Michael Carpenter is an ordained elder in the Oklahoma Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church, currently serving as the lead pastor of Lost Creek United Methodist Church in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He earned a degree in civil engineering and worked as an engineer before entering ministry and attending Saint Paul School of Theology. Having served urban, suburban, and rural congregations ranging in weekly attendance from 80 to 1,500, Michael has a passion for equipping members of local churches for their discipleship journeys. Michael is married and is the father of five children.

Michael has published a new book on the potential gifts for today’s believers that we can have from the Nicene Creed on its 1700th anniversary. In this conversation, we talk about his book, who it is for, and the gifts we can garner from an awareness of its contents and context. Michael and I, now in two different Methodist bodies, talk explicitly about the lessons we could learn from addressing heresy and drawing lines around orthodoxy. I hope to continue forward this conversation with other United Methodists of good faith now that we have facilitated what I would consider to be a healthy separation. For his part, Michael seems to be quite interested in peace and orthodoxy. I hope you find him as helpful in the conversation as I did.

Michael’s book - “We Believe: How the Nicene Creed Can Deepen Your Faith” - https://www.cokesbury.com/We-Believe-2

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