PlainSpoken

Tyger Dupré lives outside of Paris, France and has been working to draw close to the Global Methodist Church. He was able to join a gathering of Global Methodists in Barcelona a few weeks ago, which gave him a picture of how it is that the GMC aims to make inroads among the various nations of Western Europe. This is a very different context than anywhere else the GMC is taking root. While there is much promise, there are also many challenges. Tyger paints a picture of his current setting and the ways in which those who want to offer hope can pray for him and his compatriots.Links:Personal -https://substack.com/@tygerduprehttps://www.instagram.com/tygerdupreOur Church Social Media -https://www.facebook.com/OurSaviourParishttps://www.instagram.com/churchoursaviourhttps://www.youtube.com/@OurSaviourChurch Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Jeff Walton has been ably serving as the Anglican Director of the Institute for Religion and Democracy for many years. He has helped me to stay abreast of developments in Anglicanism around the world through many helpful articles. With all of these developments around their bishops in the ACNA, GAFCON, and Canterbury, I thought it might do me well to make sure I’m understanding things correctly.Long story short, communal life in Christ is messy. Methodists and Anglicans have a lot in common. I think that, by learning about them, believers in other tribes can also learn to see themselves rightly.I have had the joy of visiting with solid Anglicans like Gerald McDermott, Joshua Nelson, David Roseberry, and Daniel Hixon. Walton is no exception to the trend I have noticed: Anglicanism has some very solid godly men at all levels of leadership. Take some time to learn from him.Links:‘Juicy Ecumenism,’ Blog of the IRD - https://juicyecumenism.com/‘Anglican Unscripted,’ Podcast Pertaining to Anglicanism - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7p2AAcz9AHjy1NxCjdTpL1uPhtgA40BeArlie Coles Website - https://livingchurch.org/author/acoles/ Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Christ established his church on the earth as an outpost of the Kingdom of Heaven, showing no partiality among men. No ethnicity or nation is given privilege under God’s reign. Rather, Christ’s high priestly prayer requires that we seek to do God’s will on earth as in heaven together. While there is almost certainly room for cultural differences and regional distinctions, such room is not a justification for separation or isolation. The church one finds in the Bible is an international global body that mutually watches over one another in love, each nation blessing and admonishing the others towards holiness.The biblical vision of the church requires that we engage in cross-cultural conversations about the nature of our shared lives in Christ. We must intentionally foster the connection that Christ builds between us. We must cooperate with our own salvation. This means talking to one another at some point, at many points. While this can and does happen in big conferences, it can and should also happen also privately, interpersonally.When Sègbégnon wrote a recent piece in Firebrand, creating a normative vision of what discipleship should look like in a fraught context (Nigeria), I knew I needed to try to understand his perspective. He graciously accepted my invitation, and this is the conversation that followed. We talk about nonretaliation as a universal sign of Christian maturity, the requisite qualities of distinctively Methodist discipleship, and the realities of religious life in Northwestern Africa.Sègbégnon was a gracious guest. You’ll like him. Here is a link to his article: “To Stop Africa’s Bleeding: The Pentalateral Solution for the People Called Methodists” - https://firebrandmag.com/articles/to-stop-africas-bleeding-the-pentalateral-solution-for-the-people-called-methodistsAlso, here is the book we referenced: “A Model for Making Disciples: John Wesley’s Class Meeting” by D. Michael Henderson - https://a.co/d/baf0knE Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Rev. Jay Hanson is the Conference Superintendent of the South Georgia Conference of the Global Methodist Church. He is also the founding pastor of The Chapel in Brunswick, GA. He has recently published a book on how to listen to the voice of the Lord, the benefits of which will go to fund the educations of GMC seminarians.In this conversation, I learn about Jay’s background, his faith and calling stories. We talk about theology around how the church should and shouldn’t acknowledge callings, how conferences can and should use coercion, and how to guard against excesses in the charismatic tradition.Superintendent Hanson is not particularly constrained by convention, nor is he motivated by fear or vain ambition. His story is unique, and his background has positioned him to lead boldly in ways that many clergy haven’t really known before. The GMC would do well to observe him, note the experiments he is running, and consider if we might learn from him.Links:“God is Still Calling” - https://www.inviteministries.org/store/view/god-is-still-callingThe South Georgia Conference of the GMC - https://www.sgagmc.org/ Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Harrison Bell is the chairman of the Finance, Administration, Pensions, and Benefits Committee for the Global Methodist Church. He works alongside several capable individuals to create, implement, and oversee the operations of this global body. He’s also the pastor of a vital local church in Alabama, and one of the many minds serving on our denomination’s Connectional Council (the central organizing body). The man has the birdseye view of everything.Rev. Bell was kind enough to sit down and visit with me about the work that has been done thus far in building out this increasingly impressive body. Despite the orientation towards minimalism, the GMC has been able to do great things at God’s initiative. The Lord has indeed been faithful. Though there have been many challenges and setbacks, all is running smoothly and the future looks bright.Consider spending some time to learn from Harrison about the dynamics at play in faithfully serving this denomination of over 7,000 churches across the world. What are some of the structural problems that have already been built into the GMC in need of correction at next year’s General Conference in Johannesburg? What is to be said about building insurance and health insurance? What kind of financial reporting can be anticipated in the future? Harrison was gracious to attend upon these and other topics with me. I hope you’re as encouraged as I was to learn about what has transpired.Links:Financial Reports - https://www.globalmethodist.org/general-church-finance Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Rev. Dr. Timothy Tennent has been an expert in global Christianity for some time, doing back decades. As I learned in this interview, he actually did a lot of work on one of the primary texts that I had to read in my seminary class on the topic.While Dr. Tennent is capable in many different faith-related disciplines, my particular concern was with attempting to understand the big picture as the Global Methodist Church starts preparing for our next General Conference. I did my best (it wasn’t good enough) to mine Dr. Tennent for a better understanding of our various partners in Christ throughout the world. We talked about persecution, privilege, and growth. We spoke of missiology, atheism, and Islam. We talked about some other good stuff. You should watch it or listen to it. Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Rev. Dr. Scott Kisker has recently joined the faculty at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is simultaneously a local church pastor, concerning himself not just theoretically, but practically, with the doctrines of grace and salvation. Fortunately, the Methodist heritage has prepared him for such a time as this.There wasn’t really any good reason to contact Dr. Kisker. His is a name I have seen over the years associated with my tradition. The way others talk about him led me to believe I would benefit from a visit. I wasn’t wrong. He’s an insightful person with the courage to say things that most people in the know choose to avoid. Plainspoken, if you will. He belongs.Even nonMethodists will enjoy most of this conversation. It is primarily concerned with understanding the ‘methods’ that were once successful in facilitating the revival seen in the early days of Methodism. We talk about small discipleship groups, what the word ‘Methodist’ must mean if it is to have meaning, and the kind of movement we are praying the world will see again.Links:Kisker’s resources on Seedbed - https://seedbed.com/author/scottkisker/Kisker’s book on The Band Meeting - https://my.seedbed.com/product/the-band-meeting/ Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Rev. Dr. Kenneth J. Collins is a well-known professor in the Methodist world, with a well-earned reputation. He has been a prolific author on Wesleyan theological history, with a gift for distilling complicated ideas in ways that are accessible for laity and expert alike.He has actually just released a new book (link below) in which he adeptly lines out the greatness of the Wesleyan theological heritage. So in this conversation, we talk a good deal about the contents of that book. But I also have many lingering questions about how all this fits together, how it is that we might rightly understand the nature and power of sin, of the new birth, and the normative Christian life. Collins, of course, was able to encourage and challenge me in this time, as you will also experience.I’m interested to know your thoughts on the content. Comment with your own reflections, please, and lingering questions you might have.Links:Dr. Collins’ latest work: “Generous Divine Love” - https://a.co/d/cBqGTDt“Wesleyans and Calvinists Together?” Article in Firebrand - https://firebrandmag.com/articles/wesleyans-and-calvinists-together Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Jaimie is my preacher buddy just down the road from me. He and I are both trying to keep our eyes on what matters when considering how to best protect and disciple younger people in our midst. He recently read ‘Scrolling Ourselves to Death’ and ‘Anxious Generation,’ both of which point to smartphones and screen posing a serious risk to the psychological, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing of people today.All of us are impacted by this topic to one degree or another. Many of us who watch this look at screens way too much. Many watch pornography, many gamble. Others just piddle away massive amounts of time on trivial things that disable us cognitively. As a father of young adults, Jaimie wishes he had known these things before he allowed his children unfettered access to phones. As a father of younger children, I’m quite fortunate to be living at this time in which the deleterious effects of screens are being proven out.Listen, Jaimie is a fantastic guy. You will enjoy learning from him. Take the time to do so in order to better serve your communities and foster the healthy and holy development of the children and youth in your life. Also, protect yourself! No age group is immune. Be a good steward of your resources. Guard your heart by guarding your eyes.Links:‘Scrolling Ourselves to Death: Reclaiming Life in a Digital Age’ by Brett McCracken and Ivan Mesa - https://a.co/d/cBX2oV5‘The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness’ by Jonathan Haidt - https://a.co/d/8AVaMMR Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe

Johnathan Arnold is a weird guy in the best sense. He recently published a new, nice, hardback catechism, written for the modern world from a Protestant (primitive church) perspective. The questions and answers deal with topics both eternal and modern. It utilizes hymns, art, and various other means to inculcate new believers in the ways that lead to life. In this time, Johnathan and I talk about his larger efforts to build up the church for ministry and warfare in the world. We live in a time of doctrinal amnesia and aphasia. Rather than complain about it, this man that is barely three generations old generated a truly good and useful work. This is only his latest work, as he has been published in Firebrand Magazine and collaboratively runs a website called Holy Joys. He has a wife and children alongside him, leading a household in which these resources are being utilized. It works. You would be wise to consider the many resources he affords FOR FREE to you and your church. His catechism is available for free online, as are all his articles. The cost of the book is just for materials. Here are the links:‘A Protestant Catechism & Discipleship Handbook’ - https://catechism.holyjoys.org/shop/Holy Joys - https://holyjoys.org/Johnathan’s Firebrand Article, “If You Love Jesus, Join a Church” - https://firebrandmag.com/articles/if-you-love-jesus-join-a-church Get full access to PlainSpoken at plainspokenpod.substack.com/subscribe