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...
Commentary: Florida Conference board caused the harm
By Jack Jackson June 21, 2022 | UM News Since June 9, much has been made of the vote by Florida Conference clergy to reject a slate of 16 candidates recommended for provisional membership, an important step toward becoming an ordained elder or deacon. Blame, both...
Working hard to be better
By Carolyn Moore June 17, 2022 Back before our denomination was actively pursuing the Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace through Separation, a clergyman emailed asking me to share honestly about my experience as a woman connected with the Wesleyan Covenant...
Progressives and Centrists repudiate Protocol
By Thomas Lambrecht June 10, 2022 In a statement issued this week, progressive and centrist leaders have withdrawn their support for the Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace through Separation. The Protocol was negotiated by a mediation team of progressives,...
Finding an exodus
By Thomas Lambrecht June 3, 2022 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...
A Bishop Says Goodbye to The United Methodist Church
Firebrand Magazine: May 1, 2022, was the official launch of the Global Methodist Church. This begins a season of transition for many pastors and churches. UMC Bishop Mike Lowry has stated that, effective on that date, he withdrew from the UMC Council of Bishops to...
Lloyd Lunceford Church Trust Law Webinar
Do United Methodist congregations own their buildings? What is a trust? Can the United Methodist trust be revoked? Is there a legal process for disaffiliating from the UM Church separate from what is in the Book of Discipline? When might it make sense to use the legal...
Our Very Human God
By Kenneth Tanner Our closest galactic neighbor, Andromeda, is 2.5 million light-years away. She dwarfs our galaxy and contains a trillion stars. The energy that fuels all those stars and has kept them in a spiral for 13 billion years is measurable, but who has the...
How Prayer Helps a Hurting Heart
By Scott McDermott Learning how to pray when our life is hurting is one of the most important lessons we can ever learn in life, yet so few of us have been taught just how to do it. Personal pain is a part of everyone’s experience. As Jesus teaches, the storms of life...
Iconic brushstrokes from Ukraine
By Steve Beard As I watched the evening news during the haunting first few weeks of the scorched-earth invasion of Ukraine, I could not help but see Kateryna Shadrina’s vibrant image of the Madonna and Child superimposed over the video footage on television of mothers...
Lenten Underground
By Steve Beard It was standing-room-only for the noon Ash Wednesday service at my local church. Ushers were pulling folding chairs out of a closet and people were sitting in the hallway outside the sanctuary. Parishioners were literally standing against the back and...
