[In March of 2024], the Global Methodist Church’s Transitional Leadership Council (TLC) voted to propose a constitution to the denomination’s convening General Conference, scheduled to meet in San Jose, Costa Rica, September 20-26, 2024.

During its transitional season, the GM Church has functioned without a constitution. Its transitional leaders believed only a convening General Conference composed of duly elected delegates would have the right to approve such a document, ensuring its legitimacy so that the Church’s members would embrace it and abide by it.

“We want to be clear, the TLC is proposing a constitution for the Church, not imposing one upon it,” said Cara Nicklas, the chairwoman of the GM Church’s Transitional Leadership Council.

The proposed constitution can be read in approximately 20 minutes. The Transitional Leadership Council encourages Global Methodist Church members to read it alongside part one of the Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline and the Church’s “A Catechism of the Christian Faith and Doctrine in the Wesleyan Tradition.” The Catechism in a booklet format can be ordered from Seedbed Publishing.

When it comes to the Christian faith, the Cross and the Resurrection are cornerstone realities that bring all of salvation history together. Without the Cross, there can be no forgiveness for sin. But without the Resurrection, the Cross loses its purpose and power and becomes just another meaningless death. In the Resurrection of Jesus, we see God’s vindication of Jesus’ sinless life and sacrificial death – it is God’s proclamation of “Well done!” to His Son.

Despite this reality, we also know that both the cross and the resurrection have posed problems of understanding throughout history. Paul speaks clearly to the “problem” of the cross to the Corinthian Church, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" 1 Corinthians 1:18.

When things happen that are outside of our comprehension or ability to understand, we don’t often imagine that the problem is with us – with our wisdom or perspective. Instead, we assume that it is the event itself that is the problem. Nonsense means simply spoken or written words that have no meaning or make no sense. In other words, when what we have seen or heard doesn’t fit into our present understanding or experience, we label it nonsense or foolish. This is what happens on the first Easter morning with the women who go to the tomb. They find Jesus’ body gone and then angels appear and tell them, He is not here; he has risen! The text says it is at this moment that the women remember what Jesus had told them. In other words, the women began to make sense of the sights they were seeing, and the words Jesus had spoken earlier. But when the women tell the disciples, they think the story is nonsense – it doesn’t match their understanding and experience, yet. Even though they had witnessed the miracles of Jesus, including the raising of Lazarus, and others, from the dead, they couldn’t comprehend what they were hearing.

Even so, the Resurrection remained true, though it defied the disciples (or our) understanding. Repeatedly in the Bible, we remember that God is not required to operate in a way that makes logical sense to us, for He is the Potter and we are the clay, but that He must always act according to His nature. Therefore, what was nonsense to the disciples at the time becomes clearer later to them (and to us). The Resurrection makes perfect sense to the cause of salvation history, the character of Jesus and His promises and declarations about Himself. At Easter, Jesus makes sense out of the nonsense – of our world and in our lives. He invites us into a life-affirming relationship with our Creator and Savior that speaks a better alternative to the culture of death that is celebrated today. Will you let Jesus make sense of your life this Easter?

I LOVE Christmas Movies. They make us laugh, cry, and think about what’s important. I have
many favorites and It’s a Wonderful Life is one of them. It’s interesting that when it was
released, it did not do well at the theaters. In fact, it was considered a financial flop, and it
has been criticized for various other reasons. It may not be as quotable as The Grinch or The
Christmas Story, but the message that our actions make a difference in the community
around us is one that we should take to heart.

It is also rich in characters. One of my favorites is Clarence, the angel. When deciding who to
send to help George, Joseph suggests that it’s Clarence’s turn, but laments that “He’s got the
I.Q. of a rabbit.” “Yes”, says Franklin, “but he’s got the faith of a child – simple.” What’s so
important about Clarence’s child-like faith? In Matthew 19:14, when the disciples are giving
a hard time to those who have brought their children to see Jesus, he says “Let the little
children come to me, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Jesus knows that
children are adventurous, imaginative, fearless, and have not overcomplicated life yet.
Why child-like faith? I Corinthians 1:27 says, “But God chose the foolish things of the world
to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” God chose
David, a lowly shepherd; Moses, a stutterer with low self-esteem; Rahab a prostitute; a boy
with some fish and loaves of bread; and Matthew, a hated tax-collector.

God chose Mary, a young woman to give birth to a baby, who would show us how our actions
still make a difference in our families, our churches, our community, and the world. It’s a
Wonderful Life reminds us that life’s most important work is often work we never planned on
doing. Clarence reminds us that God can use the most unlikely among us to get the work
done.
It’s easy to be overwhelmed with all that is going on, but Christmas reminds us of the joy that
awaits us when we trust in the baby of the manger, the savior of the world, Jesus who calls to
us to come like children.
May God’s light come alive in your hearts with child-like faith this Christmas,
Pastor Shirley

I saw them begin to appear in stores in September, right next to the Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations...you saw it too – Christmas lights, decorations and more. You know, the start of that great season called “Hallowthanksmas” or something like that. I get it – retail needs to make its year-end numbers and Christmas is the #1 revenue stream (with Halloween at #2). But I must admit, I was both annoyed and exasperated by the spectacle.

Allison and I have been talking a lot recently about how to help people who are being left behind by the larger society – the functionally illiterate student, the child from a broken home, the mentally ill person who can’t seem to get their feet underneath them, and on and on. The only answer I can come up with is the power of proximity – even though it can get messy, we’ve got to stay close to them so they can see and know the love of Jesus through our love of them (even in the messes).
What’s this got to do with Christmas, you ask? Well, I think the answer is proximity again. I can get frustrated and annoyed about what others are making of the season and let it ruin my celebration. Or, I can lean into the season even harder (proximity), and so draw closer to Jesus, as He first has drawn near to us.
This year, we are talking about “skipping Christmas,” and we are going to lean hard into the power of the Gospel stories that many of us know well. We are going to see how the stories surrounding Jesus’ birth cut through so much of what has become of our Christmas celebrations to return us back to the basics of the season.

What am I inviting you to skip in your Christmas celebration this year - the complexity, the myth, the glitz, the safety, and the guilt that has often, and unfortunately, become associated with how we celebrate this season. When you look up close at the Nativity story, these qualities are not really present in a significant way. Yes, we’ve got kings in palaces and elegant robes but the King of the story is a swaddled baby in a feeding trough. Yes, we’ve got angels but they’re serenading shepherds. Remember, the door of redemption history itself swings open on the hinge of obedience of a young virgin woman and her fiancé shaking his head in the background.

At the end of his ministry, Jesus asked a simple question to the gang that had come to arrest Him – “Whom do you seek? (John 18:4 KJV). I think the question rings true for us this Advent season also. Who, or what, do you seek this year? Let’s skip some things so we can seek some better things to replace them with this Advent and Christmas – simplicity, reality, glory, adventure, and grace.

Before the glitz and complexity and guilt that this season has seemingly become there is this reminder from Matthew’s pen of what is really going on - All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[a] (which means “God with us”). Matthew 1:22-23. God has come to us in Jesus – Alleluia, Amen, let us celebrate with glad and joyful hearts!

Let’s Skip Christmas

From November 2023 Newsletter

Writer William Arthur Ward said “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” That’s why it is so important to show and convey thanks regularly. I know that I do not say thank you enough for all that the fellowship of Glenwood means to me. You amaze me by how many ways you show your love for Christ by showing your love for others.

There are many hymns that speak to me about the community of Glenwood, but perhaps the best one would be Blest Be the Tie that Binds. It was written by John Fawcett (1740-1817), who served a small congregation in northern England. This small church could only afford to pay him a minimal salary, partly in potatoes and wool. After seven years, Fawcett was called to the prestigious Carter’s Lane Church in London. But as he was saying his farewell and saw the tears on the faces of his people, he changed his mind and decided to stay. Recognizing that the bond of love he knew there was worth more than any material wealth, he penned the words of this hymn:

“Blest be the tie that binds
our hearts in Christian love;
the fellowship of kindred minds
is like to that above.”

The hymn speaks of how we bring our prayers for each other before our Father’s throne; how we share each other’s burdens; and even though we may not always be together, we have the hope of being reunited in eternity.

It is not only a reminder of sweet fellowship but gives us that gratitude of attitude that we celebrate this time of year. As we work and pray together for God’s kingdom here on earth, may we rejoice always!

Do you remember as a child being asked to make a promise? But if you made that promise with your “fingers crossed” then it didn’t mean you had to keep it - as if the crossing of fingers changed the whole essence of the commitment that you had just made?

Faithfulness is defined succinctly as “remaining loyal and steadfast.” But sometimes it feels like society believes that the whole idea is nonsense and even exults in failures of faithfulness. We have websites that encourage adultery and unfaithfulness which seems to be the expectation instead of the exception, in all areas of life. In many ways, we don’t expect anyone; clergy, politicians, neighbors, or even family, to stay faithful to what they promised.

Unfaithfulness is a lot like neighborhood decay. When one person doesn’t keep up their property or pick up litter, that seems to become an excuse for others to do the same and soon the whole block has gone downhill. But if unfaithfulness works like that, then why can’t examples of faithfulness function in the same manner?

I think it can and does, but this requires we who know and love a faithful God to live that out in our world. I deeply believe that as our world gets more broken, there is a simultaneous deepening hunger for wholeness. I believe this must begin in the church community before it can spread out into the larger society.

A quick search will reveal that one of the key descriptions of the saints in both Old and New Testaments is that they, “walked faithfully with God,” including Enoch (Gen. 5:24), Noah (Gen. 6:9), Abraham (Gen. 17:1), and Moses (Num. 12:7). I love that imagery because it speaks of both a relationship and a journey. If you are walking with someone, then you are most often side-by-side, which is a powerful reminder of relationship. If you are walking, that assumes you are headed somewhere – a journey. What better place to learn and live faithfulness than to be on a journey with Jesus each day? It is in walking with Jesus that we learn what faithfulness is all about. Jesus was faithful in serving God, in his prayer and worship life (being in the synagogue), and ultimately in giving Himself for us on the cross. We may not do it perfectly, but we can learn what discipleship is all about by letting the Holy Spirit continue to mold us to be like Jesus.

May it be said of you today and every day and on your last day, that you walked faithfully with God. That would be a fitting legacy for anyone who calls Jesus his or her Lord and Savior.

One of the other important aspects of music besides rhythm and tempo is dynamics. The simple definition is that dynamics means how quietly or loudly a piece of music should be played or sung. But it’s so much more than that. Dynamics is about the intensity, space, tension, aggression, or gentleness of the music.

The dynamics of music has been a part of creation since the beginning. Birds sing, trees rustle in the blowing wind, seas pound or gently lap on the shore. We see the dynamics of Scripture. Psalm 37:7 says to “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” 

Habakkuk 2:20 calls us into worship “The Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silent before Him.” We come into God’s presence quietly so that we can hear him speak through the gentleness of creation. The psalmist tells us that our souls find rest in God. 

Yet we are reminded in Psalm 98 of the jubilant, joyful worship that comes from trumpets blasting, hands clapping, and people singing and shouting for joy. There is a great celebration of the great things God has done and all creation joins in! Our lives are the music that tells the story of the redemption and hope we have in Christ. We quiet our hearts as we speak to Him in prayer. We share the joyful music of what living in relationship with a God is all about. God composes the melodies and harmonies of our lives. He invites us to move in rhythm with Him. Sometimes He speaks to us in a still, small voice and sometimes He speaks to us with the roar of a lion.

What music will your life express today?
Praising God with you,
Pastor Shirley

We’ve spent September in the book of 2 Timothy, being encouraged to have a relentless faith in Jesus, encouraged through the words Paul wrote to Timothy, as Paul prepared for certain death in a Roman prison because of his faith in Jesus. From personal experience, I’ve learned that it’s one thing to talk a good game (and most anyone can do that) but a whole different thing to actually live it. More and more, I’m realizing in profound ways the critical role others play, like each of you, in helping me live what I believe.

I know that I may sound like a broken record on the necessity of Christian community but the more I read, the more I study, and the more I spend time with people inside and outside the church, the more this necessity is reinforced. The social sciences, the public polling and the Bible all intersect on this point – we need people in our lives because meaningful relationships deepen our faith, strengthen our mental health, and grow our character.

Peter, who knew something about being pursued by the devil, once warned his hearers, Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8. I recently came across the connection between the devil and a lion in something I was reading. If you’ve ever watched a lion hunt, you quickly learn that lions are ferocious predators, but they are really lazy hunters. Think about that for a minute – lions don’t pursue their prey for miles (like wolves) – but are opportunistic. They pick off the isolated who get separated from the herd (because they are too young, old, or sick to keep up). They also pick off the loners and the radical individualists who stray away from the herd. Peter reminds us that the devil is ferocious but opportunistic and so it’s to our benefit to stay with the herd.

On a similar note, have you ever seen a herd of elephants come under threat from a predator? Their response is awe-inspiring as they surround their weaker members to the middle and then the bull elephants turn, tusks out, to face the predator. The challenge is offered, “Bring it – if you think you can get past us with your life still intact.” I don’t recall ever seeing a predator, or pack of predators for that matter, attack that formation.

It’s funny how God has created the animal kingdom in a way that reminds humans of our need for community as well. We need to learn and relearn this lesson as we face the challenges of a culture increasingly at odds with biblical principles. We gather together to encourage and be encouraged, to find strength and healing as needed, and to remember our unity with the saints around our community and our world. Sometimes, we need the healing in the center while at other times, we’re called to be the circle of defense. In either location, remember that you are a valuable part of the herd and loved by Jesus.

See you in church!
Pastor Matt

Glenwood is pleased to be partnering with The Colson Center to offer worldview training in the Colson Fellows Program as a church affiliate site/cohort. The church affiliate cohorts fill in the gaps where the Colson Center cannot establish regional cohorts. 

"Christians who understand biblical truth and have the courage to live it out can indeed redeem a culture, or even create one. This is the challenge facing all of us in the new millennium.”
― Charles W. Colson, How Now Shall We Live?

Your days are full. But when is the time to pursue God’s Kingdom if not now? The Colson Fellows Program was designed for men and women with busy, complex lives. This unique program combines spiritual formation and worldview development through a combination of reading, online learning and monthly meetings with your peers to provide an intense and rewarding experience.

The ten-month program takes you on a carefully curated journey to understanding the times and knowing what to do in community with like-minded people. The curriculum is a hybrid model with daily devotionals, weekly assignments (online) plus readings (reader's choice), and monthly webinars and cohort meetings.
Upon completion of the program, students don’t graduate, they are commissioned as Colson Fellows, further equipped for service in God’s kingdom.  Many students from Regionals Cohorts, Online Cohorts, and Church Affiliate Cohorts choose to attend the national commissioning ceremony at The Colson Center National Conference, the culminating event of the year, which features a stunning line-up of renowned speakers.
Enrollment for the next cohort will beginning in April of 2024.  Reach out to us if you have any questions or would like more info about the program - office@glenwoodmethodist.church