Category Archives: United Methodism

Are We There Yet?

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Richard Heyduck

Maps are idealizations of territory. They are useful to the extent that their methods of idealization help us orient ourselves in space and figure out where to go and how to get there. This is true whether the space be … Continue reading →

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A Problem of Communication

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Richard Heyduck

One of the books I’m reading now is Francis Spufford’s Unapologetic. At the beginning of the second chapter, leading into a discussion of the much-misunderstood word “sin,” Spufford says: “One of the major obstacles to communicating what belief feels like is that … Continue reading →

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Covenant Renewal in the Wesleyan Tradition, 2

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Richard Heyduck

The service begins with an affirmation of God’s temporal ubiquity: Leader: Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. People: From everlasting to everlasting, You are God. This God who calls us into covenant has already been active in … Continue reading →

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Textual Stability?

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Richard Heyduck

As I review Nancey Murphy’s Anglo-American Postmodernity: Philosophical Perspectives on Science, Religion, and Ethics, I came across this claim: “If the texts’ ability to perform a definite speech act depends on the existence of a community with shared conventions and proper … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Ecclesiology, Hermeneutics, United Methodism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Reading For the Sake of the Bride

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Richard Heyduck

Here in the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, we’ve been encouraged to read Steve Harper’s recent book, For the Sake of the Bride. Bishop Huie is preparing us to have discussions in the various districts. I’ve just finished the … Continue reading →

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Against Separation, Part 2

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Richard Heyduck

The United Methodist Church is a large, bureaucratic institution. “Connectionalism,” is one of our highest values, “congregationalism” one of the vices we most loudly decry. These aspects of our polity mean that what happens at the top really matters. When … Continue reading →

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Against Separation, Part 1

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Richard Heyduck

When I was ordained, Bishop Oliphint asked me and the other candidates a series of questions inherited from John Wesley. Methodists of various sorts have been asking and answering these questions for a couple centuries now. There’s nothing new here. … Continue reading →

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Immune Systems, Individual and Social

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Richard Heyduck

I listened to Russ Robert’s interview with Moises Valsquez-Manoff (on Econtalk) yesterday on my drive to pick up my daughter. The conversation was about recent studies showing the role increased hygiene plays in the rise of allergies and auto-immune diseases. … Continue reading →

Posted in Al Qaeda, Clash of Civilizations, Politics, Robert Putnam, Samuel Huntington, Social Capital, United Methodism | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Problem with Names

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Richard Heyduck

We Christians have sorted ourselves out by name, imaging that our names are of supreme importance and essential to our identity. I’m a Methodist. Our tradition got its name because John Wesley and his Christian buddies at Oxford were methodical … Continue reading →

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In or Out?

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Richard Heyduck

Living organisms and organizations have boundaries. There is always some sort of line demarcating X from not-X. Some of these markers are positive, some negative. This is an unpopular reality for some. We shout “No boundaries!” as if everything flowed … Continue reading →

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