The Alabama-West Florida Conference is pleased to announce a new clergy preaching resource. “Word on the Street” is a bi-weekly podcast that was designed to offer unique ways to explore the lectionary text and other relevant passages of the Bible.
“One of our greatest gifts as United Methodist clergy is to be in connection with one another,” said Rev. Ashley Davis, Alabama-West Florida Director of Connectional Ministries. “Preaching is a gift but can also be a daunting task week after week. Our hope is that we can present new ways to consider scripture that will challenge and enhance our weekly sermons.”
In 2018, Bishop David Graves announced four conference staff priorities. One of those is, “to teach, train, and coach to support excellent preaching so that people encounter Jesus and live out the Great Commission.”
“It is common for conference staffs to become overloaded with tasks and projects,” stated Bishop David Graves. “Our collective goal, with significant input from the staff and cabinet, is to prioritize our work in order have the biggest impact on our area. I am thrilled that this is another resource our clergy can count on so that they can continue to excel in preaching. The number one answer when we ask a church what makes a good pastor is relevant and exceptional preaching.”
The idea of the podcast came from Dr. Sam Parkes who is a member of the AWF Preaching Excellence Team and pastor at Mary Esther UMC (FL). He also had vital input into how the resource would be produced and implemented.
“Word on the Street” is hosted by Mary Catherine Phillips, AWF Director of Communications and is produced by Luke Lucas, AWF Communications Specialist.
“It is always rewarding to see a creative vision become a reality,” stated Mary Catherine Phillips. “This series will be new territory for the communications ministry team as this will be our first official podcast. We could not ask for a better team to collaborate with from conception to development to production. In addition to this being a personal area of growth, I look forward to connecting with clergy from around our conference in this unique way.”
The first episode launches today, October 21, 2019, and will be released every other week. Participants are ordained and provisional elders and deacons, licensed local pastors and occasionally a few guests.
To subscribe to the show, search “Word on the Street” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or your favorite podcast platform (show is populating out to all platforms and will be available soon). You may also access the podcast
through this link.
