Chris Ritter blogs at PeopleNeedJesus.net. He is the pastor of First Methodist Church in Geneseo, Illinois, a congregation that has been recognized for its high number of professions of faith. In addition to authoring "Seven Things John Wesley Expected Us to Do for Kids" (Abingdon Press, 2016), Chris has published several chapters and published articles on topics pertinent to Methodism, evangelism, and effective local church ministry. He was delegate to the 2016 and 2019 General Conferences of The United Methodist Church and was involved in helping develop two plans put forward by The Commission on a Way Forward. An ordained elder in the Global Methodist Church, Chris holds a doctorate in evangelism from the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University and a Master of Divinity from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He has been fortunate to travel and witness the vibrancy of the church outside the United States.

I wanted to speak to Chris because of his proximity to the conversations that are generating this new (or older) understanding of episcopacy that will become a part of the culture of the Global Methodist Church. He also has a great birdseye view of Methodism more broadly. His is an informed perspective. I'm glad he took the time to visit with me.

Links:

Christopher's Website - peopleneedjesus.net

Christopher's Book - https://a.co/d/2A1jFDt

Christopher's article detailing new developments w/ GMC episcopacy - https://peopleneedjesus.net/2024/04/10/just-dropped-big-recommendations-on-the-proposed-shape-of-the-global-methodist-church/

The "UM Fallout Compendium," which Ritter hosts and is a source for a lot of my reporting - https://peopleneedjesus.net/2024/02/24/um-fallout-a-compendium/

Episcopacy recommendations from the GMC - https://globalmethodist.org/gm-churchs-transitional-leadership-council-offers-proposals-on-the-nature-of-the-episcopacy/

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plainspokenpod.substack.com