by Steve Beard | Jan 22, 2017 | Uncategorized
Professor Thomas C. Oden was the prime agitator to the agony and ecstasy of my seminary experience. It was wading through 1,400 pages of his three volume systematic text books that introduced me to his dear friends Athanasius, Basil, John Chrysostom, Gregory...
by Steve Beard | Nov 22, 2016 | Uncategorized
During the first hour of its launch event in Chicago on October 7, leaders of the Wesleyan Covenant Association (WCA) were scrambling to find more chairs to accommodate the standing-room-only gathering, as well as swaying and clapping to the enthusiastic and impromptu...
by Steve Beard | Sep 22, 2016 | Uncategorized
“For 60 minutes I sat in my own personal agony, watching this guy, who was probably only ever going to come to church once. I could viscerally sense him being pushed further and further away from the God that he was interested in, albeit mildly.” That was one of the...
by Steve Beard | Jul 22, 2016 | Uncategorized
When moviegoers were first introduced to Kurt Wagner more than a dozen years ago in the blockbuster film X2: X-Men United, he was darting through a legion of hapless Secret Service officers at the White House. At first glance, he appeared as a fierce blue...
by Steve Beard | Jul 22, 2016 | Uncategorized
“Jacques, you were a faithful disciple of Jesus.” If he were given the opportunity to overhear the proceedings at his own funeral, these are the words that Father Jacques Hamel would have been most pleased to hear. They were said with a mixture of solemnity, sorrow,...
by Steve Beard | May 8, 2016 | Uncategorized
“The United Methodist Church is at a crossroads,” Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa told the more than 500 assembled for the African Worship Service on Pentecost Sunday at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. Nhiwatiwa welcomed the international congregation and made it...