Collared Chicks

Episode 16: Episode 16: Ministry of Ordinary Places with Shannan Martin

March 23rd, 2019  |  Season 2  |  37 mins 3 secs

church, leadership podcast, love your neighbor, ministry, united methodist, women leaders

In the post-Christendom West, God seems to be leading more and more disciples away from large and shiny attractional models of church and toward smaller, more authentic, relational spaces for ministry that are grounded in place and grounded in the ordinary.

In this episode, author and popular writer Shannan Martin talks about how God led her and her prison chaplain husband away from comfort and security and toward a gritty, relational, and real ministry of ordinary places and with ordinary people. As a lay person in St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Goshen, Indiana, Shannan talks about how a small dying church was revived and given new life by a simple commitment to people, place, generous welcome and dedication to the long haul.

Shannan's blog can be found at shannanmartinwrites.com and her book, "The Ministry of Ordinary Places" can be found in all places where books are sold.

Episode 7: How to Assess Need & Organize for Impact with Amy Graham

April 3rd, 2018  |  38 mins 30 secs

church, community, district church, justice, leadership, ministry, mission, mobilize, need, organize, outreach, seek, serve, women, worship

Rev. Amy Graham, the Pastor of Spiritual Care at The District Church in Washington, DC, leads us in conversation about how her and her husband built one of the fastest growing churches in the United States by assessing the needs and seeking the welfare of the community to which God had called them and by always keeping Jesus in their inner-city mobilization for justice.

Episode 5: How to Love People Over Politics with Christy Thomas

February 16th, 2018  |  38 mins 21 secs

church, divided, faith, leadership, ministry, politics, trump, united methodist church, women

Christy Thomas, former academic dean, retired United Methodist pastor in North Texas, journalist, author, contributor at Patheos as the Thoughtful Pastor, and newly wed, talks about learning to love people over politics and ideology. Christy shares her story of falling in love with the wrong kind of person and now living in a house divided as a progressive Christian writer married to a conservative Republican during the most contentious election of her lifetime. She also examines the brokenness in the United Methodist Church, shares her take on it's future, and suggests that what the United Methodist Church needs right now more than anything else is her own Trump.

Episode 3: How to Lead Vulnerably with Mandy Smith

December 20th, 2017  |  32 mins 42 secs

church, clergy, leadership, women

Join Michelle and Monica and their guest, the Rev. Mandy Smith, who is the lead pastor at University Christian Church in Ohio, a regular contributor for Missio Alliance and Christianity Today, and the author of "Making a Mess and Meeting God" and "The Vulnerable Pastor". Mandy was the first lead female pastor in her denominational connection, and she is one of the leading voices in the missional church movement. Mandy speaks about vulnerability, leading through inner peace and quiet spirit in the midst of cultural assumptions and expectations about women in leadership, and her hope for the future of the church.