Methodist Blogs Weekly Roundup # 24

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

James Gibson wrote about the Left's reaction to the concept of the traditional family (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!)

Andy Bryan blogged about deforestation in his neighborhood and reading the Bible in the context of the people who wrote it.

Gerry Charlotte Phelps wrote about deChristianization in Britain, a Christian approach to the search for extraterrestrial life, how US Muslims should react to terrorism committed in their name, and Sen. Frist's views on stem-cell research.

Chris Morgan blogged about staying spiritually strong in the midst of suffering, a flamingo invasion in his neighborhood, and a healthy, Christian view of the self.

At Bandits No More, Richard wrote about different ways of looking at church leadership structures. Steve Heyduck wrote about the Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania crashing a funeral and the adversarial system of human relationships, deeply ingrained into our culture (including our churches).

Ben Thomas compared the CEO model of pastoral leadership to that of Jesus (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!).

Ben Witherington wrote about the dangers of trusting your conscience and the Durham Exegetes (whatever that is).

Beth Quick reviewed The Darling by Russell Banks and church shopping.

James Swanson recalled his first appointment, in which he learned the value of a strong lay leader.

Will Williamon blogged about the moral demands of the pastoral calling.

Cole Wakefield wrote about a planned counter-protest to a Focus on the Family rally in Nashville, brought readers up to date on Zach, the gay teenager forced into a re-education camp, and wrote about Love in Action, an ex-gay therapy group.

At Connexions, Richard Hall blogged about radio host Michael Graham's comments about Islam, identifying Islam itself as the enemy, and the successful launch of the space shuttle.

Dean Snyder wrote about how young adults identify in the UMC (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!) and whether pastors should have the power to forbid homosexuals from joining their congregations.

Donald Sensing blogged about a funeral in Pakistan for one of the London suicide bombers, Egyptian reactions to the terrorist attacks in their own country, the reactions of Archbishop Rowan Williams to John Sprongs' 12 Theses, and ictions of the political demise of Bush and Blair.

Greg Hazelrig wrote about finding fault in other people and choosing between our will and God's.

Greg Lee blogged about confronting the horrible potential for evil that is inside each of us (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!), the cost of church membership, and what it's like to be a part-time pastor.

Growing Up wrote about child abuse prevention in the church.

Inside Mike's Head blogged about sacrificing accurate doctrine for the sake of evangelism and seeing church as a place to be served, rather than to serve others.

James Spring wrote that it's time to stop the appeals that let Beth Stroud be a pastor.

John Wilks blogged about the sin of self-reliance from God.

Jordan Cooper wrote about quality diet soda, a game between the Ottawa Renegades and the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and the perils of being a successful church planter.

Josh Tinley blogged about the discovery of a tenth planet, the relative importance of the stem-cell debate in health policymaking, and marketing ploys to get teenagers to read the Bible.

Maobi wrote about piracy in Malaysian and Indonesian waters, rising gas prices in Malaysia, a Malaysian politician's gambling problem, the growing China menace (Best of the Methodist blogosphere!), Jane Fonda's decision to begin protesting the Iraq War, and Islamic terrorism in Thailand.

Matthew Johnson blogged about New Testament studies obsession and recognizing and submitting to the authority of God.

Michael Daniel wrote about the propriety of discerning between good and evil and tax corruption at the University of Arkansas.

OctoMusing blogged about racist reactions to the terrorist attacks in London.

Wes Magruder reminded readers that conversion to Christ isn't a miracle drug for all of life's problems.

Theresa Coleman remembered the space shuttle Columbia.

Rich Jones wrote that the ministry of every Christian cannot be satisfied with the status quo.

Second Grade Teacher blogged about federal funding for elementary reading programs.

See Through Faith wrote that God speaks through the voices of Christians, and when we speak words of hate, we impair evangelism. She also wrote that Jesus is both meek and powerful, that we can rely upon the eternity of God when we cannot depend on human institutions enduring, the security of standing beside Jesus at all times, the traditional Christian story Footprints, the right way to appreciate art, science fiction metaphors for the protection of God, using Jesus as the guiding light of your life's journey, and different 'right' ways to pray.

Rev. Fife blogged about the future of the Emergent movement.

Wabi Sabi is mourning the loss of his unborn child. Please pray for him.

Shane Raynor wrote about sermon preparation, options in church discipline, questionable methods of evangelism, and the removal of a UMC pastor over homosexual membership.

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.