Podcasts about ordained ministry

308: 3 Keys to Building a Dynamic Nonprofit Team (Chris Jenkins)SUMMARYThis episode is brought to you by our friends at Armstrong McGuire & Associates. Check them out for your next career opportunity OR for help finding an interim executive or your next leader.What makes or breaks a nonprofit team? In episode #308 of Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership, Chris Jenkins shares how he has built a thriving organization by prioritizing trust, mission alignment, and strategic leadership. Discover why micromanagement is one of the biggest threats to team dynamics and how empowering staff with autonomy leads to stronger results. Learn how to foster a culture of accountability, encourage team-driven decision-making, and create an evaluation process that ensures long-term success. This conversation dives into the importance of hiring people who challenge your perspective, how to balance visionary leadership with structured planning, and why succession planning starts long before a leadership transition.ABOUT CHRISChris Jenkins is the Founder of Hope Restorations Inc. which he started in February of 2015. Hope Restorations is a non-profit social enterprise striving to help adults recover from addiction and/or incarceration by providing honest, paid, dignified employment. The program uses the daily work environment to build relationships and trust as the foundation to help each individual identify and overcome their own unique barriers to success. The work involves acquiring and renovating deteriorating, eyesore properties in the community to provide affordable housing for low-income families. Chris served in the US Navy and then managed privately owned manufacturing operations before opening his own auto repair shop. In 2004, he began answering a calling into formal ministry. He holds a Bachelor's in Occupational Education from Eastern New Mexico University and has completed the Course of Study for Ordained Ministry in the United Methodist Church at Duke Divinity School. He's an ASE Certified Master Auto Technician, an NC General Contractor, and a USCG Licensed Captain.EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESReady for your next leadership opportunity? Visit our partners at Armstrong McGuireWatch Chris's story here!Start with Why by Simon SinekHave you gotten Patton's book

Nugget of Hope: Each generation has more in common than we realize. As time passes, each generation within a family often brings life full circle. Brent Olson has lived on a small farm in Big Stone County, on the edge of the prairie in western Minnesota, for 64 of his 66 years. As a working journalist, Brent has filed articles from 20 countries on six continents. This has led him to want to change the world he lives in through his work as a county commissioner and create a new world in his two recent novels, "Angr" and "Between the Helpless and the Darkness." In this time of news and information tailored so everyone can hear only what they want to hear, he presents information that will leave everyone just a little unsettled. Working with a warm heart and a cold eye, he dissects what works from what doesn't in our individual lives, institutions, and country. He has served on dozens of boards and committees—as varied as the Big Stone County Pork Producers, and the Minnesota United Methodist Board of Ordained Ministry. As a short-order cook at his very own Inadvertent Café, he has learned to make fluffy scrambled eggs and the best omelets on Main Street in Clinton, Minnesota (Population 453). Olson is a Big Stone County Commissioner and a 2012 Bush Foundation Fellow. === Who I am When someone offers me help, my instinctive response is to say, “No, thanks; I can do anything.” This has gotten me in a lot of trouble over the years. I still say it. I once shot myself in the hand with a rifle while preparing for a Norwegian-Philippine-French Independence Day Celebration. One of my books was in Pete Seeger's bathroom. I once took a group of other people's children to stay in the ghetto of a developing nation where our bodyguard was a thirteen-year-old girl named Lauri. I don't own a wristwatch, but I'm always on time. I know all of “Silver Tongued Devil” by Kris Kristofferson. Of the ten most dangerous jobs in America I've dabbled in six. I once harvested 235 acres of soybeans in 17 1/2 hours. It snowed that night, and the next morning, before I put on my shoes, I had three cups of coffee. I know what Henry the V probably really said at Agincourt was, “Let's get ‘em boys,” but Shakespeare's version always makes me cry. I can castrate 30-pound pigs by myself, 40 seconds per pig. I have an email on file from a person who drove three hundred miles to have coffee with me and said that meeting me had been on his bucket list. I have a letter in my file cabinet that reads, in part, “I've completely lost all respect for you as an elected official and as a human being.” I once drank all the whiskey with a world-famous poet and told a story that my wife hates me to tell because she doesn't like people to know what I'm capable of. When I was done, the poet laughed and said, “That's a poem.” I've buried four dogs. I love my family. I can cope. Substack: https://brentolson.substack.com/ Amazon: https://amzn.to/47kngjF Find out more about your host, Kim Lengling www.kimlenglingauthor.com

Today is day 142 and we are studying The Sacrament of Ordination. 142. What are the three ordained ministries in the Anglican Church? The three orders are bishops, priests, and deacons, which we have received from Scripture and the historic Church. (Acts 6:1–7; 1 Timothy 3:1; 5:17–22; 2 Timothy 4:5; Titus 1:5; Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Trallians 2.1–3; 3.1–2) We will conclude today with Prayer 13. For Vocations to Ordained Ministry on page 650 of the Book of Common Prayer (2019). If you would like to buy or download To Be a Christian, head to anglicanchurch.net/catechism. Produced by Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Madison, MS. Original music from Matthew Clark. Daily collects and Psalms are taken from Book of Common Prayer (2019), created by the Anglican Church in North America and published by the Anglican Liturgical Press. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Catechism readings are taken from To Be a Christian - An Anglican Catechism Approved Edition, copyright © 2020 by The Anglican Church in North America by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Join Rev. Dr. Jonathan Page and Rev. Lindsey Baynham Freeman as they discuss the Legislative Committee on Ordained Ministry. In the months leading up to General Conference, Virginia delegates engage in conversation about each Legislative Committee and what they expect and hope for with the upcoming conference.

Rev. Emrie Smith Rogers is currently serving as minister of Tusculum Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee. She grew up in Westborough, Massachusetts with a passion for missions and fluency in the Spanish language. Emrie came to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church by God's leading through many unforeseen circumstances including her thwarted attempts to run away from God's call. In the Cumberland Presbyterian Church she has found purpose, mentors, and opportunities to serve God. Emrie and her husband, Matt, met during COVID and now live in the South Nashville area with their adorable collie and trouble-making cat.Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue. Source:  https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Pierce_Murphy/through-the-olive-branches/caldera-blueComments: http://freemusicarchive.org/Additional comments:  modifications made to shorten and loop song for introduction and closing of podcast.Copyright Attribution and License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The scriptures this morning are from Jeremiah 29:4-11, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-15, and John 15:1-12 We welcome the Reverend Fred Dearing as our guest preacher this morning. Fred is a retired Elder in the Holston Annual Conference serving both large and small churches. He has served as a District Superintendent in Holston (including the former Chattanooga District) and in South Sudan. He has served as the chair of the Conference Mission Team, the Board of Ordained Ministry, and as Dean of

Today is day 142 and we are studying The Sacrament of Ordination. 142. What are the three ordained ministries in the Anglican Church? The three orders are bishops, priests, and deacons, which we have received from Scripture and the historic Church. (Acts 6:1–7; 1 Timothy 3:1; 5:17–22; 2 Timothy 4:5; Titus 1:5; Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Trallians 2.1–3; 3.1–2) We will conclude today with Prayer 13. For Vocations to Ordained Ministry on page 650 of the Book of Common Prayer (2019). If you would like to buy or download To Be a Christian, head to anglicanchurch.net/catechism. Produced by Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Madison, MS. Original music from Matthew Clark. Daily collects and Psalms are taken from Book of Common Prayer (2019), created by the Anglican Church in North America and published by the Anglican Liturgical Press. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Catechism readings are taken from To Be a Christian - An Anglican Catechism Approved Edition, copyright © 2020 by The Anglican Church in North America by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

209: Looking for Leadership as a Nonprofit Funder (Robb Webb)SUMMARYDoes your nonprofit embody the leadership qualities for which major funders are looking? Nonprofit leaders who are best prepared when applying for grant funding can save themselves precious time and set their organization up for success if they seek to understand what philanthropic leaders are evaluating. But how do you know what funders are actually looking for? In episode #209 of Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership, Robb Webb, Director of Rural Church at The Duke Endowment, shares how they address community needs and what they're looking for when considering funding. We examine what Robb identifies as three key topics funders look for; budget and financial help, community need, and distributed leadership. As a nonprofit leader himself, Robb shares his 70/20/10 framework for managing teams and setting attainable goals.    ABOUT ROBBRobb Webb serves as Director of the Rural Church program area of The Duke Endowment. Webb joined the Endowment in January 2006 as a program officer after serving as a management consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers and Healthcare Resource Associates. He is a member of the Board of Visitors for Duke Divinity School and the Parish Ministry Fund. He serves on advisory boards for the National Fund for Sacred Places, the Center for Environmental Farming Systems and the North Carolina Council of Churches. He is also consulting faculty at Duke Divinity School, teaching a class on leadership in the rural church. Webb holds degrees from Davidson College and Duke University and is an ordained deacon in the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. He has served the Western North Carolina Conference on the Board of Ordained Ministry and as vice-chair of the Council on Campus Ministry. Through the Rural Church Division of the Endowment, Webb has engaged in North Carolina food initiatives such as hunger relief through rural United Methodist churches, community partnership development through Come to the Table (with RAFI), and most recently, the development of the World Food Policy Center at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy. He believes churches can serve as catalysts in their communities, contributing to human, community and economic advancement.EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESThe Opposable Mind: How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking by Roger L. MartinLearn more about The Duke Endowment and Robb hereCheck out Patton's book Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership: Seven Keys to Advancing Your Career in the Philanthropic Sector

Bishop Kenneth H. Carter, Jr. will be at Davidson UMC on Sunday, November 13 for all three services. His sermon, The Peaceable Kingdom will be the text from Isaiah.Bishop Carter is the resident bishop of the Western North Carolina Conference. He earned degrees from Columbus College, Duke Divinity School, the University of Virginia, and Princeton Theological Seminary. He has served as president of the Council of Bishops, a  moderator of the Commission on a Way Forward, the chair of the Board of Ordained Ministry and the Committee on Episcopacy, and as a conference delegate. He is the author of 18 books. He was a local church pastor for 28 years and has preached in 20 countries on 4 continents. Bishop Carter's hope for the church is that she will rediscover an orthodox Christian faith that offers the radically inclusive grace of God to all people and that calls every follower of Jesus to inner holiness, missional compassion, justice rooted in the gospel, and a hopeful story of transformation.  

Hey y'all, I told y'all I would be letting y'all know about some exciting personal news and why that caused this Season (Season 6 of the Pastor Brian Podcast) to be delayed. I've written the Board of Ordained Ministry of the Indiana Annual Conference and General Superintendent Trimble, and spoken with my District Superintendents in Indiana and here in Northern Illinois— and (in compliance with ¶353.1 and ¶353.2a of The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church 2016) I'm prayerfully requesting a Voluntary Leave of Absence for Personal Leave to begin in the new appointment year of July 2023 . . . . . . As the Jones family we will still be at Gary, we are not leaving. This is where God has called us and where we can live out our call to proclaim the gospel so other's may know Christ's salvation. It is our family's Church home and we love it here and most of all we love God— the one who we have completely trusted and led us here. In many ways it will be much like it was when we first came to Gary Church in 2010, we will attend, but I will be on pastoral leave and have no pastoral duties, except now, I won't have four little ones running around, they are big, but still running around in Gary Youth! I am not giving up my orders or being a pastor. Simply, pastoring will not be my regular 9 to 5 job . . . just like many of you in your walk with Christ Jesus. I will continue my podcast ministry (producing the Gary Church Podcast and the Pastor Brian Podcast) as I feel that is something God has laid upon my heart continue and enlarge. So no worries, no more interruptions or delays with this season of Pastor Brian Podcast. I'm looking forward to what the future holds here! Most of all, I hope to live out the simple truth that God's call of making disciples of Jesus Christ is constant, but it does not always look the same. I want to show that to my children, to you, and live it out with you as well. Thank you . . . you are loved by me!The music you hear is "We're On Our Way" by Purple Planet Music and licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Today my friend, podcaster, coach, speaker and author Rev Sarah Heath returns to Poema! In this episode we catch up with what she's been up to, and she shares the story of how she chose to leave working in ordained ministry to create a life which was truly her own, and becoming fully embodied in her vocation and her life.  Sarah talks about the challenges of moving out of ordained ministry, and the risks, the difficulties - and the rewards, of choosing to live fully in tune with ourselves. Sarah also shares how these choices have been influenced by, and have themselves impacted her own spiritual journey. Sarah's story is  a great example of what it means for us create our own lives and tell our story our own way, and how this can transform us.

The Reverend Doctor Kevin R. Murriel serves as the senior pastor of Cascade United Methodist Church, a multi-site ministry that includes campuses in midtown and southwest Atlanta, Georgia. He received his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Jackson State University, his Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology, and his Doctor of Ministry from Duke University. An insightful preacher, avid reader, and social activist, Dr. Murriel's research focuses on translating the methods of the Civil Rights Movement into a modern strategy for social justice. In 2018, he was appointed by Dean Jan Love as Assistant Professor in the Practice of Practical Theology and Director of the Black Methodist Seminarian's Program at Emory University's Candler School of Theology. Dr. Murriel is a community leader and faithfully serves on several boards which include, the Andrew and Walter Young Family YMCA, the North Georgia Board of Ordained Ministry, Murphy–Harpst, The Foundation for Wesley Woods, and The Joseph and Evelyn Lowery Institute. Dr. Murriel is a member of the 100 Black Men of Atlanta and the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2019. For leading innovative change and being a conscious voice for social justice, Gammon Theological Seminary named him as the 2016 Emerging Prophetic Leader. In 2021, he was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers Board of Preachers through Morehouse College, named a Man of Influence by the Atlanta Business League, and inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame. Dr. Murriel is the author of Breaking the Color Barrier: A Vision for Church Growth through Racial Reconciliation. He is married to Dr. Ashleigh Murriel and they are the proud parents of Scarlett Grace and Anderson Blake. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/rev-hooker/support

Wondering about seminaries and the pastoral path? In this episode of Staying, we are joined by Rev. Brady Whitton, who chairs the Board of Ordained Ministry of the Louisiana Conference.  Staying is a video/podcast series that focuses on the value of staying in the United Methodist Church. During this season of discernment, when some churches are talking about leaving, this is the time to talk about what it means to STAY in the UMC.

Bishop Julius C. Trimble is the Resident Bishop of the Indiana Area of the United Methodist Church. https://www.inumc.org/bishop/office-of-the-bishop/ (https://www.inumc.org/bishop/office-of-the-bishop/) Bishop Trimble has the personal mission to encourage all people with the love of Jesus Christ to rise to their highest potential. It is his commitment to his personal mission that led Bishop Trimble to create the “To Be Encouraged” Podcast along with co-host Rev.Dr. Brad MIller. Bishop Trimble says, “I am compelled by Jesus to share with you an encouraging word or two about Jesus, theology, the Bible, the pandemic, the environment, racism, voting rights, human sexuality, and the state of the United Methodist Church.” To Be Encouraged with Bishop Julius C. Trimble is to be published weekly and is available at www.tobeencouraged.com and all the podcast directories. https://www.inumc.org/bishop/office-of-the-bishop/ (https://www.inumc.org/bishop/office-of-the-bishop/) BISHOP DAVID ALAN BARD https://bishop.michiganumc.org/ (https://bishop.michiganumc.org/) Bishop David Alan Bard is the presiding bishop of the Michigan Conference of The United Methodist Church. Bishop Bard also shepherds the Minnesota Annual Conference as interim bishop until 2022 and serves as President of the North Central Jurisdiction College of Bishops. Prior to arriving in Michigan in September 2016, Bishop Bard was serving at First United Methodist Church in Duluth, Minnesota since 2005. He was elected to the episcopacy on July 13, 2016, at the North Central Jurisdictional Conference held in Peoria, IL. He has been in ministry for more than 30 years and has served in many roles within the Minnesota Annual Conference and the General Church. Bishop Bard was a General and Jurisdictional Conference delegate in 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012. He was an episcopal nominee in both 2004 and 2008. Within the Minnesota Conference, Bishop Bard was chair of the Episcopacy Committee and the Higher Education Ministry Team. He served on the Board of Ordained Ministry and the Congregational Response Team. He was also the conference parliamentarian. He was a district superintendent from 1998 to 2005 and spent three years on the Commission on Religion and Race. Within the General Church, Bishop Bard serves on the Study on Ministry Commission, the Committee on Faith and Order, and the North Central Jurisdiction Committee on Episcopacy. He has also previously served on the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the Commission on General Conference, and the Commission on Theological Education. Bishop Bard received a BA from the University of Minnesota, Duluth in 1981; his Master of Divinity was earned at United Theological Seminary, Twin Cities 1984; and in 1994 he received a Ph.D. from Southern Methodist University with a focus on Christian ethics Bishop Bard has a wife, Julie, and three adult children. In his free time, he enjoys music, reading, baseball, and walking outside. https://bishop.michiganumc.org/ (https://bishop.michiganumc.org/) Part 1 of this two-part Episode featuring Bishop David Bard was published on August 30, 2022, and is available at this link: https://tobeencouraged.com/episode/024 (https://tobeencouraged.com/episode/024)

Bishop Julius C. Trimble is the Resident Bishop of the Indiana Area of the United Methodist Church. https://www.inumc.org/bishop/office-of-the-bishop/ (https://www.inumc.org/bishop/office-of-the-bishop/) Bishop Trimble has the personal mission to encourage all people with the love of Jesus Christ to rise to their highest potential. It is his commitment to his personal mission that led Bishop Trimble to create the “To Be Encouraged” Podcast along with co-host Rev.Dr. Brad MIller. Bishop Trimble says, “I am compelled by Jesus to share with you an encouraging word or two about Jesus, theology, the Bible, the pandemic, the environment, racism, voting rights, human sexuality, and the state of the United Methodist Church.” To Be Encouraged with Bishop Julius C. Trimble is to be published weekly and is available at www.tobeencouraged.com and all the podcast directories. https://www.inumc.org/bishop/office-of-the-bishop/ (https://www.inumc.org/bishop/office-of-the-bishop/) BISHOP DAVID ALAN BARD https://bishop.michiganumc.org/ (https://bishop.michiganumc.org/) Bishop David Alan Bard is the presiding bishop of the Michigan Conference of The United Methodist Church.  Bishop Bard also shepherds the Minnesota Annual Conference as interim bishop until 2022 and serves as President of the North Central Jurisdiction College of Bishops. Prior to arriving in Michigan in September 2016, Bishop Bard was serving at First United Methodist Church in Duluth, Minnesota since 2005. He was elected to the episcopacy on July 13, 2016, at the North Central Jurisdictional Conference held in Peoria, IL. He has been in ministry for more than 30 years and has served in many roles within the Minnesota Annual Conference and the General Church. Bishop Bard was a General and Jurisdictional Conference delegate in 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012. He was an episcopal nominee in both 2004 and 2008. Within the Minnesota Conference, Bishop Bard was chair of the Episcopacy Committee and the Higher Education Ministry Team. He served on the Board of Ordained Ministry and the Congregational Response Team. He was also the conference parliamentarian. He was a district superintendent from 1998 to 2005 and spent three years on the Commission on Religion and Race. Within the General Church, Bishop Bard serves on the Study on Ministry Commission, the Committee on Faith and Order, and the North Central Jurisdiction Committee on Episcopacy. He has also previously served on the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the Commission on General Conference, and the Commission on Theological Education. Bishop Bard received a BA from the University of Minnesota, Duluth in 1981; his Master of Divinity was earned at United Theological Seminary, Twin Cities 1984; and in 1994 he received a Ph.D. from Southern Methodist University with a focus on Christian ethics Bishop Bard has a wife, Julie, and three adult children. In his free time, he enjoys music, reading, baseball, and walking outside. https://bishop.michiganumc.org/ (https://bishop.michiganumc.org/) Part 2 of This Two Part Episode featuring Bishop David Bard is live on September 6, 2022, at this link: https://tobeencouraged.com/episode/025 (https://tobeencouraged.com/episode/025)

Michelle visits Lauren and offers insight on how parents and adults can nurture spiritually advanced children in our society. They discuss how parents can support and fully integrate psychic children into their families. Website: www.michellehendersonmedium.com === Guest Bio === Michelle Henderson, M. Ed. worked in education as a teacher, educational diagnostician, and behavior analyst for thirty years. While teaching children with autism, she wrote a book titled A Three Element Social Skill Program: Instruction, Drama, and Technology. In 2006, she opened IASIS Learning Center, a non-profit organization teaching children social skills through drama techniques. After retiring from education, knowing she was going to serve the Divine and offer spiritual services, Michelle obtained her Ordained Ministry from the Universal Life Church Ministries in 2019. In 2021, Michelle became a Certified Spiritual Advisor with Psychic and Medium Certificates through the Lisa Williams International School of Spiritual Development. With the knowledge she obtained through her life-long work with children, she became passionate about helping intuitive children embrace their gifts. Michelle also shares her innovative ideas with other light-workers, giving them direction about supporting families of intuitive children. ============== Subscribe to the RealLaurenLive YouTube channel for Spirituality | Health | Lifestyle videos! Visit the @RealLaurenLive on Instagram and check out https://Lauren.live for more info. You can also find weekly FULL episodes of the Lauren.live podcast every Friday on your favorite platforms including Apple, YouTube, Spotify, Google, TuneIn, IHeartRadio, and Amazon Music. ============== #RealLaurenLive #MichelleHenderson #SpiritualChildren #Psychic #PsychicChildren #Divine #Spiritual #Spirituality #Medium #SpiritualJourney #SpiritualGrowth #Intuitive #IntuitiveChildren #Spirit #LightAndLove #Awakened #IndigoChildren #SpiritualPodcast #LaurenLive #WeAreOne #RaisingVibration #GoodEnergy #SpiritualGuidance #SoulWork #SoulJourney #SoulGrowth #SoulFamily #Lauren #LaurenPodcast

First Sunday of Lent - Luke 4: 1-13 - Eseta writes: I am a first generation, retired Uniting Church clergy, migrant woman of colour (Fijian), who migrated to Australia thirty-five years ago. Through my many Australian experiences, for instance in the Uniting Church, in secular work as an Australian trained teacher prior to Ordained Ministry, and as a volunteer contributor in the communities in which I have been privileged to live and participate, I have freely explored ways of expressing my Fijian heritage and culture, and in particular, to speak to these from the perspective of a woman in diaspora. Through expressions of these, I am able to share my understanding of life in Australia from the perspective of a woman with specified gifts, and take opportunities offered to me to share some of these gifts through Biblical and theological narratives.

On the podcast this week, Hugh Williamson talks about the distinctive ministry of worker priests/Ministers in Secular Employment (MSEs), which are the subject of a cover feature that he has written for this week's Church Times. Hugh's father, Canon Tony Williamson, was an Anglican worker priest in a car factory in Oxford for 30 years (Obituary, 22 March 2019), so Hugh has long had an interest in this ministry. In his feature this week, he talks to a priest who is a full-time hairdresser, another who, until recently, was a checkout worker at a supermarket, a priest who is a carer, and another who works in a café. “Talking to them, and others like them, reveals a refreshing approach to faith, focused on how we express and support faith in everyday settings, not only in church buildings,” he writes. “And it challenges the Church to reflect on what ministry means.” https://www.hughwilliamson.org/ Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader.

Michelle Henderson, M. Ed. worked in education as a teacher, educational diagnostician, and behavior analyst for thirty years. While teaching children with autism, she wrote a book titled A Three Element Social Skill Program: Instruction, Drama, and Technology. In 2006, she opened IASIS Learning Center, a non-profit organization teaching children social skills through drama techniques. After retiring from education, knowing she was going to serve the Divine and offer spiritual services, Michelle obtained her Ordained Ministry from the Universal Life Church Ministries in 2019. In 2021, Michelle became a Certified Spiritual Advisor with Psychic and Medium Certificates through the Lisa Williams International School of Spiritual Development. With the knowledge she obtained through her life-long work with children, she became passionate about helping intuitive children embrace their gifts. Michelle also shares her innovative ideas with other lightworkers, giving them direction about supporting families of intuitive children. Today she talks to us about what children often experience when they have gifts and how we as parents can foster those gifts in our children without fear.  The Freedom Lifestyle Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freedom-lifestyle-whats-your-free/id1315116167 Contact Michelle: MichelleHendersonMedium.com Contact me: Purchase show merchandise https://awaken-your-inner-awesomeness.creator-spring.com/ Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/moatman?fan_landing=true https://melissaoatman.com melissaoatman77@gmail 636-748-4943   Download my free eBook on Manifesting  https://mailchi.mp/240e02dfadcf/ebook Download my free checklist Habits of Highly Successful People https://mailchi.mp/b8078533248a/habits-of-highly-successful-people    Join my monthly membership:  https://www.melissaoatman.com/magical-mo   Free Heart Chakra Healing Guided Meditation https://www.melissaoatman.com/landing-page   Purchase my book Beautifully Broken: https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/beautifully-broken-the-spiritual-womans-guide-to-thriving-not-simply-surviving-after-a-breakup-or-divorce/459896   https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beautifully-broken-melissa-oatman/1136174371?ean=9781989579060 https://www.amazon.com/Beautifully-Broken-Spiritual-Thriving-Surviving/dp/198957906X https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50977070-beautifully-broken   Purchase my book Mindfulness Matters   https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HDSKGGH/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=melissa+oatman&qid=1599159677&sr=8-2   Follow me on social media:   https://www.facebook.com/groups/awakenyourhearttopurpose/ https://www.facebook.com/reikiwithlissa/  http://www.instagram.com/melissaoatman222 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQPtU9hPeEWjbHr62LxuEXA  https://www.twitter.com/MelissaOatman   Donations are not necessary, however, if you feel inclined to donate to my channel through Venmo or PayPal, your energetic gifts are very much appreciated! Venmo @Melissa-Ann-161 PayPal: melissaoatman77@gmail.com  

I enjoyed talking with Michelle about spiritual gifts that children and or adults do have. What can we do to support our children who have gifts of intuition in a healthy positive way? This conversation with Michelle really got me thinking about my own life and how some people who mean well do not understand or may not try to understand children who are spiritually gifted. This is one topic to truly tune into. ABOUT MICHELLE Michelle Henderson has always chosen a career that has helped others heal in different situations. As an M. Ed., she worked in education as a teacher, educational diagnostician, and behavior analyst for thirty years. While teaching children with autism, she wrote a book titled A Three Element Social Skill Program: Instruction, Drama, and Technology. In 2006, she opened IASIS Learning Center, a non-profit organization teaching children social skills through drama techniques. In parallel to that, her intuition blossomed in her 20's and visitations from the spirit world began to increase. After retiring from education, knowing she was going to serve the Divine and offer spiritual services, Michelle obtained her Ordained Ministry from the Universal Life Church Ministries in 2019. In 2021, Michelle became a Certified Spiritual Advisor with Psychic and Medium Certificates through the Lisa Williams International School of Spiritual Development. AMAZON – Spiritual Nurturing for Intuitive Children AUTHOR WEBSITE – www.MichelleHendersonMedium.com FACEBOOK – @MichelleHendersonMedium INSTAGRAM – MichelleHendersonMedium YOUTUBE – MichelleHenderson25 CONTACT – Michelle@MichelleHendersonMedium.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/healingforthesoul/support

Rev. Scott Wright But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. (Titus 2:1 ESV)

Welcome to episode thirty-three of New Creation Conversations. In today's conversation I am joined by well-known author and professor Dr. Will Willimon. Will served as the dean of Duke Chapel and professor of Christian ministry at Duke Divinity School for 20 years. He returned to Duke after serving as the bishop of the North Alabama Conference from 2004 to 2012. Will has written more than 70 books and has sold more than a million copies of them. He has written frequently for publications like Theology Today, Interpretation, Liturgy, and Christianity Today. He is editor-at-large for The Christian Century. One of the books we discuss – Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry is used in dozens of seminaries throughout North America and Asia. He has taught all over the world. In addition to his three earned degrees from Wofford College, Yale Divinity School, and Emory University, Will has been granted honorary Doctorates from 13 different educational institutions. I first got introduced to Will and his work 30 years ago through his life-changing collaboration with ethicist Stanley Hauerwas entitled Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony (first published in 1989). We talk about the impact of that book, as well as his writing on preaching and pastoral ministry. It is a great and thoughtful conversation. But mostly, Will just kept me laughing. So many times, since starting this podcast, I have grieved the absence of my father. He would have loved so many of these conversations. I think he would especially loved this one, and he would have had a hundred questions after it was over. This conversation with Will reminded me so much of sitting around a table listening to my dad and his ministry cronies tell funny stories, say provocative things they could only now say in the freedom of retirement, and come up with nuggets of wisdom gained the fire of decades leading a parish. Four or five times, in our conversation, Will says things I want to turn into a T-Shirt.I have cherished the chance to have conversations with leaders in my own tribe, but I have also grown to love the chance to speak to leaders from other denominations and traditions whose lives and ministries reflect the heartbeat of Jesus. This is one of those kinds of conversations. It was an honor to get to have this conversation, and it's an even greater privilege to get to offer it to you. Here's my New Creation Conversation with Dr. Will Willimon.

Today’s episode is a beautiful reminder that God is for all of us. Our guest Isaac Simmons, also known as Ms. Penny Cost, shares his witness of Divine love and grace. We can share in God's creation as we realize and affirm our true, authentic identity.  We talk about answering a call to the vocation of ministry—and what that means to someone who doesn't “fit the mold” of what an ordained person should look like.  Isaac shares his passion for storytelling, performance, and Divine co-creation. And how he's used these gifts for life-changing and life-saving work. He's stepping up and teaching us how to increase our capacity to love those who may have a different outlook on the world.  Meet Isaac Isaac Simmons is a twenty-three-year-old senior student studying theology at Illinois Wesleyan. He's also a congregant and staff member at the progressive and affirming Hope United Methodist Church in Bloomington, IL.  When Isaac announced his calling to Ordained Ministry, his home church community celebrated and encouraged his discernment. Isaac Simmons became the first openly Queer person to be certified as a Candidate for Ordained ministry within the Illinois Great Rivers Conference of the UMC, and reportedly, the first Drag Queen to receive that title in the world. His drag performance as Ms. Penny Cost is rooted in the joy-filled reclamation of spirituality for and with Queer folks. His mission (and hers too) is to break down the false duality which, for too long, has stated that Queerness and Faith can not be combined.  He is here to say that YOU, right here and right now, are enough. There is nothing that you will ever have to do to experience the Love, Affirmation, and Celebration which freely flows from the Divine. Find Isaac on Facebook, Instagram, or email ms.pennycost@gmail.com Resources Role of ordained people in the Methodist Church Mikhail Bakhtin and the concept of Carnivalesque and Grotesque Learn more about the intersection of church and queerness. Soul Care has an extensive affirming reading and resource list from a variety of faith traditions. Check out our conversation with past podcast guest Daniel Guerra. He has a message of inclusion, acceptance, and belonging in the church for LBGTQIA+ people and allies.

Join Deacons Richard Hudzik and Dave Brencic in their conversation with two deacons who were ordained for the Archdiocese in September of 2020. The two new deacons were Deacon Ed Schipp, assigned to Mary, Seat of Wisdom Parish, and Deacon Chris Parker, assigned to St. Barnabas Parish. The conversation seeks to understand what the “fresh eyes” of a new deacon might see, whether they were surprised with anything, and whether they felt they were able to share the Good News. These are two men who are on fire with the Lord. It is hoped that their ministry might inspire every Christian, ordained or not.

SERMON - “ FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS” Scripture: Esther 4: 9-17 July 25, 2021 (Celebrating the 65th Anniversary of Full Clergy Rights for UM Clergywomen) Foundry UMC, Washington, DC There are times when the words in a letter are burned into our memories. Such a letter to me got lost between the move of my first and second pastoral appointments. I had recently been ordained an Elder in Full Connection in the Florida Conference. I suppose I reasoned at the time that it didn't matter anymore if I kept the letter. But it did matter because I can still quote it today - 47 yrs ago! - from the Chair of the Board of Ordained Ministry in 1974 - “Dear Charlene, You seem to be qualified for ministry, but because you are a woman, there might be issues in the future........ if you think you have a call to ministry, you could try to exercise it in another annual conference.” At the time I received the letter, it still didn't sink in that I had been turned down royally, and the kind suggestion by the Registrar was to tell me to look elsewhere if I insisted on pursuing my calling. I began to hear all the negative voices in my head. Was I really called? Did I have the capacity to be a pastor? Can I finish seminary? I'm a failure. The endless loop continued in my head. But more importantly, what was God saying to me? After crying all the way home on my flight from central Fla to the Chicago airport, and then getting to Evanston where I was a student at GETS, I was pretty much paralyzed, and not able to discern God's voice or presence. My soul was wounded and my spirit was crushed. But right away, I began to hear other voices speaking to me: from seminary students and faculty, from church friends, from my pastor, from my husband, and especially other women on the path to ordination. “Don't give up. Try again even if they said NO to you. Come to my Ann. Conf - we will take you. And most poignant from a professor - don't let the church rob you of your calling. DON'T LET THE CHURCH ROB YOU OF YOUR CALLING! It's a long story with several chapters, but suffice it to say that in another year, I applied again to my home conference and was accepted for Deacon's orders and my first appointment as an Associate pastor. All because a Path was opened up to me by prayer, advocacy, a visit on our seminary campus by a Fla. Leader, a plea from me for another chance, a DS and a Sr. Pastor willing to give me a try and support me, offering me a place to serve. As it turned out, I would be the first female pastor in the Fla. Conference to be appointed to a local church, the first female Elder, the first female DS, and later, much later, the first female bishop in the SEJ. When a discernment and support team accompanied me for a year as I was being called to the episcopacy, our theme for my candidacy was FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS. The SEJ had yet to elect a female bishop after 4 quadrenniums of effort to elect gifted women candidates. In a book titled “Women Bishops of The United Methodist Church” Bishop Sharon Rader and Professor Margaret Ann Crain interviewed all the living women bishops of our denomination in 2019. In some way or many ways, all the women bishops have carried the unique and heavy burden of being the first woman - to serve in an appointment, to serve on a Cabinet, to birth a baby in an appointment, to lead on a Conference staff, to lead a delegation to Gen. Conference, and to be elected as bishops. Bishop Judy Craig, who is now in the Communion of Saints, said “When our dust is dust, they'll remember us as those who did the first thing.” Bishop Susan Morrison stated, “To be claimed for a time such as this in the role I was in and the ability to touch lives is unbelievable. I'm awestruck.” Being firsts also meant being under constant scrutiny of what they said, how they looked, how they led, whether they could preach, how they presided and on and on. The reality is we were all under the stress of charting a new course as clergywomen while experiencing the tyranny of an anti-woman mindset and gender bias, ( pg. 174 in “Women Bishops”......) Even today, some women bishops continue to receive threats on their lives, and need to be accompanied by armed security in major public events. Even today 65 years after Clergywomen received full ordination rights, the resistance to women's leadership in the church continues to take many forms. Was it any surprise that my discernment team looked to the story of Esther as empowerment for the journey ahead? Something about this book makes us examine ourselves and wonder what God is up to. Something about this book makes us laugh and cry and reach out to God all at the same time. (Interpretation, “Esther”, Carol M. Bechtel, pg. 1) Oh, Esther, how often have we clergywomen recalled your story, and the memory of your being Called by God FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS. We can see God's hand so clearly at work in your life, your actions, your wisdom, your servant leadership, your desire to bring good to your people. The Book of Esther is intended to be read in its entirety in the temple or the sanctuary. It is such a powerful unveiling of God's plans unfolding in the unlikeliest of people and circumstances. It is a drama, a burlesque, a comedy, a short story. It so powerfully captures God's Power and our roles in God's plans that each time it is heard it renews the community of faith. Historian Deborah Lipstadt actually won a court victory over a Holocaust denier during her career. Soon after that court verdict, she went to temple and the scroll of Esther was read at her local synagogue's celebration of Purim. She reports in the Jerusalem Post Magazine in June of 2000, “ I heard that! All of it, and it made me think: Who knows if not for this very reason I got the education I got, I got the upbringing I got, my job — maybe we're all meant to do one something really significant. And some of us do it on the public stage, and some do it by helping a child. Nobody knows of it, nobody sees it, but we're all meant to do something. And maybe this is the something I was meant to do.” We remember you, Esther. From becoming an orphan with no discernible future, your uncle Mordecai brought you into his family and treated you like his daughter. They were Jewish, descended from the tribe of Benjamin, living in the time of King Ahasueras who ruled from 486 to 465 b.c.e. Mordecai is a respected man, a civil servant in the Royal Court. Because he hears all the gossip from the comings and goings of people making their way to the King's Court, he knew about a royal party in which the King indulged himself and his subjects in endless drinking and dining and carousing. All to display the King's massive wealth. When the King calls upon his wife, Vashti, to come and be displayed as a trophy wife to all the guests at the height of the party, she refuses.. He who commanded such great wealth and a vast territory, was not obeyed by his wife. Embarrassed, drunk and raging, he orders the death of Vashti. Then he decreed that all the virgins of his empire were to be brought to the court, become his harem, so that the King can choose one of them as his new Queen. Here enters Esther, a young, beautiful and brilliant young woman, who is carried into court. She, like the other women, were treated like royalty for a year - with long perfumed baths and soap bubbles, with facials and makeup and massages, with manners and posture training, with fancy meals, with brand new clothes, with skills and duties related to hostessing , and of course to be ready to go into the King's bedchamber at his beck and call. What does Esther take with her when she is called to the King's chambers? She always began “ If it please the King...”. She also takes great beauty, knowledge, humility, cleverness and wisdom.She is able to tell the King about an assassination attempt on his life and gives her Uncle credit for how she got the information. She exposes Haman, the arrogant and brutal supervisor over Mordecai at court. Haman has tricked the King into issuing a decree to kill all the Jews, destroy, and annihilate them. Why? All because one Jew, Mordecai, refused to bow down to him when commanded. Uncle Mordecai had instructed Esther to keep her Jewish identity a secret when she was taken into the court and the harem. Then he coached Esther how to get the Kings' favor and to have the killing decree removed and a new decree proclaimed. The extraordinary turn of events reveals that Esther is indeed able to save her people. She becomes their Queen and rules with equity , dignity, and compassion. The whole book of Esther is still read at Temple services in the festival of Purim, a celebration where God's Power of freeing the Jews was made possible through Esther. I dare to say that every clergywoman has perceived a call like Esther's - surely not as dramatic, but a clarity that God has called her and equipped her to serve God's people in the church and in the world. It has only been through hard work and preparation, the mentoring and coaching of others who went before, the discernment of leaders in the church, and the abundant grace of God that each of us has stepped into such a calling, tried it on, and found our own courage and voices along the way. Whether we are representative of the First Wave of Clergywomen, or daughters of clergywomen, representatives of racial ethnic groups, or brought in by long and circuitous routes, we have been emboldened. It is not about us, it is never about us as individuals, or any distinctions or honors that may come to us along the way. It is about how we will live for God and serve others. That will be regardless of who calls us what - in my case, pastorette, priestess, preacherette, lady preacher, or baby bishop.( these are only the names I can say in church).............. or where we are sent to serve, or who rejects us and denies us or threatens us with bodily harm, we are still called by God. And like Esther, we will be given opportunities to lead, to use our power for good, to help save and serve God's people. As a retired clergywoman who is still serving as a bishop, I am reminded of the vision and hope of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a leader of the Suffrage movement. I still have a vision of God's Justice and Joy, bringing Heaven to earth. In my small part of God's healing work, I can say with Elizabeth that “I never forget that we are sowing winter wheat which the coming spring will see sprout and other hands than ours will reap and enjoy”. Thank you, Esther. Thank you to all clergywomen, those who were “firsts”, those who came before, those who will follow us. “I never forget that we are sowing winter wheat which the coming spring will see sprout and other hands than ours will reap and enjoy.” May it be so. AMEN. https://foundryumc.org/

Unexpected Blessings A meditation shared by Rev. Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli at Foundry UMC June 13, 2021, third Sunday after Pentecost, Confirmation Sunday and Pride Sunday. “The Call: Good Trouble” series.     Text: 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 Jesse didn't expect the prophet Samuel to come calling. And he certainly wasn't expecting Samuel to come with a horn of oil to anoint one of his sons as the future king of Israel. Jesse didn't expect that his youngest son, the one who shepherded the flocks, would be required at the family gathering for the sacrifice since the youngest—and shepherds generally—weren't included in such things.  But God has a way of challenging our expectations. God sent Samuel and his horn-full of oil to Bethlehem, to the house of Jesse, to anoint NOT the first-born, the one who may have looked tall and kingly, Eliab. Instead God chose the youngest, David the shepherd, who had to be fetched from among the sheep. And, of course, young, handsome David didn't expect ANY of what happened! God challenges expectations. And in this story God does that in two very specific ways. First, God breaks the family expectation of giving blessing or honor to the first born son. And second, God breaks the cultural expectation by lifting up a youth—who even though described as handsome—perhaps didn't have the physical appearance or “stature” that people of the time would consider “kingly.”  God explains these surprising choices by saying to Samuel, “God doesn't look at things like humans do. Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the Lord sees into the heart.” (16:7, CEB)  Samuel, in response, models faithfulness through trusting that God knows what they're doing, that God perceives things that Samuel cannot, and then through being obedient to the spiritual leading to anoint the least likely future king in Jesse's family. On this Sunday when we celebrate both Confirmation and Pride, I give thanks for this story that affirms God's habit of breaking our human-made, cultural rules in ways that lift up, celebrate, and anoint the gifts of unexpected people. We know all too well that human rules have demonized and excluded LGBTQ people and that legislated discrimination continues to be supported in many places in both church and state. Limited human perception has silenced, ignored, or belittled the leadership and insight of children and youth. Human ways of discerning a person's worth or leadership capacity, based on “stature” or appearance have meant that countless people have not been allowed to fully share their gifts or contribute as meaningfully as they could. But God isn't limited by human ways of perceiving or discerning. Centuries after David was anointed the future king of Israel, on the day of Pentecost, God's intention was made plain and the prophecies were made manifest: Spirit fell upon ALL FLESH and the human gatekeeping rules and old assumptions and expectations were consumed in the fire of new creation and new community.  And Spirit continues to fall not just upon the “usual suspects” according to human ways of perceiving. Spirit falls on all flesh… and where hearts, hands, and minds are open, She stirs us to get into “good trouble” as we love and serve and are formed by the Way of Jesus Christ in union with the church and in advocacy and service to the world. We see Spirit's stirring in the ways that members of Foundry youth group have formed brave space and are building Beloved Community together. Throughout the pandemic, they have met regularly on ZOOM. Recently, the grandparent of a transgender teen found Foundry online and—encouraged by our welcome and message—reached out to see how their grandchild might connect. The youth joined the next ZOOM, at first with their video off. After five minutes, they showed their face. Within 20 minutes, they felt safe enough to share their journey as trans. The youth group surrounded and celebrated their sibling and new friend. Think for just a moment about this. A church youth group… We see Spirit stirring as, even with the UMC in the unjust tangle we're in, more and more queer clergy are speaking up and out, and LGBTQ siblings are being affirmed by churches, boards of ordained ministry, and annual conferences, not just locally but in places across the connection. We lament and renounce the continued attacks and cruel rejection of LGBTQ pastors, clergy candidates, and allies here and abroad. But we celebrate the breakthroughs and the blessings we receive through the gifts of our own queer clergy here at Foundry. We celebrate those at turning points in the ordination process. T.C. Morrow will be preaching next week the sermon she will submit to the BWC Board of Ordained Ministry for her final examination toward full membership as an ordained Deacon in the UMC. And Foundry member Chet Jechura, recommended by the BOOM for commissioning as a provisional Elder this year, has received an appointment to serve as pastor of Good Shepherd UMC in Baltimore beginning in July.  We see Spirit stirring in the curiosity of our youth about the work of Foundry's Board and larger ministry. The Board is actively creating ways for our youth to engage at that level, bringing their ideas, concerns, and leadership to our shared ministry. And again this year, we see Spirit stirring as our Confirmation class will bring specific additions to their confession of faith and their commitments to God and to the church. And this amazing group of confirmands has requested to continue their study together and Pastor K.C. is working on making that happen. Thanks be to God that we are given opportunities to continue to witness the ongoing revelation of God's barrier-breaking revolution of love and grace. May God give us eyes to perceive, ears to receive, and hearts brave enough to follow the unexpected leadings of Holy Spirit. And may we be open to receive the unexpected blessings of Jesus Christ who is determined to shake us to keep stretching and growing, to stir us to get into good trouble, to love us so much that we might finally be free enough from fear that we can create communities and ultimately a whole world where no one is afraid to show their true face, to tell their story, to offer their gifts. What a wonderful world that will be! https://foundryumc.org/

In this episode retired Reverend Donna Dodson shares her thoughts on Luke 8:1-3. Donna served in ministry for forty years, including as a worship director, senior pastor, and district superintendent. She currently serves on the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. 

As Katy prepares to finish her time at theological college, and Sophie settles into her second year of curacy, they chat over what it means to be a leader in this time, and the need for contemplation. Bella (Sophie's puppy) joins them – you can hear her snoring a little throughout (perhaps demonstrating the importance of rest?!). Please send any questions or comments to: equipping.called@gmail.com

Choosing colleges - theology of place - poetry and mental health - we chat through how training has been this month :-)

Monthlies 13

So often- as a society and as human beings- the tendency to allow our self-held beliefs hinders our ability to be open. To truly consider the world around us. And In the process, we don't allow room to see the beauty and brilliance in diversity. Our guest today, Catharine Clarenbach is an Ordained Ministry with a Masters in Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary in Unitarian Universalism. Catherine is a survivor of multiple sexual assaults, battled bipolar 1 disorder and ADHD, endured the struggles associated with her sexual orientation, as well as weight yet-despite all of that, discovered how to run a successful business, while creating a balance, beautiful and happy life. Join us to day as we explore "The Beauty of Diversity". On The Light Inside. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thelightinside/message

Listen to tonight’s sermon preached at Jonathon Wylie’s ordination to the sacred Priesthood. Sermon delivered on Friday evening, September 18, 2020 at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, Westerville, OH. Lectionary texts for tonight are Isaiah 6.1-8; Psalm 119.33-40; Ephesians 4.7-16; St. Luke 10.1-9.

“Do you trust Jesus?” I had that question put to me when I appeared before the Board of Ordained Ministry. There had been a wide variety of difficult and challenging questions, but this one got right to the heart of the matter. Before I spoke a single word in reply, I felt a lump in my throat and a tear fell on my cheek. I finally found the ability to speak again and said, “Yes! I do! I wouldn't be doing this if that were not at the core of my heart. And I'm still learning how to trust him.” Check out our other podcasts at athensfirstumc.org/podcasts.

Dr. W. Craig Gilliam joins us to discuss how we can listen more effectively, and embrace the difficult moments that come our way. Craig works with the Office of Clergy Excellence and Board of Ordained Ministry in the areas of clergy care and clergy effectiveness for the Louisiana Conference. He is also a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, consultant, facilitator, and educator – focusing on areas of organizational development, leadership coaching, and assisting churches and others to create strengths-based, engaged workplace cultures for higher-performance, success, and productivity.    Craig’s list of reading resources are below:    Sources referenced in podcast: Rath, T. (2008). Strengths-Based Leadership. Strengths Based Leadership from Gallup: Contains the study of good leaders and what followers want. Heath, C. & Heath, D (2011). Switch: How to change things when change is hard Reference to elephant and rider. The reference to “the poet said, ‘When your eyes are tired/the world is tired also,” was David Whyte in his poem “Sweet Darkness.”  Other resources: https://gilliamandassociates.com/reading https://gilliamandassociates.com/articles   Clifton, D. & Nelson, P. Soar with your Strengths: A simple yet revolutionary philosophy of Business and Management. Grant, A. Give and Take: Why helping others drives our success. Sandberg. S. & Grant, A. Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy.

The Roman Catholic Church does not currently ordain women, but what happens when a Bishop resigns and begins to ordain them anyway? How are Catholic women forging their own way into ministry and what exactly does that look like? Host: Karin PeterGuest: Diane Whalen

Healthy churches have healthy elders and deacons. When a local congregation is blessed with faithful officers the results are bountiful (Acts 6:7). William Boekestein and Steven Swets speak about ordained ministry in its manifold dimensions. Boekestein and Swets have edited, Faithful and Fruitful: Essays for Elders and Deacons (Reformed Fellowship), which provides current and future church leaders with an exciting opportunity of personal development.  Like its companion (Called to Serve), this collection of essays offers biblical and practical essays written by seasoned churchmen drawing upon a wealth of leadership knowledge, experience, and wisdom. Engaging study questions for each essay can help readers make the most of the Bible’s instruction and encouragement for those tasked with the responsibility and privilege of leading Christ’s church. https://vimeo.com/371254855

Healthy churches have healthy elders and deacons. When a local congregation is blessed with faithful officers the results are bountiful (Acts 6:7). William Boekestein and Steven Swets speak about ordained ministry in its manifold dimensions. Boekestein and Swets have edited, Faithful and Fruitful: Essays for Elders and Deacons (Reformed Fellowship), which provides current and future […]

Rev. Jessie Colwell is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church who has served several local churches and various boards and agencies for over 10 years. In this episode, Pastor Jessie speaks to Pastor Monica about the importance of mentorship in her own life and in the life of the church. Jessie credits strong mentors for making her who she is today believes everyone should always both have a mentor and be a mentor. Pastor Jessie is passionate about discipleship, music, and the Word of God. In addition to her local church appointment, she currently serves on the Board of Ordained Ministry, the Calling 21 Team, and the District Committee on Ministry. Jessie has been married to Nelson for five years and Dean is their three-year-old son. You can connect with Jessie here: www.jessiecolwell.com

  A sermon preached by Rev. Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli at Foundry UMC, January 21, 2018, the third Sunday after the Epiphany. “Grace Notes” sermon series. Texts: 1 John 4:7-12, 16b-21, Mark 1:14-20   If God Invited you to a party And said, ‘Everyone In the ballroom tonight Will be my special Guest...’ How would you then treat them When you Arrived? Indeed, indeed!   And [I know] There is no one in this world Who Is not upon [God’s] Jeweled Dance Floor.[i]   These are words of 14th century Sufi mystic poet, Hafiz who captures in a few imaginative lines a core belief of our Wesleyan spiritual tradition. Namely, everyone in the world “dances” in God’s presence.  Or perhaps better stated, God is the ground of our being, without whom we could not stand, much less dance.  St. Paul once described this reality to the Athenians, using the words of their own poets, saying “in God we live, move, and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)   We believe this is true even if you’re too young or infirm to mentally understand it, even you’ve never heard the word “God” or the name Jesus, even if you’ve actively rejected the name Jesus, even if you’ve done selfish, hurtful things. No matter what, we believe that the loving presence of God saturates all creation and is with every person. We can ignore or reject God’s loving presence, but “There is no one in this world/Who/Is not upon/God’s Jeweled Dance/Floor.”  We dwell in God, surrounded by God’s grace.   United Methodists are not alone in this belief, sharing it with many other Christian “tribes,” but it is a particular emphasis in our understanding of the way God’s grace works.  John Wesley, the spiritual architect of Methodism, described the experience of God’s grace in three movements—kind of like the “movements” of a formal musical composition—distinct, but related to one another, beautiful as individual pieces, but only complete when taken together.  The first movement is what we call “prevenient grace,” literally the grace that comes before—before we know to desire it, before we know we need it, before we realize we’ve received it. It is God’s presence awakening us to the reality of a “more” in life, to a need to shift course, nudging us in the direction of greater love and compassion, drawing us toward the beauty of God’s wisdom and way.  Wesley understood prevenient grace as the beginning of God’s saving work, “the beginning of a deliverance from a blind, unfeeling heart ...”[ii]   As I prepared for today, I was delighted to discover one of my predecessor’s sermons on this topic online.  Rev. Dean Snyder reminded me that John Wesley’s favorite verse when he preached about prevenient grace was John 1:9:  “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.”  The true light enlightens everyone.  “Every [one] has a greater or less measure of this,” Wesley said. Christian and non-Christian alike, he said.[iii]  “There is no [one],” he said, “except [those] who have quenched the Spirit, [who] is wholly void of the grace of God.”[iv] Today’s Gospel is a Christian “classic,” a familiar story for those who’ve been knocking around church for a while. It is Mark’s telling of Jesus calling his first disciples.  I have often heard this story used as an evangelism story, picking up on Jesus saying, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”  Fishing for people can sound pretty unappealing to our ears these days.  After all, hooks can do damage and nets don’t set people free. And who among us wants to get wounded or “caught”?  I don’t doubt that part of the call of the disciples is to share the good news of God love with others. But the idea that this story primarily teaches that followers of Jesus are supposed to go get those people who aren’t in church and haul them “in” misses what I believe to be the beauty at the heart of the text.   In this story, we see Jesus draw near to folks who never would have imagined that they would be invited to step into a new way of life.  The way things worked in those days is that if you were a boy with the brains and skill, you’d get to be a disciple of one of the rabbis, following and learning from them.  The fact that Simon, Andrew, James, and John were all busy fishing means their scores hadn’t qualified them for the honor of apprenticeship to a rabbi.  They’d been sent home to spend the rest of their lives in the fishing business.  That was their lot. The fishing vocation wasn’t without honor or meaning, but they certainly weren’t looking for a rabbi.  Jesus found them.    I often hear people talk about how they’ve “found” God or “found” Jesus.  Our understanding of prevenient grace means that this is never the way it works.  Just as Jesus is the one who draws near to the disciples before they knew such a relationship was possible, God’s grace makes the first move in our awakening to God’s love. As it is written in 1 John 4:19, “We love because God first loved us.” Hymn number 341 in our United Methodist Hymnal describes this beautifully. I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me. It was not I that found, O Savior true; No, I was found of Thee. I find, I walk, I love, but oh, the whole Of love is but my answer, Lord, to Thee! For Thou were long beforehand with my soul, Always Thou lovest me.[v]   // It seems to me that Jesus talks about “fishing for people” not because it is the perfect metaphor to describe the job description of Jesus’ disciples across all time, but because he was, in that moment, talking to fisherfolk.  Here, Jesus reveals the way God comes to us right where we are, in whatever circumstance we are in, and speaks our language to try to make a connection, to relate to us in a way that helps us receive the message. This is grace at work, connecting, drawing us more deeply toward God—not to trick us or limit our freedom or life, but to set us free to live more fully.   Jesus beckons the first disciples to join him on a journey, a journey in which they would spend their time not primarily with fish, but with people.  They were called not only to participate in the local economy as part of their family business, but to share in the work of God’s saving love.  They were drawn away from mending fishing nets, and into the mending of all creation that Jesus came to initiate.    It’s not that Simon, Andrew, James, and John didn’t know God, it’s that God wanted to know them more and in a new way.  There’s a difference between knowing that there is a God and knowing God.  Prevenient grace is at work when someone who’s been just going through the motions of faith or of life suddenly wakes up and desires more.  Prevenient grace is at work when someone is on a destructive path and begins to make a turn toward healing.  Prevenient grace is at work when a vision of beauty or compassion sparks someone unfamiliar or hostile to faith to wonder about God.  And what we see in this story is that God draws near even when we’re not looking for God; God wants to share life and ministry not only with those who are deemed the smartest or most accomplished, but with folks from all walks of life—wherever they are on the journey. The good news is that all have a place in God’s Kin-dom, all have the opportunity to live in the freedom of God’s love, mercy, and justice and to share that with others, all have purpose and gifts to contribute to the work of mending and new creation.   I see our Gospel story as a beautiful illustration of God’s prevenient grace, a story of the way God appears, calls, reaches out, and shines the light of God’s love in order to help people step more fully into their lives.  Sometimes that grace will be at work in the lives of those who are already aware of God; other times, it will move to awaken persons to divine love for the very first time.  God’s prevenient grace won’t always prompt leaving home and family.  It may not result in an “immediate” response in every life.  But when you become aware of God’s loving presence, you will begin to sense there’s a choice to be made.  God always makes the first move toward us and invites some response—whether through the beauty of the world or its pain and brutality, through a still, small voice, or the booming voice of a prophet, through the familiar rhythms of home or the call of the wild blue yonder, through the pangs of guilt or the experience of reconciliation—God always beckons us, wants (as I say every week) an ever deeper relationship with us. And the more we respond to God’s drawing near, the more we respond to God’s love toward us, as we take even a small step toward God and God’s invitation to a new vision of the world and of ourselves, our lives will change one way or another.   This past week, I spent two full days with the Baltimore-Washington Conference Board of Ordained Ministry as we examined new candidates for ordained ministry.  Listening to candidates’ stories, I was again struck by the varieties of ways that God’s grace works in persons’ lives to wake them up to the call to greater life, service, love, and justice.  And I was reminded of the twists and turns on the journey, of how God’s grace attends us all along the way, moving with us as we travel. Prevenient grace is the first movement in God’s love song, it is what draws us onto the path or redirects and reenergizes our walk. God’s prevenient grace makes the first move toward us, inviting us to look around and see that we are already standing in God’s light, that we are God’s beloved, special guests, standing upon God’s jeweled dance floor.  Everyone is there with you.  Everyone.  So why not take the hand of a neighbor and begin dancing?           [i] Hafiz, The Gift, Trans. Daniel Ladinsky, Penguin Compass, 1999, p. 47. [ii] Albert C. Outler and Richard P. Heitzenrater, Editors, John Wesley's Sermons: An Anthology, Abingdon Press, p. 488. [iii] 3. Kenneth J. Collins, The Scripture Way of Salvation: The Heart of John Wesley’s Theology, Abingdon Press, p. 39. [iv] Collins, p. 39. [v] “I Sought the Lord,” Anon., United Methodist Hymnal, The United Methodist Publishing House, 1989, p. 341.

Trip Lowery is the Director of Young Adult Ministry, Discernment and Enlistment, Division of Ordained Ministry for the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) for the United Methodist Church.  Trip helps Annual Conferences within the United Methodist Church help young people hear their call into ministry.  In our conversation we talk about what that work is like, some of the successes of the millions of dollars in grant money that has gone out with the Young Clergy Initiative, and also another one of his passions, Surfing for Autism.

Wesley United Methodist Church in Alexandria, VA - Reverend Lydia Rodriguez Colón, Pastor of Wesley UMC Sermon delivered by: Mario Marcos Velez - Wesley UMC candidate for Ordained Ministry and Lay Minister of Spirit and Life UMC

Christ Anglican Church, Russell, MB, Parkland Deanery Clericus Meeting, Acts 5:27–33

Wesley United Methodist Church in Alexandria, VA - Reverend Lydia Rodriguez Colón, Pastor of Wesley UMC The sermon today was delivered by Dan Albrant, who is a candidate to Ordained Ministry.

Our show is live TUESDAYS, 9 pm Eastern - 6pm Pacific Time.  We offer dialog and practices for you to consider as you seek to expand and deepen your inner spiritual awareness and Divine Relationship. “The Way of Consciousness” radio talk show is co-hosted by spiritual and trans-denominational visionaries Lee Allen Petersen, Michael Sherbert, and Linda Marie Nelson, members of the Order of the Friends of Jeshua Spiritual and Independent Sacramental Community. Explore the universal and all-inclusive reality of Christ Consciousness and the Oneness of Divine Spirit in all traditions. Expand your Inner Awareness of Divine Presence, learn deeper ways of spiritual mastery through dialog, contemplation, prayer and meditation practices. Be a part of the collective effort to embody the Consciousness of Oneness and experience Inner Peace. All of our programs are archived and available for your "anytime" listening. Go to: www.blogtalkradio.com/wayofconsciousnessand scroll down to "On Demand Episodes. Interested in deepening your Spiritual Awareness? Are you called to Ordained Ministry?  Contact us via email: ofjcommunity@gmail.com  Website:  www.ofjcommunity.org

Our show is live TUESDAYS, 9 pm Eastern - 6pm Pacific Time.  We offer dialog and practices for you to consider as you seek to expand and deepen your inner spiritual awareness and Divine Relationship. “The Way of Consciousness” radio talk show is co-hosted by spiritual and trans-denominational visionaries Lee Allen Petersen, Michael Sherbert, and Linda Marie Nelson, members of the Order of the Friends of Jeshua Spiritual and Independent Sacramental Community. Explore the universal and all-inclusive reality of Christ Consciousness and the Oneness of Divine Spirit in all traditions. Expand your Inner Awareness of Divine Presence, learn deeper ways of spiritual mastery through dialog, contemplation, prayer and meditation practices. Be a part of the collective effort to embody the Consciousness of Oneness and experience Inner Peace. All of our programs are archived and available for your "anytime" listening. Go to: www.blogtalkradio.com/wayofconsciousnessand scroll down to "On Demand Episodes. Interested in deepening your Spiritual Awareness? Are you called to Ordained Ministry?  Contact us via email: ofjcommunity@gmail.com  Website:  www.ofjcommunity.org

Join us as we speak with Author, Dean A. Banks, DD, about his book, "Spiritual Growth." Our show is live TUESDAYS, 9 pm Eastern - 6pm Pacific Time.  We offer dialog and practices for you to consider as you seek to expand and deepen your inner spiritual awareness and Divine Relationship. “The Way of Consciousness” radio talk show is co-hosted by spiritual and trans-denominational visionaries Lee Allen Petersen, Michael Sherbert, and Linda Marie Nelson, members of the Order of the Friends of Jeshua Spiritual and Independent Sacramental Community. Explore the universal and all-inclusive reality of Christ Consciousness and the Oneness of Divine Spirit in all traditions. Expand your Inner Awareness of Divine Presence, learn deeper ways of spiritual mastery through dialog, contemplation, prayer and meditation practices. Be a part of the collective effort to embody the Consciousness of Oneness and experience Inner Peace. All of our programs are archived and available for your "anytime" listening. Go to: www.blogtalkradio.com/wayofconsciousnessand scroll down to "On Demand Episodes. Interested in deepening your Spiritual Awareness? Are you called to Ordained Ministry?  Contact us via email: ofjcommunity@gmail.com  Website:  www.ofjcommunity.org

We will talk about the Emerging Sacred Feminine and Christ at the Center.  Call in and join this discussion. Our show is live TUESDAYS, 9 pm Eastern - 6pm Pacific Time.  We offer dialog and practices for you to consider as you seek to expand and deepen your inner spiritual awareness and Divine Relationship. “The Way of Consciousness” radio talk show is co-hosted by spiritual and trans-denominational visionaries Lee Allen Petersen, Michael Sherbert, and Linda Marie Nelson, members of the Order of the Friends of Jeshua Spiritual and Independent Sacramental Community. Explore the universal and all-inclusive reality of Christ Consciousness and the Oneness of Divine Spirit in all traditions. Expand your Inner Awareness of Divine Presence, learn deeper ways of spiritual mastery through dialog, contemplation, prayer and meditation practices. Be a part of the collective effort to embody the Consciousness of Oneness and experience Inner Peace. All of our programs are archived and available for your "anytime" listening. Go to: www.blogtalkradio.com/wayofconsciousnessand scroll down to "On Demand Episodes. Interested in deepening your Spiritual Awareness? Are you called to Ordained Ministry?  Contact us via email: ofjcommunity@gmail.com  Website:  www.ofjcommunity.org

Our show is live TUESDAYS, 9 pm Eastern - 6pm Pacific Time.  We offer dialog and practices for you to consider as you seek to expand and deepen your inner spiritual awareness and Divine Relationship. “The Way of Consciousness” radio talk show is co-hosted by spiritual and trans-denominational visionaries Lee Allen Petersen, Michael Sherbert, and Linda Marie Nelson, members of the Order of the Friends of Jeshua Spiritual and Independent Sacramental Community. Explore the universal and all-inclusive reality of Christ Consciousness and the Oneness of Divine Spirit in all traditions. Expand your Inner Awareness of Divine Presence, learn deeper ways of spiritual mastery through dialog, contemplation, prayer and meditation practices. Be a part of the collective effort to embody the Consciousness of Oneness and experience Inner Peace. All of our programs are archived and available for your "anytime" listening. Go to: www.blogtalkradio.com/wayofconsciousnessand scroll down to "On Demand Episodes. Interested in deepening your Spiritual Awareness? Are you called to Ordained Ministry?  Contact us via email: ofjcommunity@gmail.com  Website:  www.ofjcommunity.org

OUR GUEST:  SCOTT LINDQUIST, Author of, "The Jesus Factory,"  and Radio Talk Show Host of, "Open Minds, Open Hearts." Our show is live TUESDAYS, 9 pm Eastern - 6pm Pacific Time.  We offer dialog and practices for you to consider as you seek to expand and deepen your inner spiritual awareness and Divine Relationship. “The Way of Consciousness” radio talk show is co-hosted by spiritual and trans-denominational visionaries Lee Allen Petersen, Michael Sherbert, and Linda Marie Nelson, members of the Order of the Friends of Jeshua Spiritual and Independent Sacramental Community. Explore the universal and all-inclusive reality of Christ Consciousness and the Oneness of Divine Spirit in all traditions. Expand your Inner Awareness of Divine Presence, learn deeper ways of spiritual mastery through dialog, contemplation, prayer and meditation practices. Be a part of the collective effort to embody the Consciousness of Oneness and experience Inner Peace. All of our programs are archived and available for your "anytime" listening. Go to: www.blogtalkradio.com/wayofconsciousnessand scroll down to "On Demand Episodes. Interested in Spiritual Direction?  Are you called to Ordained Ministry?  Contact us via email: ofjcommunity@gmail.com  Website:  www.ofjcommunity.org

This Wednesday marks the start of our Annual Revival. As with past revivals we look forward to 3 evenings of preaching from Reverend Dr. Alan V. Ragland from Third Baptist Church of Chicago. With this years theme centering around the abolition of poverty amount children, it's fitting that Reverend Ragland's sermon for this opening evening was about how children can be Gods way of making us see his holy ways. Reverend Ragland uses as the bases of his sermon, Psalm 8. Hope you enjoy this first of what we hope to be all 3 evenings as podcasts. Thanks to everyone listening to our podcast. Please drop us a Note at fbcpreacher@fbcpreacher.com or submit your comments here on the web page about anything you might hear in this ministry. We enjoy hearing your comments about our ministry or anything you might think of to improve this ministry. Again thank you all for listening and have a blessed week from the pastoral and technical staff at First Baptist Church of Chicago.