Category: Get Your Spirit in Shape

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Growing up as a preacher’s kid in Kentucky, Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett dreamed of a career in athletics. A passion for education, led to a career in pastoral ministry, but those lessons from her athletic background never left her. For example, in basketball no one makes every shot. “So it’s so important not to focus on the misses,” she teaches, “but to keep moving forward.”

Today, Bishop Debra serves as resident bishop North Alabama Conference. Also, as part of her work as a bishop, she serves on the World Methodist Council chairing their Committee on Evangelism.

Meet Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett.

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Recently, many of us have grown increasingly comfortable in digital spaces. We may have worshiped on Facebook, connected with family on Zoom, had a meaningful conversation over Twitter, or joined a prayer group on Twitch. All of which raises questions about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ online.

The Rev. Ryan Dunn, Minister of Online Engagement with RethinkChurch, joins for a conversation about digital discipleship. How can you and I be a pleasant presence of grace when we’re online?

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The United Methodist Social Principles call us to faithful engagement with the world around us. They remind us of our connection to God, one another and the created world.

Living a life in service to God and others has been part of our United Methodist history since John Wesley in the 1700s who visited those in prison, preached against slavery, and led the first Methodists to help their communities with things like healthcare and education. All of this is in service to what Jesus lifted up as the greatest commandments: to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

The Rev. Dr. Sharon Austin, who was part of the team that worked on the 2020 revision of the Social Principles, talks about the importance of the Social Principles and the why they have been revised—although still waiting for General Conference approval.

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When we think of evangelism, many Christians feel some guilt. We know it is something we ought to be doing, but it makes us uncomfortable.

In this podcast episode, we talk to Dr. Priscilla Pope-Levison, professor and Dean at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University and the author of Models of Evangelism. In this conversation, she helps us better understand what evangelism looks like in real life (in contrast to the caricatures) and encourages us to explore ways to share the Good News with others more naturally and comfortably.

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When faced with resistance, we sometimes back down, even when we believe we are doing what God has created us to do.

In this conversation, the Rev. Donna Fowler-Marchant, author of a new book titled, Mothers in Israel: Methodist Beginnings Through the Eyes of Women, introduces us to some of the amazing women of the early Methodist movement. Each chose to follow God, even when the tradition of the day (and many of the men) were saying what they were doing was wrong.

You may have heard about the bold strength of Susanna Wesley, mother of John and Charles. But do you know about Mary Bosanquet Fletcher? How about Sarah Lawrence and Mary Taft? Learn from their example of the conviction to follow where God leads.

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Two of the authors of I’m Black. I’m Christian. I’m Methodist. talk about the importance of confronting racism both within the Church and throughout society. They share stories of their experiences as United Methodist pastors and differences they have noticed in the ways we talk about and process racial injustice.

The Rev. Rudy Rasmus, senior pastor of St. Johns United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas, and the Rev. Jevon Caldwell-Gross, teaching pastor at St Luke’s United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, talk with Joe about the state of the Church, our politics and societal ills. Along the way, they encourage us to look deeply at our congregations and communities.

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Many of us have questions about the Holy Spirit. We’ve heard things and assume others, but we’re unsure if any of them are true.

Jack Levison, Professor of Old Testament Interpretation at Perkins School of Theology and the author of several books, addresses many of these issues and helps us to understand how the Holy Spirit infuses our ordinary days with the extraordinary presence of God.

Jack talks specifically about Pentecost, Jesus’s baptism, and the way the Spirit works in our lives today.

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As many focus on their health in a new year, Kathleen Griffith reminds us to have a holistic approach—body, mind and spirit.

“When one is unwell, one’s whole being is affected,” explains the interim Global Health Team Lead and the Program Manager of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health with the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church. “We are such integrated beings.”

Griffith also shares how the Abundant Health Initiative of the UMC’s audacious goal of reaching one million children with lifesaving intervention was reached in the fall of 2020.

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We continue our Advent 2020 missionary conversations with Temba Nkomozepi, a United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries missionary serving as an agriculturalist for the Mujila Falls Agriculture Center in Kanyama, Zambia. Temba helps provide healthy, nutritious food, and teaches others how to best grow crops and maintain livestock. It’s important work that helps improve the health of the people of Zambia.

Hear the rest of our 2020 Give Love missionary episodes.

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Our second missionary conversation for Advent 2020 is with Lily Maijama’a, a Global Missions Fellow with the General Board of Global Ministries serving the West Africa Initiative of Liberia where he serves as a project manager. But Lily’s service goes far beyond his office job.

He trains young people in the dangers of the internet and might organize a football match (what we in the U.S. call soccer) just to meet people and invite them into a small group. A passion for connecting people to one another and to Jesus Christ, drives him. Hear how he began to understand his skills for church leadership and how he uses them to reach out to those who are not yet part of the church.