Of Borrowed Lawnmowers and United Methodist Clergy Status
Of Borrowed Lawnmowers and United Methodist Clergy Status By Bob Phillips – A man went to his neighbor’s house and asked to borrow his lawnmower. The neighbor said no. The man politely asked why, since it was sitting unused in the garage. The neighbor replied, “Well,...
Dust on the Emmaus Road
Dust on the Emmaus Road By B.J. Funk – Two followers of Jesus are walking from Jerusalem on the road to Emmaus, engrossed in conversation (Luke 24). Jesus has been resurrected just this morning. He walks up behind them and initiates the conversation. “What are you...
Commentary: Now Is the Moment to Debunk the Evangelical Takeover Myth
By Elizabeth Glass Turner - “What we are facing is a classic Evangelical Takeover. We are the Southern Baptist Church, 30 years later. Those behind the Evangelical takeover are well funded, well-organized, and have no interest in taking prisoners.” Those who raise an...
Why the “local option” is not the answer
By Rob Renfroe - Recently a progressive United Methodist pastor said to me, “I don’t understand why you can’t accept the local option. It lets pastors who want to marry gay couples do so. But it doesn’t compel people like you to perform such ceremonies. It allows...
Big Picture Status of United Methodism – Part III (Europe/Asia)
By Thomas Lambrecht- Over the last several weeks of Perspective, I have been surveying the growth and decline of United Methodism around the globe. The statistical report is available here. The big picture is that most of Methodism around the globe is in decline, with...
What the Bishops’ Meeting Means
By Thomas Lambrecht- Social media is all abuzz in the aftermath of the Council of Bishops meeting that ended Wednesday. The special four-day meeting was called to enable further discussion of the Commission on a Way Forward report - updating and refining two of the...
Good News counters Bishop Lewis’s false statement
In the interest of accuracy, Good News wishes to briefly respond to a false allegation by retired Bishop William Lewis against our ministry in a story filed by Cynthia Astle on her website UM-Insight. The February 27 story includes the following unsubstantiated...
Remembering Billy Graham
By C. Chappell Temple - As he sat in the front across from us, you would never have known he was in pain. For he not only took the time to answer all of our questions, he had questions for us as well, wanting to know how we were doing in the school which he had helped...
Big Picture Status of United Methodism (Part 2 )
By Thomas Lambrecht- In last week's edition of Perspective, I began to survey the growth and decline of United Methodism around the globe. The big picture is that most of Methodism around the globe is in decline, with the exception of certain regions in Africa. Last...
Billy Graham, Good News, and United Methodism
Wherever he went around the globe, Billy Graham spent his life preaching a message of God’s love for all people, the essential need to repent, and the assurance that Jesus Christ walks with believers in the brightest and darkest of times. Over his illustrious...
Big Picture Status of United Methodism (Part 1 – Africa)
By Thomas Lambrecht- We are called Methodists for a reason. John Wesley was very methodical in his approach to discipleship (the means of grace, the General Rules) and revival. He always insisted that small groups be formed of those who responded to his preaching. He...
A Secular Religion: The Challenge We Face
By Tom Lambrecht- A recent article in the journal First Things by Mary Eberstadt entitled The Zealous Faith of Secularism makes the case that the challenge we face in the United States and the Western World is one of competing faiths or competing ideologies....
