The Purpose of Pods
By B.J. Funk There are some decisions we should never make. Like the decision to get in God’s way, especially when it comes to our children. We are sure God did not mean to place our child in that difficult situation. We are sure we must help him or her get out of...
Church Planting for Effective Evangelism
By Bishop Joao Carlos Lopes I have been a bishop in the Brazilian Methodist Church for 25 years. After a few years in the episcopal office, I realized that our churches were stagnant. Not many people were joining the church by profession of faith. After much prayer...
For the Love of Widows and Orphans
By Courtney Lott- What would you spend your entire life savings on? Would you buy a house? That car you always wanted? The flow of our money generally reveals where our hearts, our passions, our desires lie. It’s an easy thing to hold onto, like a security blanket, or...
Thomas Oden’s Remarkable Reversal
By James V. Heidinger II- We can learn much from the remarkable theological journey of the late Professor Thomas C. Oden, who taught for more than 30 years as a professor of theology and ethics at the theology school at Drew University. Dr. Oden, a longtime colleague...
A Peek Behind the Curtain
By Courtney Lott- “I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry...
Compassion’s Ouster in India
By Shannon Vowell- Did you know that Methodism has been in India for a long time? I didn’t. For me – for many – the Methodist Church and the country of India intersect only in the work of the illustrious E. Stanley Jones, 20th century Methodist missionary giant and...
Seeing Like a Missionary
By Ruth Burgner- Those of us in the missionary community get to hear stories of extraordinary fruitfulness. For example, a TMS Global missionary family serving for the past 16 years in Peru recently reported that more than 8,200 people in 13 states in Peru are being...
Sinking Sand
By B.J. Funk- The ways of the world have an alluring effect, even to those who are dedicated to Christ. As our church sang jubilantly, “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand,” my thoughts moved to the times I have foolishly chosen the...



