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
Aug 10, 2022 • 29min
Church is Changing: Episode 09 - Justin Cason
In this episode of the Church is Changing podcast, host Paul Nixon interviews Justin Cason of Indiana Conference, who has planted a digital campus of Monticello UMC with over 600 participants accumulating in two years. Listen to find out how one church is moving far beyond live-streaming to community building and discipling online!
Jul 27, 2022 • 38min
Church is Changing: Episode 08 - Corey Turnpenny
What would it be like to start a church in the wild, literally? In this episode of Church is Changing, listen to Beth Estock's inspiring conversation with Corey Turnpenny, pastor of Church in the Wild in Windsor, New York. Their church gathers outside at a camp and retreat center with a mission to care for the earth. Corey has intuitively reoriented her leadership from top-down to community informed, from knowing it all to deep listening with a curious heart. Through the depth of people's nature-based spirituality, Corey says, "I am learning about the future of the church."
Jun 15, 2022 • 37min
Church is Changing: Episode 07 - Dawn Canham
In this episode, Paul Nixon visits with Dawn Canham, who leads the Lantern Methodist Church in Raynes Park, a suburb of London, England. Lantern Church has developed a community arts program touching hundreds of people, and in so doing, has created a rich neighborhood in which the church can find root. We spend much of the time pondering the ways that worship can engage and come alive for people the way live theater still does. The West End theaters are packed post-Omicron and the churches are still mostly empty. What’s up with that and what can we learn?
Jun 1, 2022 • 33min
Church is Changing: Episode 06 - Ian Rutherford
Could British Central Halls be a ministry model whose time has come again? What would it be like to be the hub of activity in city and town centers out of which ministry flowed in all directions? How can we reclaim the gifts of being “friars” in community?
In this episode of the Church is Changing podcast, listen to Rev. Ian Rutherford, pastor at Manchester Central Hall, share the beauty of this old form coming back to life for sustainable civic engagement at all levels.
For more information about Ian and the ministry of Manchester Central Hall, visit http://www.centralhallmcr.org.uk.
May 18, 2022 • 24min
Church is Changing: Episode 05 - Mike Whang
In this episode of the Church is Changing podcast, host Paul Nixon interviews Mike Whang, a church planter near Houston, Texas. Mike is pastor of Oikon UMC, a church that is focused on small group engagement and discipleship. For more about Oikon, visit www.oikonhtx.org.
May 4, 2022 • 41min
Church Is Changing: Episode 04 - Bo Sanders
On this episode of the Church is Changing podcast, Bo Sanders, pastor of Vermont Hills UMC in Portland, Oregon, shares his worship experiments of decentering the broadcast, one-to-many form of 20th century worship and reconfiguring the worship space to support that. Sanders is also passionate about creating a seamless hybrid worship experience. Find out what he has discovered during these last three years.
To discover more about Sanders and his ministry, visit https://vermonthillsumc.org. You can also find his public theology site at https://bosanders.wordpress.com.
Apr 20, 2022 • 36min
Church is Changing: Episode 03 - Jason Moore
On this episode of the Church is Changing podcast, we are joined by author Jason Moore. Moore is author of the book Both/And, which explores the new ways we gather people for worship in the 2020s. Moore lives near Dayton, Ohio and has worked for two decades resourcing churches in terms of worship design. To learn more about Jason, or to invite him to your judicatory or your church, visit midnightoilproductions.com.
Apr 6, 2022 • 29min
Church is Changing: Episode 02 - Tracey Hume
The pandemic not only affected churches; it also impacted the recovery community. Out of a need for connection, Tracey Hume, a deacon in Newcastle upon Tyne in England, started an online twelve-step group that has become an online recovery church. In this episode of the Church is Changing podcast, Hume shares what she has learned as a leader and how this church movement continues to grow and adapt. You can contact Tracey Hume at deacontraceyhume@gmail.com.
Mar 24, 2022 • 27min
Church is Changing: Episode 01
Welcome to the launch of the new Church is Changing podcast! (Formerly known as Field Preachers.) In this episode, hosts Paul Nixon and Beth Estock set the stage for this season’s episodes as well as begin to talk about that “nasty word” – metrics. In a rapidly changing culture when the old ways of measuring success no longer work, how do we begin to track ministry impact?
Jan 26, 2022 • 36min
Field Preachers: Episode 82 - Sean Davis & Isata Jalloh
In this episode of the Field Preachers podcast, host Paul Nixon interviews Sean Davis, music director, and Isata Jalloh, children and youth worker, at Edmonton Methodist Church in the north suburbs of London. Davis and Jalloh discuss how the church is pivoting powerfully toward serving community in all of its ministries rather than just focusing on church members and families. This conversation is all about breaking through our mental boundaries about who are our core constituencies in church programming.
