130 episodes
Church is Changing Church is Changing
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- Religion & Spirituality
We bring you stories of hope and resilience from leaders around the world who are engaging the gospel message in new ways. We interview thought leaders who bring wisdom about the changing cultural landscape and its implications for faith formation. If you are a church leader looking for practical ideas and new ways of approaching church in the 21st century, this podcast is for you.
About the Hosts:
Beth Estock
After serving as a United Methodist pastor in a variety of settings in Georgia and Oregon, and then as Director of New Faith Community Development in the Oregon and Idaho conferences of The United Methodist Church, Beth Estock wanted to help big-hearted leaders have impact without exhaustion. She is a Master Certified Integral Coach™ as well as a meditative yoga instructor. Her contemplative sensibilities and integral approach inform her coaching work with leaders all over North America and the United Kingdom.
She has written two books, Weird Church: Welcome to the 21st Century and Discernment: Spiritual Practices for Building a Life of Faith. You can find out more about her at www.bethestock.com
Paul Nixon
Paul Nixon is Director of Church Multiplication for Discipleship Ministries, an agency of The United Methodist Church. He has served as a Director of Church Development for an annual conference, served as a church planter, and coached scores of innovative leaders across the last quarter century. Paul is the president of Epicenter Group, a coaching organization currently focused on ministry in North America and the United Kingdom. Paul has written eleven books – including a joyful collaboration with Beth Estock in 2016 as they released Weird Church: Welcome to the 21stt Century. His most recent book is Launching a New Worship Community: A Field Guide for the 2020s, co-authored with Craig Gilbert and twelve ministry innovators. You can find out more about him at www.epicentergroup.org.
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Church is Changing: Episode 50 – Dr. Andrea Smith
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 the link to learn more about Amped online children’s ministry: https://www.youtube.com/@amped.online -
Church is Changing: Episode 49 – Felicia Hopkins
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.
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Church is Changing: Episode 48 – Paul Nixon
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; choosing community over isolation; choosing fun over drudgery; choosing bold over mild; choosing frontier over fortress; and choosing now rather than later.
The book will be available on May 15. You can also host a book party in person or online by contacting Paul at paulnixon@me.com. Learn more at epicentergroup.org. -
Church is Changing: Episode 47 – Nigel Pimlott
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 blazer and mentor, and a holy agitator for new forms of faith community. In this conversation, he talks about the patterns and trends of faith formation and offers some ideas for its future. You will be amazed at how his experience tracks with what is unfolding in mainline churches in the United States. You can reach him through Facebook at facebook.com/nigel.pimlott.5.
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Church is Changing: Episode 46 – Dustin Mailman
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. -
Church is Changing: Episode 45 – Dr. Candace Lewis
In this episode, host Paul Nixon interviews Dr. Candace Lewis, who leads Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta. Candace has served as a church planter, led the Path 1 team resourcing United Methodist church planters globally, worked as a district superintendent, and now leads an institution preparing pastors for the twenty-first century. Paul asks her about an evocative address she gave to the FXUM gathering entitled, "We Can Do Hard Things." This address received an extended standing ovation. And we share it with you here (it is keynote number 4): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrfcxQiIjpMRGAZQ36P15yHkEm7I3OuO3. Paul and Candace share a robust conversation on where church is going in the coming years.