Distinctions, Differences, and a Methodist Future
By Thomas Lambrecht - What will the proposed new Global Methodist Church look like? How will it operate? In what ways will it be different from what we have been accustomed to in The United Methodist Church? These questions weigh on the minds of people who are...
Walking with the Saints
By Maxie Dunnam - Many decades ago, I became intensely interested in the great devotional classics and the collected wisdom of the saints who came before us. Upper Room Ministries had published a collection of little booklets – selections from people whose writings...
Lessons on Leadership for Church Leaders
By Vicki Brown
District superintendents and directors of connectional ministries—working collaboratively with church pastors and lay leaders—can lead the adaptive change necessary for the United Methodist Church to have a future with hope, the Rev. Jorge Acevedo told 81 new district superintendents and seven directors of connectional ministries attending a training in early September.
Aldersgate becomes a Place of Spiritual Refuge
By Frank Billman
“Aldersgate has become a city of refuge for me, a place where I can come and I can magnify and praise the Lord—a place where you are stripped of all titles…and you can just enjoy the goodness of the Lord,” Bishop James Swanson of the Holston Annual Conference told participants at Aldersgate 2011. “The Council [of Bishops] has not assigned me to Aldersgate. The Holy Spirit assigned me here. I come of my own volition as I have become a regular attendee.”
News: Worldwide persecution of Christians on the Rise
By Kristin Rudolph
Christians continue to top the list among the most persecuted religious groups in the world. According to The Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life’s recent report, “Rising Restrictions on Religion,” threats to Christians and religious freedom around the world are rising. The report found that nearly two thirds (59 percent) of the world’s population lives under high government restrictions on religion, and almost half (48 percent) live in areas with high religiously motivated social hostilities. Because some of the world’s most populous countries also have the highest religious restrictions, only about 20 percent of the world’s countries have high religious restrictions and hostilities.
News: UM Pastors write Open Letter to Council of Bishops
Fifty-nine pastors of prominent United Methodist churches from across the United States have written an open letter to the denomination’s bishops in regard to ministerial colleagues who have pledged to perform same-sex weddings, despite the church’s prohibition against such ceremonies.
Making Disciples in Peru
By Reed Hoppe
Arthur and Mary Alice Ivey are Mission Society missionaries who have served in Huancayo, Peru since 2001. Arthur graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in civil engineering. He worked as an engineer for many years while he felt a growing call to serve cross-culturally. Mary Alice graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in early childhood education and taught school for several years. The Iveys participated in short-term mission trips for 13 years while praying about moving overseas.
The Wonder of Delivery
By Duffy Robbins
I’ve never given birth to a child.
But, I know something about the birthing process.
