A couple of years ago, I did a series called ‘Considering Charlotte,’ which was a series of panels addressing the various developing issues around The United Methodist Church’s last General Conference. It was a good series in which I capitalized upon the insights of Lonnie Brooks, Odell Horne, Simon Mafunda, and Joe Dipaolo, as well as a few others.

With the General Conference of the Global Methodists approaching, I was asked by a few friends to facilitate a ‘Considering Johannesburg’ series (Johannesburg is where they will be meeting next week). Unfortunately, life didn’t afford a lot of time to be proactive in these things. I scheduled several panels for this one week to make up for my unfortunate lack of productivity in previous weeks.

Today’s stream frustratingly did not connect to the servers at Restream. That means it did not go out to YouTube, Facebook, Rumble, X, or Locals. I’m still not quite sure what happened. It only went out to YouTube in a vertical format.

This video is the horizontal format that nobody got to see live. It has the comments left by friends who tuned in.

A few folks have recently contacted me to ask about the podcast. Not much has gone out on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for a while. That is because that audio comes from this Substack, and I don’t upload everything I do here. Rather, if you want to see everything I do, you need to go to YouTube and go to the ‘Live’ tab. I have produced several pieces of content each week for months. I’m sorry I haven’t done a better job of including everyone. I’m always anxious about annoying people.

Anyway, I have several other panels scheduled for this week. Make sure to join in as you’re able!

Methodists aren’t exactly famous for apologetics in the online space. While Reformed and independent voices dominate the conversation, Wesleyans have often stayed quiet. Is that a problem? Should we even try to enter the fray? And if we do, what should it look like?

In this collaborative conversation between Jeffrey Rickman (PlainSpoken) and Ed Rodarmel (Omni Methodist), we sit down with Rev. Todd Christine, author of Apologetics, Calmly Considered, to explore these questions.

Todd doesn’t present apologetics as intellectual combat or online sparring. Instead, he frames it as something that belongs inside discipleship — a practice that forms the apologist as much as it addresses the person on the other side of the conversation. Drawing from 1 Peter 3:15, he insists that any defense of the faith must be rooted in a life already marked by gentleness, reverence, and hope.

We talk about:

* What apologetics actually means (and why the word itself confuses people)

* The difference between apologetics and polemics

* Why the telos (the goal or end) of apologetics matters more than winning the argument

* How Wesleyan theology — with its emphasis on holiness, the means of grace, and prevenient grace — offers a distinctive approach

* Why truth is not merely a set of propositions but a Person

* How early church figures like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian modeled different postures in different contexts

* Why many young people leave the faith in college — and what churches (and parents) can do about it

Todd is especially passionate about the next generation. After discovering the scarcity of Wesleyan resources on the subject, he restructured his church’s entire educational program to include apologetics from first grade through adulthood. He also helped launch a conference summer camp centered on the topic — and the fruit has been striking.

The conversation stays warm, thoughtful, and pastoral rather than combative. If you’ve ever wondered whether Methodists have something unique to offer in the realm of defending and explaining the faith, this episode will give you plenty to chew on.

Where to get the bookApologetics, Calmly Considered is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Westbowpress.com. It includes a small group study guide in the back, making it useful for churches, leadership teams, and parents who want to engage the material together.

Westbow Link - https://www.westbowpress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/875167-apologetics-calmly-considered

The conversation centers on the theological and moral stakes of abortion, framed primarily through the lens of Joel Webb’s experience as a Free Methodist clergy member working four days a week at Spero Pregnancy Center in Port Huron, Michigan. Webb, a dual Canadian-American citizen who grew up as a theological minority in a politically liberal country, traces his commitment to the pro-life cause back to a foundational conviction: that human life is sacred from conception to natural death, and that every other moral and social question presupposes that someone is alive to ask it. He draws a direct line from Canada’s increasingly permissive approach to Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) — now accounting for 5.1% of annual deaths in Canada — back to the same secular materialism that underlies abortion, arguing that a culture which does not value life at its beginning will not value it at its end either.

A substantial portion of the conversation addresses the practical and pastoral dimensions of the issue. Webb pushes back on the idea that abortion is a “women’s issue” from which men should recuse themselves, arguing that a father’s presence and commitment is actually the single greatest factor in whether a woman chooses life — a point illustrated by a client case in which a couple nearly chose abortion simply because each assumed the other wanted it. He also challenges the tendency of churches to avoid the topic out of a desire not to offend, characterizing this as an abdication of pastoral responsibility. At the same time, he insists that preaching against abortion and extending grace to those who have had one must go hand in hand — that abortion is not an unforgivable sin, and that post-abortive men and women carry real grief that the church has a responsibility to address.

The conversation closes with practical direction for listeners: connect with and financially support your local pregnancy resource center, volunteer, and pray. Webb emphasizes that most pregnancy resource centers are entirely donor-funded precisely so they can retain the freedom to share the gospel with clients. He frames these centers not merely as social services but as front-line missionary outposts in communities, meeting people at one of the most consequential decision points of their lives.

Resources

* Spero Pregnancy Center (Port Huron, Michigan) — Joel Webb’s workplace; www.bluewaterbabies.org

* joelvwebb.com — Joel Webb’s personal website where he writes and publishes

* Free Methodist Church in Canada (FMCIC) — produced a five-part video study series called Dying Well, addressing end-of-life care and Medical Assistance in Dying

* Live Action — produces educational videos including the Baby Olivia and Baby Oliver animated fetal development videos, as well as abortion procedure videos narrated by former abortion providers; liveaction.org

* Choice42 — Canadian YouTube channel producing pro-life content, including videos on the dangers of mail-order abortion pills and the link between abortion and vaccine/medical research

* Love Life — ministry operating sidewalk missionaries outside abortion clinics and organizing “houses of refuge” churches to receive and disciple women who choose life; lovelife.org

* Heartbeat International — national/international pregnancy center affiliation providing training, resources, and connection; heartbeatinternational.org

* CareNet — second major national/international pregnancy center affiliation with resources for individuals and churches; care-net.org

On Friday, April 24, I hosted Chris Lohrstorfer, Richie Clark, Tim Prather, and Daniel Rickman for another panel on the recent Articles of Faith document.Unfortunately a storm happened to be rolling through at the same time. Lightning struck early into the panel, and the Internet connection cut out afterwards, ending the live stream. However, the panel continued without me, and I was able to join them again a couple of minutes later through my phone's tethering function. I recorded the rest of the session, which a lot of you are going to find very interesting.

The two primary topics unique to this conversation, which the other panels haven't covered, dealt with sacramental theology around baptism, and the unpardonable sin. Richie Clark led the way mostly, with good thoughts from the other three. Chris made good points dealing with replicating Wesley's emphasis when dealing with the problem of sin. Tim brought us, multiple times, to the primary concern of how we are inculcating the next generation of believers. Daniel did a great job helping us to focus on the function of this document.I hope you enjoy this. It was a worthy time that I hope adds to the richness of the conversation going on right now in the Wesleyan expression of the Christian faith.——————————— If you would like to join my Locals community to help support this ministry, go to plainspoken.locals.com and become a supporter!If you would like to subscribe to my pastoral Substack, where I publish articles on topics pertaining to pastoral ministry and Methodism, you can go to jeffreyrickman.substack.com.If you would like to subscribe to the PlainSpoken Podcast Substack, where I publish articles, video, and audio pertaining to Methodism and the culture war, you can go to plainspokenpod.substack.com.

In the Chiles v. Salazar US Supreme Court case, the First Amendment was put on trial. Can therapists be constrained to only allow one ideology in their sessions? Can they be restricted from articulating the Christian worldview? A recent decision has reasserted the prerogative of therapists to determine how to help their own clients.

But is therapy as helpful as we often think? I'm not so sure. Debra and I spend a while talking about these things for your benefit. Consider her voice as you continue to try to navigate our culture's very strange and often harmful ideologies around sexual orientation and gender identity. She is a mature and capable voice who will continue to help us to grow up.

For the list of questions for higher education, consider her resource: https://resources4redemption.substack.com/p/alignment-questions-for-christian?utm_source=publication-search

For the Stop It skit with Bob Newhart (my recommendation), check out:

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If you would like to join my Locals community to help support this ministry, go to plainspoken.locals.com and become a supporter!

If you would like to subscribe to my pastoral Substack, where I publish articles on topics pertaining to pastoral ministry and Methodism, you can go to jeffreyrickman.substack.com.

If you would like to subscribe to the PlainSpoken Podcast Substack, where I publish articles, video, and audio pertaining to Methodism and the culture war, you can go to plainspokenpod.substack.com.

Timothy Reaves is the head pastor at Pine Valley Methodist Church in Wilmington, North Carolina. He is the Presiding Elder of his district and a delegate to the upcoming General Conference of the Global Methodist Church. He is engaged on the ground floor and in the higher levels of Global Methodist ministry.Tim has had the joy of overseeing an area in which there is a good deal of dynamism and growth. His vantage point gives him an informed perspective on what God is doing with the people called Methodist.In our conversation, we talk about his background in the church, his means of assessing fruitfulness, those practices and beliefs that have borne fruit in his midst, and what he is praying about as General Conference approaches.

To check out Tim's church, go to https://www.pvmc.life/

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If you would like to join my Locals community to help support this ministry, go to plainspoken.locals.com and become a supporter!If you would like to subscribe to my pastoral Substack, where I publish articles on topics pertaining to pastoral ministry and Methodism, you can go to jeffreyrickman.substack.com.If you would like to subscribe to the PlainSpoken Podcast Substack, where I publish articles, video, and audio pertaining to Methodism and the culture war, you can go to plainspokenpod.substack.com.

When I published my interview with James Lambert of the Asbury Connection, several others found themselves in this question of authority. What gave Asbury Church in Tulsa the authority to go its own way, do its own ordinations, have its own sacraments? Why is it wrong for them to do this, while the GMC pats itself on the back for having created our own church out of the UMC?

Kendell Meek is an ordained elder in the Global Methodist Church, which is a covenant body of churches sharing authority, finance, and doctrine (otherwise known as a denomination). It is a global body of more than 7,000 local churches, many of which were never part of the the United Methodist expression of the Wesleyan tradition. We are proud to serve in this body, even as we aren’t sure if this body knows from whence it draws its authority.

In this conversation, we talk about some of the issues underpinning a loss of authority in modern churches, the ability to bind consciences, the overt nature of hierarchy. Kendall is an interesting guy with a lot going on. You should consider his work and join in my prayers with him for a reclamation of the primitive church.

Here is where you can follow him:Substack - www.thefoundrypress.orgOther Substack - www.truelightmedia.substack.com

Consider just going here to see his latest and greatest work - https://kendallmeek.substack.com/p/heavenly-order-and-wesleyan-ecclesiology

If you would like to join my Locals community to help support this ministry, go to plainspoken.locals.com and become a supporter!

If you would like to subscribe to my pastoral Substack, where I publish articles on topics pertaining to pastoral ministry and Methodism, you can go to jeffreyrickman.substack.com.

If you would like to subscribe to the PlainSpoken Podcast Substack, where I publish articles, video, and audio pertaining to Methodism and the culture war, you can go to plainspokenpod.substack.com.

A trend since disaffiliation from The United Methodist Church has been that many churches are electing to start new denominational bodies. Some are staying independent, but many are forming new cooperative ministries between churches with varying levels of commitment and accountability.

In this segment my friend, Rev. James Lambert, spends some time explaining his church's own "Asbury Connection" that is coming together alongside the "Antioch Connection" and many other cooperatives aimed at paving the way forward in the Wesleyan tradition. He talks a good deal about the doctrinal and ecclesial concerns of this new body, as well as the particular issues at play in deciding covenantal affiliations for his church.

The Asbury Connection is welcoming denominations to consider affiliating with them for the sake of bearing fruit for the Kingdom. You might consider spending some time with James to consider how it is that your own local church is bearing fruit, and if your covenant relationships might do well to be revisited for the sake of pruning and bearing more fruit (John 15:2).

My Analysis

I have always liked and respected James. He was good to take this interview, knowing on the front end that I’m somewhat of a partisan for denominations. Andrew Forrest was good to give his consent, as I have a reputation of publicly criticizing people and movements. I think our interaction here is an honest reflection, both of our love of the tradition and mutual respect for one another, while also being at a place of disagreement.

While I appreciate James’ exhortation to join a larger covenant body, and his insistence that to be Methodist is to be connectional, this still seems like a net loss of connectionalism.

The primary claim seems to be that larger denominational bodies don’t seem to be able or willing to acknowledge that larger churches bear more fruit, nor are they inclined to adopt the ethos or practices of larger, fruit-bearing bodies. Rather, they seem content to use the monetary and reputational credit that such churches afford while somewhat sidelining them in leadership.

Rev. Lambert’s claim that large churches are growing while small churches are shrinking is indeed true.

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If you would like to join my Locals community to help support this ministry, go to plainspoken.locals.com and become a supporter!If you would like to subscribe to my pastoral Substack, where I publish articles on topics pertaining to pastoral ministry and Methodism, you can go to jeffreyrickman.substack.com.If you would like to subscribe to the PlainSpoken Podcast Substack, where I publish articles, video, and audio pertaining to Methodism and the culture war, you can go to plainspokenpod.substack.com.

Of the different expressions of the Christian faith, the charismatic strand has been most prolific across the globe. It is outpacing every other strand of the Christian faith in making disciples in myriad cultures. Charismatic Christianity largely came out of my own tradition, Methodism, when we grew too lukewarm. Yet as it revived the concern for the Holy Ghost, it also left behind a good deal of liturgy and doctrine behind. For that reason, I and many others have felt concern as Methodism in the Global Methodist expression has worked to grow closer in resemblance to the Charismatic tradition.

In this conversation, Dr. Anderson of Regent University, a systematic theologian and lifelong Charismatic Christian, helps me to reckon with the excesses of a tradition that clearly has a lot of gifts to offer. He's a good conversation partner for me: humble and charitable in disposition. If you have been interested in the same topic, spend some time with us!———————————If you would like to join my Locals community to help support this ministry, go to plainspoken.locals.com and become a supporter!If you would like to subscribe to my pastoral Substack, where I publish articles on topics pertaining to pastoral ministry and Methodism, you can go to jeffreyrickman.substack.com.If you would like to subscribe to the PlainSpoken Podcast Substack, where I publish articles, video, and audio pertaining to Methodism and the culture war, you can go to plainspokenpod.substack.com.

Ken Ham is renown for his Ark Encounter and Answers in Genesis. He is a critic of the uncritical adoption of modern “scientific” convictions around evolution, intelligent design, the age of our world, and other topics that call the historicity of Genesis 1-11 into question. He doesn’t fit a caricature of an ignoramus. Rather, he is well-attested as conversant with modern science, its flaws and assumptions.

In this conversation, my brother, Daniel Rickman, and I spend some time familiarizing ourselves with his basic offering to the contemporary church: That the authority of the bible is such that modern scientific consensus can be rightly critiqued. Mr. Ham makes several points that are not easily dismissed. It is hard to dismiss his concerns. Rather, for folks like me, it calls into question the relative comfort with which I have accepted worldly counter-narratives that create distance between me and the authority of my scriptures.

I want to thank Charles Sexton for having arranged this interview. And thanks to all of you who choose to spend this time with us! I look forward to reading your thoughts and comments after you have rightly considered him on his terms.

To follow Ken’s work, go to https://answersingenesis.org/