Killing Stone to Baptismal Font
Killing Stone to Baptismal Font By Steve Beard Remarkably, after 45 seasons CBS’s “Survivor” is still a certifiable television hit. Millions of viewers tune in to watch the travails of contestants in a Robinson Crusoe-style tropical setting. Coral reefs, whitecapped...
Turmoil After General Conference
Turmoil After General Conference By Thomas Lambrecht The actions of the 2024 General Conference are reverberating around the church. Right now, they are mostly reverberating around Africa. Some African bishops have yet to return home, but members are hearing reports...
What the Regionalization Agenda Tells Us about the Future of the UMC, Part 1
What the Regionalization Agenda Tells Us about the Future of the UMC, Part 1 -- By Thomas Lambrecht -- In a recent article, Mainstream UMC (a centrist advocacy group within The United Methodist Church) outlines the case for the regionalization of the church. They...
Surf City Disaffiliation or Eviction?
Surf City Disaffiliation or Eviction? -- The Los Angeles Times recently published a comprehensive 2,000 word piece about the excessively costly disaffiliation process for traditionalist United Methodist congregations in Southern California. It is worth reading...
Engaging an African Bishop
Engaging an African Bishop -- By Thomas Lambrecht -- A recent commentary by Bishop Mande Muyombo (North Katanga Area in the Congo Central Conference) sets forth his understanding of where things are and where things are headed for The United Methodist Church in...
Methodist Heritage Archive: Brother Stanley
Methodist Heritage: Brother Stanley -- By Edmund Robb III -- Good News Archive, July-August 1976 -- TIME magazine, Oct. 20, 1948: “A grand old man among U.S. missionaries is a rugged Methodist preacher named Eli Stanley Jones. Baltimore-born Missionary Jones went to...
The Best and Worst of Disaffiliation
The Best and Worst of Disaffiliation -- By Thomas Lambrecht -- As we reach the end of the regular annual conference season, the prospect of over 20 percent of United Methodist congregations disaffiliating from the denomination has aroused varying responses, from...
John Wesley Birthday Reader
John Wesley Birthday Reader -- John Wesley's birthday is a bit unusual. While the great evangelist and founder of Methodism was born on June 17, 1703, according to the Julian Calendar in use at the time. Midway through his life (in 1752), however, Britain shifted to...
