The Wesleyan Connexion

I talk with Laura McClean about Resurrection 2018 and the upcoming Discovery event for those feeling a call to ministry.

In this episode I talk about numbers. Specifically I talk about the importance of using numbers to forecast where we want our church to be in the future. I also talk about numbers in relation to worship attendance and suggest that we must begin looking at worship attendance in a new way.

In this podcast, I talk about the difficulty in producing a weekly podcast and set out an alternate publication schedule for the next couple of months. I also take time to read the Christmas story as found in Luke 2.

With Christmas quickly approaching, I thought that I would share some of my thoughts on the Christmas Eve Service. I offer some ideas that you might find helpful.

Today's podcast are some thoughts on how you can help your community by looking for the needs that already exist around your church and teaming together with other churches and community organizations to make a difference in the lives of those persons in your community that might need loving support and help.

Sorry for the delay in getting a podcast up this week. I have been thinking about what I wanted to say and also doing the things a minister has to do. I created a podcast earlier in the week, but decided that I needed to pray more about releasing it. So I came into the office on Friday morning and now offer you my commentary on the 3 models for the future of our church that were presented to the Council of Bishops at their recent meeting at Lake Junaluska. I hope you enjoy the podcast.

In today's podcast, I talk with the Rev. Rick Wright. He serves as a General Evangelist of the church. Listen to our conversation and learn something about this avenue of service within our denomination.

Do you ever wonder how a man or woman becomes a minister in the United Methodist Church? Join with me in this episode as I outline the process. This will not be a detailed attempt to explain the process, but rather something to make you think about how the process works. It is especially designed with the laity in mind. I don't think most laity understand the process that is in place to put a pastor in the pulpit each Sunday. This episode will help to explain the basics of the process.

I think that you can see by my title that this is going to be an in depth expose' of Pulitzer Prize winning proportions. If you believe that then you don't know me very well. How about a romp through the mind of a preacher that had some time on his hands and wondered what to do a podcast about. That would be more like it. I hope you enjoy.

This is one of those Pastor to Pastor kind of episodes. I talk with Reed Shell about the future of the church, ministry in the church, and looking forward to retirement. Its all about the church and ministry in this episode. Hope you enjoy our conversation.

Today's podcast is an interview conducted at the 2017 Holston Annual Conference with the Rev. Steve Martin. Steve is in an extension ministry and currently serves in a position at the National Council of Churches in Washington, D.C. I think this interview will give you some insight into the NCC and the ministries that it provides on behalf of all churches.

In this podcast I talk about what it means to be a Christian from a Wesleyan perspective.

This is an interview recorded this past June at Annual Conference. In the interview I talk with Fred and Libby Dearing and Heather Hayes about their ministry as missionaries to South Sudan.

This week I talk with Rev. Clayton Smith, Executive Pastor of Generosity at the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas. The Conference Stewardship Team invited him to come and deliver a series of Keynote lectures on the topic of stewardship, generosity, and giving. This is an interview with him following the Saturday September 9th presentation at Concord UMC in Knoxville.

In this podcast I take a moment to sit down with Rev. Jackie McGowan. She is the Director of Lay Servant Ministries in the Big Stone Gap District. In this interview I get her to share what Lay Servant Ministries are all about. If you have ever wondered that yourself, then I encourage you to listen.

I offer this podcast as a public service announcement to the ministers of the Annual Conference. It concerns a scam going through the internet. You receive an email asking you to speak at a conference over seas. Everything will be paid for...except certain fees necessary to allow you to speak in that country. DO NOT fall for it. Listen to my rant and rave to find out why.

This is the original interview that Bishop Graves granted me at Annual Conference this year. I thought that I had lost it due to a technical mistake on my part. I found it as I was producing another podcast. I hope you enjoy the "Lost Episode" -- my interview with Bishop Graves.

I think that it is very important that as a pastor we are sure that the person who is in the Pulpit when we are not there is the right person. This is my rant and rave on that topic based on something that happened at my church this past Sunday morning. I will have the interview with Bishop Graves up next Wednesday. Health problems kept me from getting it up this morning as I promised last week.

I continue this week with an interview made with Jack Ewing, Executive Director of Lake Junaluska, while I was at Annual Conference this year. Listen as I talk to Jack about Lake Junaluska and its ministries.

I try not to make this podcast about me. My goal is to share about the people, churches, events, and ministries of the Holston Annual Conference. This episode is about me and my participation in one of the events sponsored by our Annual Conference. From July 30th to August 4th, our conference sponsored an Upper Room 5 Day Academy for Spiritual Formation at Emory and Henry College on the topic of Celtic Spirituality. This podcast is my attempt to share some of my thoughts and feelings about what that academy meant to me and to my ministry. So, please forgive me for the indulgence in talking about myself, but I think it will also speak to you.

Tom Hancock delivers the Mission Team Report at the 2017 Holston Annual Conference.

This week's podcast contains a report from Roger Redding regarding the Holston Conference Foundation. It's facts and figures, but it is also stories of lives changed by Jesus Christ and how they chose to make a difference with their accumulated wealth through creation of endowments. Listen to these stories, and if you are so moved, get in touch with Roger at the Holston Conference Foundation and let him help you create an endowment that will allow you to keep on giving--even after your death.

This podcast gives you the audio from the Harry Denman Evangelism Award Ceremony at the 2017 Holston Annual Conference.

Sorry about the lateness of this publication. I went on vacation and guess I forgot to upload and schedule this podcast. This podcast is sort of a follow up to my Monday Mornings with a DS series. I was unable to get all the District Superintendents to sit down for an interview back in February. So I tried to get some at Annual Conference. Kim Goddard was gracious enough to take some time to sit down with me so that we can learn somethings about the Wytheville District, where she is currently serving. I hope that you enjoy this interview.

I talk with Randy Pasqua, outgoing Director of Camping Ministries about what led him to devote his life to serving in a camp related type of ministry.

I talk with US Army Chaplain Ryan Davenport about what a chaplain does and how he conducts ministry in his particular setting.

I had the privilege of speaking with Bishop David Graves as he came back to attend the Holston Annual Conference at Lake Junaluska. He describes his ministry with the Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference.

This episode sort of wraps up my thoughts on the 2017 Holston Annual Conference and I also provide a "Trailer" for upcoming episodes of the Wesleyan Connexion Podcast.

In Episode 7 of Conversations at Annual Conference, I talk, in the first segment, with Corey Miller from the Spring Creek Calhoun Circuit in the Cleveland District and with Jay Glenn Mosely from Mt. Zion in that same district. In the second and third segments I talk with two different persons from Concord UMC in the Oak Ridge District-Dalton Smith and Norma Smith. In the final segment, I talk with Mary Kline from Brooks Memorial in the Chattanooga District.

Welcome to Episode 6 of Conversations at Annual Conference. In this episode, I talk with Rev. Curt Mckee of the St. Mark UMC in Louisville, TN (Maryville District). I also talk with Michael Bumgarner (lay person) of the Gray UMC in the Johnson City District. I round out the episode by talking with Rev. Robert Smith, pastor of Hillsville First UMC in the Wytheville District.

This is a very special episode of Conversations at Annual Conference. In this 5th episode in the series. I decide to talk with some of the youth of our Annual Conference and get their perspective on faith and serving Jesus. I was privileged to talk with Olivia Starks, currently of the Morristown District, and Kegan Heniger of the Wytheville District. If you are wondering about the future of our church, then you need to listen to what this young man and woman have to say.

I continue my interviews of people attending annual conference. In this Episode 4, I talk with Jane Whittaker and her pastor Carolyn Bane from the Trinity UMC in Lenoir City. I also talk with a couple of "characters" that most all of us know: Ralph Kidd and Harry Layell about their churches. I wind up the podcast with an interview of WIlliam Hedrick who pastors the Holston View UMC in Weber City, Virginia.

Episode 3 of Conversations at Annual Conference, takes us into conversation with Walter Cross of the Martin and Lonsdale Churches in Knoxville, Cindy Miller and Ina Faye (sorry I kept calling her Frye) of the Wears Valley UMC in the Maryville District, John Powers of Kingsly UMC in Kingsport and Scott Young from another Kingsport church. The next podcast will post tomorrow morning at 6:00 am.

Welcome to Episode 2 of Conversations at Annual Conference. In this episode I talk with some laity from the Chattanooga District. Cynthia Blount, of the Wesley UMC in South Pittsburg and Frances and Phil Rider from Burkes UMC in Hixon. Each tell of some of the unique ministries of their local churches. Check back at noon for another podcast.

Well. I finally get the opportunity to talk to folks at the local church level. I welcome you to the first of a numerous set of episodes called Conversations at Annual Conference. In these episodes, I will be talking with laity and clergy and my primary question to them will be, "What is happening in your local church that is making an impact on your community?" In this initial episode, all of those I talk to are clergy: Allen Shupe, Ray W Amos, Jason McIntosh, Ray Amos, Jeffery Tallent and Robert Burlingham. Each of them bring a unique perspective as to how their church is making a difference in their communities. Be sure to check back often. I hope to publish quite a few of these interviews over the next few days. The next one will be scheduled for 6:00 a.m. on Monday June 12, 2017.

Oops! I meant to post this four days ago. Well. Better late than never. Listen to the African American Task Force as it makes it report to the Discipleship Team back in February 2016. I know its sort of past that date, but there is still information in here that you need to hear.

The Discipleship Team for the Annual Conference met back in February. I recorded the meeting and this is the portion of the meeting during which Tom Hancock reports on the work of the conference Mission Team.

This is a monologue podcast-I am talking about Annual Conference and some of the issues that interest me. They might not interest you and you might not agree with what I have to say, but I encourage you to listen.

An interview with Roger Redding, Executive Director of the Holston Conference Foundation. Roger talks about what the foundation is and what it does to help churches and individuals in their efforts to fund ministries in their churches and the annual conference.

A conversation with Mary kay Pope Brigss, Chaplain, Emory and Henry College.

I sit down with Chris Brown for an interview to hear what his church, Wheeler UMC, is doing in its community. Listen in and see how God is working through this church and its ministries.

This is part 2 of my interview with Rusty Taylor. In this part, we enter into a more pastor to pastor kind of conversation. I think you will enjoy our conversation.

I finally got to sit down and talk with Rusty Taylor about his role in the Annual Conference. A little over mid way through the interview, I realized that we had moved away from his Annual Conference role and into a more personal reflective time. This interview is about his formal role within the Annual Conference. The next interview will be a more personal/pastoral type of interview. So be sure to come back next week for part 2.

I sat down for a conversation with Jeff Wright, the Big Stone Gap District Superintendent. Jeff is literally my next door neighbor. There is something to be said in having your DS that close. It allows for a friendship that others probably have to work at to make happen. But, the interview is not about our relationship. It's about what is happening in Big Stone Gap. Listen in and see God at work.

This episode is for the policy wonks in the audience. You know who you are. You love to delve into the workings of arcane commissions. I don't know how arcane the Commission on Equitable Compensation is, but I do know something about it. I have been the Chair of the Commission for the last couple of years. I have to admit, the Commission is best known for recommending the increase in the conference annual minimum salary levels. We do more than that, however. For those that want a better understanding of this Commission, then this is the podcast for you.

This morning I talk with David Tabor the District Superintendent of the Tazewell District. Listen in and learn some things about this great district of our annual conference.

In this podcast I talk once again with Laura McClean. Specifically we talk about the upcoming Junior and Senior High Assembly and about the Youth Mission opportunity this summer in Sevier and Blount County Tennessee.

I spend this Monday morning with my friend Nathan Malone. Nathan is the District Superintendent of the Knoxville District. I hope that you find this interview enlightening and that you learn more about some of the ministries of the Knoxville District.

In this podcast I sit down with Dan Taylor and ask him to explain the many roles that he fulfills within our annual conference.

In part 2 of my interview with Maryville District Superintendent Charles Maynard, I get a birds eye view of the breadth of some of the main ministries of the Maryville District. I learn about the Hispanic and Sundanese ministries. I also get information on the aftermath of the Gatlinburg fire. Finally, I am surprised to learn of one of the areas of church growth in some of the churches.