Get Your Spirit in Shape

Christmas 2020 felt like it was stolen. Many of the things we enjoy most about the season—travel, parties, exchanging cookies, and singing Christmas carols/hymns in a filled sanctuary—were not the same. It made us feel a bit more Grinchy than we may have ever felt before. In this episode of Get Your Spirit in Shape, Crystal […]

For our 100th episode, we talk with Bishop Minerva Carcaño. Not only is she the current bishop of the San Francisco Episcopal Area, she is the first Hispanic woman appointed as a district superintendent in the continental United States and the first Hispanic female ever elected bishop. She is a leader in social justice ministries, […]

As Jesus is preparing his disciples for when he will no longer be with them in the flesh, he tells them how those who believe in him will continue his work. But he doesn’t leave it there. He then says, “and they will do even greater things than these” (John 14:12 NIV). Wow! Can we […]

While some bishops in the United States serve episcopal areas that include three or four states, Bishop Patrick Streiff serves one that includes 14 countries. The Central and Southern Europe Episcopal Area consists of 12 countries in Europe and two in Africa.
In addition to talking about his amazing work as a bishop, in this conversation from Zurich, Switzerland, we talk about his early life in Bern, the beginnings his faith development, his love of study and skiing, and his doctoral thesis on early Methodist John William Fletcher.
It is such a privilege to meet Bishop Patrick Streiff.

United Methodist pastor and author the Rev. Sherry Cothran invites us to take a closer look at the stories of some of the wild and holy women of the Bible. While we may be familiar with Esther, Rahab and others, Cothran teaches that their lives and circumstances hold clues for healing our own pain.
In this conversation, Crystal and Sherry talk about how resurrecting these stories may encourage us to untame certain parts of who we are.

When faced with resistance, we sometimes back down, even when we believe we are doing what God has created us to do.
In this conversation, the Rev. Donna Fowler-Marchant, author of a new book titled, Mothers in Israel: Methodist Beginnings Through the Eyes of Women, introduces us to some of the amazing women of the early Methodist movement. Each chose to follow God, even when the tradition of the day (and many of the men) were saying what they were doing was wrong.
You may have heard about the bold strength of Susanna Wesley, mother of John and Charles. But do you know about Mary Bosanquet Fletcher? How about Sarah Lawrence and Mary Taft? Learn from their example of the conviction to follow where God leads.

Two of the authors of I’m Black. I’m Christian. I’m Methodist. talk about the importance of confronting racism both within the Church and throughout society. They share stories of their experiences as United Methodist pastors and differences they have noticed in the ways we talk about and process racial injustice.
The Rev. Rudy Rasmus, senior pastor of St. Johns United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas, and the Rev. Jevon Caldwell-Gross, teaching pastor at St Luke’s United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, talk with Joe about the state of the Church, our politics and societal ills. Along the way, they encourage us to look deeply at our congregations and communities.

Many of us have questions about the Holy Spirit. We’ve heard things and assume others, but we’re unsure if any of them are true.
Jack Levison, Professor of Old Testament Interpretation at Perkins School of Theology and the author of several books, addresses many of these issues and helps us to understand how the Holy Spirit infuses our ordinary days with the extraordinary presence of God.
Jack talks specifically about Pentecost, Jesus’s baptism, and the way the Spirit works in our lives today.

As many focus on their health in a new year, Kathleen Griffith reminds us to have a holistic approach—body, mind and spirit.
“When one is unwell, one’s whole being is affected,” explains the interim Global Health Team Lead and the Program Manager of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health with the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church. “We are such integrated beings.”
Griffith also shares how the Abundant Health Initiative of the UMC’s audacious goal of reaching one million children with lifesaving intervention was reached in the fall of 2020.

Our final Give Love: Advent 2020 conversation is with Mark and Deirdre Zimmerman, United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries missionaries serving in Kathmandu, Nepal. Mark is a physician and Deirdre a nutritionist who care for people at Patan Hospital and through community outreach programs.
In this conversation, we talk about their life as a missionary couple, parenting, and how being fully present to patients, students, colleagues, and to God, helps them in their work of sharing the love of Jesus by caring for the physical needs of others.
Hear the rest of our 2020 Give Love missionary episodes.