Todd Seifert is director of communications for the Great Plains Conference. He writes this blog much like he wrote a column for 13 years as a newspaper editor: focused on what is going on in his life. He hopes to share some thought-provoking words as a member of the laity on the conference staff.
The Bishop Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship is tucked in a corner of the campus at Southwestern College. But its reach goes far beyond its Winfield, Kansas, home. In the latest episode of the "In Layman's Terms" podcast, Todd Seifert, conference communications director, talks with...
The United Methodist bishop who co-wrote the Bible study that continues to enhance the discipleship of millions of Christians worldwide has died at the age of 94. Bishop Richard Byrd Wilke died early Easter morning, April 20, in Winfield, Kansas. Bishop Wilke served as episcopal leader of the ...
As the war in Gaza continues, Todd Seifert, conference communications director, talks with Carol Ekdahl Garwood, chair of the Great Plains Conference's Holy Land Task Force, on the latest episode of the "In Layman's Terms" podcast. During their discussion, they discuss the peril of Palestinian ...
Philadelphia may have won the Super Bowl, but the Kansas City-area bishops will be receiving cheesesteaks after what has become an annual Sacking Hunger Challenge. The Great Plains Conference collected 130,567.41 pounds of food, and the Missouri Conference gathered 12,555.49 pounds — bringing the ...
Kansas City is playing in its third-consecutive Super Bowl and its fifth in the past six years. This time, the foe is the Philadelphia Eagles. They will play Sunday, Feb. 9, in New Orleans. While we love seeing the Lombardi trophy raised by players wearing red, white and gold, we love even more ...
Bishop David Wilson (right) addresses parishioners of Iglesia Comunitaria, a Hispanic congregation in south Omaha on Jan. 18. The bishop was able to communicate to the group with the help of translator Veronica Enriquez and Pastor Juan Carlos Veloso. Photo by Todd Seifert OMAHA — Concerns ...
The Table is a different kind of evangelism tool used by Bonfire, a Korean-language and culture church start in Olathe, Kansas. The Table is a biweekly meal with invited guests who have the chance to build relationships through conversation while gathering around food. This episode features one ...
The campaign promise by President-elect Donald Trump for mass deportations has created more than a little anxiety among people who are immigrants to the United States. While some Americans may think it worthwhile to deport people illegally in the country, many people who are on the pathway to ...
Each September, Resurrection, a United Methodist Church, in Leawood, Kansas, hosts Leadership Institute. This time, Todd took along a microphone and recorded short interviews in hallways, in the backs of workshop rooms, in the corner of the sanctuary and even behind the chancel in an effort to give...
Todd Seifert, conference communications director, wraps up a three-part series for the "In Layman's Terms" podcast on United Methodists serving in local elected offices with an interview with Jeff Hart, who has served on his village board in Lynch, Nebraska, for more than 20 years. He's also a ...
Robin Carlson grew up in Courtland, Kansas, a small community of less than 300 people in north-central Kansas. After high school, she moved away to huge cities and flourished in the health care profession. More than 30 years later, she returned home to help care for her family, and she decided it ...
LINCOLN — More than 120 people joined to hear the story of trauma associated with U.S. Indian boarding schools during a special event Saturday, Sept. 28, at Lincoln St. Paul United Methodist Church. Such events help heal wounds that continue to fester into the 21st century from a government policy...
LEAWOOD, Kansas — With points of emphasis on intentional intergenerational ministry, planting seeds for future generations, and strengthening more than just ourselves, the 2024 edition of Leadership Institute provided attendees from churches large and small the opportunity to look forward as the ...
New church starts can be difficult. The Great Plains Conference's New Church Development board has implemented some new strategies and is, literally, traveling the world to see how it's done elsewhere. Todd explores some of the new strategies being employed by the NCD board to help build new faith ...
Todd Seifert, conference communications director and host of the "In Layman's Terms" podcast, starts an intermittent series on laity serving in elected office. With so much of the discussion focused on the presidential race, it's easy to forget that many more decisions that impact our lives are ...
PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kansas — Jesus asks all of us today the same question he asked the apostle Peter in John 21: “Do you love me?” And it is up to each of us to answer that question, Rev. Jin Cho, said Sunday afternoon, Aug. 25, 2024, during his installation service as superintendent of the ...
Welcome to the new look for the Great Plains Conference website! This new design has been under development for about eight months as the conference communications team has taken inventory of the more than 650 pages that comprise GreatPlainsUMC.org, worked with ministry-area directors and ministry ...
TOPEKA — The Great Plains Conference’s Micah Corps interns culminated their summer of learning and discernment by leading a justice encounter Saturday, July 27, in Topeka. The hoped-for group size of 35 to 40 people grew to 63, with attendees from the area stretching from Kansas City to Topeka ...
ROGERS, Arkansas — The Great Plains Conference will host the South Central Jurisdictional Conference for 2028 at Resurrection, a United Methodist Church, at its Leawood campus. Bishop David Wilson made the announcement near the close of the 2024 jurisdictional conference. The dates will be set by ...
One of the questions most often asked of me when I would speak to groups during my first career as a journalist was “Why don’t you ever put good news on the front page?” The answer was, “We do put good news on the front page, though admittedly not as often as the not-so-good news.” I then would go ...
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- Bishop David Wilson encouraged delegates to consider the people who inspired their faith in the past while considering the ways decisions today can inspire United Methodists far into the future. Great Plains Bishop David Wilson delivers the sermon on Wednesday, May 1,...
In a scene more than 180 years in the making, The United Methodist Church’s first Native American bishop became the first Indigenous person to chair a session of the General Conference on Thursday morning. Rousing cheers and a standing ovation greeted Bishop David Wilson of the Great Plains ...
The Great Plains Conference surged into leadership roles during legislative committee elections Wednesday afternoon at General Conference. Rev. Amy Lippoldt, Rev. Dr. Kalaba Chali, Scott Brewer, Rev. Cheryl Jefferson Bell, and Jesi Lipp all won elections to leadership roles when the more than ...
The statement was simple, but I found it to be profound. Our Thessalonian-native guide Aliki — Alice in English — was sharing facts in her colorful way with a group of Great Plains Conference pilgrims tracing the journeys of the Apostle Paul from Feb. 21 to March 1. The group was in Delphi in ...
In July 2023, a group of clergy and laity from the Great Plains Conference met up with fellow United Methodists from the Louisiana Conference for a civil rights immersion experience. Over the course of four days, the group lived the history of Alabama. Download Episode 1. Download Episode 2. ...
Powwows are an exercise for the senses. The bright colors of the dancing regalia hit nearly every color of the spectrum. The traditional songs and rhythmic tapping of the drum perks the ears. I attended what was only my second powwow Aug. 25 as part of a contingent from the Great Plains ...
Would people in the United States stand for Americans to be held captive? Would Americans do nothing as other countrymen and women were beaten mercilessly, starved, violated in numerous ways and separated from their families? The answer is yes. View Videos from the Trip Day 1 — Dexter Avenue ...
The Great Plains Conference invites churches across Kansas and Nebraska to score big for the hungry in their communities as the NFL’s biggest game of the year prepares to kick off Sunday. The bishops of the Great Plains and Missouri conferences have challenged the bishop who serves both the ...
Romans 8:28 says this: "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." We'll come back to the scripture in a moment. But first, I want to talk about engines — how I’m amazed by them, and how I am utterly confused by them. My dad has...
The Connecting Council heard details about what Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. learned during district meetings with clergy, updates on the conference’s justice initiative and more during its fall meeting Oct. 23 via Zoom video-conferencing software. Bishop Saenz opened the meeting by sharing lessons ...
The Rev. Micki McCorkle provides a sermon during her installation Aug. 7 as the new Five Rivers and Parsons districts superintendent. Showing trust in God means being willing to take a step forward, even when you aren’t sure where exactly you are going. That was the ...
As we come nearer and nearer to being able to return to life from our in-home exiles, Todd Seifert, conference communications director, has embarked on a new series for the “In Layman’s Terms” podcast focused on rebuilding our society and our spiritual disciplines. Using the stories from the Old ...
The Great Plains Conference Connecting Council heard reports about how the coronavirus pandemic continues to cause adjustments in how ministry is practiced in Kansas and Nebraska during the group’s Aug. 15 meeting, conducted via Zoom video-conferencing software. The council brings together ...
Today (Wednesday, July 1, 2020) marked the start of a new appointive year in the Great Plains Conference and across The United Methodist Church. In Kansas and Nebraska, we have more than 100 pastors learning new names, trying to grasp local culture and history, figuring out which light switches turn...
The Great Plains Conference’s Connecting Council used Zoom video conferencing to conduct its spring meeting April 18 and endorsed a revision to the standing rules for the annual conference session to allow for a meeting during this time of sheltering in place. The council, which has authority to ...
I remember an older gentleman who counted the number of people in attendance each week at the church my wife served as music director in Springfield, Missouri. It was the late 1990s, and he was in his 90s, but as the first hymn wrapped up, he would walk to the end of each row, starting at the very ...
I had the privilege of seeing what I think is an efficient model of church democracy take place last week in Oklahoma City. That’s where delegates to the General Conference and South Central Jurisdictional Conference gathered for three days of meetings leading up to those big events. Full ...
Two new district superintendents have been appointed in the Great Plains Conference to fill the roles of three retiring DSes and another DS who has completed an eight-year term on the cabinet. The appointments also continue progress toward a conference-wide goal to fully live into a system of ...
I attended the pre-General Conference 2020 briefing Jan. 23-24 in Nashville, and for only the second time in my five years serving as communications director, I came away from a gathering of Methodists from around the world with a truly positive feeling. The briefing, conducted by United Methodist ...
The Connecting Council learned that the Doing Justice Initiative that it recommended in the fall had been approved for funding, and it authorized money for grants for South Korean pastors during a special meeting conducted via Zoom video conferencing software Dec. 19. The two items were part of a ...
I’ve become a bit obsessed with podcasts the past few months. I guess that’s why I launched my own — “In Layman’s Terms” — a few months ago. I simply fell in love with the not-so-new concept of telling stories and sharing thoughts via the spoken word. That love tied into another passion of mine ...
I’ve written about the important issue of photo copyrights before and have dedicated a small portion of a multimedia worship tools workshop to the subject as well. But every now and then something comes up that I think requires me to reiterate some key points. And let’s be honest, this is a ...
Disagreement over same-gender marriage and ordination of LGBTQ persons have prompted six churches in the Great Plains Conference — all in Kansas — to begin the process to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church. Emmanuel Church in Abilene, The Benton Church in Benton, Aulne UMC near Marion, ...
The Great Plains Conference’s Connecting Council considered what it means to be a “great church,” discussed budget reductions amid the denomination’s tumultuous times, the possibility of a special-called annual conference session in 2020, a plan for disaffiliation of churches, and recommended a ...
I sat down to read the new book “Soul Reset” by the Rev. Junius Dotson over the Labor Day weekend. I quickly found myself wishing he had written it about six years ago. I say six years ago because I was the guy that Dotson’s six-session Bible study and discussion guide is written to help. In 2013, ...
I recently re-read the books of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, two letters from Paul to what was likely a group of small house-churches of new believers. What strikes me as I read these two books is how these people relatively new to the faith are trying to do the best they could in an environment that ...
I want to pause from the communications content this week to talk a little about time — particularly how it passes. As I write this, it’s only Aug. 13, and yet my Facebook feed is filled with parents posting photos of their kids as the youngsters head off to their first day of school. I recall ...
Anyone who has ever attended one of my workshops probably can attest to me saying something along the lines of “the days of opening the church doors and new people come flooding in are long gone.” It’s not all that profound. It’s really kind of a “Captain Obvious” statement worthy of those ...
I set a goal for 2019 to read 30 books throughout the year. I didn’t know what topics I would choose, mostly because my tastes change from time to time, and I didn’t want to pin myself down to a particular genre. I also don’t take into account my daily Bible reading and devotion time. As we near ...
I’ll confess that I’ve spent the past two days at my desk digging out from a pile of emails and associated tasks that needed to be completed. It’s only fair since I was returning from being out of the office for 10 days. I’ll also confess to feeling a little guilty for being gone that long. In 20 ...
