Beliefs Matter Podcast

Thanks for joining us for the Beliefs Matter Podcast! In this episode, Rev. Dr. Maxie Dunnam pulls up a chair with clergy in the Methodist tradition to discuss leadership in the church, and what their vision is for the future of the church and ministry.

Dionne C. Hammond is originally from Long Island, NY, and currently serves as the District Superintendent/Chief Missional Strategist for the Atlantic Central District in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. Her district is along the east coast of Florida – the "beach district". Dionne is passionate about introducing people to Jesus and creating healthy, vital churches. Having served as part of a clergy teams at two previous local churches, as well as on the ministry staff teams of multiple churches, Dionne knows the importance of healthy church culture, trusted relationships, and resilient leadership. Dionne is a graduate of Houghton College and Asbury Theological Seminary. Married to Craig for 34 years, also a United Methodist pastor, they are the parents of three young adults. They love to paddleboard, run, be with friends, travel and walk the beach with their English Setter, Winnie. Florida has been home for 25 years.

Carolyn Moore has practiced as an ordained pastor since 1998. In addition to her role as church planter and lead pastor, she is the author of four Bible studies (Encounter Jesus, Encounter the Spirit, Encounter the Father, and Supernatural), and two books (The 19: Questions to Kindle a Wesleyan Spirit; and When Women Lead, released in 2022 by Zondervan). Carolyn and her son-in-law co-host a podcast called The Art of Holiness, bringing conversations about supernatural ministry, practical holiness and intergenerational encouragement into the church. Here are links if you want to use them: When Women Lead: https://my.seedbed.com/product/when-women-lead/ Seedbed books: https://my.seedbed.com/?s=Carolyn+Moore Art of Holiness: https://artofholiness.com/

Dr. Dunnam has a website with a plethora of writings and resources at maxiedunnam.com.

For more information about World Methodist Evangelism, check out worldmethodist.org

Thanks for joining us for the Beliefs Matter Podcast! In this episode, Rev. Dr. Maxie Dunnam pulls up a chair with retired clergy Paul Stallsworth and Phil Thrailkil to discuss leadership in the church, and what retired clergy have to say to the church today and the next generation of ministry leaders.

Paul Stallsworth was born and bred a Methodist on the high plains of southwestern Kansas. He graduated from Garden City High School (1968), Kansas State University (1972), and Duke Divinity School (1976). He married Marsha Lemke in 1971; and they received four children: Ryan, Paige (who "crossed the Jordan" at 21 because of cancer), Matthew, and Peter. A member of the North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church, he served: First United Methodist Church in Elizabeth City as the associate pastor, Cumberland United Methodist Church in Cumberland, The Center on Religion and Society and The Institute on Religion and Public Life (both in NYC, both with Rev. Richard John Neuhaus), Creswell United Methodist Charge in Washington County, Rose Hill United Methodist Church in Rose Hill, St. Peter's United Methodist Church in Morehead City, and Whiteville United Methodist Church in Whiteville. In retirement, he continues the president and editor of Lifewatch, which witnesses to the truth about Christ and His Church, life and abortion, and marriage and sexuality. He currently lives with Marsha in Wilson, NC.

Phil Thrailkill is a retired United Methodist pastor in Greer, SC. He served as the chair of The Mission Society, now TMS Global, for five years, and has been involved in missions in Fiji, Kazakhstan, and Africa. His most recent book, published in Oct. 2022 by Wipf & Stock is "Following Jesus: Discipleship in the Gospel of Luke and Beyond." He also followed Dr. Billy Abraham as the theologian at the Confessing Movement with the United Methodist Church. He is currently researching a book on the healing miracles in Luke's Gospel. Dr. Dunnam has a website with a plethora of writings and resources at maxiedunnam.com.

For more information about World Methodist Evangelism, check out worldmethodist.org

Thanks for joining us for the Beliefs Matter Podcast! In this episode, Rev. Dr. Maxie Dunnam pulls up a chair with two younger clergy in the Global Methodist Church to discuss leadership in the church, and what their vision is for the future of the church and ministry.

Grant Caldwell makes his home in Tennessee, was born in Clarksville, went to school in Knoxville, and now am a proud Memphian. My wife, Casey, and I have been married for 8 years, and are parents to one son, Kayden. He is a graduate from both the University of Tennessee and Southern Seminary, and has served on staff at Christ Church Memphis for 7 years in missions, pastoral care, and now as the church's Discipleship Pastor. In his spare time, he likes to spend time with our dog Knox, read books, and dream about his favorite sports teams being good one day.

William Merriman is the director of High School ministries at Christ Church, Memphis. He graduated summa cum laude in English from Sewanee: The University of the South in 2019, and he graduated from Asbury Theological Seminary in 2022 with a Master of Arts in Theological Studies with a concentration in Philosophy and Apologetics. He is married to his wife Courtney and loves his dog Darcy.

Dr. Dunnam has a website with a plethora of writings and resources at maxiedunnam.com.

For more information about World Methodist Evangelism, check out worldmethodist.org

Thanks for joining us for the Beliefs Matter Podcast! In this episode, Rev. Dr. Maxie Dunnam pulls up a chair with Rev. Dr. Bryan Collier to discuss leadership in the church, and what that means for pastors and leaders with multiple sites and in today's church paradigm.

Dr. Bryan Collier is the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Orchard Church in Tupelo, Mississippi. With its five sites throughout northeast Mississippi, The Orchard is focused on Growing Deep in the Love of Jesus and Branching Out to others with that love. Prior to planting The Orchard, Bryan served four pastorates in Mississippi and Kentucky. In 1991 he earned a BS degree, Cum Laude in Education from Mississippi State University and his Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary in 1994. In 1997 he received a Beeson Fellowship Grant where his researched focused on systems theory and its impact as a tool of the leader and pastor in the church. His interests include leadership issues, church for the unchurched and cultural dissection. He is the author of Becoming An Orchard, Xulon Press, and The Go-To Church, Abingdon Press. Dr. Dunnam has a website with a plethora of writings and resources at maxiedunnam.com.

For more information about World Methodist Evangelism, check out worldmethodist.org

Thanks for joining us for the Beliefs Matter Podcast! In this episode, Rev. Dr. Maxie Dunnam pulls up a chair with Phil Tallon and Teddy Ray to discuss the development of the Global Methodist Church Catechism. Phil and Teddy served on the team that drafted the new catechism for the Global Methodist Church, which is available online and will soon be published by Seedbed.

Philip Tallon (PhD, St Andrews) is Dean of the School of Christian Thought and Houston Theological Seminary at Houston Christian University. He is the author of The Poetics of Evil and The Absolute Basics of the Christian Faith. He lives in Houston, as one might expect, with his wife and kids and dog.

Teddy Ray was a pastor in the Kentucky United Methodist Church for twenty years. He is currently studying at Yale Law School and lives in North Haven, Connecticut, with his wife and four kids. Dr. Dunnam has a website with a plethora of writings and resources at maxiedunnam.com.

For more information about World Methodist Evangelism, check out worldmethodist.org

Thanks for joining us for the Beliefs Matter Podcast! In this episode, Rev. Dr. Maxie Dunnam pulls up a chair with Jeremy Smith from Crosspoint Church and Jorge Acevedo from Grace Church, both in Florida. Jorge loves Jesus Christ and his Church. He will retire from his role as Lead Pastor at Grace Church (www.egracechurch.com), a multi-site congregation in Southwest Florida, after 27 years in August and will begin a new coaching, writing, and speaking ministry (www.jorgeacevedo.com). Jorge is a graduate of Asbury College (B.A.), Asbury Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and United Theological Seminary (D.Div. and D.Min.).

Jeremy is the Lead Pastor of Crosspoint Church in Northwest Florida. He, his wife, and their 3 kids have been at Crosspoint for 13 years and love it! Jeremy is a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary and the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!). Dr. Dunnam has a website with a plethora of writings and resources at maxiedunnam.com For more information about World Methodist Evangelism, check out worldmethodist.org

Thanks for joining us for the Beliefs Matter Podcast! In this episode, Rev. Dr. Maxie Dunnam pulls up a chair with James Loftin from FollowOne International and Nathan Cook from Christ Church Memphis.

James Loftin is founder and president of FollowOne International (est. 2004), a mission that provides coaching and resources to help churches and Christ followers have maximum impact on their communities and the world. Prior to FollowOne, James was dean of the chapel and director of missions at Asbury Theological Seminary (Orlando campus). He also served as the minister of missions in several churches and was a senior corporate consultant with Awake Consulting and Coaching. In addition to serving on the team that started the Orlando Campus of Asbury Seminary, Reverend Loftin helped launch an international school in Asia and two nonprofit ministries in the US that continue to excel: Break Thru Ministries in Mississippi and Service Over Self (SOS) in Tennessee. James holds an undergraduate degree in sociology from Mississippi State University and a master of divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary. He has listened, learned, and served in urban and rural settings in over forty nations. After living in China for five years, James and his wife, Vivien, came to the United States for a two-week vacation in early 2020. Unable to return to Asia due to the pandemic, the Loftins made a home in Georgia. They enjoy exploring nature, trying new foods, and making friends. James' book, Born to Shine, can be found at the FollowOne website or on Amazon.com.

Nathan Cook is the new Missions Pastor at Christ Church in Memphis. He grew up going to Christ Church as a youth. Through volunteering at SOS, God gave him a vision for urban ministry. For the last 20 years he has been living in the Binghampton neighborhood with his family. He started several house churches in urban neighborhoods and prepared young physicians for missionary service while working at Christ Community Health Services. He also spent several years doing grassroot community development, helping to start an outreach to women trapped in prostitution and addiction. He is a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, KY. He is married to Kim, his partner in life and ministry. Together they have three children: Caleb, Grace and Ella.

Dr. Dunnam has a website with a plethora of writings and resources at maxiedunnam.com

For more information about World Methodist Evangelism, check out worldmethodist.org

Thanks for joining us for the Beliefs Matter Podcast! In this episode, Rev. Dr. Maxie Dunnam pulls up a chair with Global Methodist Church Bishop Mark Webb to discuss the birth of the new orthodox expression of Methodism and his hope for the future of the Methodist movement. Bishop Webb serves at one of the founding bishops of the GMC and is a general superintendent for the GMC with supervisory responsibilities in the northern parts of North America, Africa, and Europe.

To learn more about the Global Methodist Church, go to globalmethodist.org and check out all that is happening across the globe. As of May, the Global Methodist Church is one year old, having launched on May 1, 2022.

Dr. Dunnam has a website with a plethora of writings and resources at maxiedunnam.com

For more information about World Methodist Evangelism, check out worldmethodist.org