Geography of Witness
Julia Foote and the Geography of Witness By Elizabeth Glass Turner - 2021 - What do you know of Zanesville, Ohio? History buffs might enjoy its distinct Y-shaped bridge or explore its history as part of the Underground Railroad or recall it for its well-known river...
The Challenge of the Sabbath
By Nako Kellum - Shortly after I bought my first smart phone, I was at Disney World with my family for vacation. When I was standing in line for “It’s a Small World,” I received a text from work, and without thinking, I answered it immediately. Then, a thought came...
Reviving DeMille: Bible on Screen
She captured America’s heart every week as the divine messenger with the lilting and soothing Irish accent on Touched by an Angel. He is the creative genius behind Survivor, The Apprentice, and The Voice. Together, Roma Downey and Mark Burnett are one of Hollywood’s most uniquely equipped married power couples. Beginning March 3, you will be able to catch their latest ambitious venture on the History Channel. The Bible is a fabulously scripted five-part docudrama produced by Downey and Burnett after a 4 month location shoot in Morocco.
Rethink Christmas – Two books call for making the most of the holiday
By Sam Hodges Hamilton and Slaughter sounds like a law firm one wouldn’t want to mess with, but those are in fact the last names of two well-known United Methodist megachurch pastors. They are good friends and close collaborators on efforts to renew the UMC. And, as...
Why Religious Freedom Must Be A Top Priority
By Peter Marshall Many human rights are neglected, but religious freedom is often strikingly so. The late Abe Rosenthal, looking back over five decades working at the New York Times, wrote: "I realized that in decades of reporting, writing or assigning stories on...
What we wish the Bishops would have said
By Rob Renfroe, President and Publisher of Good News
For the first time, the United Methodist Council of Bishops has issued a collective statement that all of its members “will uphold the Book of Discipline as established by General Conference,” regarding the various issues related to homosexuality.
The statement was the direct result of a letter sent by 59 leading pastors to all active bishops, asking the Council to address the then 900 pastors who had pledged to perform gay marriages, contrary to the Discipline.
Round 2 of “Extraordinary Ordinations”
By Thomas A. Lambrecht
Three years after the United Methodist Council of Bishops declared that ordinations conducted by Church Within A Church (CWAC) have “no official status,” two more ceremonies resembling ordination rites were conducted by CWAC on October 23 at St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Tucson, Arizona.
Baptismal vows and spiritual warfare
By Shane Raynor
You can learn a lot from reading just one sentence. Consider the first of the United Methodist baptismal vows: “Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?”
