Our Russian Bishop in the GMC - A Conversation with Eduard Khegay

Eduard Khegay was a bishop in The United Methodist Church. A known conservative, he was patient when the season came to leave. Unlike the brethren in Cote d'Ivoire, Bishop Khegay gently led his flock out of the denomination through ¶572, lawfully and in good order. It remained to be seen whether he would try to go independent as a rogue bishop in the Philippines did, or if he would possibly consider the Global Methodist Church as a new home.

I and many others were relieved when we learned of four new annual conferences being announced in Eurasia, with Khegay at their head. He is now tasked with leading them into an immediate future with more global partners than was previously known, with American partners building a structure that will be shared more equitably than what has been known.

In this conversation, Bishop Khegay and I talk a bit about his history, his role as a peacemaker in a body composed of Americans and Russians, East Indians and Pakistanis (he is over them, too), and how true believers need to foster unity while also learning to think critically and speak truthfully in the midst of partisan disagreements. I would like to think that we modeled such charity here. I would also like to hope that this helps you to know how to faithfully pray for the global church, and how to participate!

Bishop Khegay's YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@UC_9Iaj7QCMUz0Ry5rvhzwsQ
Bio on the good bishop - https://beyondthesewalls.com/eduard-khegay
Assembly of Bishops (of the GMC) - https://www.globalmethodist.org/assembly-of-bishops
Press Release on joining the GMC - https://www.globalmethodist.org/global-methodist-church-receives-four-new-annual-conferences-and-welcomes-bishop-eduard-khegay

———————————

If you would like to join my Locals community to help support this ministry, go to plainspoken.locals.com and become a supporter!

If you would like to subscribe to my pastoral Substack, where I publish articles on topics pertaining to pastoral ministry and Methodism, you can go to jeffreyrickman.substack.com.

If you would like to subscribe to the PlainSpoken Podcast Substack, where I publish articles, video, and audio pertaining to Methodism and the culture war, you can go to plainspokenpod.substack.com.

If you're not interested in any of that stuff, but you want to give directly to my church, you can go to https://tithe.ly/give?c=2198808 and make a donation there. Thanks!