PlainSpoken

Part 3, the final part, of our coverage of the Easter Pennsylvania Annual Conference that happened earlier this year. We discuss a few more clips of the issues that happened in this contentious meeting and hope it helps us reflect on how those who have left the UMC should act in their new denominations.Show Notes:Day Three Live Stream:https://www.youtube.com/live/iIJ6gi-mWaI?feature=shareJoe DiPaolo Article:https://peopleneedjesus.net/2023/06/09/methodist-meltdown-in-miniature-a-review-of-the-2023-eastern-pa-session/comment-page-1/Bitter Medicine Playlist:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0r8SkZ2E5KrUXDr8kHbBWil7wPNs-H4Ohttps://www.epaumc.org/news/epa-looks-to-possibility-future-despite-loss-of-some-churches/https://www.epaumc.org/2023-annual-conference/2023-post-ac-faqs/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jeffreyrickman.substack.com Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was formed in 1988 as the largest Lutheran denomination in the US and one of our nation's mainline denominations. It suffered a split, similar to the UMC, in response to the theological drift that they experienced before the Methodists. In this conversation, Rev. Wheeler details how it is that he experienced the time of theological corruption and decay, as well as what lessons he learned as he finds himself outside of the conflict today. Methodists would do well to learn lessons from other traditions, as we can often be too close to our own circumstances to see them for what they are.Articles"ELCA Hits Bottom" by Robert Benne - https://www.firstthings.com/article/2018/10/elca-hits-bottom"Always Declining: The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Stillborn Quarter Century of Existence" - https://juicyecumenism.com/2013/08/14/always-declining-the-evangelical-lutheran-church-in-americas-stillborn-quarter-century-of-existence/"'Seven Sisters' of Mainline Protestantism Still Bleed Members" - https://juicyecumenism.com/2019/09/25/mainline-protestantism-decline-continues/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jeffreyrickman.substack.com Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

First Methodist Church of Oklahoma City has filed suit against the Oklahoma Annual Conference, moving to protect their assets from any hostile takeover situation from the conference. They saw their day in court, and a state judge has ruled in favor of the local church, mandating that the conference comply with very strict and unprecedented stipulations. This segment details what was said in these court proceedings, what the particulars of the judge’s ruling are, and what might happen from here. Enjoy!Carla Hinton Article - https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2023/07/18/first-church-okc-disaffiliation-united-methodist-church-judge-ruling/70421069007/North Georgia Legal Intervention - https://www.umnews.org/en/news/judge-lifts-north-georgia-disaffiliation-pauseHardy Patton of First Methodist OKC Interview - https://youtu.be/tv1WKxgeQKcOKC First Church’s Legal Fund - https://www.firstchurchokc.com/giveArticle about Church of the Servant Legal Filing - https://www.oklahoman.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.oklahoman.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Freligion%2F2022%2F10%2F12%2Fa-look-at-the-united-methodist-church-split-2022-in-oklahoma%2F69548012007%2FAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jeffreyrickman.substack.com Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

This is the second part of a series we are doing, going through the three days that the Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference met. This segment covers Day 2, during which Bishop Schol strong-armed two initiatives through the body. There are a few bold people in this conference who tried to take the bishop to task! Even so, he seems to have carried the day.Show Notes:Part 1:https://youtu.be/cqUFs0j57wgFifth Avenue Video:https://youtu.be/Nqz2qAQVjKMJoe DiPaolo Interview:https://youtu.be/UPnVdakG6ogEPA Day 2 Live Stream:https://www.youtube.com/live/MsudRDAY_fc?feature=shareJoe DiPaolo Article:https://peopleneedjesus.net/2023/06/09/methodist-meltdown-in-miniature-a-review-of-the-2023-eastern-pa-session/comment-page-1/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jeffreyrickman.substack.com Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Rev. Beth Caulfield has been a leader in the Wesleyan Covenant Association and the Global Methodist Church, even helping to draft a portion of the Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline. She has published a whistleblower’s account of the inner working and dynamics of The United Methodist Church in the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference. She is programmatically gifted and finds herself engaged in a mission field that very few pastors have attempted. Take some time to learn from Beth as she talks about her hopes and aspirations for our nascent Global Methodist Church. She is an optimist while simultaneously being quite practical. It might do many well to spend some time with her.Links:Beth’s book, “People Throw Rocks at Things That Shine” - https://a.co/d/bN37nQLIf you would like to contact Rev. Caulfield with respect to her Christian film production, you can reach her at bcaulfield710@gmail.com.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jeffreyrickman.substack.com Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Part 2 of the interview with Ryan Turnipseed and the discussion of the progressive infiltration of the Lutheran Church Missouri SynodAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jeffreyrickman.substack.com Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

The United Methodist Church is far from the only religious institution that wokism has infiltrated. The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), popularly known as the conservative alternative to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of American (ELCA), is dealing with similar struggles with the ascendant intolerant orthodoxy of progressivism. In this episode, Ryan Turnipseed, a lay member of the LCMS in Ponca City, tells his story of theological bullying in response to some public truth-telling that he did. It closely resembles what many other right-leaning people in the UMC have experienced for a decade or so, including me. Ryan was kind enough to drive over from Ponca City to sit down and compare notes on how this ideology operates to remove biblically faithful people from its ranks. It cannot be challenged, even by laypeople (as you'll learn, Ryan is facing the prospect of being excommunicated). This will be one of the more mentally-demanding interviews that I publish. Ryan isn't a surface-level thinker. He would easily be associated with the reactionary right. I spend a good deal of time and energy trying to explain his worldview to those who have been brought up in the mainline mainstream way of thinking in America. It is definitely a worthy conversation.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jeffreyrickman.substack.com Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Rev. John Miles led his church through the disaffiliation process faithfully, only to be shut down by the Arkansas Annual Conference at the end of 2022. At that point, he and local leadership entered into litigation with the conference. A dozen judges recused themselves from the case before it could finally proceed. Although the judge initially showed some favor to the congregation, he recently ruled that they needed to leave the church building, as they no longer could be considered the same legal entity that they were before. Rev. John Miles and the rest of his staff are now packing up their belongings and moving out as the remnant #StayUMC group prepares to move back in. In this segment, John and I speak about what has transpired, how he would counsel other churches looking at the option of litigation, and how it is that we might be able to pray for his flock.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jeffreyrickman.substack.com Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Rev. Dr. Nathan Doyle is a pastor at Venture Church in Boardman, Ohio. He is ordained clergy within the Primitive Methodist Church, which has a distinct history and culture going back to the time of the Methodist Revival in Great Britain. Nathan had the patience to help me to understand the distinctive characteristics of his denomination. I hope you enjoy him as much as I did!Website For The Primitive Methodist Church:https://www.primitivemethodistchurch.orgAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jeffreyrickman.substack.com Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

The Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference held their annual gathering recently and it, like many other conferences within the United Methodist Church, had its fair share of issues. From the Bishop pushing past opposition to a full on physical altercation between attendees, the splintering of the United Methodist Church was on full display. We go over a few of the instances in part of this installment. Show Notes:Joe DiPaolo Article:https://peopleneedjesus.net/2023/06/09/methodist-meltdown-in-miniature-a-review-of-the-2023-eastern-pa-session/comment-page-1/Full Thursday May 18th, 2023 Livestream:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ps2qeqlirs&t=23245sBishop Schol Profile:https://www.unitedmethodistbishops.org/person-detail/2462344Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jeffreyrickman.substack.com Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe