An assortment of things I’ve read recently that you might find interesting:
A story about my seminary and how it has changed in recent years: A Roadmap for Renewal. The story has these lessons learned about renewal from the story of the seminary that has grown 400 percent in recent years as many other seminaries have been shrinking or struggling.
Clearly, United Theological Seminary not only emphasizes renewal, they model it. In striving for renewal in local churches or the broader denomination, several take-aways can be lifted from the United story.
• United is saturated by prayer.
• United is committed to the historic, orthodox faith and understanding of the scriptures.
• United honors the faith of the saints who have gone before.
• United was desperate for God to do something supernatural. This seems like an essential characteristic in the study of genuine revivals of the past and present.
Speaking of the need for renewal, here are a few things touching on the hot-button story of the week in the UMC.
Two critiques of the recent Connectional Table meeting: AmyDeLong Promoted to Chair of United Methodist Connectional Table and Trust Betrayed — Again.
The blog of Love Prevails, where the group has posted correspondence with United Methodist entities, including the Connectional Table and the General Board of Discipleship. Included on the blog is this statement:
The time for polite persuasion has passed. To ensure discrimination no longer flows uninterrupted, we will protest and disrupt local, national and global events. We will undermine all policies that limit or deny the full participation of LGBTQ United Methodists in the life of the church. Through our media campaign and physical presence, we will stand in the way of business as usual.
John Meunier 
John, I really appreciate your courage (along with others) to post these developments for us. “Somebody’s gotta do it” is not just a cliche; it’s oxygen to a church being buried alive in moral quicksand. Thank you!