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Preach, Pray or Die

The work of ministry can be different for every person you meet, but how often do you get a chance to sit down and talk with a minister in-depth? Co-hosts Amy Lippoldt and Ben Hanne sit down with United Methodist persons in ministry in the Great Plains to hear their stories, discover their passions and celebrate our similarities and differences.
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Now displaying: 2015
Nov 24, 2015

Rev. Barry Dundas serves as the Senior Pastor at Trinity UMC in Salina, KS (located at the crossroads of I-70 and I-135). His ministry seem to be all about building, houses, lives, art and joy. We talk about history, life and baseball!

Nov 10, 2015

Dr. Nate Regier is a co-founder of Next Element Consulting, a conflict and communication consulting and mentoring firm in Newton, KS.  Nate works with our ordination residents in the Great Plains.  More information on Next Element can be found at www.next-element.com

Oct 27, 2015

PPD had such an amazing time at the South Central Jurisdiction Women’s Consultation month ago! Not only did we get to interview two Bishops, but we had a chance over two days to hear amazing stories from many of the women at the conference.  Their theme was “Telling our Story” and boy did they!  We used small sections of all the interviews in a video during closing worship (available on our YouTube Page), but as a way of expressing our deep gratitude for the opportunity we’ve selected five of the interviews to share for our 24th Episode.

Elizabeth Duffin 

Jennifer Moxley interviewing Trista Soendker Nicholson

Rev. J. Kabamba Kiboko

Lynn Dyke

Alyce McKenzie

Oct 13, 2015

We’re doubling the amount of Bishop interviews this week!  We had a wonderful time sitting down with Bishop Janice Riggle Huie who serves the Texas Annual Conference. We talk about her path into ministry and the way that schools have played such a pivotal role in her life.  It was an honor to talk with her!

Sep 29, 2015

Guess what? Bishops are people! People with great stories. Listen in on the conversation we had with Bishop Cynthia Harvey from the Louisiana Annual Conference and hear about the joy she found in cleaning toilets, how excited she gets for annual conference (really!) and why she has a huge Pope-crush. 

Sep 15, 2015

Our 21st episode features our interview with Rev. Rick Just.  Rick has recently stepped down from his previous post as a District Superintendent to serve as the Senior Pastor of Asbury Church in Wichita, Kansas.  Coming to ministry as a second career, Rick’s story involves a radical trust in his call and the work of some very dedicated pastors who saw gifts in him.  We’re excited it share Rick and a bit of his story with you!

Sep 1, 2015

Rev. Sergio Tristán is our guest for Podcast #20!  Sergio is a native of Mexico and has spent his entire adult life doing two things: 1) serving God and 2) Constantly being drawn back to Wichita, Kansas.  He currently serves El Mesias in that same city. We invite you to listen to his powerful story and share it with others!

Aug 18, 2015

Deann Smith is the Executive Director of United Methodist Open Door Inc., a ministry site in Wichita, Kansas that is focused on Food, Clothing and Shelter for individuals or families. Amy and Ben reminisce with Deann about the history of Open Door, talk about where she got her start in ministry and what the future holds!

Aug 4, 2015

Justin Jamis is our guest for episode 18! Rev. Jamis serves at the director and campus minister for the Wesley Foundation at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas.  We explore the challenges of campus ministry, and get our very first guest-asked question!  We hope you enjoy it!

Jul 21, 2015

Courtney Fowler is the Lay Leader of the Great Plains Annual Conference, head of our delegation to General Conference in 2016 and a dedicated worker for health around the globe.

Jul 7, 2015

Our guest for episode 16 is Marlin Brown, the Coordinator for the Volunteers in Mission (VIM) for the Great Plains Annual Conference.  Marlin is a retired lay person who lives in Wichita, Kansas.  His stories of life-changing work are an inspiration and we’re proud to bring you part of his story!

Jun 23, 2015

Recorded live at Mead's Corner in Wichita, Kansas on June 10th our first live show features interviews with Jim Reed, Rebecca Hjelle and Mary Lou Reece! We were also proud to have some amazing and talented musicians play for us, our great thanks to Brianna Brown, Josh Melcher and Jennifer Pettersen!

Thanks to all those who came out and laughed and cheered and all the folks who checked out the live video stream. We love doing this work and it was great to bring it to a live format!

Jun 9, 2015

Episode 14 is our conversation with Kalaba Chali who serves as the Mercy and Justice Coordinator for the Great Plains Annual Conference. He comes to the great plains by way of Missouri, Texas, Florida, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo and we’re honored to hear his story and his wisdom. We discuss his path as well as the conference’s work in Haiti and we muse together on the challenges of justice in a complex and hurting world.

May 26, 2015

Episode 13 features the Rev. Mike Chamberlain, who is currently serving as the Kansas City Area District Superintendent.  We talk about his Army upbringing and career, his call into ministry and what he’s going to do during his impending retirement.  Who knew that sitting in a shielded metal box doing spreadsheets could make you a DS?

May 12, 2015

Another first this week as we host our first clergy couple!  Jack and Marilyn Gregory have served as co-pastors for most of their professional lives, including as co-District Superintendents and even now serve together in their retirement.  We talk about how they met and their experiences in Seminary and how they navigated the waters of serving churches together.  

Apr 28, 2015

We're excited to bring you our first laity interview with the wonderful and dedicated Sandy Simmons who lives and works in Leavenworth Kansas.  We talk about her long career in gifted education, what happens when your 6 year-old asks you about church,  her stunning work with the hungry and homeless in Leavenworth and her love of Graffiti. It was a wonderful interview and we hope you love it!

Apr 14, 2015

We celebrate breaking into double digits by sitting down with the wonderful Rev. Nanette Roberts who serves as the Senior Pastor of Grace UMC in Olathe, KS (Southwest area of Kansas City). We discuss creativity in worship, leading in the midst of unknowing, the amazing story of the outreach of Grace UMC and conclude with some poetry.

Mar 31, 2015

This week our guest is Bill Selby who is the Creator and Mentor for the Center for Pastoral Effectiveness of the Rockies.  Bill is a retired Elder of the Rocky Mountain Conference and serves through the center in assisting Clergy in thinking and dealing with Anxiety.  We talk about the Center, how Bill got his start in ministry, his childhood and way too many other topics to sum up!  We also feature as a special guest Bill’s amazing wife Sherilee who joined us unknowingly for a moment or two.

Mar 17, 2015

While recording at St. Paul UMC in Lincoln, NE we enjoyed being serenaded by the choir in rehearsal and some very insistent students of Scripture as we interviewed Sam Fisher.  As a recent college graduate Sam serves as a District Superintendent Assignment for Olive Crest UMC in Omaha, NE.  We talk about growing up in western Nebraska and his faith background, his political aspirations as a youth and how the realities turned him back to the church and how Funeral Directors are often a Pastor’s best friend!

Mar 3, 2015

Our 7th guest on the podcast is Ashlee Alley, who serves as the Clergy Recruitment and Development Coordinator for the Great Plains Annual Conference based out of Lincoln.  Ashlee is an ordained Deacon and came to her current role after serving in campus ministry at Southwestern College.  We discuss her transition into this new role, her passion for discernment in vocational calling for others, and for her own path to ministry.

Feb 17, 2015

Originally from Nebraska, Michelle is part of the Transition into Ministry (TiM) Program and serves as the Associate Pastor at Emporia First UMC.  We talk through her time being part of campus ministry at UNL and her education at St. Paul School of Theology and the transitions that she’s seen in both of those programs, her experiences in the first year of ministry, Ben’s terrible impression of Michael Caine (sigh), theology in movies and residency.

Feb 3, 2015

Our 5th episode features our interview with Kurt Cooper! Kurt is a United Methodist Deacon and the UM Campus Minister at Emporia State University. We begin our conversation with comic book characters (Kurt collects and sells comics) and once Ben finally calms down we talk about how started in his 23 years of campus ministry, vocational calling, why deacons are awesome, the history and his love for High School Institute, and the spiritual engagement of millennials and beyond.

Jan 27, 2015

Our guest is Greg Reed who serves Dawson UMC in Wichita, Kansas after making the trek south from Nebraska.  We start by talking musical instruments, move onto Greg’s love of cycling and his different places of ministry in Nebraska.  He talks about what’s it’s like to be half of a clergy couple and his passions in ministry.

Jan 20, 2015

We sit down with Cindy Watson who serves as the Head Pastor of West Heights UMC in Wichita, Kansas.  Our conversation ranges from Cindy's work with GCCUIC (General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns) to the history of women in ministry and her passion for cooking.

Jan 13, 2015

In our second episode Co-Hosts Amy Lippoldt and Ben Hanne have a delightful chat with Lennie Maxwell who serves as Pastor for the First United Methodist Church in Great Bend, KS.

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