Church is Changing
Church is Changing
We bring you stories of hope and resilience from leaders around the world who are engaging the gospel message in new ways. We interview thought leaders who bring wisdom about the changing cultural landscape and its implications for faith formation. If you are a church leader looking for practical ideas and new ways of approaching church in the 21st century, this podcast is for you.
About the Hosts:
Beth Estock
After serving as a United Methodist pastor in a variety of settings in Georgia and Oregon, and then as Director of New Faith Community Development in the Oregon and Idaho conferences of The United Methodist Church, Beth Estock wanted to help big-hearted leaders have impact without exhaustion. She is a Master Certified Integral Coach™ as well as a meditative yoga instructor. Her contemplative sensibilities and integral approach inform her coaching work with leaders all over North America and the United Kingdom.
She has written two books, Weird Church: Welcome to the 21st Century and Discernment: Spiritual Practices for Building a Life of Faith. You can find out more about her at www.bethestock.com
Paul Nixon
Paul Nixon is Director of Church Multiplication for Discipleship Ministries, an agency of The United Methodist Church. He has served as a Director of Church Development for an annual conference, served as a church planter, and coached scores of innovative leaders across the last quarter century. Paul is the president of Epicenter Group, a coaching organization currently focused on ministry in North America and the United Kingdom. Paul has written eleven books – including a joyful collaboration with Beth Estock in 2016 as they released Weird Church: Welcome to the 21stt Century. His most recent book is Launching a New Worship Community: A Field Guide for the 2020s, co-authored with Craig Gilbert and twelve ministry innovators. You can find out more about him at www.epicentergroup.org.
About the Hosts:
Beth Estock
After serving as a United Methodist pastor in a variety of settings in Georgia and Oregon, and then as Director of New Faith Community Development in the Oregon and Idaho conferences of The United Methodist Church, Beth Estock wanted to help big-hearted leaders have impact without exhaustion. She is a Master Certified Integral Coach™ as well as a meditative yoga instructor. Her contemplative sensibilities and integral approach inform her coaching work with leaders all over North America and the United Kingdom.
She has written two books, Weird Church: Welcome to the 21st Century and Discernment: Spiritual Practices for Building a Life of Faith. You can find out more about her at www.bethestock.com
Paul Nixon
Paul Nixon is Director of Church Multiplication for Discipleship Ministries, an agency of The United Methodist Church. He has served as a Director of Church Development for an annual conference, served as a church planter, and coached scores of innovative leaders across the last quarter century. Paul is the president of Epicenter Group, a coaching organization currently focused on ministry in North America and the United Kingdom. Paul has written eleven books – including a joyful collaboration with Beth Estock in 2016 as they released Weird Church: Welcome to the 21stt Century. His most recent book is Launching a New Worship Community: A Field Guide for the 2020s, co-authored with Craig Gilbert and twelve ministry innovators. You can find out more about him at www.epicentergroup.org.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Nov 15, 2023 • 37min
Church is Changing: Episode 39 – Barry Sloan
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!
Nov 1, 2023 • 35min
Church is Changing: Episode 38 – Alyssa Densham
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.
Oct 18, 2023 • 41min
Church is Changing: Episode 37 - Kevin Johnson
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.
Oct 4, 2023 • 29min
Church is Changing: Episode 36 – Luke Edwards
How well does your congregation know your community? And why is this important in a post-Christendom culture?
Luke Edwards, a United Methodist minister with a background in social work, is a cultivator of new forms of church in Western North Carolina as the associate director of Church Development. He is the author of “Becoming Church: A Trail Guide for Starting Fresh Expressions.”
He has a newsletter called "The Listening Church" that you can find on Substack. Luke offers practices to help any faith community develop the capacity to listen to God, each other, and their neighbors.
He helps us to see the importance of moving from solution centered programs to contemplative listening as a way to build loving community. In our conversation we delve deeper into how you can lead your community through a Spiritual Listening Process.
Find Luke online: thelisteningchurch.com
Check out Luke’s book, “Becoming Church” here: freshexpressions.com/becomingchurch
Sep 20, 2023 • 36min
Church is Changing: Episode 35 – Carolyn Kern
What do you do when your church building is falling down and you have no money for repairs? Pierceton UMC in Indiana just put their building up for auction!
In this episode of Church is Changing, we explore some funky spirit-lead things happening in Warsaw, Indiana with Carolyn Kern – a passionate, innovative pastor in a two-point charge. She offers a master class on how to get involved in the community – from partnering with a brewpub to leading cardio drumming classes. You won't want to miss this conversation!
You can find out more at facebook.com/PiercetonUnitedMethodistChurch/
Sep 6, 2023 • 34min
Church is Changing: Episode 34 - Michael Beck
In this episode, host Paul Nixon interviews Michael Beck, the director of FXUM (Fresh Expressions United Methodist). Paul and Michael explore the changing face of church and look at why and how Fresh Expressions are reaching so many Americans who would seldom wander into a church building.
Aug 23, 2023 • 34min
Church is Changing: Episode 33 - Suzanne & Michael Katschke
Suzanne and Michael Katschke lead Heritage UMC in Madison, Alabama, a relatively young church that was hit hard by the pandemic, losing about half their weekly participants. Yet, they have built back, in large part due to a community sports ministry, with many games played on open fields on their church property. This episode explores how to build relationships with kids and families post-pandemic - a group conspicuously absent in many churches.
Aug 9, 2023 • 38min
Church is Changing: Episode 32 - Post-Pandemic Trends
In this episode, hosts Paul Nixon and Beth Estock reflect on trends that have set in with churches post-pandemic, and look at ways that churches are adapting to a very different era of ministry.
Jul 26, 2023 • 33min
Church is Changing: Episode 31 - Demographic Changes in Lexington, NE
In this episode of the Church is Changing podcast, host Paul Nixon takes us to Lexington, Nebraska to meet three United Methodists: a pastor, a high school principal, and an HR director at a meat processing plant. This is an amazing conversation on loving our newest neighbors in the USA, as about eighty percent of the plant workers are immigrants from forty nations!
Jun 14, 2023 • 29min
Church is Changing: Episode 30 - Margie McNier
In this episode, Paul Nixon interviews retired clergywoman Margie McNier, who at the age of 83, just planted Amarillo United Methodist Church. This is a story of a woman who saw every United Methodist church in her community disaffiliate, including a place where she had served on staff. This story should inspire us all about what is possible when disaffiliation occurs, as well as what is possible simply when God's call settles upon our hearts and minds.
