September 2022 – UMC.org Podcasts

Methodist Gaming: From local parish to digital ministry

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We’re struggling right now to describe how digital ministry links together with the local, analog church. Are they separate campuses? Does one exist to serve the other? Is the digital ministry a kind of sub-ministry like youth ministry or is it a support system for all ministries?

Methodist Gaming is an online gathering and ministry of presence within the Twitch community and throughout social media. That sounds like a ministry independent of the local church right? Well, the really curious thing about Methodist Gaming is that it’s run by two pastors serving the same church–the senior pastor and an associate.

There’s a lot we can learn about using digital space to get the local church to think evangelistically and how it can benefit a movement of discipleship in the local parish.

Revs. Adam Sowder and Hannah Bryn are both on the pastoral staff at Discovery UMC in Richmond, VA and utilize the aliases of CircuitRider and DeaconHavoc in their digital ministry: Methodist Gaming.

93: Experiencing God in nature with Victoria Loorz

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Victoria Loorz shares how we can cultivate moments of divine connection in nature and how these moments led her and a whole lot of people into a church-based movement to enjoy, appreciate and connect with the Divine through reflecting and experiencing the natural world. It’s the wild side of church on this episode of Compass.

Victoria Loorz is a “wild church pastor,” an “eco-spiritual director” and co-founder of several transformation-focused organizations focused on the integration of nature and spirituality.

Discipleship: Rethink Church audiomagazine September 2022

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Throughout September of 2022, our content focused on being on discipleship. Discipleship is a descriptor for the practices, processes and actions through which we express our relationship with God through Jesus. It is how we walk in faith.

This edition of the audiomagazine features articles describing discipleship, how discipleship shapes our perspectives, and practices through which we grow in discipleship. We’ll hear:

“The cost of being a follower” by Joseph Yoo (1:05)

“When does a game become sin” by Nathan Webb (9:00)

and

“5 questions to declutter your mind and connect right now” by Ryan Dunn (13:57)

Evangelism through social listening

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Social Listening is one way that we can put our fingers on the pulse of what issues and ideas we can engage with our valuable spiritual perspectives.

Nelson Musonda felt this kind of empty space between the words of the church and the needs of the people. With a background in user experience and digital marketing, he developed Delmethod.com–a really helpful resource for thinking about evangelism and outreach through digital means.

Nelson is our adjunct professor for this session of Pastoring in the Digital Parish–your resource and connection for ministry in the digital realm.

UMC campus ministries: A place to belong with Kyla Smith

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As a freshman at Memphis State University, Kyla Smith was shy and introverted when she joined her college’s Wesley Foundation chapter. Two years later, Kyla has been transformed into a leader who now believes she can take on anything, as evidenced by her role of traveling to United Methodist churches throughout the state to speak about the importance of campus ministries, a message she wants the entire denomination to hear.

50 Years of Advocacy for Women

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The United Methodist Commission on the Status and Role of Women marks its 50th anniversary on Sept. 15, celebrating a half century of advocating for the full inclusion of women in church life as well as helping to promote sexual ethics. General Secretary Dawn Wiggens Hare discusses the history of the organization, its impact, and where she envisions the organization going in the next 50 years.

Guest: Dawn Wiggins Hare currently serves as General Secretary of the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women, a position she has held since 2013. She is an attorney and was the first woman elected in the 35th judicial circuit as circuit judge in Monroeville, Alabama. She has also served as a delegate to the last four General Conferences.

Host: Dr. Ashley Boggan Dreff, General Secretary of the General Commission on Archives and History of The United Methodist Church. Dreff earned her PhD from Drew Theological School’s Graduate Division of Religion, specializing in both Methodist/Wesleyan Studies and Women’s/Gender Studies. She is the author of Nevertheless: American Methodists and Women’s Rights (2020) and Entangled: A History of American Methodism, Politics, and Sexuality (2018).

Church staffing and work for the digital age

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John Wimberly reminds us: work is changing. Church is changing. And it’s changing largely because our culture is shifting towards a digital mindset.

So what do these cultural shifts in work mean for our work in the church? And how do we align our workflow and staffing decisions to reflect the importance of ministry in the digital realm?

John Wimberly is going to help us answer some of those questions in this session of Pastoring in the Digital Parish.

John served congregations for 38 years. John’s quest for continuing personal, spiritual and professional growth led him to complete a PhD in systematic theology and an Executive MBA program. The latter program generated a sense of call to highlight the need for good business practices in the business side of a congregation’s life. He wrote and leads seminars on his highly praised book, The Business of the Church: The Uncomfortable Truth that Faithful Ministry Requires Effective Management. He has also penned “Managing Congregations in a Virtual Age.”

02:55 What’s driving the demand for church staff consulting services?

04:02 How are churches staffing differently?

05:54 Losing the war for Sunday mornings

07:13 From staffing to content

09:00 How do we measure staff effectiveness?

11:07 What’s surprising churches today?

19:27 How does a hybrid model affect work?

24:15 How do we fight Zoom fatigue and get people participating?

27:49 What training should we look for?

92: Homelessness, justice and divine disruptions with Kevin Nye

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Kevin Nye is our guest disrupter on this episode of Compass and he is going to share how advocating for the unhoused provides a window of opportunity for seeing a bit more clearly the movement of God-inspired justice in the world. We’re going to learn a bit about how advocating for those experiencing homelessness draws us into an awareness of God’s action in and around us.

Kevin Nye works in advocacy and homeless services… now in Minnesota. He is the author of the book: “Grace Can Lead Us Home: A Christian Call to End Homelessness.” He also writes on the intersections of theology, justice and equity, and pop culture.

(00:00) Introduction

(02:31) The a-ha moment of divine disruption

(05:14) Is the word “homeless” a problem?

(08:37) Housing is a right; it’s not earned.

(10:08) Why should we treat homelessness first?

(11:58) Taking on an abundance mindset

(14:28) Manufacturing a scarcity mindset

(17:24) Is Hell winning?

(19:19) How do you refresh your soul?

(26:11) Is “housing-first” too extravagant?

(29:45) Loving without terms attached

(33:13) the best Marvel character for spiritual reflection?

MyCom podcast Ep. 077: How to use Texting in Church Communications

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On this episode of the MyCom podcast, we get to reconnect with a returning guest Jeanette Yates! Jeanette is a part of the team at Text In Church and will be talking about texting for the church.

Download your FREE Text Messaging Playbook from Text in Church at: Text Messaging Playbook

This episode is sponsored by Terri Lynn Fundraising. Get your FREE sample at: https://www.terrilynn.com/umc

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Navigating the Digital Reformation with Ryan Panzer

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Ryan Panzer has formerly worked at innovative companies like Google and Zendesk, while also staying heavily involved in the church and faith development. He has brought these two spheres together as he pursues a call to build a bridge between tech and church, exploring what it means to do effective ministry in digital culture.

In this session, we’re going to explore the digital reformation that is overtaking our culture and, uh, infiltrating our churches. Ryan shares how the church can bridge the analog and the digital. As well as offers some speculation on the church of the future.

Ryan Panzer is also the author of “Grace and Gigabytes” and the upcoming “The Holy and the Hybrid”.