Category Archives: Podcast Episodes

Darryl Burton, a newly ordained elder in The United Methodist Church sat in prison for 24 years. Lamont McIntyre sat in prison for 23 years. Neither man actually committed the murders for which they were accused. A ministry in New Jersey helped exonerate them, but there was no assistance to help them reacclimate to society.Continue reading “Miracle of Innocence”

In October 1990, a relatively small group of people met for worship for the first time — in a funeral home. With a name that was somewhat tongue-in-cheek because of its location but also a theological statement because of its dedication to Jesus Christ, United Methodist Church of the Resurrection was born. The congregation madeContinue reading “Church of the Resurrection celebrates its 30th anniversary”

The worship team at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Papillion, Nebraska, missed its choir. Like so many others, the church had to cancel choir amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But a group of lay people and the church’s pastor worked together to figure out how to create a virtual choir. Now, with three songs underContinue reading “Adapting Church: Virtual Choir”

In the third of a three-part series on class meetings, Todd explores how class meetings provided a model of growth and evangelism in the past and how they can be a sustainable force in the present. Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. is the featured guest who shares a vision for how class meetings can sustain aContinue reading “Class Meetings: History as Future”

Richard Rothstein started exploring how segregation impacted education. What he discovered was how detrimental policies set by federal agencies deliberately held down African Americans regarding housing. As a result, Black Americans have not been able to build wealth, they live near more environmental hazards and have continued to be treated as second-class citizens. Rothstein recordsContinue reading “The Color of Law”

We may never be able to conquer racism if we don’t start openly talking about racism and the way it impacts our entire society. In this episode, Todd talks with the Rev. Kathy Williams, an African-American pastor serving a small town in Kansas, who talks about the silence she observed after the death of GeorgeContinue reading “Let’s Talk About Race”

We continue our look at class meetings and class leaders by taking a look at a pilot project in the Great West District in Nebraska, where Pastor Mark Baldwin is helping mentor a class leader. We also talk to Lisa Maupin, Great Plains Conference lay leader, about the way the class meeting model can helpContinue reading “Class Meetings: Laity as the Key”

Class meetings — with strong class leaders — were among the ways the Methodist movement spread westward and through the prairies of the United States. But could looking to the denomination’s past help laity and churches pave the way to a brighter, more vital future? In this first of several episodes about class meetings, hostContinue reading “Class Meetings: Why Now?”

In the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis — and following our previous episode titled “Black Lives Matter,” we explore how people can respond to help end racism. In this episode, we talk openly about what white people can do to help, and we explore what it means when we say “whiteContinue reading “Response to Racism”

The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day weekend 2020 sparked outrage. Video of the incident shows a police officer with his knee pressed down on the man’s neck for almost nine minutes. In response, people have taken to the streets in protest. They are voicing their anger and telling their stories. ThisContinue reading “Black Lives Matter”