IN LAYMAN'S TERMS

Gratitude part 1 — Giving Thanks in Good Times & Bad

In a special three-part series the week of Thanksgiving 2021, Todd studies how to show gratitude to God. The series starts with lessons from the prophet Daniel, who showed that we should give thanks to God when things are going really well for us, but also when times are tough.

CLM Part 3 — Academy for Small Membership Church Ministries

Todd continues his series on certified lay ministry with an interview with the Rev. Dr. Carl Ellis. Besides being a retired elder serving two rural churches in southeast Kansas, Carl is the founder and leader of The Academy for Small Membership Church Ministries. In this episode, Carl shares his views on lay ministry and provides an update on changes regarding the academy — plus a special online workshop planned for late February.

CLMs Part 2 — Teaching & Preaching

We continue a short series on certified lay ministries and certified lay servants with a look at how one CLM, Bryan Hankins, serves two churches in the Omaha area as an associate pastor. Learn about his passion for teaching, how he works with the appointed pastor, and about an exciting multi-language effort for the Lay Servants Ministry Basic course within the Great Plains Conference.

CLMs Part 1 — Leading the Local Church

We start a short series of episodes examining certified lay ministers (CLMs) and the role they play in the local church, how they are trained, and why more people may want to prayerfully consider exploring becoming a CLM. In this episode, host Todd Seifert talks with Jada Hodgson, a CLM serving as pastor at Plum Creek United Methodist Church near Paola, Kansas. It is believed that Jada was the first CLM in the United Methodist denomination.

Seeking Justice as Christians

The “In Layman’s Terms” podcast concludes its series on re-emerging from our in-home exiles with a look at how we can reshape our communities to more closely resemble the Kingdom of God. A key part of that effort likely is justice ministries.

Host Todd Seifert, conference communications director, interviews the Rev. Sarah Marsh, the new coordinator for mercy and justice ministries. They talk about the difference between mercy ministries and justice ministries, and they discuss the partnership the conference has with two organizations that are building grassroots community organizing efforts across Kansas and Nebraska.

Lydia Patterson Institute

In this special video episode of "In Layman's Terms," host Todd Seifert talks with Dr. Socorro de Anda and Rev. Larry Moffet about the Lydia Patterson Institute. LPI is a ministry of education and discipleship for kids along the border of El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico. Download the episode.

• You can learn more about LPI by going to its website: https://lpi-elpaso.org/.
• Watch a video of this interview.
• Listen to more "In Layman's Terms" episodes at https://toddseifert.com/podcast/.

Keeping What Works

The re-engagement series continues with an interview with the Rev. Stephanie Ahlschwede, lead pastor at St. Paul United Methodist Church in the Benson neighborhood of north Omaha. She and Todd talk about the things St. Paul tried as a means of staying connected to its community and parishioners and how some of those efforts are now so ingrained into the church that they will remain long after the pandemic is over.

In this episode, Stephanie references several videos you may want to check out for yourselves:

• Pianoside Church.
• The online children's Christmas pageant.
• Provide a devotion or sermon by phone.

Reading the Bible

We continue our look at re-engaging our faith by examining how we read the Bible. In this episode, Rev. Jeff Goetzinger from the Hutchinson area and Todd talk about their different strategies for reading through the Bible in 365 days.

Returning from Our Own Exiles

Continuing with the theme of re-engaging our faith and communities after the pandemic, Calvary UMC in Wichita serves as an example of how preparation and flexibility can keep people connected to each other and, most importantly, to God.

Rev. Michael Marion and Rev. Ashley Prescott Barlow Thompson sit down with Todd to talk about how the pandemic forced them to make decisions and how the congregation is adapting even 13 months after the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Let's Build! – Embracing the New Normal

As we come nearer and nearer to being able to return to life from our in-home exiles, we are embarking on a new series focused on rebuilding our communities and strengthening our spiritual disciplines.

Using the stories from the Old Testament history books of Ezra and Nehemiah, the goal is to share stories about how people and churches are preparing to re-engage with their congregations, their communities and with God through their own faith practices.

This first episode in the series sets the stage by taking a brief look at Jewish history and the way people in Jerusalem viewed the foundation being set for the new temple after their return from the Babylonian exile.

Have ideas from your church? Or are you doing something to strengthen your spiritual disciplines? Contact Todd Seifert at tseifert@greatplainsumc.org.