Faith
February 4, 2026
Alabama-West Florida UMC, SMU collaborate to teach local clergy
Clergy from across the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church gathered in Mobile Jan. 26 and 27 for a kickoff event marking the official launch of the conference’s participation in the Certificate in Preaching Excellence program, a nationally recognized continuing education initiative focused on strengthening preaching for experienced pastors.
The two-day event was held at Dauphin Way United Methodist Church and offered in partnership with the Perkins Center for Preaching Excellence at Southern Methodist University Perkins School of Theology.

Weekly Column
August 27, 2025
Most of my friends are considerably younger than me, as in, “I am old enough to be their father” younger than me. Our age difference is not an issue. It is not apparent in our conversations, at least from my perspective. My friends, of course, see what I do not: a white-haired man talking. But it doesn’t seem to matter. Occasionally, however, like a poker player’s tell, I will say something that instantly marks me as from a different generation. Usually, it is me quoting some iconic, funny line from a television show I grew up watching. Not only are my friends unfamiliar with the iconic line, but they usually have never even heard of the television show.










