Hacking.Church 07: L(am)ent
Tis the Season!
Hello World
Welcome to the email subscription for HackingChristianity.net! I’m so glad you’ve subscribed. We rocketed over 650 subscribers to this email content, half of the new accounts in the last 30 days! Wow! While Hacking Christianity has over 8000 subscribers on social media, it’s okay that newsletters are more selective. Glad to be connected with you!
This email subscription provides an occasional update with recent articles, curated articles, and special subscriber-only content at the end of the email. Thanks for subscribing and feel free to share!
Here’s what was published in our genres since our last newsletter, and the promised exclusive content at the bottom.
Church and Christianity articles:
Reflections on pastoring a vaxxed-only church for 120 days | My county required proof of vaccination for all indoor events during the Omicron wave, so my local church became a vaxxed-only zone. It’s been fascinating to experience. Take a read on the reflections!
Geek Gospel articles:
No new content but an update: You can now read Hacking Christianity in the new Substack app for iPhone. I’m using it personally!
With the app, you’ll have a dedicated Inbox for my Substack and any others you subscribe to. New posts will never get lost in your email filters, or stuck in spam. Longer posts will never cut-off by your email app. Comments and rich media will all work seamlessly. Overall, it’s a big upgrade to the reading experience.
United Methodist articles:
Relief or Ruin: General Conference Postponed Until 2024 | Here’s the news we were waiting for, for better or worse. Read on for the reflections.
Florida Man (WCA) keeps pastor and spouse from attending church meeting | As the Wesleyan Covenant Association reels from losing $25 million dollars, they are trying to recruit local churches to disaffiliate and leave. Here’s…well, not the right way to do it.
The Global Methodist Church wants to sell annual conferences, not keep them | WesPath’s newest article indicates there’s a huge cost to annual conferences trying to go to the GMC…but no one is talking about it! Take a look at the data and some examples from Texas and South Georgia to see what is going on.
Did you miss it? Here’s our epic series on the State of the UMC:
State of the UMC in 1000 words, part 1: Power & Polity versus People & Places / The Ghost of Methodism Past points us to how the church has changed in the past 60 years and what two distinct movements and values have shaped the current conflict.
State of the UMC In 1000 words, part 2: In the meantime and the Mean Time / What the delay of the General Conference and the chosen inaction by the bishops hath wrought and revitalized an almost-lost WCA.
State of the UMC in 1000 words, part 3: Avoiding the Fundamentalist Future set before Both Sides / What choices traditionalists and progressives can make to avoid narrow, small futures for themselves.
Open Tabs:
Finally, as promised, email subscribers get exclusive content not available elsewhere. Right now, that is Open Tabs: these are the windows that are open RIGHT NOW on my computer that I just can’t stand to close yet:
A page from John Wesley’s journals. A reminder about persistence!
We know that the purpose of church is not to make friends. But with the pandemic limiting the friend-making opportunities, it’s time to focus on this again.
Brookline church's "royalties" program for black spirituals | A really amazing idea for helping educate while we sing—and commit our resources too.
Telling your public story, by Marshall Ganz. I recently used this well with my local church visioning project.
A provocatively-named podcast has an episode on United Methodism with a lay delegate from New York. Take a listen on your commute!
That’s it for now. Blessings to you and yours this season.
~Rev. Jeremy