Hello, my name is Andrew Thompson.  I hope you enjoy the blog!  Feel free to post comments and weigh in on any topic that I write about.  I read blogs frequently and I like to write for church-related journals and magazines.

If you enjoy genxrising.com, check out my bi-weekly column, “Gen X Rising,” which appears in The United Methodist Reporter.  My column, like this blog, covers issues of faith and the church as they relate to Generation X.  I also write a regular column in Covenant Discipleship Quarterly, a bulletin published by the Office of Accountable Discipleship in Nashville, TN, that helps to promote the ministry of Covenant Discipleship Groups.

Some important events in my life:

I was baptized by the Rev. Bill Connell at my home church, First United Methodist Church, Paragould, AR, on July 25, 1976.  I was confirmed in the same congregation by the Rev. Wayne Johnston on May 17, 1987.

On June 14, 2005, I was ordained by Bishop Charles N. Crutchfield at the Arkansas Annual Conference at Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, AR.

I married the love of my life, Emily, at First United Methodist Church in Jackson, TN, on June 25, 2005.  (We are the proud parents of two housecats, Ruthie and Lulu.)

So as you can see, my Methodist background runs deep!  Since my ordination as an elder in the United Methodist Church, I have served appointments as a chaplain at Lambuth University in Jackson, TN, and as an associate pastor at First United Methodist Church in Searcy, AR.  

My first few years in ministry have been focused on the challenge of evangelism in a post-Christian world, faith formation among young adults, preaching & teaching, and mission work with the Iglesia Metodista in the city of Chincha, Peru.  I am currently combining my academic and pastoral interests to explore issues of Methodist community formation and identity and the Wesleyan doctrine of salvation, in a Th.D. program at Duke Divinity School.