Finding Fearlessness
By Jonathan Razon - Martin Luther changed the course of human history in 1521 when he was twice brought before the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and was told he must take back all of his teachings. As we all know, Luther refused to recant. “Unless I am convinced by...
Called Into His Mission
By Timothy Tennent - Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me....
Jesus delivers
By Liza Kittle "I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears…This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles." —Psalm 34:4,6 As I write these words, my 18-year-old daughter Frances is walking to her...
Excerpt: Three crucial demands
Three Crucial Demands What follows is excerpted from Bishop Gerald Kennedy’s Episcopal Address to the 1964 General Conference of The Methodist Church. As Methodists, we are now confronted by three crucial demands. First: the coming of the Holy Spirit in power...
It’s more than demographics
By George Mitrovich In the past 50 years, while the U.S. population grew by 127 million, mainline churches lost more than five million members—led by United Methodists, who lost more than three million. The math is incontrovertible and undeniable: While America...
A west coast lament
A West Coast Lament By Steve Beard, 2010 -- There was good reason that Bishop Gerald Kennedy of Los Angeles presented the Episcopal Address at the 1964 General Conference of the Methodist Church. “Kennedy is unquestionably among the four or five most dazzling...
The laity and revival
By Heather Hahn -- The United Methodist Church can experience revival by returning to the spiritual practices of Methodism’s early years, say two scholars leading an effort to develop passionate lay leaders. In joining the mainline establishment, the church jettisoned...
Friendship with God
By Christopher L. Heuertz and Christine D. Pohl -- “Go...and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” —Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus’...
