The Young Adult Methodist Connection
By Elizabeth Fink Would you believe me if I told you that from the age of 18 to the present, I have had at least 13 different addresses and attended eight different churches? I think it is safe to say that I had good reason to refer to myself as a nomad during my...
Sinking Sand: Why I am leaving United Methodism
By Mindy Dennison I was about 5 years old, sitting next to my mother in church when we came to the place in the service where we say the Lord’s Prayer. My mother looked down at me, a little taken aback, when I joined in the liturgy. I heard those familiar words...
An Unintentional Irish Pilgrimage
By Steve Beard Of the more than 5,000 artifacts displayed floor-to-ceiling at The Little Museum of Dublin, few are more intriguing than a broken stained glass panel of Saint Brendan (484-577) hanging in a window. The scene portrays the beloved Irish holy man in a boat...
A few hard questions
By Rob Renfroe I don’t understand those in The United Methodist Church who call themselves “centrists.” I have listened carefully to their claims, but the more I listen, the more questions I have. First question: Do centrists actually believe that truth is...
The Heavens Declare
By David Wilkinson The first images from the James Webb Telescope were astonishing. A patch of the universe showing objects from which the light started its journey over 13 billion years ago and the distorted shapes of galaxies whose light had been magnified by the...
Is the Protocol Doomed?
By Thomas Lambrecht For nearly the last ten years, Good News has advocated for an amicable separation in The United Methodist Church. Following the 2012 General Conference, it became apparent that the different understandings of Methodism could not continue together...
Why I am a Wesleyan
By Kevin M. Watson Almost all of my writing for the church and the academy has focused in one way or another on the Wesleyan theological tradition. From time to time I am asked: Why are you Wesleyan? When I was in seminary, I remember experiencing some shock at the...
Unveiling the Psalms
By Kimberly Constant The book of Psalms stands at the heart of Scripture as a unique offering in the biblical canon. Whereas the other books of the Bible contain the divinely inspired words of human beings written for the benefit of other human beings, Israel’s...
Temples of the Holy
By Shannon Vowell Many of us picture God the Father based on artistic representation or a beloved earthly father. Our ideas about Jesus can take their cues from Scripture’s description of him. But how do we understand/visualize God the Holy Spirit? Since Pentecost,...
River of Prayer
By Terry Teykl “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them” (John 7:37). For many years, I have taught about the parallels between rivers and aspects of prayer. For...
Ministry of Reconciliation
By Jenifer Jones The northern European country of Estonia is bordered to the west by the Baltic Sea, and to the east by Russia. In the last several months, thousands of Ukrainians have either passed through on their way to other places in Europe, or temporarily...
Sitting Inside Loneliness
By B.J. Funk The Beatles released a song in 1966 that spoke of loneliness: Ah, look at all the lonely people/ Where do they all come from?/ All the lonely people/ Where do they all belong? Are you plagued with periods of loneliness? Do you feel sometimes that you...
