This post originally appeared on my Facebook (Facebook.com/j.lemastersmith on February 14, 2023). Two questions that regularly come up are: 1) Do we have to vote? 2) Do we have to have speakers from both sides come? Short answer: no. Long answer: No one is required to vote. Voting is only required if you are strongly […]
This post originally appeared on my Facebook page, facebook.com/j.lemastersmith, on January 30th, 2023 Another rumor circulating is that The UMC does not care about the small and rural church (you could also include immigrant, ethnic, and inner-city churches, but I also know less about those systems). Some responses: “We ask for a licensed local and […]
I’m a fan of Ash Wednesday and Lent, I truly am. But, rural folks don’t need a reminder that we are going die, and the Lenten disciplines, including fasts, photo-a-day challenges, special studies, extra readings, often feel like adding to the noise. Instead, we need an Ash Wednesday and that reminds us that some seasons […]
This post originally appeared on my Facebook page, fb.com/j.lemastersmith on February 5th, 2023 I have spoken with several pastors and lay folk over the past months whose churches have voted or are in the process of disaffiliating. The main thing I sense from these people is a sense of grief. Both those who want to […]
(This post originally appeared on my Facebook – facebook.com/j.lemastersmith on February 1, 2023, all reference are from the UM Book of Discipline 2016). The rumors circulating around getting rid of Jesus or scripture or some other aspects of life are still false, but there is a section of the Discipline these rumors use to root […]
As we keep going down the rabbit trail of disaffiliation questions, another question came to me about welcome. Can we (United Methodists) deny people access to worship? The answer is NO. Yet historically we have, based on race, color, national origin, economic status, relation/connection to community, marital status, and many other reasons. We have done […]
(This post originally appeared on my Facebook – facebook.com/j.lemastersmith on January 15, 2023, all reference are from the UM Book of Discipline 2016) One of the myths circulating regarding The UMC split is that churches need to leave so they can have control of their property and the conference cannot snatch it out from under […]
One thing we can do to help alleviate church “growth” stress in rural churches is to remind them that there’s more than one way to get home from here. I regularly take different routes to get to my destinations. I’ve been at my churches just over six months and I’ve learned a dozen different ways […]
(This post originally appeared on my Facebook – facebook.com/j.lemastersmith on January 10, 2023, all reference are from the UM Book of Discipline 2016). We all know The United Methodist Church is dealing with some significant issues right now. Yet, there is a great deal of misinformation going around, preying on the reality that we don’t […]
One thing that continues to be an issue in the church responding to rural issues and creating resources for rural communities is the conflating of rural and agricultural. Yes, quite a few people in rural communities are involved in agriculture directly or indirectly. Essentially, unless we are only hunter/gatherers, we are all indirectly involved with […]
Jonathan LeMaster-Smith 