Monthly Archives: October 2005

The Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church has announced its decisions on the the Beth Stroud & Ed Johnson cases. In the first case, the findings of the original trial court – that Beth Stroud as a “self-avowed practicing … Continue reading →

Tertullian wrote, in the second century, that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” If this is so, what are we to make of the Church in the United States, that suffers no martyrs?

Have you ever noticed that our elected representatives aren’t very good at responding to questions? At least not answering questions they themselves haven’t proposed. Here’s the response I go to my recent letter to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison: Dear Dr. … Continue reading →

Major League Baseball needs a real Commissioner. Not just an owner of one of the teams who is willing to make an appearance at it. The fact that the Milwaukee Brewers are not in the World series proves this point. … Continue reading →

The second graphic in the Pre-Conference Journal aims at the heart of the problem we’re facing. The population of out part of the state continues to rise – and we’re not keeping up. The graph included in the report might … Continue reading →

The Pre-Conference Journal for our upcoming special session is now available online. Over the course of several posts I will be commenting on the proposals we’ll be addressing. The first graphic in the presentation is a map showing the counties … Continue reading →

Marriage will be on the ballot election day in Texas. Proposition 2 reads: “The constitutional amendment providing that marriage in this state consists only of the union of one man and one woman and prohibiting this state or a political … Continue reading →

We had a spirited discussion this past Wednesday at our Bible Study. Like I have done many times, I welcomed those present to discuss with me how we ought to interpret Jesus’ statement in Matthew 5:48 (Be therefore perfect, even … Continue reading →

This past Sunday was Children’s Sabbath at our church. The Children’s Defense fund put out tons of material including statistics about the condition of children in America. Of all the statistics to choose from, they published the bad news. Here’s … Continue reading →

In today’s column on Harriet Miers, David Brooks includes this comment on the difference between Rebublicans and Conservatives: You know you are in establishment Republican circles when the conversation is bland but unifying. You know you are in conservative circles … Continue reading →