Oh, Lord, I beg: What do I do? All I can do is love. All I can do is pray. All I can do is try to love instead of fear, to speak out when I’m feeling cowardly. By Jessica Brodie.
Read MoreI hurt, and I should
Posts by Category: Views
This is the category for Advocate editorials and other viewpoints.
What’s Going On
Forty-five years ago, against the advice of his Motown record executives, Marvin Gaye released the song “What’s Going On.” What’s going on is that we can’t breathe. The weight of oppression and injustice is suffocating. By Bishop L. Jonathan Holston.
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My ‘no plan’ challenge
How quickly I started to forget the most important lesson the pandemic taught me: Let go of the steering wheel and let God be the driver. A reflection by Advocate Editor Jessica Brodie.
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Photo by Kathleen Barry, UMNS
All in due time
By Bishop L. Jonathan Holston. Growing up in the Holston household, respect for your elders was the rule. Fear was not exactly what my brother and I had for our father, even though we were scared at times, but it was the awesome power of his presence. He was a yes sir/no sir kind of guy. If he asked you to jump, you asked how high. If he asked you to run, you asked how far. If he asked you to stand, you asked how long.
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Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS
Church leaders speak out after unarmed black man shot in Georgia
As news, photos and other details surface surrounding the shooting death of an unarmed black man, Ahmaud Arbery—a 25-year-old who was jogging near his home in Brunswick, Georgia—United Methodist church…
Read MoreThe switch has been flipped
By the Rev. Angela Halter Marshall Some people may think the pandemic has finally “gotten” to us. They may think being quarantined and the practice of social distancing has taken…
Read MoreThe resurrected Jesus would not support lynching and killing black people
By the Rev. Amiri B. Hooker The solution to revive the social justice teachings of Jesus is not the all-out 2020 lynching of black men and women. Has society gotten…
Read MoreWhen? We must speak out
By Dr. Robin Dease As a seminary student in Washington, D.C., I worked for Marriott Management Services in the George Washington University community. I had the awesome opportunity of catering…
Read MoreSuch beauty
By Jessica Brodie. I’m astounded by the beauty of God’s glory shining across every single page of this month’s newspaper. Take a look and tell me if you don’t agree! On every page, you’ll find examples of regular men and women—and sometimes children!—doing something extraordinary for the Lord, living beyond themselves to spread the Good News or to help others in His name. And all this is happening when many of us are stuck at home, quarantined for the most part because of the coronavirus.
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Church members left uplifting and encouraging chalk messages for their pastors outside Advent UMC, SImpsonville.
Just for today
By Bishop L. Jonathan Holston. The famed Dear Abby advice column offers wisdom wrapped in empathy and practicality. One such insightful column includes ways to have a chance for a fresh start today. There is no need to wait for a new week, a new month, or a new year. We don’t need to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the long term.
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Churches are getting creative in how they reach people in the pandemic. Here, the Rev. Annie Jackson places her sermon in a water bottle for a church member.
Can anything good come out of Nazareth?
These are trying times, to say the least. Our lives are upended, routines are off and many of the plans we thought we had a month ago are now completely and irrevocably gone. Some of us have lost our jobs, our security, our prospects, our health. And yet still: God is good. All the time. Even now. Especially now. A column by Advocate Editor Jessica Brodie.
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Can I get a witness?
May we live out the hope found in the resurrection by continuing to participate in the life of our churches in helpful ways. Here are some suggestions. A column by Bishop L. Jonathan Holston.
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Photo by Kathleen Barry, United Methodist Communications
If God stirs me, God will equip me
On hearing God’s call and how to respond. By Jessica Brodie.
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A United Methodist Communications photo by Kay Panovec.
An encouraging word
Anticipation abounds in uncertain times. We want to know what to expect, what the prognosis will be—and we want to know now. In the face of the unknown, we can find ourselves overcome with fear and helplessness. By Bishop L. Jonathan Holston.
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Photo by Kathleen Barry, UM News
Be at peace, for God has it all under control
God is still the God of the universe—and the head of this denomination. And God has the power and authority to do whatever God wishes—including change our hearts and minds and push through whatever plan God intends, whether this one or another entirely. An editorial by Jessica Brodie.
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Photo by Jim Starr
Not by sight
Followers of Christ are often called to walk by faith and not by sight as we live in the in-between times modeled through Scripture. To walk by faith, not by sight, requires you to go to places God will reveal to you even if they are not familiar and to cling to the dreams God has planted in your heart. A column by Bishop L. Jonathan Holston.
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Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS
2020 vision
But what does “2020 vision” really mean for me as a woman of faith, and what does it mean for The United Methodist Church as we prepare to embark on yet another difficult and tumultuous year? A column by Editor Jessica Brodie.
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Photo by Laurens Glass, United Methodist Communications
Stand in awe
Once again, it is a new year, a time of listing the things we will resolve to do in the coming months. Some of these resolutions will be new, but much of the list contains “carryovers” from years gone by. Maybe the one resolution to make sure is on your list is to live beyond expectations. A column by Bishop Jonathan Holston.
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Photo by Susan Passi-Klaus
Dry bones come to life
We’ve heard the stories time and again: once-thriving country churches whose numbers dwindled as their communities folded, until eventually the churches themselves closed their doors. I picture these country churches as they likely were long ago, bustling with activity and chatter, their doors spilling open after worship with people who’d picnic on church grounds or under a nearby shade tree. But once in a while, I hear stories of the reverse: a small church suddenly flourishing again with new life, filled with people and ministry doing all they can the name of the Lord. A commentary Jessica Brodie.
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A UMNS photo by Kathleen Barry
A habit of hope
Shalom. The Hebrew word for “peace.” Shalom is not the absence of tension, but rather this peace exists in the midst of tension. We sometimes fall into thinking that if we have God’s peace then there will be no tension, no conflict, no issues to face. However, the truth is that God’s peace is present in the midst of all this, despite the circumstances around us. A column by Bishop L. Jonathan Holston.
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A photo illustration by Kathryn Price, United Methodist Communications
