Get Religion is a national and global journalism site focusing on how the mainstream press covers religion news in politics, entertainment, business and sports.
Gosh, did everybody see that wave of coverage of the United Methodist Church’s recent General Conference, the one in which evangelicals won two very important victories — moving in precisely the opposite direction as the course taken by the Episcopal Church?
When you are dealing with a really talented report, one who really knows how to listen and tell the stories of real people, religion can show up in the most unusual and touching places.
While it may surprise GetReligion readers who reside in some parts of the United States, there are thousands of evangelical Christians — millions, globally — who worship in United Methodist pews week after week. That is certainly true down in the Southeastern corner of the Sunbelt, where there seems to be a United Methodist congregation in every small town and in almost every zip code.
Several months ago, your Religionistas created a feature called “Got news?” Ever since, we have been trying to explain to people what this slugline does and does not mean.
In all my years on the Godbeat, I have never covered a vague “religious festival.” All of the one’s that I have covered — especially when linked to ancient traditions in Christianity, Judaism, Islam and other major faiths — have very precise titles, rituals and purposes.
I think I am going to have to create a GetReligion list of “Big Ideas,” the concepts that drive what we do here. These two ideas would certainly be near the top, “Words have meaning” and “Ideas have consequences.”
So what do you think of when you hear or read the word “evangelist”? Perhaps it would be better to frame the question this way: “Who do you think of when hear or read the word ‘evangelist’?”
If you are a college sports fan of any kind, then you already know about Tim Tebow, the muscular Christian who plays quarterback for the University of Florida Gators. He’s already won the Heisman Trophy and two national titles and now he’s back again as a senior, trying to build on that amazing foundation.
