EVANSTON, Ill. (RNS) — A decision this week by the United Methodist Church’s top court hints at what the denomination’s planned special session on sexuality will look like. And it has some worried that the special session of its General Conference, called for February 2019 in St. Louis to settle questions of ordination and marriage of LGBT members, could become mired in the same opposing petitions and points of order that led the 2016 conference to defer all discussion of sexuality to a commission. One delegate proclaimed at the time, “I believe we are confusing God at this point.” “That is certainly a major concern — that the body gets so bogged down with rules and procedure and questions and points of order that the body doesn’t make any kind of determination,” said Stephanie Henry, rules committee chair for Commission on General Conference. The Judicial Council decided Friday (May 25) to allow any organization, clergy member or lay member of the United Methodist Church … [Read more...]

(RNS) — Paige Patterson, the embattled president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s largest seminary, was asked to step down after an outpouring of criticism for his comments on women, including advice he gave to a woman to stay with her abusive husband and new reports he asked another woman not to report a rape. The departure represents the most dramatic example of the #MeToo movement pervading the top reaches of the Southern Baptist Convention. The board of trustees of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, met for 13 hours Tuesday (May 22) before issuing a statement thanking Patterson for his contributions and service to the school, after voting to make him president emeritus with compensation. Last month a tape from the year 2000 surfaced in which Patterson said he never counsels divorce for abused women and then recounted an incident in which he told an abused woman to pray beside her bed at night and be “submissive in every way that you … [Read more...]

(RNS) — Theologian Miroslav Volf, who has written books on subjects ranging from the Trinity to the challenges of reconciliation in divided societies, has turned to what might seem like a frivolous subject: joy. But Volf, 61, the leader of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, says studying the theology of joy with students and scholars is “hard work.” He spoke with Religion News Service about the difference between joy and happiness, biblical lessons on joy and how the average person can find joy. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. You are the principal investigator of Yale Divinity School’s project on the “Theology of Joy and the Good Life.” How do you define the theology of joy? I think a theology of joy is a kind of theological endeavor that tries to determine the nature and the place of joy in human life. We study it from the perspective of the Christian account of the good life and the place joy has in that account. How is joy different from … [Read more...]

(RNS) — The opioid epidemic claimed more than 40,000 lives in the U.S. in 2016 alone. And the problem is growing particularly acute in Appalachia. In Tennessee, for example, 80 percent of crimes are drug related. On Friday and Saturday (May 18-19) a conference on opioid addiction will bring clinicians, clergy and educators to the tip of southern Appalachia to begin a yearlong conversation on ways churches can help heal and support those caught in the epidemic’s grip. Among its organizers is Dr. Raymond Barfield, a pediatric oncologist at Duke University who has a joint appointment at its divinity school. For five years he directed a program called “Theology, Medicine and Culture.” He now teaches courses on Christian philosophy and mentors students in the Medical Humanities Study Program. This interview was edited for length and clarity. How did the conference come about? I was asked by Duke to go and give some talks in Bristol, Tenn. After my first talk, I got a tour of … [Read more...]

GREENSBORO, N.C. (RNS) — Faith Community Church, a small, mostly African-American congregation, has a long history of activism dating back to the civil rights era. About a decade ago, church members, who worship in a small space within the Beloved Community Center, a larger hub for social justice activism, began to recognize the growing urgency of climate change, as well. Across town, Greensboro’s Jewish synagogue, Temple Emanuel, installed rooftop solar panels at a cost of $25,000, paid for with donations from members. Down the road in Chapel Hill, 50 miles to the east, a United Church of Christ congregation installed a far larger solar array capable of capturing 60 percent of its electrical needs for a whopping $240,000 —  making it one of the largest solar systems on a house of worship in the entire Southeast. Faith Community’s 50 or so members, mostly working-class, could only dream of that kind of project. So they came up with a novel solution. They partnered with … [Read more...]

(RNS) — Like many seminary students walking across the stage to accept their diplomas at commencement ceremonies this month, Sean Robinson already has a job lined up. Beginning in June, he will be the new minister to students and their families at Open Door Church in Raleigh, N.C. But Robinson’s diploma isn’t the traditional Master of Divinity, awarded to seminary students who have completed a three-year course of study. He’s graduating with a master’s degree in ministry and leadership. And increasingly many other seminary students are, too. The gold standard for church leaders — the Master of Divinity — is losing some of its luster to its humbler cousin, the two-year Master of Arts. “People are trying to get the training they need and get out,” said Robinson, 28, who graduated Friday (May 11) from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. “It all boils down to time and convenience and the culture and lifestyle we see today.” A new projection … [Read more...]