Church is Changing

What do coffee roasting, Howard Thurman, and people with criminal records have in common? Listen to our conversation with Dustin Mailman, who leads Deep Time, a new ministry anchored at Trinity UMC in West Asheville, North Carolina. To find out more or purchase some coffee go to deeptimeavl.org. To contact Dustin Mailman directly, email dustin@trinitywavl.org.

Dr. Candace Lewis discusses church innovation, pursuing peace, addressing racial bias, and empowering community involvement for systemic change with host Paul Nixon. They emphasize the importance of addressing hard issues, fostering dialogue, and promoting shared leadership in the evolving church landscape.

In this episode of Church is Changing, host Paul Nixon interviews Patricia Peña of the Path 1 team. Patricia focuses on diversity in new ministry development in the UMC. Paul and Patricia discuss the future of ethnic ministries in the UMC, after so many churches disaffiliated.

In this episode, Paul Nixon and Beth Estock explore the concept of Edgewalking. Edgewalking church leaders have one foot firmly within the church, typically with strong core convictions and Christology, even as they engage with people beyond the church, gaining wisdom of perspective that helps the church in its mission. Beth and Paul are convinced that this Edgewalking concept is core to effective spiritual leadership in the 2020s. To learn more about Edgewalkers, see the 2006 book Edgewalkers by Judi Neal, and the daily meditation by Richard Rohr's team, written by Victoria Loorz, entitled Edge Walking.

In this episode, Paul Nixon interviews Rodrigo Cruz and Nora Colmeneras of NETT Church near Atlanta. They discuss what they are learning about multicultural church and about church recovery from the pandemic season.

Does your church space sit empty during most of the week? Do you dream about it being used for the common good but don’t know how to begin? Listen to Beth Estock’s conversation with Cindy Thompson, Executive Director of Boundless Impact – a nonprofit that equips faith communities to build bridges into their community through creating pathways for equitable economic empowerment. Click here for more information on ImagineHub. https://www.boundlessimpact.org/imaginehub Here are some of Cindy’s favorite book suggestions: • Doing the Math of Mission by Rev. Dr. Gil Rendle • Creative Confidence by Tom & David Kelley • Jesus on Main Street by Dave Kresta • Recovering Abundance by Rev. Andy Stanton-Henry • Flood Gates by Rev. Sue Nilson Kibbey • Faith-Rooted Organizing by Rev. Dr. Alexia Salvatierra and Peter Heltzel

In this episode of Church is Changing, Texas Conference church developer Melissa Maher visits with Paul Nixon about why addiction recovery groups were so resilient during the pandemic, even as churches struggled. It is a conversation full of surprises. But if you know much about twelve-step rooms, you will not be surprised that they are more proficient than many churches in terms of convening engaging and transformational community.

What if you got eight people together to give four hours a week and donate $50 a month to a new kind of ministry in your community? This is how INSPIRE began – that and a lot of listening to the neighborhood and God. If you have a great idea but not enough time or resources to make it happen, listen to this conversation with Barry Sloan, pastor at INSPIRE in Chemnitz, Germany, and you, too, will be inspired!

What does a peace corps volunteer with a culinary degree do when she is called into ministry? If you are a foodie with a heart for food justice, you won’t want to miss this conversation with Alyssa Densham, pastor of Provision Church Nova – a new Methodist Faith Community in Northern Virginia. In this episode, we talk about how a ministry can develop sources of support. This includes gathering gifted teams of people and multiple funding streams.

In this episode, Paul Nixon interviews Kevin Johnson, Director of Children's Ministries at Discipleship Ministries. Kevin has a bigger picture of the emerging face of children's ministry than perhaps any other person in the UMC. Paul wanted to learn from Kevin how churches who have lost so many of their young families can take action to reengage with children.