Holy Roast Podcast holyroast

In this week’s episode, Rob and Rachel sit down with Rev. Rachel Gilmore. Rachel is the Director of New and Vital Faith in the Desert Southwest Conference of the UMC.
Rachel graduated magna c*m laude from Duke Divinity School as a Distinguished Leader after serving for two years in the Peace Corps in Bulgaria.  She is the author of Expanding the Expedition Reach with Missional Communities and a contributor to Launching a New Worship Community: a Practical Guide for the 2020s (Upper Room, 2021). Rachel is married to Rev. Brandon Gilmore, a pastor at Central United Methodist Church in Phoenix, Arizona where they are creating a new faith community while revitalizing the existing congregation.
In this episode, Rachel talks about the common myths about church planting, how to measure the impact and effectiveness of churches including church plants, how all local churches need to be church innovators, how to overcome the challenges of fostering community in our current social context, best practices that churches can take to reach new people in their community, and some current trends in church planting that she finds promising.

In this week’s episode, Rob and Rachel sit down with Bishop Will Willimon. The Reverend Dr. William H. Willimon **is Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at the Divinity School, Duke University. He served eight years as Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of The United Methodist Church. For twenty years prior to the episcopacy, he was Dean of the Chapel and Professor of Christian Ministry at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Dr. Willimon is a graduate of Wofford College (B.A., 1968), Yale Divinity School (M.Div., 1971) and Emory University (S.T.D., 1973). He is the author of roughly one hundred books. Willimon’s articles have appeared in many publications.
In this episode, Bishop Willimon discusses his hopes for what will happen at General Conference, his dream for the future of the UMC, how pastors can create change in a denomination that is often slow to adapt, the role of the Bishop in the UMC, pressing challenges the UMC is facing today, and advice he would give to young people.
To learn more about Bishop Will Willimon, you can head to his website here: https://willwillimon.com/.

In this week’s episode, Rob and Rachel sit down with Rev. Dr. Jean Hawxhurst. Rev. Dr. Jean G. Hawxhurst serves as an Ecumenical Staff Officer for the United Methodist Council of Bishops.  Her responsibilities include general ecumenical engagement with organizations and groups, grants and scholarships, and leadership development.  She has served in this ministry position since 2015.  Dr. Hawxhurst holds a BA degree in mathematics and education from the University of Richmond, an MDiv degree in theology from Lexington Theological Seminary, and a DMin degree from Louisville Seminary, with a focus on theological diversity.  She also holds a certificate in ecumenical studies from the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Institute at Bossey.  She is an ordained elder in the Kentucky Annual Conference, and prior to this appointment served three local congregations and as a District Superintendent.  She is married to Rev. Dr. Jerry Cappel, a priest in The Episcopal Church USA.  They have two adult children and four grandchildren.
 
In this episode, Rev. Dr. Jean Hawxhurst reflects upon her calling in her current role, how she has met two different Popes, how she navigates theological differences between various Christian traditions, the evolving role of pastors in an ecumenical future, challenges she has faced, and some helpful ways that local churches and pastors can embrace ecumenism and foster greater unity among Christians of different denominations.

In this week’s episode, Rob and Rachel sit down with Dr. Kate Bowler*.* Kate Bowler, Ph.D. is a 4x New York Times bestselling author, award-winning podcast host, and professor at Duke University. She hosts the Everything Happens podcast where, in warm, insightful, often funny conversations, she talks with people like Malcolm Gladwell, Tig Notaro, and Archbishop Justin Welby about what they’ve learned in difficult times. Author of seven books including Good Enough, The Lives We Actually Have, and her latest, Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day!, she lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her family and continues to teach do-gooders at Duke Divinity School.
In this episode, Dr. Bowler talks about what history can teach us in this particular cultural moment in the church, what to do when things don’t go our way in ministry, the effects of toxic positivity in the church, and the hope she has for the future of the church.

In this week’s episode, Rob and Rachel sit down with Rev. Leigh Ann Maynard. Rev. Leigh Ann is the Associate Pastor for Bridge Ministries at Christ Church United Methodist in Louisville, KY.
In this episode, Leigh Ann will reflect with Rachel and Rob on what it means to be a woman in ministry. Leigh Ann will discuss her call to ministry, ridiculous things said to female clergy, unique gifts that female leaders can offer the local church right now, and how local churches and leaders can empower female disciples.
Are you sensing a call to ministry? We’d love to connect you to resources to help you discern that call! Email us at holyroast@kyumc.org.
Holy Roast will be LIVE at Annual Conference this June! Join us Sunday, June 9, 5pm, at the Marriott Hotel in Northern Kentucky for a live recording of the Holy Roast Podcast. Be on the look out to reserve your seat! (Space is limited!)

In this week’s episode, Rob and Rachel sit down with Dr. Jemar Tisby. Jemar Tisby (BA, University of Notre Dame; MDiv, Reformed Theological Seminary) is the New York Times bestselling author of “The Color of Compromise” and the award-winning “How to Fight Racism.” He is a historian who studies race, religion, and social movements, and serves as a professor at Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically Black college.
In this episode, Dr. Tisby reflects upon what motivated him to write, “The Color of Compromise,” the historical complicity of the church in racial injustice, the role he’d like to see the church play in the ongoing struggle for racial justice, and what faith leaders in predominately white churches can do to fight racism.
All things Dr. Jemar Tisby can be found at https://jemartisby.com/.