Church is Changing

In this episode, Paul Nixon interviews the church development directors of Baltimore Washington and Western North Carolina Conferences of the UMC: Bill Brown and Rob Hutchinson. The topic: the changing signs of church vitality in the 2020s and what should we now measure?

In this episode, Paul Nixon interviews Anne Borsage of South Georgia about how the Spirit is moving in Methodism in the Deep South, after half the churches in the area disaffiliated. The surprise in her answer is a wave of new house churches!

In a time of deep division, the unraveling of our national institutions, and the undeniable uncertainty within our congregations, how do we, as Christian leaders, stay rooted in the way of Jesus – and hold fast to our prophetic witness? Today, we’re honored to be joined by Rev. Donna Claycomb Sokol – a wise, courageous, and deeply spiritual pastoral leader serving at Mount Vernon Place United Meth...

In this episode of Church is Changing, Paul Nixon explores the ways that AI is rapidly changing the way we go about ministry. He interviews Pastor Tom Arthur of Sycamore Creek UMC in Lansing, Michigan, along with Tom's friend and tech resource David Smith. This is one of Paul's favorite conversations. So amazing are the potential applications for helping us with our work, from preaching to ministr...

Are you feeling stuck? Are the things that used to work no longer working? Are you questioning the future of the church as we know it? Then this conversation is for you! Listen in on this conversation from Portland, Oregon – a post-Christendom area of the United States that is a harbinger for the rest of the country in terms of the changing landscape of the church. Erin Martin left her role as a D...

Dan Pezet is district superintendent in Charlotte, North Carolina, with urban, suburban, and rural churches. Paul Nixon considers this district a microcosm of American Methodism east of the Rockies. In this episode, Paul poses many of the same questions to Dan that he and Beth Estock explored in the year end episode of 2024. This is a conversation about emerging trends in American congregational l...

What is possible with twelve elderly people in an old church building? Listen to this conversation with Wayne Grewcock, who led this group of bright-eyed people to reimagine sacred community online. Listen to Shoreline’s origin story and the impact this ministry is having as it ripples out on multiple platforms. Click here to learn more about Shoreline Methodist Community: https://www.facebook.com...

In this episode of Church is Changing, Paul Nixon interviews the Rev. Katie Philips of The Vine UMC in northern Virginia. The Vine is host of a monthly gathering called Improv Church, using improv comedy as a vehicle for celebrating Gospel. Beyond this particular program of the Vine, the larger focus of this conversation is about Ministry as improv – or what Katie calls improv theology. For more a...

In this final episode of 2024, Church is Changing hosts Paul Nixon and Beth Estock reflect on trends and issues of parish ministry that marked the year now ending.

In this episode, host Paul Nixon interviews two young German United Methodists, Samuel Lacher and Moritz Mosebach. Samuel and Moritz reflect on shifts happening in German Methodism that are leading to more success in engaging young adults. The key is a re-emphasis on encounter – an idea as old as the Gospels and prominent in evangelism theory across the ages.

How does transformation happen? Anna Hoesly and Stori Long would say – one story at a time, especially when you believe that everything that is needed can be unearthed and nurtured through listening deeply to our sacred stories in community. If you are interested in the inherent simplicity in building beloved community through story, you won’t want to miss this conversation! Click here for more in...

In this episode, host Paul Nixon interviews two pastors who have helped birth new, vital UMC congregations after predecessor churches disaffiliated from the denomination. David Teel of North Alabama and Karen Jones of South Carolina share what they have learned on their planting journeys!

What would you do if you had five grieving people and an entire church campus as your canvas for starting something new? Listen to my hope-filled and energizing conversation with Rev. Dr. Elizabeth LeMaster, pastor at Sedona United Methodist Church in Arizona. The church has a beautiful campus set against the red rocks, but ended up with five members after the season of disaffiliations. Elizabeth...

In this episode, Paul Nixon interviews Jessica Taylor, Associate Director of Fresh Expressions United Methodist (FXUM). Paul and Jessica explore the basics of the FX movement, ponder the difference (or lack of difference) between Fresh Expressions and new churches. Jessica comes to ministry as a laywoman, a 20-something, a young mom, and a person who came to faith as a young adult. She has a lot t...

In this episode of Church is Changing, host Paul Nixon interviews Rev. Sam Parkes, the new pastor of FUMC Mesa, Arizona, about the challenges of getting started in a new pastoral appointment in the 2020s.

Who doesn’t like Asian food? Why not gather Asian American and Pacific island second generation young adults to eat spicy Asian food as a way to create communities of radical acceptance, solidarity, and hospitality? Meet Danielle Buwon Kim, an ordained elder in the North Texas Conference who leads a AAPI focused dinner church in the Dallas/Fort Worth area called KA:LL. Listen in as she shares the...

In this episode of Church is Changing, Paul Nixon interviews co-host Beth Estock about a new ministry of her church: community dinners. Why would a church throw a community-wide dinner where there is absolutely no recruiting for church participation? Among the many reasons, it is making Joseph United Methodist Church in northeastern Oregon a legend on the community grapevine!

In this episode, Paul Nixon interviews Rev. Claire McNulty Drewes of Longmont, Colorado on how her church rebounded so significantly after the pandemic, more than doubling in the last two years. Her analysis defies many old instincts and assumptions. In the conversation, Claire references the book "The Adept Church" by Doug Powe Jr.

How did an aging suburban church in decline become a community hub of resilience and new life? Listen to this interview with Keren Rodriguez, pastor of Aloha United Methodist Church located less than 15 miles from downtown Portland, Oregon. Rodriguez is on the front line of providing housing for the houseless in the parking lot of the church called Safe Rest Village. And that is only the beginning...

How did an Olympic paddler end up starting a worldwide ministry on the banks of the Nantahala River? Wayner Dickert worked for 30 years at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in North Carolina before asking his boss if he could start a little worship service on the bank of the river. Now 18 years later, Wayner will be retiring as the pastor of River of Life Ministry. If you are interested in the cross se...

In this episode, host Paul Nixon interviews Dr. Andrea Smith, planter pastor of West UMC in Lake Norman, North Carolina, a church that has morphed with nimbleness ever since it was planted. A focus of the conversation is related to a digital children's ministry that grew out of the pandemic and has continued to develop, as they seek to engage an ever-changing population of American children. Click...

In this episode, Paul Nixon interviews Northwest Texas DS Felicia Hopkins on her experience through disaffiliation of 80 percent of her churches. Hopkins also discusses moving onto a season of planting and creativity in West Texas.

If you refuse to lead a dying church, this conversation is for you! Paul Nixon has recently revised his best-selling book "I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church" for the new cultural context in which we find ourselves. In this episode, he offers six choices that churches and church leaders need to make in order to thrive in our post-Covid world. They include the following: choosing life over death; choo...

Bring your notebook to this conversation with Nigel Pimlott as he shares some of his reflections from over 40 years in cutting edge ministry in the UK. Pimlott also offers some pithy and subversive one-liners that could be pondered for years. He is the former learning, development, and leadership trainer and coach for the Methodist Church of Great Britain. Pimlott is a man of deep faith, a trail b...

What do coffee roasting, Howard Thurman, and people with criminal records have in common? Listen to our conversation with Dustin Mailman, who leads Deep Time, a new ministry anchored at Trinity UMC in West Asheville, North Carolina. To find out more or purchase some coffee go to deeptimeavl.org. To contact Dustin Mailman directly, email dustin@trinitywavl.org.