I was joined by two Methodists to discuss the current state of the Methodist Church. Like all mainline denominations, they are currently divided over issues of Biblical authority and interpretation, sexuality and marriage...and more. Christy Thomas is a retired elder in the Methodist Church and currently blogs over at Pathos at www.christythomas.com. She argues for a more inclusive approach and for a church less dominated for purity concerns. Keith Boyette is an attorney and Methodist minister who is President of the Wesleyan Covenant Alliance (https://wesleyancovenant.org). He argues that the Methodist Church's Book of Discipline should not change and the Biblical teaching on sexuality is clear. It is not uncommon for disagreeing factions within the church to speak about each other. My aim was to get them to speak to each other in the midst of the dispute.
Why the name “Sin Boldly”? Martin Luther wrote to his friend Philip Melanchthon in 1521: “If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but the true mercy. If the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the true, not an imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong [sin boldly], but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world.” To sin boldly, therefore, is not to seek unholy living, but to follow the course we believe the Bible demands even if the world is against us. And if and when we sin, trust in an even greater savior.
First Lutheran also publishes a daily podcast called The Scarlet Thread (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-scarlet-thread/id1110938468?mt=2). This podcast is a reading of the appointed texts for the Two-Year Daily Lectionary. After two years, listeners will have heard most of the Old Testament once and most of the New Testament twice. If you are liturgically-minded and want a little more Bible in your life, this is a great podcast for you.