Conservative UMC publication Good News magazine gets new life
Good News magazine, a theologically conservative publication that was active in United Methodist Church politics for decades before announcing earlier this year that it was closing, is being revived.
The Institute on Religion & Democracy will keep Good News magazine operating as part of a program known as the John Wesley Institute, according to IRD President Mark Tooley.
“We suggested to Good News that JWI continue the magazine. The board of Good News unanimously approved the idea at their October meeting with great relief,” Tooley told The Christian Post on Tuesday. “Nobody wanted the magazine to close, after 57 years.”
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The JWI will officially take over the magazine on New Year’s Day, Tooley added, with the publication set to focus more on “the wider pan-Wesleyan community” rather than the UMC.
“Steve Beard, editor since 1991, will continue but from his home in California. Good News is shutting its office outside Houston,” Tooley added. “Steve worked at IRD prior to Good News, so he knows us well.”
In August, Good News President Rob Renfroe and Vice President Thomas Lambrecht issued a joint statement announcing that the magazine was closing down after operating since 1967.
Renfroe and Lambrecht said they both transferred their membership to the Global Methodist Church, a theologically conservative denomination launched in 2022 as an alternative to the UMC.
Although crediting Good News with helping thousands of congregations leave the UMC due to its theologically progressive direction, the two former UMC pastors spoke well of their former church.
“We are immensely thankful for the lives and ministries God has given us and for the opportunities provided to us by the UM Church,” Renfroe and Lambrecht added. “It was the UM Church that recognized our gifts, affirmed our calling, and allowed us to serve its congregations.”
“Welcoming us with open arms over 40 years ago may be a decision some within the UM Church have come to lament. But we are grateful for a church that made a place for us to be in ministry, to do the work of God, and to fulfill his calling on our lives.”
JWI Director Ryan Danker told CP on Tuesday that when he heard about the magazine shutting down, “I was saddened to think that the magazine, a great formational resource for the Methodist faithful, would cease to be published.”
Danker noted that the new version of the magazine “will be completely focused on formation and catechesis,” in keeping with the mission of the JWI to be “a hub for scholars and church leaders committed to producing teaching materials, videos, and holding conferences all intended to equip the laity.”
“I’m excited that we’re able to build upon the great work of Good News and continue the publication of the magazine as a resource for Wesleyan faithful of all stripes,” Danker said.
“As with everything the JWI undertakes, our focus is the good news of Jesus Christ and the wholeness that he has promised us in this life and the magazine will be yet another avenue to share that message.”
