Market Square Publishing, publisher of books by United Methodist authors, has acquired United Methodist Insight, a 15-year-old online news-and-views journal covering The United Methodist Church.
The transition was announced Aug. 13 by Insight editor and founder Cynthia B. Astle and Market Square Publisher Kevin Slimp. Astle also is a frequent contributor to BNG, most often writing about the UMC for a broader audience.
Cynthia Astle
“Kevin and I have been working since January on a transition plan for Insight,” said Astle. “I’m thrilled that he approached me about the possibility of transferring Insight to Market Square when we went on hiatus in December 2025. He’s already assembling a terrific team of folks to take Insight to the next level.”
Slimp said his idea to take over UM Insight came from conversations with fellow readers who agreed the United Methodist Church needs an independent publication to document its journey into a new era.
“I’ve had three primary careers,” Slimp said. “I spent 15 years working in local UMC congregations and on the staff of Holston Conference. I spent more than 20 years as a journalist — writing for and publishing several newspapers and other publications — and consultant to newspapers and magazines internationally. I’ve spent the past 10 years as a publisher of books by United Methodists. It seems all three of those careers have led me to this place.”
Astle founded United Methodist Insight in December 2011 as a media channel to amplify news and views of marginalized and underserved United Methodists in advance of the 2012 General Conference. The online publication began with sponsorship from her congregation, St. Stephen United Methodist Church in Mesquite, Texas, and a $25,000 grant from the Joe B. and Louise P. Cook Foundation of Temple, Texas.
“When the Boston Wesleyan Association suspended The Progressive Christian magazine (formerly known as Zion’s Herald), my friend Barbara Wendland, a BWA director, called to ask what I was going to do for a job,” Astle recalled. “When I told her I had no idea, she asked what I would do if I could, and I immediately responded I’d start a news website so people outside institutional Methodism could voice their views prior to General Conference.”
Originally, she thought the website would be a six-months’-long project, Astle said. Instead, it proved so popular with readers that she was convinced to carry forward on a shoestring budget using the skills she gained from 50 years as a professional journalist who successfully transitioned from print to online journalism. In the 15 years since its founding, Insight has become a recognized leader in independent religion journalism, drawing regular content from renowned scholars, church leaders and other faith experts.
Kevin Slimp
At the height of its publication, Insight counted more than 10,000 subscribers to its weekly e-newsletter and more than 1 million monthly views of its website. Since the 2019 and 2024 General Conferences effectively split the denomination, newsletter subscriptions dwindled as readers departed the UMC or lost interest in church matters. Website visits have remained steady according to Google Analytics.
Compounding the situation, Astle’s health and that of her husband, John, declined, particularly with John’s cancer diagnosis in 2024 after they returned from General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. Astle put the publication on hiatus for two weeks in December 2025, then resumed in January 2026 after Slimp’s invitation to consider a transition.
Slimp said he and his team are excited about assuming publishing United Methodist Insight.
“We have already received commitments from 14 new columnists, all well-known to United Methodist audiences. Our plan is to grow the publication, while keeping everything readers have come to expect. I’ve learned that Cynthia and I have similar visions for United Methodist Insight, which makes the process much smoother. We’re already making plans for additions to make United Methodist Insight a must-read publication for both clergy and laity in the church.”
Astle said she was grateful to Slimp and pleased at the transfer, if dismayed by the need for a sudden departure.
“Like becoming the first woman editor of the late United Methodist Reporter newspaper in 2000, producing United Methodist Insight has been a high point of my career,” Astle said. “I will be forever grateful to Barbara Wendland and the leaders of St. Stephen UMC for their confidence and support. I think we’ve done a good job of publishing a media channel open to news and views often overlooked by mainstream media, and I’m gratified that Kevin and his team will take over and improve the publication.”