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e-Review archives
Bishop's Commentaries 2006
The anonymity of the Holy Spirit
| The anonymity of the Holy Spirit |
Jan. 6, 2006 News media contact: Tita Parham*
800-282-8011 tparham@flumc.org Orlando {0425}
NOTE: A headshot of Whitaker is available at http://www.flumc.info/photo_gallery2.shtml.
An e-Review Commentary
By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker
The ecumenical church acknowledges that the triune God is an ineffable mystery, but it especially acknowledges the mystery of the Holy Spirit. ... In God's revelation to us, the Father and the Son are knowable to us in ways that the Spirit is not. ... The Eastern theologian Vladimir Lossky speaks of "a certain anonymity" that characterizes the third person of the Trinity.
full story
| Goals for churches in 2006
| Goals for churches in 2006 |
Feb. 1, 2006 News media contact: Tita Parham*
800-282-8011 tparham@flumc.org Orlando {0434}
NOTE: A headshot of Whitaker is available at http://www.flumc.info/photo_gallery2.shtml.
An e-Review Commentary
By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker
Last fall I visited the clergy in all nine districts of the Florida Conference to articulate goals for the churches of the Florida Conference in 2006. These goals had been shared with the Board of Lay Ministry, and the district lay leaders are communicating them to the lay leaders of the churches.
I have articulated the goals because I believe all of us in the Florida Conference should be working together to achieve immediate outcomes. full story
| Strong, but challenged
Reports!
| Reports! |
March 24, 2006 News media contact: Tita Parham*
800-282-8011 tparham@flumc.org Orlando {0463}
NOTE: A headshot of Whitaker is available at http://www.flumc.info/photo_gallery2.shtml.
An e-Review Commentary
By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker
When I was a pastor I used to look forward to receiving my packet of annual reports the way I looked forward to getting my forms from the Internal Revenue Service. The packet would lie on my desk until I summoned the will to begin gathering the information I would need to complete them. Filing reports was never enjoyable, and sometimes it seemed to be a useless task. I have learned that bishops also have reports to file. full story
| Calm in the center
| Calm in the center |
April 9, 2006 News media contact: Tita Parham*
800-282-8011 tparham@flumc.org Orlando {0470}
NOTE: A headshot of Whitaker is available at http://www.flumc.info/photo_gallery2.shtml.
An e-Review Commentary
By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker
In the center of the peninsula of Florida is the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park. Located approximately 20 miles east of Sebring the park contains about 54,000 acres of the great prairie of our state. It is the “Big Sky” country, where vast vistas of saw palmetto are dotted with cabbage palms and hammocks of small live oaks. full story
| Easter: beyond facts and faith
| Easter: beyond facts and faith |
April 28, 2006 News media contact: Tita Parham*
800-282-8011 tparham@flumc.org Orlando {0477}
NOTE: A headshot of Whitaker is available at http://www.flumc.info/photo_gallery2.shtml.
An e-Review Commentary
By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker
In his second letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul urged him to rightly explain the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). The Greek word for “rightly explaining” literally means “cutting straight.”
Nowhere is the responsibility to correctly “slice” the truth more important than in proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus Christ. full story
| At war with war
| At war with war |
May 5, 2006 News media contact: Tita Parham*
800-282-8011 tparham@flumc.org Orlando {0481}
NOTE: A headshot of Whitaker is available at http://www.flumc.info/photo_gallery2.shtml.
An e-Review Commentary
By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker
One of the great moral challenges of the human race is to learn to eradicate war as an instrument of international politics. Over the centuries much progress has been made: no longer do armies routinely go to war every spring. However, war is still the greatest moral problem of our species. The 20th century was the bloodiest 100 years in the history of humankind. The prospects for the 21st are not encouraging. full story
| Judas and Jude
| Judas and Jude |
June 4, 2006 News media contact: Tita Parham*
800-282-8011 tparham@flumc.org Orlando {0497}
NOTE: A headshot of Whitaker is available at http://www.flumc.info/photo_gallery2.shtml.
An e-Review Commentary
By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker
The recent publication of the Gospel of Judas has received much attention in the media. Sometimes this Gospel has been presented as if its exclusion from the New Testament represented a conspiracy of Christians to suppress the historical truth about Jesus á la “The Da Vinci Code.” full story
| John and Francis
The church and homosexuality
| The church and homosexuality |
July 12, 2006 News media contact: Tita Parham*
800-282-8011 tparham@flumc.org Orlando {0516}
NOTE: Readers may submit a comment related to this commentary at http://www.flumc.info/comments.shtml. Readers may view reader comments as they are submitted at http://www.flumc.info/readercommentsguide.shtml. A headshot of Whitaker is available at http://www.flumc.info/photo_gallery2.shtml.
An e-Review Commentary
By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker
The controversy over homosexuality is the single most divisive issue in The United Methodist Church and other mainline Protestant churches in North America and other Western societies. Not only is it divisive, but it is also distracting. At the level of the General Conference, the issue tends to dominate the interest of delegates to such an extent that it has been difficult to focus on the primary mission of church, which unites everyone. full story
| On the Pastoral Letter of the Council of Bishops following Judicial Council Decision No. 1032
With much appreciation
| With much appreciation |
Aug. 13, 2006 News media contact: Tita Parham*
800-282-8011 tparham@flumc.org Orlando {0529}
NOTE: A headshot of Whitaker is available at http://www.flumc.info/photo_gallery2.shtml.
An e-Review Commentary
By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker
I am deeply grateful to the church members and leaders of the Florida Conference who sent cards to me and my family following the death of my father, Ernest O. “Buddy” Whitaker.
My father died suddenly at home after several months of weakening as a result of a stroke about five years ago. It was a good way for him to die after 85 years of life. Even during his years following his stroke he was content and cheerful and able to get around outside with a wheelchair. full story
| On the Trinity
| On the Trinity |
Aug. 31, 2006 News media contact: Tita Parham*
800-282-8011 tparham@flumc.org Orlando {0540}
NOTE: A headshot of Whitaker is available at http://www.flumc.info/photo_gallery2.shtml.
An e-Review Commentary
By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker
When I was a candidate for the episcopacy in 2000 I met with a small group of clergy who asked me to name the major issues facing the church. They were surprised when I mentioned first that the church needs a stronger emphasis upon the doctrine of the Trinity. full story
| The coming debate over membership
Spiritual light in intellectual darkness
| Spiritual light in intellectual darkness |
Sept. 29, 2006 News media contact: Tita Parham*
800-282-8011 tparham@flumc.org Orlando {0554}
NOTE: A headshot of Whitaker is available at http://www.flumc.info/photo_gallery2.shtml.
An e-Review Commentary
By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker
The great scholar Jaroslav Pelikan died recently, and during his funeral Dean John H. Erikson of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary told a story that illustrates what Pelikan meant to many of us. ... A master of several disciplines and 10 languages, Pelikan was one of the most brilliant scholars of the 20th century, but he was also a devout Christian. full story
| A theology of property
| A theology of property |
Nov. 28, 2006 News media contact: Tita Parham*
800-282-8011 tparham@flumc.org Orlando {0580}
NOTE: A headshot of Whitaker is available at http://www.flumc.info/photo_gallery2.shtml.
An e-Review Commentary
By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker
Each district in our conference is beginning to develop a strategic plan for congregational transformation in consultation with the Rev. Dr. Jeff Stiggins, director of the conference’s Office of Congregational Transformation.
Congregational transformation is very difficult because it involves — as the term suggests — change. Yet this change promises joy as well as pain — the joy of reconnecting to our communities with the spirit of adventure of being in mission in the name of Jesus Christ. full story
| The fields of Florida
| The fields of Florida |
Dec. 17, 2006 News media contact: Tita Parham*
800-282-8011 tparham@flumc.org Orlando {0589}
NOTE: A headshot of Whitaker is available at http://www.flumc.info/photo_gallery2.shtml.
An e-Review Commentary
By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker
Between the interstate highways of Florida, out of sight of tourists and many Florida citizens, are vast fields and orchards where much of the produce and fruit eaten by Americans is harvested. This food would not be on our tables were it not for the labor of workers from Mexico, Guatemala and Haiti. full story
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