PlainSpoken

The Convening Conference of the Global Methodist Church is coming together this Friday to begin several important conversations, one of which being whether or not to immediately elect and mobilize new bishops. I think this is premature and potentially harmful, for reasons I outline in this segment.

Consider spending some time with one of the three episcopal candidates from the new GMC conferences in Nigeria. I got to get to know him much better, learning about his ministry context, the ways in which God has uniquely equipped him, and the common convictions we share. I hope this is of benefit to you as you pray for our leadership in the GMC!

Link to GMC Profile on Rev. Hassan - https://globalmethodist-my.sharepoint.com/personal/mhowe_globalmethodist_org/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Fmhowe%5Fglobalmethodist%5Forg%2FDocuments%2FAdditional%20Nominee%20Profiles%2FSalama%20Hassan%2Epdf&parent=%2Fpersonal%2Fmhowe%5Fglobalmethodist%5Forg%2FDocuments%2FAdditional%20Nominee%20Profiles&ga=1

Matt has appeared on PlainSpoken before. He is a thought leader in Global Methodism and Pan-Methodism. He recently published a book on holiness, which you can find hyperlinked below. Today, he and I visited in order to try and reach clarity on the differences between the TLC’s plan for the episcopacy in the GMC and the Florida plan. Jay Therrell came on a couple weeks ago to explain the Florida plan, so Matt was gracious enough to offer himself to speak to the plan put forward by the primary governing body of the GMC thus far.

The hope for this segment is that it will give clarity to the delegates, in particular, who will be deciding on a plan at the Convening Conference in a couple of weeks. God bless you as you learn from my stupid questions! I do genuinely hope this is illuminating. We talk, not just about the particulars of the superintendency plan, but also about the history, theology, and theory behind it. It is engaging on multiple fronts!

Links:

Matt’s New Book: “Free to Be Holy” - https://my.seedbed.com/product/free-to-be-holy/

Printed Seedbed Interview w/ Matt - https://seedbed.com/free-to-be-holy-interview-with-matt-oreilly/

Ryan Danker’s bummer article on Firebrand: “Wesleyans and Episcopacy” - https://firebrandmag.com/articles/wesleyans-and-episcopacy

Rev. Dr. Jerry Kulah is one of the most courageous and faithful public figures in world Methodism today. His love of Christ and the church shines brightly through him, as does his passion for the purity of the ministry that has been entrusted to us. In recent months, since the close of General Conference 2024 for the United Methodist Church, affairs have heated up in Liberia. I have covered developments there as violence has been threatened and political maneuvering has become commonplace.

In this segment, I was touched to learn of the friendship between Rev. Dr. Kulah and Bishop Quire. Though they are at odds at the present moment, his strong convictions do not eliminate the love he has for his bishop, nor his unwavering commitment to his people in Liberia. It is a very refreshing and encouraging conversation. You will be enriched if you listen to him.

Rev. Dr. Wendy Mohler-Seib is a professor at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas. She is an expert in the field of young Christian discipleship. I encountered her a year or so ago and was clear that I needed to hear her speak on a number of topics. In this segment, we talk about the challenges involved in doing discipleship correctly, especially as it pertains to young folks in the church. She names a number of false beliefs churches have around how discipleship is best done, and we talk about how it is that modern local churches can work our people in the right direction. Wendy also speaks about discerning the voice of the Holy Spirit, and how that has taken place in her own walk with God.

Y'all are going to like this one. I know it. Enjoy!

As delegates prepare to gather in San Jose for the Convening Conference of the Global Methodist Church, some are reflecting on where we came from. In order not to reproduce the sins of the past, Rev. Robert Sparkman and I look back on the reality of western monied interests perpetually maintaining power through representation in the general boards and agencies of The United Methodist Church.

Rev. Sparkman was involved in general conference and jurisdictional conference-level activity aimed at reworking how his former denomination cut up the pie for representative groups inside and outside of the US. His history is replete with many examples of dirty politics. Many details and developments are lost to time, but Sparkman does an excellent job reconstructing much of the disappointing history that led to eventual split and splintering.

Take some time to learn where we came from so that we can resolve to do better with this new iteration of the Methodist movement.

I recently showed some footage from a large church fight in a United Methodist local church in Jalingo, the capitol of Nigeria. There seems to be a turf war going on, in some capacity. How can people pray for those impacted in that area? Is there anything for denominational entities to do? Take some time to learn from Absalom about these developments.

Keith Sweat is a Global Methodist Elder with many years of rural ministry under his belt in South Carolina. He also blogs under the pseudonym "Hermit Preacher" at https://revsweat.com/.

A couple of weeks ago, he published an article, "Beauty, Boats, & Bishops" in which he argued against some understandings of transparency that I happened to have articulated around the episcopacy in the GMC. I asked him to speak with me on the matter publicly, hoping to model how folks can disagree without being disagreeable. I guess it's up to you to decide how we did. What I can say is that, after the fact, I have more affection and respect for Rev. Sweat. I think that means we did it right.

Links:

"Beauty, Boats, & Bishops" by Keith - https://revsweat.com/2024/07/29/breauty-boats-and-bishops/

"Unfortunate Start to Episcopacy in the GMC" by me - https://plainspokenpod.substack.com/p/unfortunate-start-to-episcopacy-in

Hey friends, I interviewed Jay Therrell, the author of the Florida Plan for the episcopacy in the GMC, which is the alternative to the plan put forward by the TLC. As you might recall, he was also the chair of the WCA for a couple of years. He is currently the President Pro Tempore of the Florida Provisional Conference of the GMC. It was a really helpful interview to better understand the theology and theory behind his proposal.

This plan was co-drafted by Chappell Temple and Tom Lambrecht. It is important to remember that, despite their involvement in the crafting of the petition, authorship doesn’t always imply that they support or advocate for the plan. Given Tom’s position as Conference Secretary, it is important not to infer his authorship as advocacy. I spoken with Chappell after this was published, and he indicated that he himself isn’t sure where he lands on how he thinks things should go after all the shifting sands of the last couple of years since he helped draft it. All that to say that the legislation should be considered on its merits, rather than any sort of name recognition associated with it. And in case it needs to be said, I think it has much more merit than I had originally read into it. I think you will, too.

Delegates and other interested parties might take the time to consider his words.

Link to the PowerPoint Presentation we used: https://peopleneedjesus.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/updated-fl-hybrid-episcopal-model-read-only.pdf

Thanks to Chris Ritter at peopleneedjesus.net for making it publicly available on his site.

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My friend David came through town to lead a prayer workshop nearby, and I was able to cajole him into coming and ministering to me. I am blessed every time I am with him. I wanted to share that blessing with you.

David is an ordained Global Methodist Elder serving Victory Memorial Methodist Church in Guymon, Oklahoma. He has an amazing story. I hope you enjoy it!

If you want to follow up with him about growing in faith and prayer, you can email him at [email protected].