methodistdisciple

Larry Hollon, General Secretary, United Methodist Communications

United Methodist Communications is well known for advertising programs…they are the architects of the “Open Minds, Open Hearts, Open Doors campaign that we watched on TV for the last several years. But in our opinion, UMCom has outdone themselves this year…this isn’t just an advertising campaign, it is giving all of us in the church the gentle message to reconsider how we are serving God…that perhaps we need to ReThink our approach…that our hands and feet may not be worthy of replacing Jesus’ hands and feet without some changes.

You’ll enjoy meeting Larry Hollon who is the chief architect of UM Communications and learning about the ReThink Church initiative…and you’ll want to learn more by visiting the ReThink Church website by clicking HERE or the UM Communications website by clicking HERE. Of course, you’ll want to listen to the master himself, Larry Hollon, by either clicking the Listen Now Button or downloading the podcast by clicking on one of the buttons to the right.

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Gary Shockley     Kim Shockley    “Imagining Church Book”

As you stand back to dream about what your church could or should be, you will want to read this book by the Shockley’s which will help transport you to some great church dreaming places. “Imagining Church” helps give your dreaming some dimensions…about what could be if we could get away from concentrating on things inside the church. Gary comes from a background of “church start” pastor and is now devoting full-time to Path1, a ministry established by the United Methodist Council of Bishops and charged with helping to establish 600 new United Methodist Churches in the United States within the next 4 years. While not actually starting the churches itself, Path1 helps find the pastors, coaches, and incubator churches to launch the effort. If you want to know about the Shockley’s, visit their blog (Click HERE) and by all means purchase their book “Imaging Church” (Click HERE). To learn more about Path1 Click HERE.

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This week we interview a true Disciple, Risa Maxie, who heads up a branch of Angel Food Ministries which provides low cost quality food to thousands of families in 44 states. Risa operates a distribution facility in Murrieta, California (Riverside County of Southern California). To give you an idea of the value, this special Thanksgiving Dinner is available for $36.00. To learn more about AngelFood Ministries, click here.

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We’ve done some important Podcasts to hopefully give you and your church some ideas about ways to rethink the way your church is functioning in the community. This Podcast will take you to a subject area might struggle with…it deals with the answering the question of why young people are running away from the church in greater numbers than ever before. You will hear things that will make you pause…perhaps things you will not like. However, in the end, I think you will probably agree that the work that David Kinnaman has done with his book “unChristian” hits the Christian community straight between the eyes…I think it is a must read…hopefully, the Podcast, and then the book, will lead you to take action. The book gives you a mirror to see yourself and your church the way young adults view you. To learn more, you’ll want to purchase the book and you can do that by clicking HERE. You can also learn more about the Barna Group that David works for by clicking HERE.

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Mike Slaughter has grown his church from about 100 people when he arrived some 30 years ago to over 5,000 today. He credits three early decisions for the success of the church: 1) Teaching from the Book of Acts; 2) Simplifying the organization structure, and 3) establishing small groups. Since that time, he has done some other wonderful things that will get your attention:

• Ginghamsberg UMC has developed two other smaller campuses to reach different demographic communities. Click HERE to learn about the church, its history, and current activities.
• The church has entered mission in a BIG way…not just in donating money…but in going. About half of the congregation goes on a mission trip once a year!  You can CLICK HERE to learn about the big mission to Darfur (Sudan) and HERE to learn about…and even sign up for… other missions.
• The church has annual teaching events. For instance, in October they are holding a major conference called “Change the World Conference” that deals with serving the poor.  You can learn more about this by CLICKING HERE..

Pastor Mike has certainly shown the Methodist Community what service is all about. We hope you are inspired and motivated to take a chapter from his book of success and mold it into something that fits your own church and ministry.  As Mike points out, Jesus needs our hands and feet walking the path as Methodist Disciples!

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Joe Daniels and his family (Joe is the big guy in the middle)

You’ve got a treat in store. Joe Daniels tells the story of turning around one of Washington DC’s civil war churches. The story has several lessons…

1. Dream BIG Dreams…remember, who your partner in ministry is (God)

2. Pray and have faith.

3. Expect something of your congregation.

4. It doesn’t hurt to have the same pastor for 17 years.

Whether success is measured by moving the church from 50 people to 415,  or whether it is measured by embarking on a multi-million dollar housing project for the poor, you will walk away saying that Joe Daniels is being successful. If you want to know more about this amazing man and the church God is letting him continue to pastor, visit the website by clicking HERE or purchase his book, Begging for REAL Church by clicking HERE.

Remember, by purchasing his book, you are helping to fund the building project called ‘Beacon Center’ as the first million dollars in earnings from the book go to Beacon Center. There he goes again with BIG dreams!

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Pastor Kathleen Ross and Husband Anthony Manousos

We’ve done several disciple stories…but this one is different. It is very personal. This is the love story of Pastor Kathleen Ross who recently went to be with the Lord, and her husband Anthony Manousos. Anthony openly shares the love they shared and the journey that they went through together as Kathleen was diagnosed with cancer. Anthony wants to share his experiences to help others who are facing a similar life and death journey. But the story isn’t sad…it is uplifting. Anthony talks about the ups and downs of the journey as well as the helpful support he got along the way. He talks about the importance of friendship and support and what someone on the journey needs…and does not need. For those of us who love, his story is important for us to hear…because in one way or another, we will someday be in his shoes.

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Bishop James Swanson

As you look out upon your congregation, you may be noticing that the pews are filled more and more with gray haired people…and if you have been reading the statistics, you probably know that the major denominations…United Methodists included…have been on a steady decline in membership for years.

Here is one conference who is doing something about it. The Holston Conference (parts of Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia) has started a youth movement…perhaps in spite of itself. In this podcast, you will hear from the charismatic Bishop James Swanson who is passionate about youth. In 2008, the Hoston Conference ordained a lot of people…11% of them were under the age of 35. As a comparison, the California-Pacific Conference ordained a lot of people in 2008 and none of them were under 35.

So listen to the intentional, methodical, and inspired way that Holston is doing it. Notice, it wasn’t the conference who came up with the idea…and listen for the gentle hand of God inspiring those who lead. In addition to hearing from Bishop Swanson, you will also be treated to Amy Probst whose life changed when she was drank in the spirit of God through what Bishop Swanson calls Resurrection.

On of the things we promised you during the podcast is a way to contact Jason Roe who is willing to help you start learning how to learn from Holston’s experience. You can call Jason at 865-659-8879 or visit his website at www.jcevangelisticministries.com

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John Farley            Jeanette Ham

In the last series of Podcasts, we featured Dr. Randy Maddox talking about the bedrock concepts that John Wesley believed in…one of those concepts is small groups, which is one of the things our modern churches have moved away from. We went hunting for a church that has done an exceptional job of bringing small groups to life in their church. Several people referred us to Pastor John Farley of Foothills UMC in the San Diego suburb of La Mesa. You’ll enjoy hearing about the 3-year old program that now has about 10% of the congregation in small groups. A special treat await you as you will also meet Jeanette Ham who manages the small groups for Foothills as well as Barbara who will give you the perspective of someone in a small group. To learn more about the Foothills small group program, you can CLICK HERE; Jenette also talks about a book they they start each new small group with and you learn more about that book and purchase it HERE.

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Dr. Randy Maddox-Bishop Mary Ann Swenson

For Methodists, this is ‘must-listening’ as Wesley Scholar Dr. Randy Maddox and California-Pacific Conference Bishop Mary Ann Swenson gather around the Methodist Disciple microphone to talk. The subject is what to do about the drifting away from the foundational beliefs of John Wesley. Both Dr. Maddox and the Bishop bring thoughts as to what we are doing now and what additional action we must take to strengthen the churches. If you long for your congregation to grow in faith and Christian Discipleship…to become stronger Methodist Disciples…you’ll not want to miss this powerful podcast.

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