Living into the Episcopacy with Chris Ritter

In this episode, I sit down with Rev. Dr. Chris Ritter, chair of the Global Methodist Church’s Global Episcopacy Committee, to explore the next chapter for bishops in the GMC. For the first time, the church will elect a regular slate of full-time bishops at its 2026 General Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa (August 30–September 5).

Ritter walks us through the carefully designed process: annual conference delegations nominate candidates, eight international episcopal areas are formed, Area Committees on Episcopacy interview and rank nominees, and the full General Conference elects one bishop per area by a 60% threshold. These bishops will serve six-year terms as general superintendents—globally focused, term-limited servant leaders charged with guarding, teaching, and proclaiming the apostolic faith from a Wesleyan perspective.

We discuss the shift from interim and part-time leadership to a more stable, full-time episcopacy, the theological and practical reasons behind restoring election to General Conference, and what this means for the church’s mission to make disciples and spread scriptural holiness across the globe. A clear, hopeful conversation about accountable leadership in a global Methodist movement.

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Thanks too to Phil Laeger for my podcast music. You can find out about Phil's music at https://www.laeger.net