PlainSpoken

Steve Cordle is the Executive Director of The River Network. The Global Methodist Church has partnered with him and his ministry in order to equip clergy and laity to be and make disciples, laboring in the Lord's harvest in this present age.Steve was and is a prodigious clergyman, having made disciples and grown churches for decades while raising children with a godly wife.In this conversation, Steve talks about his ministry, laying out his theological framework. We review his recent article in Firebrand "Can the Global Methodist Church Become a Movement?" (https://firebrandmag.com/articles/can-the-global-methodist-church-become-a-movement), and we talk about practical ways that his ministry can come alongside local churches and their leaders to change the culture, working to revert our institutions back into movements.Consider spending some time with us, and follow up with Steve if you want to learn more: https://www.rivernetwork.org This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plainspokenpod.substack.com

Cathy Holley is the pastor at New Covenant Church in Wichita, Kansas. She and many believers in the area of multiple churches facilitate ministries with the local poor. Cathy has followed the prompting of the Lord to create a ministry that is not only compassionate towards the poor, but is engaged in good theology throughout. The reality is that helping the poor is very difficult. Take the time to learn about her ministry and some of the wisdom she can offer. If you want to learn more about her ministry, or come alongside her and support her worthy efforts, go to https://www.newcovchurch.us/donate/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plainspokenpod.substack.com

Scriptural interpretation has been a dividing (and uniting) issue among Christians going back to the very beginnings of the church catholic (universal). While Protestants left the Roman Catholic Church because of the alternate sources of authority used to subvert the scriptures, not all Protestant covenant bodies are of one mind about the role that other sources of authority play in the lives of individuals and local churches.The United Methodist Church fell apart because the authoritative sources for doctrine and knowledge of God became too broad and schizophrenic. Those of us who left have hoped for a shared worldview that will bind us together. Much of this has to do with a submissive posture we should hold to the scriptures.It is one thing to say that, but quite another to live that. Many people who claim to read the ‘plain meaning’ of scripture happen to disagree about a number of things. Moreover, there is this concept sometimes called the ‘consensual tradition,’ which hypothetically offers a trustworthy lens through which to read the scriptures.Can we read the scriptures without a mediating lens? Can the Methodist tradition develop or revert into a more scripturally-faithful tradition? We cover these topics and a lot more in this conversation. Buckle up. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plainspokenpod.substack.com

Our society has been going through a long revision of how we understand identity, sexuality, and transformation to work. It is notoriously hard for one to facilitate one’s own transformation on any number of fronts. Self control is a supernatural fruit of the spirit.In this conversation, Debra picks up where she left off after the conversation we had a couple weeks ago. You should watch that one if you haven’t already so that you can know her background.You should also read the article that spurred this conversation, as it lays the groundwork for the thought around how it is that Christians can lovingly help in the lives of people dealing with unwanted sexual feelings. As I said last time, these aren’t issues that the church can afford to ignore or avoid. We need to equip ourselves to articulate the Christian faith and the vision for the good life in this life, especially when our notion of the good life flies in the face of the vision the world offers. Link to article - https://firebrandmag.com/articles/sexual-fluidity-and-the-wesleyan-doctrine-of-entire-sanctification-part-2-ministry-past-present-and-future? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plainspokenpod.substack.com

World Methodist Evangelism is a group that I started seeing a year or so ago. It was clear to me that they were serving the Methodists in some fashion, but I haven't been entirely clear about how. Rev. Dr. Kim Reisman is the chair of their organization. She was kind enough to accept an invitation to talk about what she and her organization do. I learned a lot! WME Website - https://worldmethodist.org/ Kim's most recent book - https://www.christianbook.com/embrace-showing-sharing-the-love-jesus/9781791023584/pd/023584 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plainspokenpod.substack.com

Tyson is a Heartland Conference friend who has served on a couple different levels of the Global Methodist structure. He is actually part of the Global Episcopacy Committee, which recently announced the assigned conferences for each of our eight bishops. He has also faithfully led his church through disaffiliation from the UMC and into their current greener pastures. He works for a nuclear power plant, and he promotes a couple of transformational ministries in his context. In this conversation, I get the story of his church leaving the UMC, the play-by-play of how his committee accomplished the daunting task of managing these bishops, and I learned some about these ministries that have been so transformative in his life. Tyson is a great representative of what lay leadership should look like. I hope many people receive encouragement from him.Links: Tyson's Church - https://ebenezeratolpe.org/, https://www.facebook.com/EbenezeratOlpe, & https://www.youtube.com/@ebenezerchurch9598Feed Christ’s Lambs - https://www.feedchristslambs.org/, https://www.facebook.com/FeedChristsLambs, & https://www.youtube.com/@feedchristslambs8261Encounter the Cross - https://www.encounterthecross.com/  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plainspokenpod.substack.com

The context of contemporary American Christianity is daunting. Scattered across the landscape are thousands of small rural churches, carrying the banner for Jesus. They are surrounded by increasingly unchurched unbelievers. Unable to afford clergy and unsure of how to follow Jesus rightly, many sit in anomie and confusion. Joshua and his brothers in arms have joined together to minister to churches just like this, becoming encouragers to local laity as they prepare the groundwork for effective continued mission in their rural contexts. Drawing on the Anglican and Methodist heritage, they have stepped up to meet the need of this present moment. I reached out to Joshua because this very much meets the Global Methodist Church where it is. We need to be thinking about church planting, hosting revivals, and facilitating networks of circuit riding clergy. This is my attempt to help lay leadership and their churches to start thinking about ways forward. I'm also hoping that GMC leadership intentionally fosters such a connection and facilitates a future church multiplication movement that is largely based on this model. Links: Barnabas Conference Website - https://www.barnabasconference.com/? Email Address - BarnabasSocietyandConference@gmail.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plainspokenpod.substack.com

Phil Greenwald is the President of Mid-America Christian University (MACU). He began his tenure at Mid-America Christian University on June 1, 2022 and was officially installed as the institution’s 5th President during an Investiture Ceremony on October 10, 2022.Since being selected by the MACU Board of Trustees in March 2022, President Greenwald has cast a vision with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community leaders by asking the question, “Wouldn’t it be great if?”During his first two years as President, Greenwald has met with hundreds of people on campus and in the community to listen and learn, including welcoming students into the family’s home. In his first two years of presidency, Greenwald has led MACU to significant growth, including a 17% increase in enrollment.For more than 25 years, President Greenwald served as a key executive, non-profit leader, pastor, and administrator. He came to MACU from St. Luke’s Methodist Church in Oklahoma City, where he served as Executive Pastor of Administration and Chief Financial Officer.  He provided strategic leadership to the St. Luke’s Foundation, Meals on Wheels OKC, and the St. Luke’s Children’s Centers.In this segment, he and talk about MACU and the ways in which it is positioned to serve the needs of the Global Methodist Church and other Wesleyan bodies, equipping this next generation of clergy and Christian leadership for the work to be done.Link to college website - https://www.macu.edu/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plainspokenpod.substack.com

Gilbert Grayson is one of the main minds behind the popular and effective "The Chorus in the Chaos" ministry. He writes for Patheos and ministers in a local church in Wisconsin. He agreed to visit with me about the nature of cessationism and predestination, and that is exactly what we spoke about in a congenial but direct fashion. Those of discerning mind will enjoy this exchange quite a bit. We did a good job getting down to the root issues at play here. Make sure to write thoughtful responses in the comments. If we are going to have a shared countercultural ministry (and I realize for many that really is a big IF), then we need to know how to charitably understand one another.Social Links to The Chorus in the Chaos:Website - https://www.chorusinthechaos.com/?Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/chorusinthechaos/X - https://x.com/chorusnthechaosYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQK9EMERhy2ez68DAEBkPEw This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plainspokenpod.substack.com

Reverend D.A. Bennett has served as the lead pastor of St. Andrew’s UMC in Oklahoma City, OK, since June 2006. Prior to that he served as Senior Pastor of Will Rogers UMC in Tulsa, director of United Campus Ministry at East Central University for 12 years, and was associate pastor of FUMC in Tahlequah. He was ordained a deacon in 1986, and ordained an elder in full connection of the Oklahoma Conference in 1988.D.A. received his Bachelor of Arts in Religion from Oklahoma City University. He earned recognition as winner of the School of Religion paper writing contest for a paper on John Wesley’s doctrine of Christian Perfection in 1982, and as the top graduate of the School of Religion in 1983. Healso was elected president of the United Methodist Student Fellowship. His Master of Divinity Degree was earned at Oral Roberts University School of Theology in 1986. There he was recognized as one of the top preachers in the school, and was privileged to preach in a chapel service.He has been blessed to preach in many different churches and settings throughout his ministry. He has preached in over 70 different churches in 9 different denominations. He has preached in prisons, conferences, nursing homes and camp/retreat settings. He is frequently requested to speak at youth camps and conferences, and has been the guest evangelist for many churches during revivals. He worked Dayspring Camp for senior high discipleship for over 25 years, helping it grow from a single camp to a camp at 4 sites. In 2011, he led a team to start Journey, a jr. high discipleship camp. The Oklahoma Conference awarded him the Francis Asbury award for contributions to the church’s mission in higher education in 2000. He was elected to the 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 Jurisdictional Conference delegations. Currently he serves on the Conference Board of Higher Education & Ministry, Committee on Episcopacy, trained as Counsel for the Church and was previously the chair of the Order of Elders. He recently completed a 2 year term as president of the Oklahoma Chapter of the Wesleyan Covenant Association.More important than academic and professional achievements are the members of his family. D.A. has been married to Robin Hawley Bennett, a Certified Public Accountant and homemaker, since January 10,1987. They have 2 sons – Garrett Adrian Bennett (1997) and Jonathan Harris Bennett (2003), and a daughter, Charis Katelyn (2005). D.A. enjoys a variety of sports, is a die hard fisherman, and loves camping and traveling with his family. Most importantly, he has been a committed follower of Jesus Christ since early childhood.DA and I go back several years. He gave some of my instruction when I first came to the Oklahoma Annual Conference at the local licensed pastor program. He has a longstanding ministry at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Oklahoma City. We have worked together in various capacities to advance the cause of Christ, first in the United Methodist Church, and now in the Global Methodist Church. He affixed my stole to me immediately after my ordination.DA has been an encouragement to many in the faith, having been active on a conference level, working especially to bless youth at camp every summer. He is an excellent example of a happy warrior and an earnest believer. In this conversation, he and I talk through the season of disaffiliation that we both shared in, leading into the new day in the GMC and our hopes for the future. What does it mean to come out of Egypt? What parts of Egypt might still be clinging to us?Consider taking some time to learn from my friend. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plainspokenpod.substack.com