Methodist Blogs Weekly Roundup #15

Here's the week in review in the Methodist blogosphere:

Dave Warnock thinks that he's brilliant.

James Gibson wrote about the homosexual clergy issue in Florida Episcopal churches.

Beth Quick blogged about the ethics of food consumption, political labels of Christians, and her observations of life in Chicago.

Ken Carter wrote about dealing with suffering and change as a child of God.

Theresa Coleman blogged about the death of her mother, making soteriology personal, why Christians get so nasty (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!), and that God is a multi-tasking woman.

[Editorial note: When labeling something as 'Best of the Methodist blogosphere', it is hard to be objective. I would likely give Theresa Coleman's theology of children posts that title every time that she writes one. She is such a gifted writer.]

Jordan Cooper wrote about the General Conference of the Free Methodist Church of Canada here and here.

Donald Sensing blogged about a Marine Corps officer's criminal prosecution ending, Tennessee legislators getting arrested, and the future of the National Guard.

Joel Furhmann wrote about the filibuster-ending deal in the U.S. Senate.

Matthew Johnson wrote about what it means to abide in Christ.

At Connexions, Richard Hall blogged about what you say and what people hear (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!), the global slave trade, the American political Right, and Methodist churches acquiring liquor licenses. Joel Thomas blogged about prioritizing your interests to maximum effectiveness.

Gavin Richardson wrote against pacifism, the differences between blogs and message boards, and reading The Practicing Congregation and The Postmodern Parish. He also mentioned that John Wesley wasn't a popular preacher and described his alter ego.

Gregory Lee blogged about the life-renovation that Jesus wants you to have.

Jay Voorhees wrote that political compromise is a virtue, what makes Emergent worship services unique, and a new perspective on judgment that isn't about Heaven or Hell, but now we live our lives (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!).

Methotaku continued her bookblogging of Walter Wink's The Powers That Be.

Chris Morgan read Psalm 103 and concluded that God was really all that He promised to be.

John Wilks wrote that being a flawed human being is no excuse for not serving God's Kingdom. He also explained the Parable of the Shrewd Manager and expressed how easy it is to forget about spiritual disciplines during busy times.

Wes Magruder had some anonymous guest-blogger this week, who blogged about life and death at a Cameroon hospital.

Jonathan Norman blogged about his experiments with a form of prayer that emphasizes silence. He also wrote about worship that focuses on the mystery of God and a hidden provision in the No Child Left Behind Act which requires schools to give the names and addresses of students to military recruiters.

Dean Snyder blogged about ending world poverty, his attendance at his recent annual conference, and desegregation in the UMC.

Shane Raynor wrote about merging small UMC churches, a survey about mainline pastors praying for their denominations, criticism of modern church music here and here. He also wrote about how the theology of communion is being expressed in the UMC.

Andy Bryan blogged about sheer meanness in churches and a hypothetical centrist party.

Gerry Charlotte Phelps wrote an open letter to Senator Warner (R-Va), criticizing his decision to withdraw his support for the nuclear option.

At Bandits No More, Richard wrote about discerning truth so that one can preach truth and honesty in Christian communication.

Inside Mike's Head blogged about the reason behind Christian hypocrisy, shortcuts to God, and noted that the people of Birmingham are more focused on a local American Idol star than the poverty in their midst and that the Christian faith often calls for inconvenience and trouble. He also wrote about confronting a sinning brother in a Christian manner.

Preacher Rich asked readers what sort of church they would create.

Scott Aldridge wrote about a church sign that called for the flushing of the Koran.

Thoughts from a Clay Pot blogged about rampant historical ignorance and how he doesn't like to be alone because then, in the silence, God speaks to him.

Wheh! That only took all day on dialup!

Do you know of a blog that should be added to the MBWR? Leave a note in the comments.