Paul Cogger, Director of Cal-Pac Camps

Do you remember camping? Did you have one of those life changing experiences at Church Camp or have a child who went to camp and came back a changed person? Well if you are interested in learning more about Methodist Camping, you’ll want to hear the Podcast featuring Paul Cogger who has been involved in camping for over 30 years and now heads up the Cal-Pac Camping Ministry. Paul talks about the nuts and bolts of the camps, the lives he has seen changed over the years as well as giving listeners an update on the fire damage to our camps in the wake of the Station Fire.

Paul also brings along another camping disciple in the person of Bob Rhodes who adds some personal experiences. You probably have some experience as well and perhaps this will, at the same time, help you remember how God worked on you at camp as well as whet your appetite for a camping experience with your your church family. To learn more about Cal-Pac Camps, you can click HERE to go to the Cal-Pac Camping Website.

Larry Hollon, General Secretary           Mark Barden

United Methodist Communications     Director of Communications, N.C. Conference

Well, if you are trying to figure out how to put together a mission project in your Cluster, District, or Conference, you will want to listen to this Podcast. Larry Hollon is the General Secretary of the United Methodist Communications and has he got a deal for you! Larry is joined by Mark Barden of the North Carolina Conference and they both will give you great ideas on how you can put ReThink Church to work. The program is called “Impact Community”. More information is found by clicking this LINK.

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.

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.

• 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!

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!

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.

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

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.

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.

Dr. Randy Maddox

Last week, we were all treated to a short course in John Wesley’s foundational beliefs. There is no one better to learn from than Dr. Maddox, who is one of America’s top experts on both John and Charles Wesley from his position as Professor of Theology and Methodist Studies.  You’ll be glad to hear that Dr. Maddox has a wonderful way of explaining all this in a way that helps us really understand. So as we walk down that educational path with Dr. Maddox, you might be drawn to ask why the church seems to have drifted away from those concepts…and that is exactly where Tom’s questions are directed.  And such a discussion couldn’t be left without asking the obvious question as to what we should do to correct the course.  Next week, we’ll tackle that question as Dr. Maddox will be joined by one of the movers and shakers in our denomination, Mary Ann Swenson, Bishop of the California-Pacific Conference, for a frank and honest discussion of where the path leads from here.  You won’t want to miss it!

Dr. Randy Maddox

Today begins a new series of programs with Dr. Randy Maddox teaches at Duke University Divinity School where he is the William Kellon Quick Professor of Theology and Methodist Studies and the Director of the Doctor of Theology Program.  In this, the first of three programs, you’ll hear Dr. Maddox talk about the foundational concepts that shaped John Wesley’s theology. In the next program, Tom will ask Dr. Maddox what caused the United Methodist Denomination to drift away from John Wesley’s ideas and the last program will tackle the issue of what should be done about it. The programs are topical and very important discussion starters for the United Methodistdenomination, if not the mainline protestant churches in general. Dr. Maddox has written extensively on the subject of John and Charles Wesley. In the podcast, I promised to give some links for those who were interested in learning more. First of all, there are the series of four white papers that Dr. Maddox wrote that were used as background information for this program:

Download United Methodist Way (.PDF)                    Download Change of Affections (.PDF)               Download shaping the Virtuous Heart                 Download Wesley’s Prescriptions

You can also purchase some of Dr. Maddox’s books on John and Charles Wesley by Clicking HERE.

Bau Dang              A page from the New Testament in Vietnamese

The story you are about to hear is a story about a disciple…but be sure to catch the passion. This story has been developing over the past 16 years and has now resulted in BOTH the old and new testaments having been translated into the Vietnamese language. The New Testament Bible has already been printed and 25,000 copies have been distributed to the people in Vietnam. The Old Testament has been translated, is currently being edited, and will soon be ready for printing. The printing of the entire Bible (old and new testaments) is estimated to be about $5.00 each…with a goal of printing 100,000 Bibles, the printing cost will be a huge undertaking. Anyone wishing to help can mail checks to the Riverside District Office, 4845 Brockton Avenue, Riverside, CA 92506.

Carl Gerber- a true discple for Jesus Christ

You are about to meet a real disciple for Jesus Christ…Carl Gerber found his way back to the church after many years. He came back because he listened to the soft voice of Jesus talking to him, encouraging him, reasoning with him. And now that he is back, he is on fire for Jesus…listening carefully to messages he hears and carefuly following directions. Carl goes many places that most Christians would be uncomfortable with, but he goes because he listens. There are some important lessons here for all of us as Carl sets an example for us…

Dr. Larry Hygh, Cal-Pac Dir. of Communications

In the Cal-Pac Conference, when you think of communications, you think of Dr. Larry Hygh. Larry has been chasing the emerging communications ball for the conference for the last seven years…and every time he gets it nailed down, the rules change all over again. As you found at Conference this year, paper communications is old school. The new communication tools are the World-Wide Web, Podcasts, FaceBook and Twitter. If you find yourself swimming upstream, listen in and Larry will show you ways to catch up. Larry invites you to ask him questions on Facebook (you will need to sign up for a free Facebook account at Facebook.com, then search for Larry Hygh and add him as a friend) or Twitter (similarly, you will need a free account, then search for Larry Hygh, follow him, and ask your question)…You will be able to get your question answered while at the same time being introduced to this new social networking medium…

Bishop Swensen releases Dove at St. Paul “Peace Pole” Ceremony

In this Podcast program, we’ve brought you several examples of church revitalization that has taken place by using some great revitalization idea. This program is a bit of a new twist as we bring you a church that wakes up to find itself in a neighborhood different than it used to be and a congregation that is graying and tired. You’ll catch the excitement in the voice of Don Leiffer, a Lay person who happens to head up Worship at St. Paul United Methodist Church in San Bernardino, CA, as we walks you through how his church found new life by becoming a Covenant Church with Lincoln Elementary School. This story of revitalization is in the ‘birthing’ stage, but if the early enthusiasm continues, we’ll be able to report a success not only for St. Paul, but for the people of San Bernardino as well. Don talks about the Peace Pole that started the whole idea moving; HERE is the story from the Press-Enterprise Newspaper he mentioned.

Ralph and Pat Hogan

You probably know Pat Hogan from the work she does with the Lay Speakers for not only Riverside District, but also at the Cal-Pac Conference. What you might not know is that God has led her to be in ministry with the families of people who are in prison. The ministry is called Kairos Outside and you will hear Pat’s passion for helping those people work through their issues. Ralph is also back to discuss how Kairos Outside integrates into the Kairos program itself. To learn more about Kairos, you can go to their website at http://www.kairosprisonministry.org. Ralph also wants you to be able to contact him directly at ralphhogan2@msn.com or call him at     951-769-2917  .

Ralph Hogan

God has a plan for every one of us and he endows us with the gifts to get the job done. Ralph Hogan was issued a very special set of gifts from God that enables him to breathe life into hardened criminals in prison. Ralph heads up the Kairos Ministry in the State of California. In this broadcast he tells you not only about the gift of hope and love that he gives them, but of the gift of hope and love he gets back from them. You see, Ralph sees his ministry as a two-way street where trust is given and received. To learn more about Kairos, you can go to their website at http://www.kairosprisonministry.org. Ralph also wants you to be able to contact him directly at ralphhogan2@msn.com or call him at    951-769-2917 .