We’re continuing this special series as we prepare for the Council of Bishops’ Leadership Gathering. Before anyone can discern anything, they have to get to Calgary. Derrick is joined by Rev. DeAndre Johnson, a Deacon at Memorial Drive UMC in Houston, TX and member of the Leadership Gathering's design team, and Kathy Sinnen, meeting and event planner for Wespath, to cover the spiritual posture this unique, non-legislative gathering requires alongside all the logistical details attendees need. This episode is a practical and spiritual preparation guide, walking through what participants need to do before they arrive, how to get there, and what to expect on the ground. It's part travel guide, part spiritual formation primer.

Bar of the Conference is hosted by Derrick Scott III and produced by the team at Wesley's Revival, a ministry of Studio Wesley.

Bar of the Conference is back and is relaunching with a series called "Imagining the Church Yet to Be. Co-hosted by Dr. Ashley Boggan, the series is built around the Council of Bishops' Leadership Gathering in Calgary this October. This opening episode asks the questions worth sitting with before the Leadership Gathering convenes: Why are we gathering? What makes this different? And what could it mean for the future of the United Methodist Church? Derrick and Ashley are joined by Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. and Stephanie Henry, co-convenors of the Leadership Gathering Design Team, to answer exactly those questions. As always, grab a notebook, a choice beverage and settle in for this informative episode.

Bar of the Conference is hosted by Derrick Scott III and produced by the team at Wesley's Revival, a ministry of Studio Wesley.

This podcast is relaunching because of Helen Ryde (September 11, 1965 - September 2, 2025)

Helen and Derrick recorded this conversation on July 1, 2025.

For thirteen years, Helen Ryde worked tirelessly through Reconciling Ministries Network for LGBTQ+ justice and inclusion in The United Methodist Church and beyond. They were an organizer in the truest sense, a delegate to the 2024 General Conference, a co-convener of the Queer Delegate Caucus, and a key leader in the transformation of our denomination. They had so much more left to do.

In this conversation, you'll hear Helen's journey of faith from a Church of England primary school to evangelical charismatic communities, then moving to the United States and meeting the love of their life, Kate Schiappa aka Mrs. Lovely. You'll hear them reflect on the lead up to General Conference 2024, and on what it looks like to love people in a way that is genuinely felt and received. You'll also hear them wrestle with a question that never left them: what does revival look like in the progressive Christian space? Helen closes the conversation with hope and a firm belief that we still have something to offer this world. Listen with the kind of attention Helen deserves.

For those who want to honor Helen's memory and support the work they gave themselves to so fully, visit the Helen Ryde Memorial Fund at Reconciling Ministries Network.

Bar of the Conference is hosted by Derrick Scott III and produced by the team at Wesley's Revival, a ministry of Studio Wesley.

Bar of the Conference is relaunching this fall. Host Derrick Scott III conversations with United Methodists across geographic, theological, and experiential difference. The relaunch comes two-plus years after an historic General Conference in Spring 2024, anticipating the Council of Bishop’s Leadership Gathering in October 2026, General Conference 2028 followed by Jurisdictional and Regional Conferences. As we navigate the realities of regionalization and a rapidly changing world, the church is still becoming all that God intends it to be. There has never been a more important time for United Methodist to listen and discern together. So grab a notebook, a choice beverage and join us for conversations that matter.

Bar of the Conference is produced by the team at Wesley's Revival, a ministry of Studio Wesley.

Welcome to Season Two of Bar of the Conference - a podcast about the stories shaping the future of the United Methodist Church. Today's episode is with Rev. Dr. Jean Hauxhurst. Jean is an ordained elder in the Kentucky Annual Conference and currently serves as an ecumenical staff officer for the United Methodist Council of Bishops.

Jean is passionate about Christian unity and believes that ecumenical relationships are core to what it means to be a follower of Jesus and a United Methodist. In this interview, she shares her journey of being a cradle United Methodist who made her way from a local congregation in the Baltimore-Washington Conference to discovering her call to ministry and serving in Kentucky. Jean helps us understand how we in the UMC engage our ecumenical relationships and the impact the last few years has had on those connections. This conversation was too short, but inspiring nonetheless. Enjoy!

Welcome to Season Two of Bar of the Conference - a podcast about the stories shaping the future of the United Methodist Church. Today's episode is with Rev. Jeff Campbell. Jeff is the General Secretary and CEO of Discipleship Ministries, an agency of the UMC. He is an ordained elder from the NJ Annual Conference. Jeff has seen and heard a lot, and yet he remains steady, focused and open to what might be next for his work and our worldwide connection. In this interview, we talk about his journey into ministry in the UMC, as well as the legacy of the late Junuis Dotson. Jeff is the kind of leader we need in the continuing and emerging United Methodist Church.

Welcome to Season Two of Bar of the Conference - a podcast about the stories shaping the future of the United Methodist Church. Today's episode is with Filipe Maia. Filipe is the Assistant Professor of Theology at Boston University School of Theology. Raised in the Methodist Church in Brazil, Filipe’s theological education brought him to the US. He has authored several publications including Trading Futures: A Theological Critique of Financialized Capitalism and the forthcoming book Methodism and American Empire: Reflections on Decolonizing the Church which he co-edited with Dr. David W. Scott of Global Ministries.

This conversation matched the theological depth and philosophical range that Filipe brings to his scholarship. We talked about economics and eschatology, decolonization and regionalization in the UMC. Filipe’s grounding in his native experience and local community makes his brilliance accessible. He reminds us that we are called to be committed to hope and the prophetic tradition of transforming communities. This is a must listen! Enjoy!

Welcome to Season Two of Bar of the Conference - a podcast about the stories shaping the future of the United Methodist Church. Today's episode comes to us from the UMCNEXT podcast which launched in November 2023. Co-hosted and curated by Katie Dawson and Derrick Scott III, this podcast is series of inspiring messages that point to the future of the UMC. We’re sharing the first episode which features a message from Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth. He gave this message we’ve called “143” at a Sunday morning worship service that was a part of Reconciling Ministries Network’s Convocation in October 2023. While different from other BOTC interviews, messages like this from UMC Bishops are helping shape the future of our denomination.

Check out the UMCNEXT podcast at umcnext.com and on Spotify, Apple and Amazon platforms.