tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-335062822010-05-18T09:46:29.426-04:00This blog covers issues of the Christian faith as they relate to Generation X and life in the Church. It is written by Andrew C. Thompson, a 33-year old United Methodist pastor.Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.orgBlogger398125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-61938469501403729522010-05-18T09:46:00.001-04:002010-05-18T09:46:29.440-04:00

This blog is now located at http://blog.genxrising.com/. You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here. For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to http://blog.genxrising.com/feeds/posts/default.

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-80842276495113590462010-04-16T08:32:00.004-04:002010-04-16T10:28:04.021-04:00

I haven't linked to any columns I've written in the United Methodist Reporter recently. I'm in the middle of a column series on the means of grace, and I had planned to do one post that pointed to the whole series when I was finished with it. Then I had to go and write about Holy Communion. It's a topic that gets me in trouble every time I take it up. The column - which you can find here - is a

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-81903490743190808772010-04-14T11:44:00.004-04:002010-04-14T12:47:37.289-04:00

Cokesbury has been sending out e-mails to let customers know about recent upgrades to its website. I checked out the upgraded site today, and I've got to say I'm impressed. It's admittedly always going to be difficult to compete with an online retailing behemoth like Amazon, but Cokesbury wasn't doing itself a lot of favors with its old site. It was clunky and difficult to navigate. There were

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-48792432336479167972010-04-10T09:01:00.000-04:002010-04-10T09:01:53.358-04:00

I shot the previous video right after the final buzzer in the Duke-Butler game. There were about 5000 people in Cameron Indoor Stadium watching the game on the scoreboard's big video screens. The video above was shot about 30 minutes later, on the main quad of West Campus. The students always burn wooden benches to make a bonfire after victories over UNC, but I've never seen one this big.

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-10272225430315827232010-04-06T15:32:00.003-04:002010-04-06T15:40:14.266-04:00

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-64161494576058287412010-04-06T01:39:00.006-04:002010-04-07T09:07:04.722-04:00

My wife and I went with our friend, Jeff, to watch the NCAA Championship Game at Cameron Indoor Stadium tonight. It's very late, but I wanted to post some of the pictures we took So the university administration made the decision to open up the Blue Devils' arena to students and their spouses for the game. About 5000 of us took them up on it. It might sound weird since the actual game was

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-89224682550384161272010-04-04T08:33:00.001-04:002010-04-04T08:36:55.232-04:00

"... While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, 'Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here. He has risen!'" - Luke 24:4-6a

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-23087328140590504232010-04-02T08:31:00.003-04:002010-04-02T09:07:00.296-04:00

"When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left ... And when it was about noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun's light failed; and the curtain of the Temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, 'Father, into your hands I commend my

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-39894680638807664792010-04-01T13:37:00.002-04:002010-04-01T15:18:51.637-04:00

Two months since my last post ... but this has been a full time in my life. In fact, it is going to continue to be so for most of this year. I said that I'd pop my head up every now and again, even while stepping back from regular blogging. And there is no better time to do that than now, in the midst of Holy Week. In the services at my church tonight, tomorrow, and on Sunday, we will gather to

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-84650084886288571642010-02-01T07:32:00.001-05:002010-02-01T09:50:15.992-05:00

I've lived my entire life below the Mason-Dixon line, so I'm not used to a great deal of winter weather. In the towns and cities where I've lived - in Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina - you can usually expect autumn weather to extend to the end of November, with spring picking up sometime in mid-February. The "cold" months of December and January rarely see temperatures in the 30s lasting

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-23067023231215838782010-01-27T22:11:00.001-05:002010-01-30T10:57:03.770-05:00

My colleague at the United Methodist Reporter, the Rev. Don Haynes, has written an extremely important column. His latest in the Reporter, entitled, "Call for GC special session is reality check," offers a lucid and articulate view on the issues likely to face a specially-called session of the General Conference in the coming months. One of Don's paragraphs that particularly struck me goes as

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-2634850658034498252010-01-20T15:38:00.002-05:002010-01-20T18:42:02.095-05:00

I try to stay on topic in my blogging, but every once in awhile something random pops up that's too good not to post. As those of you who know me personally can attest, I am a die-hard Arkansas Razorbacks fan. I let that show through here and there - like when I couldn't contain my excitement at the beginning of the 2009 season and when I highlighted Tight End D.J. Williams' stellar character.

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-81249782012184832252010-01-18T08:26:00.001-05:002010-01-18T11:42:35.920-05:00

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is now reporting that two mission leaders at the agency have died as a result of injuries sustained in the Haiti earthquake. Early reports that Sam Dixon and Clint Rabb had been rescued and were safe were apparently premature. Both men were removed from the rubble of the Hotel Montana. But follow-up reports indicate that UMCOR head Sam Dixon had

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-13440580945722553902010-01-15T16:03:00.008-05:002010-01-15T17:55:47.178-05:00

Here are a few notes that might interest you. Consider it suggestions for weekend reading! I wanted to highlight a few articles that touch on important issues in faith and discipleship - Steve Rankin, the university chaplain at Southern Methodist University, has a great article in the United Methodist Reporter looking at the doctrine of Christian perfection, character formation, and

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-50365203650648263222010-01-14T16:12:00.003-05:002010-01-14T22:01:58.924-05:00

The stories about Haiti's earthquake paint a dire picture of what the Haitian people are facing. Some accounts speculate that perhaps 100,000 people have lost their lives. As the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti isn't well equipped to cope with the fallout from the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck two days ago. The most recent reports point out that, added to the challenge of

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-68320424008320293682010-01-13T06:57:00.051-05:002010-01-13T12:49:49.839-05:00

I want to conclude this series of blog posts by recommending one more periodical in the Wesleyan/Methodist world. It is the Asbury Journal, which is the official publication of Asbury Theological Seminary. The Asbury Journal is a biannual publication, which means it comes out two times per year (in April and October). Like some of the other academic periodicals I've recommended, the Asbury

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-88716180934533395452010-01-11T07:13:00.044-05:002010-01-11T07:13:00.829-05:00

Another great periodical I want to highlight for reading in the Wesleyan & Methodist tradition is the publication of the Wesleyan Theological Society, an organization that I wrote about last year after attending its annual meeting in Anderson, Indiana. The quarterly journal of the WTS is called the Wesleyan Theological Journal. Probably more than any periodical I've posted about in the past few

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-81983862140882373732010-01-09T06:48:00.000-05:002010-01-09T06:48:00.466-05:00

My last two posts featured periodicals in the Wesleyan & Methodist tradition that fall by and large on the scholarly or academic side. Today I want to highlight a more popular-level publication. The United Methodist Reporter, in my opinion, is the best news source available for current events and commentary related to the life of the United Methodist Church. Okay, okay, first a disclosure. I

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-42846502222627322952010-01-07T07:17:00.002-05:002010-01-07T07:25:54.959-05:00

The next periodical I'd like to highlight is a print-based journal entitled Methodist History. This journal - which I'll abbreviate as MH - is the official historical journal of the United Methodist Church and is published by the General Commission on Archives and History. As such, it is an important publication for articles covering the historical interpretation of Methodism. I've been a

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-76602593459005958642010-01-05T07:52:00.003-05:002010-01-05T10:54:12.834-05:00

Earlier this week I explained that I am going to spend the next few posts looking at a number of great resources - both in print and online - that specialize in the Wesleyan tradition and contemporary Methodism. I want to point first to an interesting new online journal by the name of Methodist Review. I highlighted MR back in August in this post. MR is the successor to Quarterly Review, which

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-68501032429661137162010-01-03T07:17:00.003-05:002010-01-09T08:54:34.935-05:00

I'd like to spend a few posts pointing my readers to excellent resources for reading in the Wesleyan & Methodist tradition. Here's why: -- While there are a lot of good Methodist-related blogs these days (see Shane Raynor's Wesley Report for a regular rundown of solid content), it's important to read deeper than what you can get in a blog post. Christians identify with a particular tradition

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-13717974325496276292010-01-01T07:54:00.043-05:002010-01-01T13:26:34.698-05:00

Happy 2010! The coming of a new year is an appropriate time to take stock of our lives and think about how we want to live and act in better ways over the next 12 months. People often call this process "New Year's Resolutions." I've got an alternative, if you'd like one. It is a way to think about your resolutions as aspects of your Christian discipleship. And that might just make you think

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-25785488385692915882009-12-27T06:28:00.023-05:002009-12-27T06:28:00.384-05:00

A sad story came out of my home state of Arkansas on Christmas eve. Philip Wise, a major in the Salvation Army, was shot and killed in the act of delivering donations to a local Salvation Army donation center. The two assailants were attempting to rob Wise of the Christmas donations he had collected when they fatally shot him. His wife and children were present at the center and waiting for him

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-66512564605292112582009-12-25T06:35:00.005-05:002009-12-25T08:51:12.975-05:00

God's act of salvation in delivering the Hebrews out of their bondage to Pharaoh is Scripture's greatest prefiguration of the coming of Jesus Christ into the world. When delivering the call to Moses on Mt. Horeb, God tells him, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33506282.post-78241517995343010642009-12-24T07:27:00.089-05:002009-12-25T08:32:02.197-05:00

"The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.   "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will

Andrew C. Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219444874913518106andrew@mandatum.org6