Bishops' webinars to educate, elevate new leadership

United Methodist bishops are seeking to educate and elevate new leadership for the worldwide denomination as it enters 2026 with a new structure and goals after half a decade of turmoil and disaffection. Toward those ends, three webinars were held to describe and explore the new vision the bishops unveiled last summer, summarized as “”Love Boldly, Serve Joyfully and Lead Courageously.”

The overarching theme of the sessions focuses on how Methodism’s founder, John Wesley, an 18th-century Anglican priest and scholar who sought to reform the church, interpreted God, forgiveness, love, service and Christian community.

The online sessions are:

• “Love Boldly”  Theme: “What is Wesleyan theology? Who are we as Wesleyans? Who are we as United Methodists?”  Recording, Transcript and Discussion Guide
• “Serve Joyfully”  Theme: Wesleyan understanding of mission, mutuality, decolonial mission, formation. Recording on YouTube and Discussion Guide
• “Lead Courageously” Theme: Wesleyan understanding of what it means to be “church,” the unique Methodist structure known as “connection,” shared leadership and reimagining church life. Recording, Transcript and Discussion Guide