First Methodist Church of Oklahoma City has filed suit against the Oklahoma Annual Conference, moving to protect their assets from any hostile takeover situation from the conference. They saw their day in court, and a state judge has ruled in favor of the local church, mandating that the conference comply with very strict and unprecedented stipulations. This segment details what was said in these court proceedings, what the particulars of the judge’s ruling are, and what might happen from here. Enjoy!

Carla Hinton Article - https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2023/07/18/first-church-okc-disaffiliation-united-methodist-church-judge-ruling/70421069007/

North Georgia Legal Intervention - https://www.umnews.org/en/news/judge-lifts-north-georgia-disaffiliation-pause

Hardy Patton of First Methodist OKC Interview - https://youtu.be/tv1WKxgeQKc

OKC First Church’s Legal Fund - https://www.firstchurchokc.com/give

Article about Church of the Servant Legal Filing - https://www.oklahoman.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.oklahoman.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Freligion%2F2022%2F10%2F12%2Fa-look-at-the-united-methodist-church-split-2022-in-oklahoma%2F69548012007%2F

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This is the second part of a series we are doing, going through the three days that the Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference met. This segment covers Day 2, during which Bishop Schol strong-armed two initiatives through the body. There are a few bold people in this conference who tried to take the bishop to task! Even so, he seems to have carried the day.

Show Notes:

Part 1:

https://youtu.be/cqUFs0j57wg

Fifth Avenue Video:

https://youtu.be/Nqz2qAQVjKM

Joe DiPaolo Interview:

https://youtu.be/UPnVdakG6og

EPA Day 2 Live Stream:

https://www.youtube.com/live/MsudRDAY_fc?feature=share

Joe DiPaolo Article:

https://peopleneedjesus.net/2023/06/09/methodist-meltdown-in-miniature-a-review-of-the-2023-eastern-pa-session/comment-page-1/

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Rev. Beth Caulfield has been a leader in the Wesleyan Covenant Association and the Global Methodist Church, even helping to draft a portion of the Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline. She has published a whistleblower’s account of the inner working and dynamics of The United Methodist Church in the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference. She is programmatically gifted and finds herself engaged in a mission field that very few pastors have attempted. Take some time to learn from Beth as she talks about her hopes and aspirations for our nascent Global Methodist Church. She is an optimist while simultaneously being quite practical. It might do many well to spend some time with her.

Links:

Beth’s book, “People Throw Rocks at Things That Shine” - https://a.co/d/bN37nQL

If you would like to contact Rev. Caulfield with respect to her Christian film production, you can reach her at [email protected].

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Part 2 of the interview with Ryan Turnipseed and the discussion of the progressive infiltration of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod

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The United Methodist Church is far from the only religious institution that wokism has infiltrated. The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), popularly known as the conservative alternative to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of American (ELCA), is dealing with similar struggles with the ascendant intolerant orthodoxy of progressivism.

In this episode, Ryan Turnipseed, a lay member of the LCMS in Ponca City, tells his story of theological bullying in response to some public truth-telling that he did. It closely resembles what many other right-leaning people in the UMC have experienced for a decade or so, including me. Ryan was kind enough to drive over from Ponca City to sit down and compare notes on how this ideology operates to remove biblically faithful people from its ranks. It cannot be challenged, even by laypeople (as you'll learn, Ryan is facing the prospect of being excommunicated).

This will be one of the more mentally-demanding interviews that I publish. Ryan isn't a surface-level thinker. He would easily be associated with the reactionary right. I spend a good deal of time and energy trying to explain his worldview to those who have been brought up in the mainline mainstream way of thinking in America. It is definitely a worthy conversation.



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Rev. John Miles led his church through the disaffiliation process faithfully, only to be shut down by the Arkansas Annual Conference at the end of 2022. At that point, he and local leadership entered into litigation with the conference. A dozen judges recused themselves from the case before it could finally proceed. Although the judge initially showed some favor to the congregation, he recently ruled that they needed to leave the church building, as they no longer could be considered the same legal entity that they were before. Rev. John Miles and the rest of his staff are now packing up their belongings and moving out as the remnant #StayUMC group prepares to move back in.

In this segment, John and I speak about what has transpired, how he would counsel other churches looking at the option of litigation, and how it is that we might be able to pray for his flock.

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Rev. Dr. Nathan Doyle is a pastor at Venture Church in Boardman, Ohio. He is ordained clergy within the Primitive Methodist Church, which has a distinct history and culture going back to the time of the Methodist Revival in Great Britain. Nathan had the patience to help me to understand the distinctive characteristics of his denomination. I hope you enjoy him as much as I did!

Website For The Primitive Methodist Church:

https://www.primitivemethodistchurch.org

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The Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference held their annual gathering recently and it, like many other conferences within the United Methodist Church, had its fair share of issues. From the Bishop pushing past opposition to a full on physical altercation between attendees, the splintering of the United Methodist Church was on full display. We go over a few of the instances in part of this installment.

Show Notes:

Joe DiPaolo Article:

https://peopleneedjesus.net/2023/06/09/methodist-meltdown-in-miniature-a-review-of-the-2023-eastern-pa-session/comment-page-1/

Full Thursday May 18th, 2023 Livestream:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ps2qeqlirs&t=23245s

Bishop Schol Profile:

https://www.unitedmethodistbishops.org/person-detail/2462344

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Garry Ingraham is the Executive Director of Transforming Congregations and the Director of the Love & Truth Network. He and his wife have both been powerfully transformed by the Holy Spirit, coming out of sexual sin into the fulness of Christ. Garry is passionate about local churches being places of authentic transformation for sinners. He is spending his life equipping churches to do such ministry.

This conversation is for any who are interested to learn of ministries aimed at engaging our culture exactly where Queer Theory/Critical Gender Theory are pushing. Garry has been on the front lines of this battle for some time. Take a bit to get to learn about him and his ministry, and how it is that you and your church might be able to come alongside him.

Links:

Garry’s Podcast - http://www.loveandtruthnetwork.com/podcast

Website for Love & Truth Network - http://www.loveandtruthnetwork.com

Website for Transforming Congregations - http://www.transformingcongregations.org

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Last week, footage of a new creed was shared with the Internet, in which a congregation confesses a gospel outside of the one entrusted to the saints. More concerning in this worship service was the children's sermon, which used a non-biblical Jesus to justify a way of life that stands against authentic Christianity. This segment covers both portions, talking a bit about the nature of this faith and how it stands against the historic Christian faith. The purpose is not to speak ill of churches sympathetic to this ideology. Rather, it is to help viewers to identify some of the fundamental beliefs of this hostile religion so as to better sense when it starts impinging upon the identity of their own fellowships.

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