Matt O'Reilly, PhD

Anyone who’s spent much time in church will know that disagreements happen. If those disagreements aren’t resolved quickly, they may soon...

So says N.T. Wright in the opening chapter of his Paul and his Recent Interpreters (Fortress, 2015): “though we have been accustomed to...

Many of us thought it couldn’t get worse than seeing a medical doctor swill her wine and crunch her croutons while speaking of “less...

Do evangelicals have a double standard when it comes to sexual ethics? That’s the claim made by Drew McIntyre in a post on authority in...

Much of the time we think of salvation in the past tense. We focus in on that moment when we first experienced God’s reconciling grace,...

I raised a few questions last week about the current call among United Methodists for a via media (or a middle way) that might preserve...

The United Methodist Church is increasingly embroiled in an ever more polarized debate over human sexuality. As the debate rages, many...

Every organization that wants to be around and be effective for the long haul must, at some point, ask the question: What is the most...

I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to visit Lake Junaluska last week. I’ve been United Methodist for over 20 years, yet this was my...

My recent post aimed at evaluating the “Way Forward” plan set forth by Adam Hamilton and others has garnered a fair bit of response, some...

These are difficult days in the United Methodist Church. The divide in our denomination between those who differ on the compatibility of...

Eerdman’s has recently posted this interview with Andrew T. Lincoln on his new book Born of a Virgin? Reconceiving Jesus in the Bible,...

Prominent United Methodist polity expert Dr. Thomas E. Frank has called upon the Council of Bishops to put a stop to church trials for...

The United Methodist Reporter has published an open letter from United Methodist polity expert Thomas E. Frank asking the Council of...

Easter is around the corner. So, I thought I’d share this gem from St. Athansius’ On the Incarnation. A very strong proof of this...

The lines of the creation-evolution debate are boldly and firmly drawn and few plausible arguments have been made that carve a promising...

We already have a way of exiting ineffective clergy. I say that because the relevant paragraphs in the Discipline which provide clergy...

Spirituality often evokes images of quiet centeredness, meditative serenity and freedom from life’s pressures. It’s become a chic...

#Uncategorized

Does a Jurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy have the authority to involuntarily retire a bishop? Is this an implication of the General...