Being Church In a War Zone
By Bob Kaylor Driving through the countryside of the Normandy region of France feels a bit like entering the world of an animated Walt Disney film. The green fields, bushy hedgerows, lolling cows, and medieval-period stone houses, churches, and barns call to mind many...
God In Our Secret Moments
By B.J. Funk - “It is always just possible that Jesus Christ meant what he said when he told us to seek the secret place and to close the door,” C.S. Lewis observed in God in the Dock. In the Beatitudes, Jesus said, “And when you pray, you are not to be like the...
When blind eyes see
By B.J. Funk My daddy often quoted Longfellow’s phrase, “Into each life some rain must fall. Some days must be dark and dreary.” Darkness is a scary thing. When we were small, we thought that boogie bears and goblins inhabited the dark. When we grew up, we knew for...
Mexico: Ministry amid the drug wars
By Reed Hoppe The presence of drug cartels has plagued Mexico for decades. March 2010 saw a dramatic rise in the number of violent deaths in Mexico as two of the largest drug cartels declared war on one another. More than 22,700 people have been killed since President...
Giving a talk is the easy part…
By Duffy Robbins The hard part is getting them to give you a listen! It’s that time of year when youthworkers and Sunday school teachers are heading into a new school year, praying, brainstorming, dreaming, stressing, and panicking about how they will make biblical...
Church AIDS work makes a difference
By Linda Bloom In rural Zimbabwe, there is not much relief—physically or emotionally—for those dying from the complications of HIV/AIDS. But, by training nurses at United Methodist-related Mutambara Hospital and other hospitals, as well as educating volunteer...
Mission fields expand across the globe
By Elliott Wright In today’s world, Christian mission flows in all directions. The rapid growth of African, Asian, and Latin American missionaries, and the evolution of Western Europe into a mission field, are two of the major changes that have occurred in the hundred...
United Methodists discover renewal at Aldersgate
By Frank Billman “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendents.” —Isaiah 44:3 Based on the above promise from God, the theme for Aldersgate 2010 was...
