PlainSpoken

REV. CANON DAVID ROSEBERRY has been an ordained Anglican priest for over 40 years. He was the founding Rector of Christ Church, in Plano, Texas for over 30 years. Currently, he is the Executive Director of the non-profit ministry of LeaderWorks which serves leaders and congregations in the Anglican Church in North America. He is also leads The LeaderWorks Trust, a kickstarter program granting fund...

Mike Todd of Transformation Church has made quite a name for himself over the last few years, often from shocking and over the top sermon illustrations. In this episode we look at a few examples of his preaching and see what is potentially problematic. Sources: Clip 1 & 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9YMoE8QC6I Clip 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV2BhyQTIWw Clip 4: https://www.youtub...

Talbot Davis was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Princeton University and a Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary. In 30+ years of full-time ministry in the Western North Carolina Annual Conference, he has served two appointments: Mt. Carmel-Midway (1990-1999) and Good Shepherd (1999-present). In this conversation, we talk a bit about sac...

Was Jesus rich? Should we expect to be financially prosperous as Christians? You've probably seen videos floating around on the internet claiming many of those things. We take a look at a few of those videos and discuss what the Bible actually says about these things and what our response should be when presented with such ideas. If you enjoy what we are doing you can support us by subscribing...

In this section, we finish the portion dealing with how Robert's Rules of Order is going to be utilized, get into decorum, and wrap this whole segment up. Lots of opportunities for audience feedback on this one. We look forward to seeing what y'all have to say. Link to our petition questionnaire - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfh9VhGo7nB9zav4WGBUQ-lI_31Zn5Jey27OXaccLKem4Qkag/vi...

Rev. Dr. Peter Bellini is the Professor of Church Renewal & Evangelization at United Theological Seminary, as well as a Global Methodist Elder. He has a broad experience in life, both in the local church and in the academy. He as published a good amount of content on the Holy Spirit. I was encouraged to seek him out by Dr. David Watson, who thought Bellini could help me to figure out a helpful...

In this section, we deal primarily with the procedures we can anticipate being in place, especially some of the particulars around Robert's Rules and voting. As always, we sorta trip through the material and do a decent job eventually constructing a proper impression. We are pleased with this document and are optimistic about the gathering that it will make possible. Link to our petition quest...

Jeremy is the Lead Pastor of Crosspoint Church, a multi-site church with 6 campuses across Northwest Florida. He and Christy have been married for 20 years and have 3 kids. He is a passionate Alabama fan (graduated from there so it’s legit), loves sports, good sci-fi movies, and traveling around watching his kids play sports. He graduated from Asbury Theological Seminary and could be a professiona...

As you folks know, I have wanted the Global Methodist Church to be able to make good on the hopes of so many to become a truly multiethnic, global sign of Christ's presence and power. Racial separation hurts me. I believe it disappoints my Lord and cheapens his gospel. So I and others need to have conversations with people of underrepresented constituencies so that we know how to work towards...

Friends, I felt like I needed to comment a bit on the predicament of those with a biblical fidelity who are still within the UMC. I have had a series of conversations with people representing different positions on this question. I wanted to make clear where I stand, and to give encouragement to those of you who aren't sure how to navigate these things. I hope this offering of mine gives some...

Chance Robinson published an article in Firebrand a few weeks ago, outlining his personal history in the Freemasons and his theological clarity that secret societies are at odds with the Christian faith. In this conversation, Chance tells more of his story, and we try to flesh out why exactly secret fraternal organizations are such a threat to the Christian faith. We end in a conversation about id...

In this segment, TJ and I report on the petitions we filed and some of the feedback we got. We also get some more details about how the legislative committees are going to work in the months leading up to General Conference. We finally read a good deal of that guiding document for the Convening Conference session, which gives a lot more information about the nuts and bolts of how things will work...

UMNews picked up an article published by the Holston Annual Conference, which was essentially an interview with conservative clergy, the Rev. Dr. Randy Frye, who is a self-proclaimed conservative (though he hates labels) who will be staying in The United Methodist Church. In the article, he talks about how the legislation at the most recent General Conference only brings the issue of gay marriage...

Mark Holland published a piece that was over the line for a lot of folks, and he was pressed to make an apology for "harm" that it did. Lonnie Brooks has already aired a concern for progressive 'triumphalism' that was seen before, during, and is now being seen after the UMC's General Conference. Odell similarly has the concern that this progressive takeover bodes badly for blac...

The Convening Conference for the Global Methodist Church approaches quickly. TJ, Ruth, and I crafted nine documents that we plan to submit for the consideration of the assembled body in September. This segment explains our agenda and how it is that you can join us in advancing the conversation about who we want to be together. If you would like to consider our petitions, then please go to the link...

A lot has happened in the weeks following the General Conference of the United Methodist Church held in Charlotte, NC. So much took place that still has to be reckoned with. Our United Methodist laity and clergy attached to this group have a lot of information to share. Each has his own area of insight. This session was a barrage of analysis and insight. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.co...

Rev. Dr. Scott Field has long worked toward Methodist reform and renewal. He served as a pastor in the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church for 41 years. Scott served on the Board of Directors of Good News for 15 years and, along with an outstanding team, led the Reform and Renewal Coalition efforts at four UMC General Conferences. He, along with his wife Lynda, were the loc...

Rev. Tom Lambrecht has been a foremost source of knowledge for many who have tried to discern what is actually going on in the UMC for many years. While many institutionalist and liberal voices have gaslit conservative concerns for decades, Tom has been a consistent voice of reason and concern. His tenor is not at all smug as his concerns were realized in the last couple weeks. In this conversatio...

The Convening Conference for the Global Methodist Church is approaching. It will do many things similarly to how the UMC does their conferences. However, there will be many differences. The only way to navigate this September is to understand the design that they have made explicit in their "THE CONVENING GENERAL CONFERENCE COMMUNITY: PLAN OF ORGANIZATION AND COVENANT FOR OUR LIFE TOGETHER&#34...

When the General Conference met in Charlotte, NC, Rob Renfroe was there in a different capacity than ever: He knew that the long term agenda of evangelicals would lose, so he gave no resistance. His only purpose in attending was to support those remaining evangelicals who would otherwise be trapped, advocating for a way for them to exit. For that, he was maligned and insulted, even by a person or...

Mark Tooley has been the President of the Institute for Religion and Democracy for some time. The IRD is a think tank and activist coordination entity that has been operational in Methodism for some time. Mark has been a thought leader and source of information for faithful Methodists for many decades, educating and supporting evangelical Methodism consistently. In this conversation, Mark and I ta...

Andrew V. Sullivan is a PhD candidate in History, doing his dissertation on Wesleyanism, currently completing his program at Liberty University. A sixth-generation Texan, he aims to serve the Global Methodist Church in the academy, helping to train up a new generation of faithful Methodist clergy to spread scriptural holiness across the land. He is of exceptional knowledge in Methodist history and...

Chris Ritter blogs at PeopleNeedJesus.net. He is the pastor of First Methodist Church in Geneseo, Illinois, a congregation that has been recognized for its high number of professions of faith. In addition to authoring "Seven Things John Wesley Expected Us to Do for Kids" (Abingdon Press, 2016), Chris has published several chapters and published articles on topics pertinent to Methodism, ev...

In our 12th and final episode before the beginning of General Conference, this crew tries to ascertain the truth of where things stand. Simon was able to join us and give a report on the Africa Initiative's gathering and statements with respect to their polar opposition to Mainstream UMC, the visa process and how many delegates are left behind, and possible cooperative efforts once the African...

A few months ago, I sat down with my friends TJ and Robby and reviewed some of the teachings of Adam Hamilton. It was a good way for friends to seek the mind of Christ and apply his scriptures to today's church. I decided to get the band back together and see what biblical and practical wisdom my brothers would have. We go over some of the video, try to reconstruct a timeline, try to wrestle w...