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According to Pew research, 62% of American Christians believe in hell. It’s actually hard to find topics that Christians agree upon more universally. But our beliefs about hell differ by a great degree: from it being a place of eternal torment to it being an ideal of separation. Where did our ideas about hell come from? Why might there be so many divergent beliefs about hell?
Let’s take a look…
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On this episode of the MyCom podcast, Dan runs down the checklist of what we need to do to get ready for Christmas. That’s right, Christmas is just around the corner!
Here are the five to-do’s Dan breaks down for this upcoming Christmas season.
1. Discern and/or translate the theme
2. Define the roadmap and entry points to the theme
3. Choose your marketing channels
4. Choose a design direction/aesthetic
5. Apply design across needed resources
For more info about Dan, our host: https://www.defininggrace.com/
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After more than 20 trips to Africa to work primarily with vulnerable children who often lived in orphanages, Laura Horvath and her work with Healing Children Worldwide, has determined that centuries’ old wisdom about caring for underserved areas may need reimagining. Laura shares how the lessons she learned while working with communities across the globe have led her to engage in a radical initiative to unite and empower families.
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We’re wrapping up season 4 of Pastoring in the Digital Parish by looking towards the future of church in the digital age. Our guests this season all painted some pictures about what will happen and what needs to happen in ministry to continue our mission of transforming the world. What are you predictions?
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Branding is a form of marketing in which we represent who we are. It’s how people get to know us. It is an invitation to relationship.
In this session, Ryan Dunn provides several ideas for how we can cultivate our personal brands in digital spaces for the advancement of ministry.
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Role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons have gotten a rap that they open doors to dark, sinister forces. It’s surprising (and refreshing) then to hear of them being used to inspire a sense of holy imagination and to advance the causes of justice.
In this episode, Rev. Derek White (aka The Geekpreacher) talks about the history of the Satanic Panic in regard to gaming, how roleplaying games played a pivotal role in his faith, and how he sees them inspiring a more just and grace-filled vision of the world today.
Derek White is an ordained minister who is best known for work on 3 documentaries on faith and imagination. His latest project is now available on Tubi for streaming, it’s called “The Satanic Panic and the Religious Battle for the Imagination.” Derek uses Dungeons and Dragons to teach ministry leaders how roleplaying games may be used for community formation, building bonds of commonality in an increasingly diverse world, as well as social skills training for speaking out on issues of social justice.
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When it comes to the Brothers Wesley, most people know John as the preacher and Charles as the hymn writer. What is less recognized, however, is how Charles, the younger of the two, was a trailblazer, often forging ahead of his brother.
The Rev. Dr. Paul Chilcote, world-renowned Wesley scholar, discusses the lingering influence of Charles’ lyrical theology on the Methodist movement and poses the question that Chilcote believes Charles would ask: What is the song that sings in your heart?
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In this special episode of “Un-Tied Methodism,” we partner with United Methodist Communication’s “Get Your Spirit in Shape” podcast to talk about the importance of Charles Wesley. When it comes to John and Charles Wesley, oftentimes in Methodist history, John gets the focus. But what about Charles? What was he like? How did he contribute to Methodist history, Methodist theology and the legacy of Methodism as it has grown around the world?
Guest: The Rev. Dr. Paul W. Chilcote is a retired United Methodist elder and professor of historical theology and Wesleyan studies who has taught on three continents. An award-winning author, he has published nearly thirty books, including “Praying in the Wesleyan Spirit, A Faith That Sings” and “Recapturing the Wesleys’ Vision.” He is a Benedictine Oblate of Mount Angel Abbey in Saint Benedictine, Oregon. Chilcote most recently served as interim director of the Centre for Global Wesleyan at Cambridge University.
Hosts: Dr. Ashley Boggan D., General Secretary of the General Commission on Archives and History of The United Methodist Church. She 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).
Crystal Caviness, manager, member content development for United Methodist Communications and communicator for General Commission on Archives and History. Caviness is host of “Get Your Spirit In Shape,” a podcast for members of The United Methodist Church.
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Digital ministry is not just for large, urban (or suburban) churches. All churches have a calling to occupy digital space, in a sense. And this is because such a large portion of our population spends significant time in digital space.
But it’s definitely easier for large churches with multi-person staffs to engage in digital ministry. There are peculiar challenges for small churches and rural ministries when it comes to digital ministry.
Charlotte Elia knows all about these peculiar challenges since she’s been forced to navigate them. And it just so happens that she is our adjunct professor on this session of Pastoring in the Digital Parish.
Charlotte Elia is an elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and has served congregations as a pastor, educator, and music director. She currently hosts The Heavenly Banquet podcast AND the How We Do Digital Ministry podcast.