Several people have asked me to take the time to summarize what took place over the last week in San Jose, Costa Rica as delegates from all over the world met to build the official structure of the Global Methodist Church. I spent a couple of dozen hours watching all of the proceedings, messaging people onsite, doing analysis on watch party live streams. Even so, my brain is so scattered after spending a full week this way that I am pessimistic about my ability to do a good job.
Anthony McPhail has previously made himself available to me on the topic of lay ministry. It turns out he also played a big role in facilitating the gathering in San Jose. He was there, coordinating a lot the whole time. In fact, he is still there.
He agreed to speak with me and my audience today to take questions and offer his own distillation of what took place. If you are one of the many who would be interested in such a conversation, you should probably make it a priority to join us in a few hours. Share this with anyone else that you think might similarly benefit.
Debra Baty is the head of Resources 4 Redemption, which is an effort aimed at spreading good information about sexual orientation and gender identity. She recently published an article about “sexual fluidity” and how it impacts our sanctification in Firebrand Magazine. It is a good piece, and Debra does worthy work. All believers in the West have to contend with the artificial ideas of the sexual revolution. There is nowhere we can go that these issues do not impact us. The only way out is through.
Debra has a personal story that is quite compelling. She is a trustworthy, thoughtful, and conscientious resource. All covenant Christian bodies need to know where they stand on these things, lest the evil one sow confusion. Now is the time to reflect upon these things. Days are coming when what we believe will be put to the test. If we have not prepared, then we cannot expect to prevail.
Resources 4 Redemption can be found at https://substack.com/@resources4redemption
If you would like to ...
I didn't realize until I finished this morning's live stream that it got cut off pretty early in the stream. It should have made me suspicious when the viewer count stayed the same and I wasn't getting any more comments. Anyway, I recorded the whole thing and have reposted it here for you. I'll clip up the two main portions and post them on YouTube later today. Sorry for the snafu, y'all. There was a small power surge and something about that threw Rumble off. Tomorrow should be normal. God bless you all!
The issue of identity, while being ubiquitous in our most divisive politics, is also central to the Christian concern. I wanted to speak to these things a bit for the sake of fellow believers who perhaps are not quite so sure how to navigate these things…
https://open.substack.com/pub/jeffreyrickman/p/the-harsh-reality-of-identity?r=17brpc&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
No live stream this morning. Was up all night with a sinus infection and need to get in gear for annual conference session. I'll just plan on Monday. God bless you folks!
