By Frank Decker
The good news of Jesus is that wherever he is sought, he will be found. Whether it is among those huddled around a fire in Asia or amid persons neatly seated in a beautiful sanctuary; he comes to occupy the willing heart.

By Barbara Dunlap-Berg
While the United Methodist Church’s U.S. membership has continued to shrink, its growth elsewhere in the world has put it over the 12 million-member mark for the first time, newly released statistics show. The church’s membership in Africa, Europe, and Asia grew from 3.5 million to 4.4 million in the five years ending in 2009, according to the United Methodist Council on Finance and Administration.

In early February 2011, a group of retired United Methodist bishops issued “A Statement of Counsel to the Church—2011” in which they called upon The United Methodist Church to remove statements in ¶ 304.3 of The Book of Discipline that declare “The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching” and instruct that “self-avowed practicing [...]

By Rob Renfroe
Thirty-six retired United Methodist bishops have now signed on to a public statement calling for the denomination to drop its belief that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. Furthermore, they have called for the ordination and appointment of self-avowed, practicing homosexuals. Well, it doesn’t happen often but I don’t know how to respond the statement from the retired bishops. My problem has to do with where to begin.

By Heather Hahn

A call by a group of retired bishops to end the United Methodist Church’s ban on homosexual clergy has prompted varied reactions from church leaders.

By Duffy Robbins
One of the questions I’m often asked with regards to youth Bible studies or Sunday night youth group messages is: “How should we decide what to teach?”

By Liza Kittle
The 2009 local church statistics* from the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) are in. United Methodist Women (UMW) lost 45,151 individual members and 488 local units in one year. The annual membership loss in UMW reflects a pattern that has taken place for several decades, but much more significantly in the past several years. Since 2006, UMW has lost over 72,000 members and over 1,200 local units.

By Steve Seamands
In the American church and in our culture in general, we are so accustomed to seeing crosses on church buildings or in sanctuaries, wearing them on chains, or carrying them in processions that it’s virtually impossible for us to grasp the utter horror that the very mention of crucifixion provoked in the Ancient World. “Do you sell gold crosses?” a customer inquired in the jewelry section of a Denver, Colorado, department store. “What kind would you like?” asked the clerk, as she pulled out one of the trays, “A plain one or one that has the little man on it?” For most of us, the cross is an endearing, often sentimental, religious symbol that evokes positive feelings.