“Majesty” and Jack Hayford’s Heart of Worship
By Steve Beard Over the last 40 years, one of the most popular and memorable modern day hymns is “Majesty, Worship His Majesty” written by Jack Hayford. Congregations from all denominations around the globe have sung it with reverence and gusto. It is included in The...
Distrust Locks Down North Georgia Conference
By Rob Renfroe -- On December 28, 2022, the exiting bishop of the North Georgia Annual Conference and her appointive cabinet sent a very clear message to the churches, pastors, and laypersons of that conference. The message was: We don’t trust you. I initially chose...
New Episcopal Assignments
United Methodist News Service After electing 13 new bishops during their November 2-5 meetings, the United Methodism’s five U.S. jurisdictional conferences announced episcopal assignments effective January 1. Jurisdictional leaders recommended electing 14 new bishops;...
24 / 7 Prayer
By Terry Teykl -- Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing” or “pray continually.” This verse has inspired so many over the years to set a goal of unceasing prayer – individually and as a team, like tag-team prayer. It has head waters in the upper room...
Medieval Illuminiation
By Steve Beard -- Dublin was still rubbing sleep from its eyes. It was the crack of dawn. Well, not literally – it just seemed that way. The sidewalks along historic statue-lined O’Connell Street were largely empty as I paced toward Trinity College on the south side...
Can These Bones Live?
By Kimberly Constant -- Ezekiel stood, looking out across a valley filled with bones that stretched as far as he could see. Bones that were brittle. Bleached by the relentless sun and worn down by the ravages of time. Bones which represented the once proud nation of...
Bishop Mark Webb Joins Global Methodist Church
By Walter Fenton, Global Methodist Church - United Methodist Bishop Mark J. Webb, the former leader of the UM Church’s Upper New York Episcopal Area, has resigned from the episcopacy and withdrawn from the denomination. Webb has joined the Global Methodist...
A Momentous Year
By Thomas Lambrecht It is hard to wrap our minds around how things have changed in The United Methodist Church over the past year. Last January, we were looking forward to a General Conference meeting in August 2022. The Protocol of Grace and Reconciliation through...
Considering Methodist Options
By Thomas Lambrecht By the end of this year (2022), about 2,000 local churches will have disaffiliated from The United Methodist Church. Hundreds more will do so next year. Where will they end up? A few will remain as independent Methodist churches. The vast majority...
Why Disaffiliating Churches Should Not Be Charged for Their Property
By Charles L. Harrell The Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference (BWC) is one of those conferences that Good News and the Wesleyan Covenant Association has identified as imposing egregious terms on disaffiliating local churches, particularly the levy of 50 percent of...
Charting a New Direction for the UMC (Part II)
By Thomas Lambrecht With the recent election of thirteen new bishops, the active Council of Bishops will be made up of one-third new members on January 1, 2023. As such, they will play a powerful role in setting the direction of The United Methodist Church into the...
Charting a New Direction for the UMC (Part 1)
By Thomas Lambrecht -- With the recent election of thirteen new bishops, the active Council of Bishops will be made up of one-third new members on January 1, 2023. As such, they will play a powerful role in setting the direction of The United Methodist Church into the...
