Revisiting The Character of a Methodist
By David F. Watson - In his influential tract “The Character of a Methodist,” John Wesley describes the kind of person he hopes God will produce through the Methodist movement. True Christianity, according to Wesley, consists not simply in belief or good works, ...
Train Up a Child
By Shannon Vowell - Jesus is crazy about kids. He talks the talk: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). “Whoever welcomes one of these little...
Theological Renewal, The AFTE Effect
Albert Outler and Ed Robb were vexed over the theological trends in the seminaries preparing United Methodist preachers and professors. They wanted something substantial and transformative that would provide long-term change. What they agreed upon was AFTE, a program designed to raise up a new generation of leaders.
Editorial: In Pursuit of Truth
What the world’s religions teach about spiritual reality is so different from what Jesus revealed to be true about God and his plan of salvation that compassion compels us to proclaim the Gospel in hopes that all persons will come to know it. For it is the truth that sets us free—not religion; not wrong beliefs about God even if they are sincerely held; and certainly not the condemnation of faithful witnesses and martyrs in the past who spoke the truth when it would have been much easier to deny the uniqueness of Christ and his claim to be Lord—just as it is today.
Small Church, Big Mission
No task is too big for God! Or so it seems to the members of a relatively small congregation in rural south-central Pennsylvania. Almost 10 years ago the lives of Lucas and Limi Ndaro intersected with the people of Cornwall United Methodist Church. Lucas came to nearby Evangelical Theological Seminary on a scholarship to seek his Master of Divinity degree. Soon after he arrived, he was invited to attend Cornwall church, and the congregation welcomed him as family. They soon agreed to help bring Lucas’ wife Limi and their two sons to the U.S. and adopted the family as missionaries to Tanzania.
Carolyn Elias receives Ed Robb Award
The Good News board of directors presented its eighth annual Edmund W. Robb, Jr. United Methodist Renewal Award to Mrs. Carolyn Elias at its fall meeting in early November. The award, named after long-time Good News board member and renewal leader, Dr. Ed Robb, is...
Wesley and Apologetics
United Methodists working for renewal have a new ally in the fight against doctrinal amnesia and the ever present pull of the post-Christian cultural tide. Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, recently launched their new Master of Arts concentration in Apologetics. Classes began in the fall of 2010.
Too Bland for Our Own Good
Jon Stewart got a big laugh recently on “The Daily Show” when he said the United Methodist Church “is like the University of Phoenix of religions”—inferring that being a United Methodist is as easy as getting an online diploma. In other words, you don’t have to show up in person. You don’t have to work very hard at it. And as long as you pay your dues, you stay in good standing.
