Sinking Sand: Why I am leaving United Methodism
By Mindy Dennison I was about 5 years old, sitting next to my mother in church when we came to the place in the service where we say the Lord’s Prayer. My mother looked down at me, a little taken aback, when I joined in the liturgy. I heard those familiar words...
An Unintentional Irish Pilgrimage
An Unintentional Irish Pilgrimage By Steve Beard September/October 2022 Of the more than 5,000 artifacts displayed floor-to-ceiling at The Little Museum of Dublin, few are more intriguing than a broken stained glass panel of Saint Brendan (484-577) hanging in a...
After the Reformation
By Justus Hunter- I once read through the first 30 years of Christianity Today. My professor wanted to know how evangelicals were thinking about Roman Catholicism. In the basement of the library, I huddled over microfilm, back aching, inhaling mold and dust, and...
Searching for Graceland
By Steve Beard- Forty years after his tragic death, Elvis Presley remains the legendary performer that, as Bob Dylan put it, “crash landed from a burning star onto American soil.” Amazingly, he still enjoys unparalleled worldwide popularity. In August, more...
Hope in South Sudan
By Reed Hoppe- How do you find hope in a place like South Sudan? Dr. Sharon Fogleman, a missionary to South Sudan with TMS Global, asked this question when she addressed our staff one morning. As Christians, we often talk about having our hope in Christ. Yet when your...
God’s Story of You
By B.J. Funk- My daddy never liked that my friends minimized my double name into initials. Until he went to heaven at the age of 87, he called me Betty Jo unless, since I was the baby, he affectionately called me Baby Jo. He often put me on his knee and told me the...
The Man Came Around: RIP Johnny Cash
By Steve Beard “We’ve seen the secret things revealed by God/ And we heard what the angels had to say/ Should you go first, or if you follow me/ Will you meet me in Heaven someday?” Johnny Cash wrote those lyrics many years ago for his wife, June Carter. The song is...
Local UM Churches Respond to Harvey and Prepare for Irma
By Walter B. Fenton Local United Methodist churches across the country have rushed to support people trying to get back on their feet after the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. And they are already preparing to assist those in the path of Hurricane Irma. Along the...
