Saint’s Touch
By Steve Beard - Looking across the shades of aqua blue water from the northwest coast of Maui, there are two Hawaiian islands seen in the distance. One is Lanai, once home to the largest pineapple plantation in the world. Today, the island is privately owned by...
What you should know about the 2022 General Conference
By Joseph F. DiPaolo - There’s been lots of speculation about the upcoming General Conference of The United Methodist Church – when it will happen, whether it will happen, what the delegates are likely to do, and what they should do. This is not surprising. Since 1968...
A love letter to small membership churches
By Donald W. Haynes What a thrill to see a feature on the rural church in the July 1 issue of the United Methodist Reporter! An equal thrill at my own annual conference this year was to see something I had never experienced before—an entire evening devoted to a film...
Story behind “Just As I Am”
By Irene Ting-Ting Lai “Just as I Am, Without One Plea” Charlotte Elliott UM Hymnal, No. 357 Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bidst me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. Charlotte Elliott, a Victorian hymn...
Seminary preps pastors for laity’s big questions
By Jason Byassee Like many Methodists with a stake in both the church and the academy, I read the Rev. Sky McCracken’s commentary (in the July 5 Reporter) with more than a little interest. Mr. McCracken offers a damning indictment of the failure of our seminaries to...
Staying connected to college students
By Renee Elder Congregations routinely celebrate college-bound youth with farewell gifts and parties featuring slideshows of pre-school Christmas pageants, high-school mission trips, and almost everything in-between. But youth leaders and pastors who want to extend...
The AFTE Effect: Behind the scenes theological renewal
The AFTE Effect: Behind the scenes theological renewal By Elizabeth Glass Turner and Steve Beard 2011 Richard B. Hays, Dean of Duke Divinity School and George Washington Ivey professor of New Testament. Scott Jones, United Methodist Bishop of the Kansas Area. Wade...
John Stott has died
“The evangelical world has lost one of its greatest spokesmen, and I have lost one of my close personal friends and advisors. I look forward to seeing him again when I go to Heaven.” –Billy Graham
