In this final episode of the Imagining the Church Yet to Be series, host Derrick Scott III and co-host Ashley Boggan are joined by Bishop Hector Burgos-Nunez for a conversation about what comes after the Leadership Gathering in Calgary. The three reflect on the unprecedented nature of this gathering and walk through the three-day process designed to produce 18 prioritized recommendations for the future of the church. The conversation moves to an invitation to those not in the room to engage these same questions in their own contexts. All three close with a vision of the United Methodist Church in 2050.

Show Notes

• 5:32 — Ashley breaks down the three-day Calgary process and how 18 recommendations will emerge
• 7:20 — Bishop Burgos-Nunez on what makes this gathering unprecedented
• 17:34 — How congregations, annual conferences, and fresh expressions can do this work at home
• 21:23 — “In 2050, we see a church that…”

For more information on the Leadership Gathering, check out resourceumc.org.

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

Continuing our series ahead of the Leadership Gathering, Derrick sits down with Dr. Ashley Boggan to walk through the five covenant cohorts that will structure the gathering’s discernment work: discipleship, leadership, impact, stewardship, and accountability. These aren’t just familiar words, they’re an invitation to reimagine what each one means for the church that is yet to be. This conversation will help you get your head around the framework and start thinking alongside the laity, clergy, conference staff, agency leaders and bishops who will be in the room.

Show Notes

• 6:07 — Discipleship: beyond the comfortable and convenient
• 11:10 — Leadership: rethinking who gets to lead
• 18:15 — Impact: the footprint of the United Methodist Church
• 23:01 — Stewardship: more than a budget conversation
• 28:36 — Accountability: covenant, not compliance

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

What does it mean to form disciples when the old pathways no longer work? How do we make real room for younger generations that is not just a seat at the table, but actual space to try, fail, and lead? And what happens when the church finally learns to listen to itself from every corner of the globe?

We continue our series: Imagining the Church Yet to Be as Derrick and Ashley are joined by Hilde Marie Gretz (Norway), Imke Sewing (Germany), and Ntube Beatrice Diffang (Cameroon) to explore the three lenses that will shape the work of the Leadership Gathering cohorts: innovative disciple formation, empowering younger generations, and amplifying global voices. We dive into the first two lens, and the entire conversation is a lesson in decentering the US perspective. The conversation is wide-ranging, and grounded.

Show Notes

• 8:48 — Faith like a renovated house
• 19:57 — What the church misses without young people
• 27:50 — When the youth plan for themselves
• 33:22 — Learning from the young people in Cameroon
• 39:04 — The need for "global" voices

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

What happens when the church’s sacred practice of holy conferencing collides with the strictness of parliamentary procedure? In this episode of Bar of the Conference, guest host Dr. Ashley Boggan is joined by Dave Rombaoa from the Philippines and Christine Schneider from Switzerland to reimagine holy conferencing for 2026. Drawing on their experiences across different cultural contexts, the three explore how the United Methodist Church can move from a win-lose, for-or-against framework toward something more rooted in relationship, listening, and communal discernment. What does holy conversation look like and how do we make room for every voice in the room?

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

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.