Afresh:New Ways of Being Church

Bishop Ken Carter is our Bishop here in the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. He has been a advocate of Fresh Expressions for years and has inspiried many clergy and laity to dream of new ways of being church. This month you get to hear from him and some of the hopes he has for the role Fresh Expressions will play in the life of the church in the years ahead.  Here are links to a couple of Bishop Carter's books on Fresh Expressions: Beginners Guide to Practicing Scriptural Imagination Fresh Expressions: A New Kind of Methodist Church For People Not In Church

Meet Rev. Charles DiRico, pastor of Thrift UMC in Charlotte, NC, which has been home of several different Fresh Expressions. Patrick and Charles have a conversation on the importance of listening to your context and how you might do that, no matter where you are.

What makes a good leader? What does it mean to have authentic leadership? How can we help cultivate lay leadership? In this episode of Afresh District Superintendent Laura Auten shares her leadership journey and things she has learned along the way. 

This episode is a celebration of rural churches. I interview Rev. Chris Smith who has started a Fresh Expression and is currently working on two Fresh Expressions in his very rural setting. He has some great tips and pieces of wisdom to share, as well as some brainstorming around the kinds of Fresh Expressions that could be started in rural settings. 

Those in recovery often have a hard time with traditional church settings because of the stigma around addictions and shame and a number of other things. Fresh Expressions offers a great opportunity to be a place of authentic community for those who are seeking healing from their brokenness. Listen to this rich conversation about the fruit that can come from being in ministry with those in recovery through Fresh Expressions.

Luke Edwards, Director of Church Development for the Western NC Conference of the UMC, just came out wit ha new book, Becoming Church, which is a trail guide on how to start a Fresh Expression. Listen as we talk about his book. 

Rev. Kelly Sharder interviews Dr. Jay Moon, professor of Evangelism and Church Planting at Asbury Theological Seminary on the Scriptural support for the Fresh Expressions movement. 

Caitlin, a pastor serving a rural NC community, shares her story of starting two Fresh Expressions in context, and how context is important when discerning what kind of Fresh Expression you start. 

Meet the hosts of "Afresh: A New Way of Being Church", a podcast about Fresh Expressions in the Uwharrie District and Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. Hear from those who are living out new ways of being and doing Church and learn from them.