be able to sit in a room together and disagree with one another and have conversation. This is what it means to be a United Methodist. That aspect would leave and would be … [Read more...] about Ethan Gregory
Courtney Fowler
I support the One Church Plan because I grew up in the United Methodist Church. It's part of my identity -- I'm a preacher's kid. We are able to have our cultural expression served out, keeping within our Native American community, the Muskogee-Creek Nation, and at the same time we're still able to show our faith within the United Methodist Church. So, to me, it's just the ability to have context … [Read more...] about Courtney Fowler
Paul Escamillia
Dietrich Bonhoeffer once observed that those who love their dream of the church more than they love the church itself are destroyers of the latter. I support the one church plan because I believe it challenges us to love both the church AND our dreams of the church, not one or the other. I believe that living between that perpetual tension between principles and people is the Biblical witness and … [Read more...] about Paul Escamillia
Matthew 14:22-33 – Verse
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25 Shortly before dawn Jesus … [Read more...] about Matthew 14:22-33 – Verse