Tag «United Methodism»

Restoring Trust in the Institutional Church Requires Allegiance to Our True Purpose

Gil Rendle says all institutions eventually gravitate from serving their stated purposes to satisfying powerful institutional constituencies. The current deep mistrust of the institutional church is fueled by the fact that we focus more on our own people, clergy, resources, and rules than on our true, lifegiving mission. Trust can only be restored when leaders […]

The post Restoring Trust in the Institutional Church Requires Allegiance to Our True Purpose first appeared on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

The post Restoring Trust in the Institutional Church Requires Allegiance to Our True Purpose appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

Twenty-Five Percent of Churches Disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church

The Lewis Center has issued a final report on disaffiliating churches in the United Methodist Church covering 7,631 churches approved by annual conferences for disaffiliation by December 31, 2023. There continue to be more similarities than differences between the cohort of disaffiliating churches and the total pool of United Methodist churches. Disaffiliating churches are disproportionately […]

The post Twenty-Five Percent of Churches Disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church first appeared on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

The post Twenty-Five Percent of Churches Disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

Twenty-Five Percent of Churches Disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church

The post Twenty-Five Percent of Churches Disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church first appeared on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

The post Twenty-Five Percent of Churches Disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

Some Questions for Further Research from the Disaffiliation Process

The recent disaffiliation process in the United Methodist Church leaves in its wake grief, hope, and many unanswered questions regarding the impact of prior unifications, the impact of clergy and judicatory leaders in the process, and the various motivations for disaffiliation. Lovett H. Weems of the Lewis Center staff raises some of these significant questions […]

The post Some Questions for Further Research from the Disaffiliation Process first appeared on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

The post Some Questions for Further Research from the Disaffiliation Process appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

Some Questions for Further Research from the Disaffiliation Process

The post Some Questions for Further Research from the Disaffiliation Process first appeared on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

The post Some Questions for Further Research from the Disaffiliation Process appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

Number of Young Elders in the United Methodist Church Reaches a Record Low Number in 2023

Lovett H. Weems Jr. highlights the decline in numbers of young clergy in the Lewis Center’s annual Clergy Age Trends Report. A dramatic decline in young elders, deacons, and licensed local pastors continues in the United Methodist Church. Download the complete 2023 Clergy Age Trends Report. For eighteen years, the Lewis Center for Church Leadership […]

The post Number of Young Elders in the United Methodist Church Reaches a Record Low Number in 2023 first appeared on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

The post Number of Young Elders in the United Methodist Church Reaches a Record Low Number in 2023 appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

Updated Report on United Methodist Disaffiliating Churches

The Lewis Center has issued an updated report on the characteristics of churches disaffiliating from the United Methodist Church that covers more than 6,100 churches approved for disaffiliation through June 2023. There continue to be more similarities than differences between the cohort of disaffiliating churches and the total pool of United Methodist churches. But disaffiliating […]

The post Updated Report on United Methodist Disaffiliating Churches first appeared on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

The post Updated Report on United Methodist Disaffiliating Churches appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

The Hidden Impact of Rural Churches: An In-Depth Interview with Bob Jaeger and Rachel Hildebrand

What is the economic impact of small congregations on their communities? Jessica Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff speaks with Bob Jaeger and Rachel Hildebrandt of Partners for Sacred Places about their report on the “Economic Halo Effect of Rural United Methodist Churches in North Carolina.” Listen to this interview, watch the interview video on YouTube, […]

The post The Hidden Impact of Rural Churches: An In-Depth Interview with Bob Jaeger and Rachel Hildebrand appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

Report on Disaffiliating United Methodist Churches through 2022: Comparing Similarities and Differences

What are the characteristics of churches disaffiliating from the United Methodist Church? Lovett H. Weems Jr. reports that there are more similarities than differences between the cohort of disaffiliating churches and the total pool of all United Methodist churches. But disaffiliating churches are overwhelmingly in the South with majority white memberships. They are also more […]

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