http://www.methodistcorner.net/courtland

From the Conference website…

Mississippi United Methodists voted to change the conference structure for doing ministry and to begin a four-phase move to direct billing for clergy pension and insurance.

If you are interested, you can read a wrap-up of Annual Conference proceedings here.

Update 6/18/08: You can read in-depth coverage of the 2008 Annual Conference in the latest edition of the Advocate.

If you are interested, you can read a wrap-up of General Conference proceedings here. You may also be interested in an archive of news articles related to the 2008 General Conference which were written by the United Methodist News Service.

On abortion…

“But the abortion question is real. It’s a moral issue. The number of unborn lives that are lost every year is alarming. It’s a moral tragedy. And I want Democrats to say it’s a tragedy, and to take it seriously. Whichever Democrat wins, Barack or Hillary, I’m going to work very hard to make abortion reduction a central Democratic Party plank in this election. It never has been before. Their plank is simply a woman’s right to choose. That’s not adequate. The Democratic Party is not going to call for criminalization, but they can call for serious abortion reduction. And I want Republicans to not have only a plank that they trod over every four years to win elections. I want them to try and actually help reduce the abortion rate.”

 On Same-Sex unions…

“I want churches that disagree on this to have a biblical, theological conversation and to live with their differences and not spend 90 percent of their denominational time arguing about this issue when 30,000 children are dying every single day because of poverty and disease.”

On Christian Orthodoxy…

“…there has never been a doubt that I am an evangelical. In fact, the Sojourners community had its fatal split many years ago when a number of people in the community, including some of my fellow elders, really wanted to change our theological orthodoxy and were attracted to people like Matthew Fox, the creation spirituality theologian. And I just said, ‘Matthew Fox is a heretic, and we’re committed to the central lordship of Jesus Christ and the authority of the Scriptures.’”

Check out the Christianity Today article and the Sojourners website for more. Also, you may be interested in Wallis’ new book The Great Awakening

Like his politics or not, support his candidacy or not - but don’t disparage Barack Obama’s faith, his church, his minister, or his credibility as an eloquent Christian layman who feels a vocation in politics. Those falsehoods are simply vicious lies and should be denounced by people of faith from across the political spectrum.

With this, I wholeheartedly agree. None of Senator Obama’s words, activities, etc. give me any reason to question the genuineness of his conversion experience. In fact, his speech regarding faith and politics is one of the most well reasoned responses to this issue I have heard. So, bottom line for me is this - whether I agree with his politics or not, I will approach the issue of his faith with all of the grace that I would ask for myself, and leave the question of authenticity where it belongs - in God’s gracious charge.

Still not convinced? That’s okay, but at least read the article and make an informed decision. Because this is a question that is less about politics and more about how we as Christians choose to live out our faith.

From an article at Daily Mail

“Alone in his tiny plastic sea kayak, marine biologist Trey Snow had hoped to stealthily track a great white shark. But he had the shock of his life when he spotted a giant fin and realised it was he who was being stalked - by surely one of the most feared killers in the world.”

 1. 1,400 pastors in America leave the ministry monthly.

2. Less then 20% of churches recognize or appreciated their pastor in some way annually.

3. Only 15% of churches in the United States are growing and just less then 5% of those are growing by conversion growth.

4. 10,000 churches in America disappeared in a five-year period.

5. The number of people in America that Do Not attend church has doubled in the past 15 years.

6. No more then 38% of the population attends church at all and that’s in the Bible belt. The next highest is the Midwest at 25%, West 21% and the Northeast 17%.

7. Though the Bible Belt still boasts the highest percentage of church attendees, yet many of those churches are filled with legalism or extreme liberalism.

8. The vast majority of churches have an attendance of less then 75.

9. In 70 % of the churches in America, the pastor is the only full-time staff person

10. There are almost 100 million unchurched Americans, 11-20% of them claim to be born-again. They have either left the church or never connected for some reason.

11. The median adult attendance per church service in 1999 was 90 people, which is slightly below the 1998 average of 95 adult attendees and in 1997 it was 102. There seems to be a slight gradual decline.

12. Only 1/5 of the adult population attends Sunday school or some sort of Christian training.

13. 23% of church attendees say they attend a small group for growth and accountability.

14. Only 65% of Americans donate to a place of worship. Evangelicals however 85% donate to their church yet only 9% tithe.

15. 20-25% read their Bible consistently, 59% attend church weekly, 16% listen to Christian radio, 7% watch Christian TV, and 11% are held accountable to someone.

16. Only 60% of Christians say they are deeply committed to their faith, yet 85% of evangelicals make this claim.

17. Among the 71% of those who have heard of spiritual gifts, 31% can name a spiritual gift they believe they possess.

18. One in four have a place in the church where they serve.

19. Less then 50% say that the Bible is totally accurate, yet 60% of those that clam to be born-again.

20. 1/3 of church attendees believe they have a personal responsibility to share their faith with others.

21. 56% of the population believe salvation can be earned. Shockingly, 26% are among evangelicals.

22. Giving to charities increased in the past decade yet giving to local churches is declining.

23. Out of 100,000 churches in America less then 2% are considered mega-churches, (1,000 or more).

24. In his book, “Who Shall Lead Them”, Larry Withham said, “20% Of US Churches Have No Future”

25. 1 out of 4 church attendees are considered church hoppers.

26. On average, just 7% of new church attendees are formally unchurched.

27. Leading church analysts Lyle Schaller, George Barna, and Mike Regele stress the alarming truth that over 80% of American Protestant churches are in plateau and/or decline.

28. The typical U.S. Congregation draws an adult crowd that’s 61% female, 39% male.
This gender gap shows up in all age categories.

29. This Sunday almost 25 percent of married, churchgoing women will worship without their husbands.

30. As many as 90 percent of the boys who are being raised in church will abandon it by their 20th birthday. Many of these boys will never return.

31. 88% of children from Evangelical churches will leave the church after High School.

32. And estimated 15 to 20 million people now in America have said they are Christians but they simply don’t want to be a part of the church.

33. Only 4% of America’s churches will ever plant a daughter church.

 See the list here.