But Grace Said
By B.J. Funk - Before leaving for a lengthy trip, I drove into the crowded gas station. All of the pumps were filled, so I pulled my car to be second in line. Our cars were facing, head-to-head, because my fuel tank was on the opposite side from hers. No problem. I’ll...
A New Path for The Mission
By Luciano Pereira da Silva - For the sake of context, allow me to describe my own transformation story. I was born in the interior of Brazil. My family was impoverished and dysfunctional, with problems such as violence, alcohol addiction, and illness. As a child I...
The Philosophy Of …
By Elizabeth Glass Turner
Over the past 20 years – and that covers a host of Incredible Hulk and Spiderman movies – many evangelicals have reexamined how we approach popular culture as individuals and as a church. Not that long ago, innumerable conservative ministries held prominent sway in the way we evangelicals thought of modern North American culture (think “Murphy Brown”), issuing tallies of the number of curse words used in certain sitcoms in their household newsletters.
Money Well Spent? The Future of Theological Education
By Thomas A. Lambrecht
Would you pay $149,000 for one seminary graduate? That is what The United Methodist Church did in 2011. According to statistics released in April by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the 13 official United Methodist seminaries received a total of $14,461,705 in Ministerial Education Fund money from our apportionments in 2011 and graduated 337 persons into ordained ministry. That averages out to $42,900 per ordinand.
Missional Leaders for the Church
By Timothy C. Tennent
Demographics don’t lie, you just have to be willing to listen to them. For example, if China has 90 million believers, but the vast majority of those believers are under 30 years old and the United States has 90 million evangelicals and the majority of those are over 50, then there is a demographic story which is gradually unfolding which is not “heard” when one is simply looking at raw statistics of Christian affiliation.
Bishop Stokes, Scholar and Reconciler, Dies
By Heather Hahn
Bishop Mack B. Stokes, who taught thousands of preachers and helped desegregate Mississippi United Methodists, died November 21 in Perdido Key, Florida. He was 100, just a month shy of his 101st birthday. Before his election to the episcopacy, he taught for 31 years at Emory’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, where he was the school’s first Parker Professor of Systemic Theology, associate dean and later acting dean.
Hispanic Church Offers Model of Growth
By Tim Weeks
Epworth United Methodist Church, in Elgin, lllinois, outside of Chicago, looks like a typical suburban church. But on Sunday afternoons, the brick and glass vibrate to an infectious rhythm, as an eight-piece orchestra with drums, bongos and congas pumps out praise music with a Latin beat. Four music leaders sway, sing and pray in Spanish as angelic young ladies twirl banners triumphantly in front of the congregation. Some 130 parishioners are gathered this Sunday, praising Jesus with wide smiles on their faces, many with their hands raised to heaven, like Pastor Ruben Rivera.
Can New Author Fill a Gap for UM Women
By Mary Jacobs
Jen Mulford has had the job of helping choose materials for women’s groups at her church, Providence United Methodist in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, for several years. She opted for books and DVDs featuring Bible study teachers like Beth Moore, Kelly Minter, Jennifer Rothschild, and Priscilla Shirer. All of whom are popular among women’s Bible study groups — but none of whom are United Methodists. That could be changing.
