PlainSpoken

This week we take a look at the Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. What makes this conference difference from the other annual conferences in the US, what controversies are happening in this area and how they are dealing with disaffiliating churches. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Part of what I wanted to do with PlainSpoken is help to tell the stories of average people, clergy and laity, reckoning with the realities of the fallout in The United Methodist Church. John is a career clergy, most recently serving in the Mountain Sky Conference. He has severed his relationship with the UMC and is now GMC clergy. This conversation is sort of an exit interview. We do not bash the...

Dr. David deSilva is an expert in the Apocrypha at Ashland Theological Seminary. He graciously said yes to an interview, so of course I asked him about everything under the sun EXCEPT the Apocrypha. Probably not my smartest move. Even so, he was gracious enough to give his insights on the early church and human sexuality, especially as he is an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church. Dr. de...

Bishop Scott Jones served faithfully in The United Methodist Church all his adult life. He has now chosen to answer the call to be one of two full-time bishops in the Global Methodist Church. I learned that he would be speaking at a church nearby in Claremore, so I extended the invitation to him and his wife Mary Lou Reece to sit down for a visit. They were gracious to accept the invitation, to ha...

Jeff Pospicil has an active YouTube channel, on which he provides many resources for individuals and churches to be faithful with their money. He was the Treasurer for the Dakotas Annual Conference, where they thrived under his leadership. Jeff has conservative principles that directly translated, not just to financial wellbeing, but theological health in his context. He was recently recruited by...

The engagement with our show has been pretty incredible. On a daily basis, we are getting mail with personal encouragements as well as updates on things happening around the UMC. This episode covers three letters. If you wish to mail PlainSpoken a written letter, here is our mailing address: PO Box 129, Nowata, OK 74048 The first letter is a brief congratulation on my ordination. The second video...

If those leaving the UMC for conscience's sake want to do better, rather than perpetuating the same dysfunction in another decade or so, then it would do them well to discern what beliefs and practices got them to this point. If conservatives want to hear about how perfect they have been while the liberals have been evil and at fault for every single thing, then they aren't going to like m...

The East Ohio Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church has forced a congregation in Struthers Ohio to close their doors against their will. This unfortunate patter of behavior seems to be commonplace in The United Methodist Church in this season of disaffiliation, we look into this case and explore what happened to Struthers United Methodist Church. Show Notes: Christian Post Article: http...

Rev. Daniel Dennison was in ministry for two decades in the Oklahoma Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. His final appointment at Asbury (formerly United Methodist Church) in Tulsa put him in a position to see many financial realities of the conference that most laity and clergy in the conference are still ignorant about. Both he and Jeffrey were disciplined by the bishop for speakin...

Two big events taking place this Saturday at the same time. Each has potential to be really great! The Arkansas Annual Conference is holding their next Special Called session. The last one didn't go very well. We are hopeful that this one, under their new bishop, will go much more smoothly! Also, the Heartland TCAT of the Global Methodist Church is going to be holding a two-day event called Th...

Jeffrey attended the Oklahoma Annual Conference's "Special Called" session on April 22 with the lay leaders of the churches he serves in Nowata and Delaware, alongside TJ who attended as press. The four of them gathered to discuss what they experienced on the day of the conference, and what lessons they thought they learned that might be pertinent to people in other conferences struggl...

Jason Sutfin is an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church, currently serving in the Arkansas Annual Conference. As the UMs in Arkansas prepare for their next Special Called session on May 13, Jason wanted to help me understand the different dynamics at play there. This obviously intersects with the reporting I did on last year's session, which refused to ratify the disaffiliations of th...

United Methodist Bishop James Nunn recently sent a letter that has requested that all clergy that have disaffiliated from The United Methodist Church to turn in their credentials or be charged with disobedince to the book of discipline. According to the Bishop the recent judicial council decision does not impact this request. Clergy who refuse to submit their credentials before May 6th 2023 (The l...

Rev. Drew Ensz is clergy in the Virginia Annual Conference. Has been awaiting a church trial for years after having been brought up on charges for conducting the legal wedding ceremony of two gay men in his capacity as clergy of a college ecumenical ministry. We focused a little on his story in our segment on Bishop Sharma Lewis' conduct in the Mississippi Annual Conference, bringing up two cl...

We're thankful for everyone that has been tuning into our program as of late and we've been getting some great questions recently that we would like to address. Here is a response to two of those questions from one of our viewers. How are you able to do what you do under your Bishop and District Superintendent? & How are you able to effectively serve your churches and do this podcast a...

This is an update on the case of Bishop Minerva Carcaño, who was put on suspension for unnamed charges more than a year ago. The General Commission on Race & Religion has publicly reprimanded those responsible for her case and demanded an immediate lifting of her sanction. Meanwhile, another group of oppressed people from California-Nevada have simultaneously reprimanded GCORR for demanding ju...

Being connected together is a hallmark of being a Methodist, unfortunately we as conservatives can sometimes forget that. Rather than banding together and tackling issues head on we've isolated ourselves in our smaller communities, its time for that to change. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

First United Methodist of Shreveport Louisiana voted to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church this month, but that was not before a lawsuit and a well funded #StayUMC campaign that brought the church's drama into the spotlight. Show Notes: FUMC Shreveport Website: https://firstshreveport.com/ FUMC Shreveport Press Release: https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.cloversites.com/76/76668e34-eac2...

The Oklahoma Annual Conference hosted a "Special Called Conference" at which the two churches I serve were allowed to disaffiliate. This has some implications for me and my ministry that I wanted to explain. Also, PlainSpoken is doing well. I wanted to say out loud some things about what loyalties I hold and what my intentions are as I speak to sensitive topics. Advertising Inquiries: http...

Last year 106 churches in the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church filed suit against the conference in order to leave the organization. A Florida judge has now dismissed this lawsuit. We look into the details of happened with the case. Show Notes: WCA Update: https://wesleyancovenant.org/2023/04/18/an-update-on-lawsuits-across-the-usa/ Annual Conference Update: https://www.flu...

As many annual conferences around the country begin to gather to vote one disaffiliation what are some of the issues or common objections that will be put forward by those in opposition to churches leaving? In this video we explore some of the reasons why annual conferences might object to letting a local congregation leave, and if those objections actually hold any water. Advertising Inquiries: h...

Recently the North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church declared "Exigent Circumstances" and seized the property of Fifth Avenue United Methodist Church, a 175 year old congregation in Wilmington North Carolina. The members of the church, some who have been members their entire lives, were completely blindsided by the act. The congregation, who's members were begin...

Today we look at another United Methodist Annual Conference and how they are dealing with disaffiliation. The Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, lead by newly elected Bishop Tom Berlin, has implemented that disaffiliating churches are required to obtain potentially costly insurance policies on top of the other costs to leave the conference, which could leave some churches un...

Our bishops are elected to provide general oversight to the worldly and spiritual interest of the Church. With 46 active bishops in the US alone there are going to understandably be a wide range of different personalities and believes on different topics. In this video we are trying something different, we look at three of our bishops in the United States and evaluate some of the things they have...

Bishop Minerva Carcaño was suspended from her position (with pay) as Bishop of California-Nevada Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church pending an investigation into charges made against her. One year later it doesn't seem that much has happened, now a board within the organization wants to get involved to determine what is causing the delay. We look into what is happening with Bisho...