General Conference Could Be Our 'Facebook'
The Rev. Andy Bryan comments on the aftermath of the 2012 United Methodist General Conference.
View ArticleRelationship Changes Everything
Rev. Andy Bryan's "Grow Group" has a surprisingly respectful and meaningful conversation about whether David and Jonathan in the Old Testament had a gay relationship.
View ArticleWho Teaches Whom?
Working with children puts a different perspective on who's the teacher and who's the student, writes the Rev. Andy Bryan.
View ArticleDividing the UMC is No Solution - Try Local Autonomy
Rumors of schism in The United Methodist Church prompt the Rev. Andy Bryan to argue that local autonomy could be the solution that saves the Wesleyan connection.
View ArticleJust Pretend It Isn't There?
The Rev. Andy Bryan ponders how it can be that there's no way to resolve the internal contradictions of the Book of Discipline, as in the case of the Rev. Frank Schaefer's conviction for conducting the...
View ArticleMy One Idea – What's Yours?
If everything else was stripped away, what would be the one great idea you'd want to share and remember? asks the Rev. Andy Bryan.
View ArticleI Wish I Didn't Have to Write This
The Rev. Andy Bryan defends the human rights of LGBT citizens in the face of a campaign of discrimination in his own town.
View ArticleUnconditional Love and Leelah Alcorn
The death of transgendered Leelah Alcorn prompts the Rev. Andy Bryan to ponder the nature of God's unconditional love.
View ArticleLife Is Too Short ...
A Beatles' song and plenty of common wisdom pose a critical question about how to live our lives with compassion, writes the Rev. Andy Bryan.
View ArticleSt. Patrick's Priority One
The real St. Patrick was someone whose top priority wasn't green beer or corned beef and cabbage, but faith in Christ, writes the Rev. Andy Bryan.
View ArticleJesus Christ, Barrier Buster
Jesus was all about breaking through barriers, and his followers are called to do the same today, writes the Rev. Andy Bryan.
View Article3 Reasons Why Itinerancy Is an Idea Perfectly Suited for the 21st Century Church
The Rev. Andy Bryan thinks the traditional Methodist idea of itinerancy, in which pastors are appointed by bishops to congregations, holds value for mission in the 21st century.
View ArticleThe Church Is a Theological Body
Definitions of "the church" range far and wide, but nowhere near the typical institutional understandings, writes the Rev. Andy Bryan.
View ArticleSuccessful UMC Interviews
The Rev. Andy Bryan has some strong counsel for United Methodist ministerial candidates and the boards of ordained ministry that determine their fitness.
View ArticleSuccessful UMC Interviews Part 2
In the second of two columns, the Rev. Andy Bryan examines how to revamp the United Methodist ministerial candidacy process to make it more humane.
View ArticleUnity and the Sin of Babel
Unity isn't the same thing as uniformity, and that not understanding and accepting that reality could be the church's greatest sin, writes the Rev. Andy Bryan.
View ArticleSouth Central Jurisdiction Delegate Reports on Meeting
The Rev. Andy Bryan, a jurisdictional delegate from the Missouri Annual Conference, reflects on the issues and topics he heard at the recent South Central Jurisdiction delegate meeting in Oklahoma City.
View Article'Be the Gift'
The Rev. Andy Bryan's congregation is trying this Advent to counteract the season's commercialism by being "gifts" to people in the spirit of Jesus as God's gift to the world.
View ArticleThoughts and Prayers
The latest in America's bloody series of mass shootings elicits a jumble of thoughts and prayers -- and hopes -- from the Rev. Andy Bryan.
View ArticleElecting Bishops
The Rev. Andy Bryan describes the process for electing bishops in the South Central Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church in the United States.
View ArticleWhat's in a Name?
The Rev. Andy Bryan wants to reclaim many of the labels United Methodists use from their divisive connotations to a more broadly inclusive definition.
View ArticleWhen Doctrine Hinders Mission
A phone call from an inquirer leads the Rev. Andy Bryan to some forthright declarations about why full inclusion is essential to sustaining The United Methodist Church.
View ArticleChristians Have a Counter-Cultural Role on Election Day 2016
Followers of Jesus ought to allow our faith to impact every part of our life, including how we vote, writes the Rev. Andy Bryan.
View ArticleAdvent - Week One
The Rev. Andy Bryan brings a poetic perspective to the start of Advent.
View ArticleSeeking Compromise Is Not Divisive
Large churches planning to leave the denomination are actually sowing more seeds of division than potential compromise policies on marriage and ordination, writes the Rev. Andy Bryan.
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