Spirituality Podcast: MP3 Bible study by Dr Robert Aboagye-Mensah from Ghana (PART 2)

This podcast is the second a pre-recorded Bible study of Dr Robert Aboagye-Mensah, the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Ghana. I posted the first one earlier this week, so please just scroll down to find it and download it.

The theme of the first Bible Study was "Come Holy Spirit, heal and transform Your Church". This second Bible Study asks the question "What will a Church look like that has been healed and transformed by the Holy Spirit?"

Please feel free to leave comments!

You can download the podcast here (10.5MB)

Technorati tags: podcast, Bishop, Methodist, Ghana, digitaldion

A resource for Society Stewards and Circuit Stewards (sometimes called Elders) in Methodist Churches

I have just completed writing up a little resource for Society Stewards and Circuit Stewards (sometimes called Elders) in Methodist Churches.

This document is an attempt at laying a foundational theology for the ministry of these important lay persons in our Methodist Churches. My document draws on four primary sources (all listed of course):

1. Tim Attwell's ecclesiology paper for DEWCOM.

2. My document that discusses orders of ministry (with particular reference to Ordained Deacons in the MCSA), also prepared for DEWCOM.

3. A superb little booklet written by Ken Leverton (from which almost the entire last point comes) - "Your ministry as a Steward" Leverton, K, 1996:21. Methodist Publishing House. Cape Town. Sadly this little booklet is currently out of print (hence the need for my little document).

4. The Laws and Discipline of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (10th Edition! Note the edition number please, I did not have the 11th edition at the time of writing. As soon as I get a copy, I'll update the references).

So, here's the document entitled:

Your ministry as a Steward in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa.doc

Update on Church's response to ministers who registered a 'qualified yes' to the questions of discipline and doctrine.

Well, it has been an interesting week with a lot to and fro between various persons in positions of authority (or lack thereof) in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa in relation to the ministers who gave a qualified yes response to the questions of discipline because of the civil union bill / same sex marriage issue.

Today, Greg Andrews, gave a detailed account of how the events unfolded in the Cape of Good Hope District. You can read his post on his blog HERE.

Then, this morning a letter was circulated (a week late in my estimation) from the office of the Presiding Bishop to comment on this issue and the 22 of us who registered the qualified response. One colleague asked why this letter had not been drafted a week earlier, it could have avoided a fair amount of struggle, embarrassment, and upheaval!

Here's the letter. I would love to hear what you comments are.

Statement by Bishops on the Same Sex Debate.doc