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 and conversation with
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
By Rob Renfroe Will the post-separation United Methodist Church be “the big tent” denomination that centrist pastors and bishops claim it will be? Leading centrists tell us that there will always be a place for traditionalists. The beliefs of conservatives will be respected and valued, we’re told. Some centrists will
By Jack Jackson June 21, 2022 | UM News Since June 9, much has been made of the vote by Florida Conference clergy to reject a slate of 16 candidates recommended for provisional membership, an important step toward becoming an ordained elder or deacon. Blame, both within the conference and
By Walter B. Fenton When The United Methodist Church’s Commission on General Conference postponed the 2020 General Conference for the third time, theologically conservative local churches wanting to exit the denomination were forced to set their sights on their annual conference gatherings to gain some sense of how they might leave
Hosted by the Rev. Rob Renfroe The United Methodist Church is Divided and Dividing – the theological and spiritual issues surrounding the division within the denomination. Our Differences Regarding the Bible – how divergent views about the Bible creates division within The United Methodist Church. Our Differences Regarding Jesus –
By Scott McDermott Learning how to pray when our life is hurting is one of the most important lessons we can ever learn in life, yet so few of us have been taught just how to do it. Personal pain is a part of everyone’s experience. As Jesus teaches, the
By Kenneth Tanner Our closest galactic neighbor, Andromeda, is 2.5 million light-years away. She dwarfs our galaxy and contains a trillion stars. The energy that fuels all those stars and has kept them in a spiral for 13 billion years is measurable, but who has the instruments or the time?