It has been a while since I acknowledged new folks choosing to follow or support the PlainSpoken Podcast project. Since I last did this, I want to celebrate and thank those supporters who have joined up to fund my work: @CuatroJones, @Cabbageguy and @Brenda_Love . God bless you for your generosity!
There are several others who have chosen to follow my work. I want to acknowledge you, as well. Thanks for following along to @JimDicus, @Hatwearer1 , @jlpatt , @TennBilly , @DJGoody , @aryrsj , @FuzzyB3AV3R , @Morningview4182 , @GSUGus , @StephenBachmeier , @DuncanW3 , @Brewstersmom , @jfandes , @TRMP1 , @Mabbie , @OldeCrowe , @notsuppo , @DerekBaars , @mariiapavlenko , @JK-victory , @dmh6 , @TomCPA , @ArtistBC , @jackstuart , and @luvopera2. I hope you benefit from following along with my work in the coming weeks and months.
My Locals community currently stands at 59 active supporters and 170 total members. This might seem somewhat small, but it is growing every week. Remember that my largest platform is YouTube, where I have 6,388 subscribers and growing every day. If you're interested, you might check out the number of views I get on my content as contrasted with other channels of similar size. I outstrip the engagement of every other channel I have seen of similar size, competing with channels that are many times larger than me.
I'm also active and growing on Rumble, Facebook, X, and the major podcast platforms. Unless something strange happens, it looks like I might eventually be afforded a significant platform to facilitate worthy conversations. In the meantime, I'm really pleased to continue providing interviews with influential or otherwise worthy folks, as well as thoughtful engagement with the culture around us. Thanks for considering mine a voice worthy on consideration.
I'm publishing this here first to convey my thanks to those of you who have supported my work. Thank you.
Episode 1 takes up marriage, divorce and remarriage. Going into Johannesburg, our Book of Doctrines and Discipline told the world who could marry and never once used the word "divorce." On the last morning of General Conference, in about fifty minutes of floor debate, that changed. I walk Petition 1020 through its whole life: the language we inherited, Jonathan Lee's petition, the committee's 35–1 vote, and Saturday on the floor. That meant Rich Hoffman's amendment, Matt O'Reilly's rewrite, a motion to send the whole thing away for six years, and a final vote of 329–41.
Then we open Matthew 19 and 1 Corinthians 7 and ask what the church said, and what it chose not to say. I land somewhere between grateful and uneasy, and I want to hear where you land. The free discussion guide sets the old and new texts side by side, gives both sides in the delegates' own words, and has ...
I don't know why the live stream didn't work today. Here is what I did:
Update: I know I said I would start back up this week. I could easily start the morning live stream back up, but I have been feeling like I need to do some wrap-up on General Conference. It just took me some time get clear on what I would feel good about doing. And I finally got some really good thoughts together after a lot of percolation. Early next week, I should be publishing some very decent work on explaining some of the more impactful developments in Johannesburg. For right now, I'm aiming at eleven episodes dealing with:
1. Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage: how the church put words about divorce into our Book of Doctrines and Discipline on the final morning
2. Sex and Gender Identity: the rewriting of ¶302.8
3. Protecting the Unborn and the Mother: our new language on abortion
4. The Racial Theology Resolution: Resolution 1466, adopted and then defeated on a revote
5. The Articles of Faith: a new doctrinal standard for the Global Methodist Church
6. Restrictive Rules and the ...
