Recommended reading: Unfinished Business of a Worldwide Nature

In this recent post on fellow United Methodist blog UM Insight, Rev. Dr. Darryl W. Stephens writes about the decision to make the Methodist Protestant Church of Cote d'Ivoire an Annual Conference of the UMC. He describes this change as a merger, though he acknowledges that it is usually described as an acquisition. Stephens then contrasts this merger of 2008 with the Methodist Church/EUB merger of 1968 and finds that the 2008 merger was done without any of the forethought of the '68 merger, aggravating lingering questions about global polity in the church. It's a good and provocative piece and recommended reading in advance of General Conference this year.