Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
One of the highlights of our D.Min. program at Asbury Theological Seminary was taking a course called “Church for the Unchurched” by Dr. George Hunter. One of our favorite memories from the class was Dr. Hunter addressing the class as “Colleagues.” I have read some of Hunter’s books, including Church for the Unchurched, Radical Outreach, … Read more
Prior to General Conference 2012 (GC2012), I was hopeful that the conference would make a lot of headway toward helping local churches be more effective in making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Sadly, that did not happen! Bishop Scott Jones tweeted a summary of General Conference: “death throes of a … Read more
Yesterday, the General Conference of The United Methodist Church voted to end so-called “guaranteed appointments” for ordained pastors. Read more in this article at ministrymatters.com. Guaranteed appointments for ordained pastors began more than fifty years ago to protect the appointments of women and minority pastors. Today, the concern about guaranteed appointments is that it limits … Read more
General Conference 2012 of The United Methodist Church began last Tuesday and ends next Friday. As I understand it, during the first week, individual committees prepare petitions for action on the main floor of the general conference. I have been following events from a distance via the internet, including Twitter, which, at times, offers play-by-play … Read more
General Conference 2012 of The United Methodist Church (UMC) started Tuesday and will continue for ten days. This afternoon, while reflecting on some of the conference that I’ve followed online, I thought about a line from John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer … Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee The covenant prayer … Read more
General Conference 2012, a gathering of nearly-1,000 delegates from around the world, which meets every four years, began yesterday in Tampa, Florida. This morning, Bishop Peter Weaver delivered the Episcopal Address on behalf of the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church. You can watch the video of the entire morning worship service here … Read more
Nearly three years ago, as Joleen and I began our second year in Clearfield, I wrote a prayer in my journal. Last July, I updated it and posted it on the blog: A Transformational Leadership Prayer. As I said last year, this prayer has stuck with me and I pray it every now and then. … Read more
I am not a historian or an anthropologist. But I think there’s a common tendency to begin at the margins of society and move toward the mainstream. At the cultural level, one generation rebels against the previous generation. But, eventually, the actions of the younger generation become mainstream, and the cycle continues when the next … Read more
Every four years, United Methodists from around the world gather for General Conference, the UMC’s top legislative body. The next gathering will take place in Tampa, Florida, April 24-May 4, 2012. This year, General Conference will consist of 988 delegates (half clergy, half laity), as elected in each conference. The UMC has a site set … Read more
Just over a month ago, I wrote Transforming Congregations Through the Matthew 28 Initiative. The following weekend, a consultation team visited Centre Grove. At the end of the weekend, the team offered their report, which included a number of prescriptions. Earlier tonight, Centre Grove voted to accept the prescriptions (80% of the people who submitted … Read more