Custer Road UMC

• This 12-session course will be held on Tuesdays from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. beginning on August 28, 2018, This class is $15, is held in room B17 and will be led by David Paul and Rev Dr. Kory Knott.  Registration Closed – class is FULL.   Disciple Fast Track, an adaptation of the original, bestselling Disciple Bible Study, provides a viable option for busy people seeking comprehensive engagement over time with the entire biblical text. This 12-week study immerses the participant in the Old Testament. Participants read a manageable 3-5 chapters of the Bible daily in preparation for the weekly meetings.  A brief, illustrated review video enables participants to recall important facts and ideas; lively and engaging video presenters then offer insights into the current week’s session.

The Rev. Dr. Kory Knott was appointed as Sr. Pastor to Custer Road UMC on July 1, 2013.  Prior to coming to Custer Road, Kory served as Senior Pastor of Argyle UMC where the church grew from 80 to 1200 members during his tenure.  Prior to stepping into a senior pastor role, Kory served as youth, college and singles minister at Highland Park UMC in Dallas where he launched their contemporary Cornerstone worship service. He has also served in youth ministry at First UMC Rowlett and was a youth intern at King’s Way UMC in Springfield, MO.  Kory and wife Jennifer have been married for 15 years and have three children: daughter, Taylor, and sons, Zachary and Reed. Jennifer works as a lawyer in Dallas.

DAVID PAUL has facilitated several Bible studies here at Custer Road UMC since 2004, but his passion is for the DISCIPLE series. Several of his former students have gone to serve the church beyond the classroom including the current director of adult ministries, a pastor, and several lay leaders. David currently serves on the Nominating and Leadership Committee and the Adult Discipleship Committee.

• This four-session course will be held on Sundays from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. beginning on September 9, 2018.  This class is $9.00, is held in room B2 and will be led by Tiffanny Hosey.  Register HERE.    We all pray . . . some. We pray to stay sober, centered, or solvent. When the lump is deemed malignant. When the money runs out. When the marriage is falling apart. But wouldn’t we like to pray . . . more? Better? Stronger? With more fire, faith, and fervency?  In this four-session video-based study bestselling author Max Lucado reveals his struggles with prayer and how he discovered that it is not a privilege for the pious or the art of a chosen few but a simple tool everyone has been given to have a conversation with God. He shows you how to let go of uncertainties about prayer, trust that God hears you, and embrace a prayer life that brings peace and rest.   Join Max Lucado on a journey to the very heart of biblical prayer and the power unleashed with five simple sentences: “Father, you are good. I need help. They need help. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Tiffanny Hosey serves Custer Road UMC as Director of Care & Prayer Ministry. During a difficult personal struggle, she experienced firsthand how God meets our needs when we come to Him in prayer.  She is passionate about helping others grow closer to God and learn the power of prayer to transform the lives of each of us.

• This seven-session course will be held on Sundays from 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. beginning on September 16, 2018.  This class is $10, is held in room B6 and will be led by Jerry Lee Butler.  Register HERE. In Short Stories by Jesus, Professor and author Dr. Amy-Jill Levine takes readers back in time to understand how original Jewish audiences understood the parables of Jesus. Levine reveals the parables’ connections to first-century economic and agricultural life, social customs and morality, Jewish scriptures and Roman culture. With this revitalized understanding, she interprets these moving stories for the contemporary reader, showing how the parables are not just about Jesus but are also about us–and when read rightly, still challenge and provoke us two thousand years later.
  • Dr. Amy-Jill Levine is University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies, Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies, and Professor of New Testament Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and College of Arts and Science; she is also Affiliated Professor, Centre for the Study of Jewish-Christian Relations, Cambridge UK.  Holding the B.A. from Smith College, and the M.A. and Ph.D. from Duke University, she has honorary doctorates from the University of Richmond, the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, the University of South Carolina-Upstate, Drury University, Christian Theological Seminary, and Franklin College.   Professor Levine is a member of Congregation Sherith Israel, an Orthodox Synagogue in Nashville, although she is often quite unorthodox.

JERRY BUTLER serves as Director of Adult Ministry at Custer Road UMC and was recently appointed as Sr. Pastor for Cottage Hill UMC  & Chambersville UMC.  Jerry is passionate about Church history, Wesleyan Studies, Inter-Faith Relationships and discussing how we can actively live out our Faith in the world.   Jerry received a Bachelors of Business Administration and an M.B.A. with a focus on market research in from LeTourneau University and is currently working on a Masters of Divinity at Perkins School of Theology, SMU.

• This 13-session course will be held on Tuesdays from 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon.  beginning on August 28, 2018.  This class is FREE of charge, is held in room B5 and will be led by Gene Oldham.  Register HERE.  The general epistles of James along with 1 & 2 Peter offer pragmatic prescriptions for understanding and living out the truth of Gospel message.  James writes as a pastor to instruct and encourage his dispersed people in the face of great difficulties.  Peter’s letters encourage a steadfast and watchful faith displaying hope and assurance found only in God’s Grace.   During the course of this study, participants will explore profound truths and be challenged to grow and enrich their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

GENE OLDHAM has been a member at CRUMC since 1990. He is also an active member of the Positive Thinkers Sunday School class along with his wife Linda. Over the years, Gene has served as a small group leader for several Bible Studies and Sunday School classes. Gene is a gifted teacher that brings a passion for Scripture and a wealth of Biblical knowledge to any class he leads.

• This seven-session course will be held on Wednesdays from 11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. beginning on September 12, 2018.   This class is $13, is held in room B4 and will be led by Merrigale Allen.  Register Here.   The world has always been full of trials, disappointments, temptations, fractured friendships, and financial hardships. Yet Paul’s letter to the Philippians claims we can discover contentment and joy in the midst of it all by prioritizing what matters most—Christ.  Over seven sessions, study the ever-relevant Letter of Philippians to deepen your relationship with Jesus, turn your worries into worship, and develop gospel-centered tools for navigating relational conflict and thriving in Christian love.

Merrigale Allen has been a member of CRUMC and Chancel Choir since 2008. Having led many Bible Study groups, Merrigale is a devoted student of Scripture and a gifted teacher.

• This course will be held on Wednesdays from 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. beginning on August 29, 2018.   This class is held in room B6 and will be led by Tim Pullen and Rev. George Lynch.  Register Here.  Only by keeping the end in mind can a person truly learn how to live in the here and now. Living in light of our death reorients us to our limitations as creatures and helps us see God’s good gifts right in front of us-enabling us to live wisely, freely, and generously. Drawing on wisdom from the book of Ecclesiastes, David Gibson teaches us to embrace this countercultural mind-set and live life backward: to take the one thing in the future that is certain-our death-and work backward when it comes to our priorities, goals, desires, and decisions. If we do this, we’ll learn that only with a proper perspective on death can we find meaning and satisfaction in life–and see just how great God is.

Rev. George Lynch is a retired United Methodist elder and a gifted minister and teacher.  Rev. Lynch is a member of the Jubilee Sunday School class.  

Tim Pullen is the Executive Administrator at Custer Road UMC working with all major church committees.