Month: November 2025

Celebrating 200 episodes: Reflecting on four years in The UMC

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It’s our 200th episode! Thank you for joining us as the Rev. Dr. Ron Bell, Dr. Ashley Boggan and Rev. Matt Rawle take a look at the profound change The United Methodist Church has experienced during the past four years and share honest reflections on what these shifts mean for how United Methodists live into transformation with love, joy and courage.

More information and a full transcript of this conversation are available here.

Have a question or comment? Email us at gysis@umcom.org

Connect with The United Methodist Church by visiting UMC.org.

From revival fires to social justice: Tracing Methodism’s Canadian story

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What happens when revival fires, social gospel movements, colonial history and Wesleyan spirituality collide on Canadian soil? Dr. Ashley Boggan is joined by Rev. Rob Shearer to explore the unique story of Methodism in Canada, its ecumenical evolution, and the surprising resurgence of Wesleyan passion among new generations.

Explore the United Methodist General Commission on Archives and History at ResourceUMC.org/ArchivesandHistory.

Interested in a deep dive into the earliest stories of Methodism? Sign up for a free, online, four-module history course titled “Radicle Methodism: Back to our Roots” at ResourceUMC.org/ArchivesandHistory/Radicle-Methodism.

Listen to other episodes of “Un-Tied Methodism” at UnTiedMethodism.org.

Am I still Christian? Episode 91 with Brian McLaren revisited

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Let’s revisit an older episode of Compass: Finding Spirituality in the Everyday because it’s so relevant for the space we’re inhabiting right now. In this episode, originally released in August of 2022, Brian McLaren joined the podcast to address questions like: “What does it mean to claim the Christian faith when there are terrible things being done in the name of Christianity?” And “Am I still Christian if I believe differently?” In our current era of Christian Nationalism, these questions are once again relevant.

Brian McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for “a new kind of Christianity” – one that is just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. He gained a lot of notoriety for writing several well-regarded books, including “A New Kind of Christianity” “A Generous Orthodoxy”, “Everything Must Change”, “Faith After Doubt” (January 2021), and “Do I Stay Christian?” (May 2022).

From harm to healing: ‘Better ways to read the Bible’

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The Bible has often been misused to wound and exclude, with distorted interpretations justifying harm. Drawing on his own experiences of being rejected by faith communities, Pastor Zach Lambert wrote “Better ways to read the Bible: Transforming a weapon of harm into a tool of healing” to share how to reframe Scripture as a source of restoration and hope and how to read the Bible through a lens of healing, inclusion, and love.

More information and a full transcript of this conversation are available here.

Have a question or comment? Email us at gysis@umcom.org

Connect with The United Methodist Church by visiting UMC.org.