Methodist Blogs Weekly Roundup # 21

Here's the Week in Review in the Methodist blogosphere:

James Gibson wrote about leaving the UMC.

Andy Bryan blogged about the death of Martin Luther King and gay marriage in the United Church of Christ.

Gerry Charlotte Phelps wrote about the strategy of the London terrorists.

Chris Morgan blogged about making a decision to change, a Biblical perspective on property rights, and mourned the passing of his pickup truck.

At Bandits No More, Steve Heyduck directs us to handy strategies for avoiding challenging Biblical commands and at what age someone is too old for the youth ministry (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!). Richard blogged about Christianity and total war and congregational satisfaction and discontent.

Ben Thomas wrote about the experience of being evaluated by your congregation, the painful reality of sin and a Christian view of war.

Ben Witherington blogged about conspicuous consumption as sinful.

Beth Quick wrote about the Gospel message as focusing on relationships, not material wealth. She is also conducting a survey on pastoral visitation (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!)

James Swanson blogged about a prayerful response to terrorism.

William Willimon wrote about finding hope in the most hopeless situations.

Cole Wakefield blogged about masturbation and questionable statistics from ex-gay people.

At Connexions, Richard Hall wrote about the results of the G8 Summit, the response of Muslim bloggers to the terrorist attacks in London, prayers for the victims of the London attacks, and a roundup of reactions to the attacks. Joel Thomas wrote about church membership for homosexuals in the UMC.

ConXian blogged about the Parable of the Sower.

Daniel McGuire wrote about the former governor of Alabama considering another run for that office and the possibility of and Alabamian getting nominated for Supreme Court vacancies.

Dave Warnock blogged about measuring blogging success, the changing roles of women in the ministry, gender as expressed in the ESV translation, pastoral uses for podcasting, methods for evaluating the trustworthiness of Bible translations, and the drawbacks of perfectionism.

David Camphouse wrote about what it means to be a seed of faith.

Donald Sensing blogged about modern legacies of the Confederacy, video camera techniques for amateurs, religious people mobilizing against the Kelo decision, and the flypaper strategy in Iraq.

Gavin Richardson wrote about the nature of relationships as taught by the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins and the spiritual metaphors of bread.

Gregory Lee blogged about experiences in UMC congregation growth and suggestions that new churches should be planted in areas that already have stagnant UMC congregations.

Growing Up wrote about the false compartmentalization of many Christians and the spiritual purity of young children.

Guy Williams blogged about reading Chaim Potok.

Inside Mike's Head wrote about UMC ministry mentors.

Jay Voorhees prayed for the bombing victims in London.

John Wilks blogged about the calling of every Christian into ministry, the Biblical basis for Scriptural authority, and trusting in God when he doesn't make sense.

Jonathan Norman wrote about the attitude of the UMC toward homosexuality, his crushes on Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, the Parable of the Sower, and a Christian understanding of good and evil in regards to the War on Terror, and satirized Pres. Bush and Bono.

Jordon Cooper is in very poor health. Pray for him.

Josh Tinley blogged about the politicians involved in TennCare, minimum wage policy (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!), and the role of the 10 Commandments in the public sphere.

Ken Carter wrote about an approach to sharing the Good News.

Maobi blogged about the BBC's integrity problem, NZ mosque vandalization, British spine, tribalism as a problem for modern states, the quiet consequences of a visit by an American aircraft carrier, corporate diversification in Malaysia.

Michael Daniel wrote about decisions to exclude people from church membership, churches grappling with homosexuality, reading Simon Wiesenthal, and smokers' rights.

OctoMusing blogged about the need of people to community with family members about potential genetic disorders and the vice-presidential election in the British Methodist church.

Wes Magruder has some ideas for reality TV shows and blogged about returning home from six months in Cameroon.

Progressive Christian wrote about a Christian response to terrorism, the evil nature of the War on Terror, and Christian environmentalism.

Theresa Coleman blogged about the experience of the Biblical figure Rebekah.

Rich Jones wrote about experiencing the Kingdom of God now, in this life.

Second Grade Teacher blogged about division and reunion in the UMC.

Rev. Fife noticed bottom-feeding in Christian bookselling (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!)

Wes Sanders questioned the balance of the General Board of Church and Society, and wrote about reviving the reading and reverence of the Bible in the UMC, returning theological unity to the UMC, addressing the unsaved among our churches, good things going on in the UMC, why he stays in the UMC, and balancing the priorities of evangelism and social action in the UMC.

Shane Raynor blogged about a pro-gay rally at Lake Junaluska, calling evangelicals to return to and stay in the UMC, a PBS presentation on the Emergent church movement, what the UMC can learn from the fracturing of the ECUSA, and Rick Warren's efforts to focus attention on poverty.

Corrections? Additions? Do you know of a blog that should be added to the MBWR? Leave a note in the comments or e-mail locustsandhoney2005 at yahoo dot com.