Tag Archives: United Methodist Church

Thinking about Doctrine

Posted on August 4, 2022 by Richard Heyduck

I have been thinking deeply about doctrine since the 1980s. I wrote my PhD dissertation (revised and published in 2002) on doctrine, specifically with the United Methodist Church in mind. From what I saw then (and now), our official doctrine … Continue reading →

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Wesley’s Sermon on The Catholic Spirit

Posted on July 21, 2022 by Richard Heyduck

I’m working through some of Wesley’s works to help United Methodist churches in the discernment process many are in now. Throughout the document, I provide analysis of what Wesley is saying and questions for consideration. My intention is that these … Continue reading →

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Thoughts upon John Wesley’s Thoughts Upon Methodism

Posted on July 20, 2022 by Richard Heyduck

At the current season of division and denominational chaos, many churches in the United Methodist Church are entering an official period of discernment. I think getting back to Wesley is a good thing, so I’m going back to some of … Continue reading →

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Annual Conference in the Age of Coronavirus

Posted on August 18, 2020 by Richard Heyduck

We had our meeting of the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church this past weekend. The clergy session back in June, Friday’s business session, and Saturday’s ordination service were all done online, mostly via Zoom. Normally Conference runs … Continue reading →

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United Methodist Congregationalism

Posted on February 25, 2020 by Richard Heyduck

It has been said vigorously and often that United Methodist polity is NOT congregationalist. We have congregations, but our polity is connectional. Congregationalism is the claim that churches are independent, self-defined, self-determined, and self-led before they are connected to other … Continue reading →

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Incomprehensible Incompatibilities

Posted on January 4, 2020 by Richard Heyduck

The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church uses “incompatibility” language in two areas. Both of these areas are incomprehensible to large swathes of the church membership. In the best known passage, the BOD declares “the practice of homosexuality” … Continue reading →

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Not So Much Unity

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Richard Heyduck

Lovett Weems sees more unity than I do when he writes, What if the General Conference addressed matters of doctrine, mission, and values and gave freedom (such as Central Conferences already have today) in structure and regulations, including clergy standards? … Continue reading →

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No Exit?

Posted on May 21, 2018 by Richard Heyduck

(Previous post in the series) Turning to the difficulty of the exit option with regard to political entities, Hirschman writes: “But the economist is by no means alone in having a blindspot, a ‘trained incapacity’ (as Veblen called it) for perceiving the usefulness of … Continue reading →

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Exit, Voice, and Loyalty

Posted on May 17, 2018 by Richard Heyduck

I believe there are some useful ideas for United Methodists in Albert Hirschman’s Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States. We know we have decline in the United Methodist Church. We have fewer members in the … Continue reading →

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Room for Deterioration

Posted on May 16, 2018 by Richard Heyduck

Reading Albert Hirschman, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: “The wide latitude human societies have for deterioration is the inevitable counterpart of man’s increasing productivity and control over his environment. Occasional decline as well as prolonged mediocrity—in relation to achievable performance levels—must be counted among the … Continue reading →

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