Seeking Salvation : Christianity, Faith, Methodism

       There was a day when the world consisted of small villages subsisting on agriculture. Tiny places where everyone knew and were probably related to each other. Education was a rare commodity in such places that even the elite found it difficult to attain. During this period, the most educated within society were the clergy. The church needed clerics to be able to read scripture, translate the Bible, and educate the landed elite and future clergy and monks. At the advent of the Industrial Revolution, there was an increasing need for basic elementary education and universal elementary and eventually, high school became an expected rite of passage for children. College education became increasingly critical as the post-war economy shifted from factory-based work to a knowledge, technology, and financial services-based economy.        Fewer Americans are going to college now. In fact, fewer parents support their children attending high...

      Some days, it is very hard to write. The words don't come easy, and the writer fights to place words on the screen. This afternoon, I asked myself the most important words I could write today, and the answer was "You Matter". You matter because God perfectly crafted you to exist in this world. No one is perfect, and we are not guaranteed all happy days. That isn't life. But at the end of the day, "You Matter." You matter because, without your existence, many things would not have happened that you have done. Little things like opening the door for someone, giving a person a hug, letting a customer know everything would be alright, fixing the kid's dinner, simple things. The Gospel is found in the simple things of life. How we live is the Gospel. The Gospel isn't going to Church, though community is critical; it isn't reading the Bible, though scripture can inspire and comfort. (remind us that we could have screwed up way worse today!) No Go...

      Sometimes I struggle to love my neighbors. Today's society makes it very easy to avoid other people and live heads down on our phones and laptops. Now, if one is careful, community, if organized, can be found on Threads, Bluesky, YouTube, and Reddit groups. But too often, the screens are merely a reflection of the person's face. Time is spent on work projects, video games, and mindlessly doom-scrolling. These are not acts of community but of isolation and there is too much isolation today.      I recently went on a pastoral visit, and on my way, I was asked by another resident to come and visit. Meeting someone outside my community, listening to their story and praying over them was awesome. Inviting them to our community and letting them know that they are not alone is central to being a good neighbor.       When we love our neighbor, we love God. Why? Each of us is created, and crafted as unique people and is worthy of ...

  Pictures and poem by Carol Meile We have forgotten, and it saddens me. We have forgotten the simplicity of the Gospel message in America. We now worship wealth, power, sex, and money as gods. And the price we have paid as a society is horrible. People sleep on the streets, children hunger, the elderly are forgotten, the poor are vilified, and migrants are treated worse than common trash. We have lost our humanity and have placed ourselves before others.       People are asking theologians and pastors to reimagine the Gospel around these values of rugged individualism, personal responsibility, greed, power, and competition. This is a rubicon that many pastors will not cross. In the Gospel of Luke, the writer speaks in song of God's faithfulness from generation to generation. He writes about how the proud are scattered in their thoughts, the powerful are brought down from their thrones, and the hungry are filled with good things, while the rich are sent away. (L...