Early Methodism offered regular gatherings where participants were kept abreast of the movement and guided in their spiritual formation. The “UMsConnected” podcast aims to provide the same two things.
You can listen to the episodes here on the website, and on the UMsConnected Facebook page. It is also available on the Pinecast, Spotify and other platforms.
Each episode runs between 20 and 25 minutes, making it individually accessible “on the go” or useful in a group. Themed episodes will comprise a variety of subjects you can use to develop the topic in more detail.
If you have found UMsConnected after it has been going a while (we began in June 2022), we hope you will listen to the first round of podcast episodes. They were made to help launch the movement. They are the “Connected,” “Believing,” and “Living” episodes.
In addition to these initial episodes, all others are archived on the website, so you can listen to them anytime. They can also be used as programs for small groups.
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In this inaugural episode we explore the UMsConnected movement, casting a vision for it, describing its main features, and inviting listeners to join the journey.
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Early Methodism used the word “connection” to describe itself. Why? In this episode we look at our heritage of connection: its nature, means, and purpose.
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In this episode we look at early Methodism as a third-order movement, showing how that original vision inspires and informs UMsConnected today.
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In this episode we use the spiritual formation paradigm developed by Richard Foster and the Renovaré ministry (Vision, Intention, and Means) to look at how that paradigm existed in early Methodism and how we aim for it be part of UMsConnected today.
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Early Methodism viewed theology relation to love and as a response to grace. People were connected by an order of salvation, a formative flow that was life giving. We explore that flow in this episode.
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In this episode we show how resourcing was a hallmark of early Methodism, and how it will be so in UMsConnected. We look at some of the foundational resources in our heritage, and envision how we will offer similar ones today.
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In this first episode in a five-part series, we turn to the beliefs that shape us historically and today as United Methodists, a faith we affirm in the UMsConnected movement.
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In this episode we look at our bedrock beliefs, our doctrinal standards as United Methodists.
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In this episode, we look at “The General Rules” of Methodism, showing the seamless connection between our profession of faith (doctrines) and our practice of it (life together).
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In this episode we use ¶105 in the United Methodist Book of Discipline to see that our beliefs engage us in key theological tasks that enrich our lives and the lives of others.
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In this episode we look at the challenges faced when theology is held with conviction and practiced with commitment. Our theological task as United Methodists is carried out in a time of many formidable challenges.
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We continue exploring the flow of Wesleyan communal formation: belonging, believing, and behaving. We begin a four-episode look at behaving entitled, “Living.” In this episode we show how living faith emerges from vision.
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In this episode we move from having a vision to having the will to enact it. We show how intentionality expressed itself in early Methodism, and how it does so in the Wesleyan tradition today.
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In this episode we look at the means the Wesleys used to live their faith, giving attention to the ways they sought to reach the marginalized, renew the church, and reform the nation. These ways are still at the heart of our faith today.