General Conference – Day Two
April 24, 2008
Today could best be described as a day of effective messaging and the power of collaboration. Today the General Conference was exposed to a clear explanation of the vision found within the leadership of our church. The Seven Vision Pathways, discerned by the Council of Bishops, and the Four Areas of Focus for our ministry, developed by the Council & our General Secretaries, was convincingly presented.
Felton May, retired Bishop & Interim General Secretary of the General Board of Global Ministries; Jerome Del Pino, General Secretary of our General Board of Higher Education & Ministry; Larry Hollon, General Secretary of the Commission on United Methodist Communications; and Karen Greenwaldt, General Secretary of the General Board of Discipleship presented the Conference with a comprehensive, unified vision and plan of action for the denomination. Our General Agencies have heard the call of the church to come together under a unified vision for ministry. That has translated into a unified budget as well. The budget, and the plan, are long overdue and represent the first time in our history when these agencies have come together under one umbrella of ministry and accountability. Their work, not without struggle I might add, has sent a signal across the conference that this is a new day.
Earlier, Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher delivered the State of the Church address. Bishop Christopher used the liturgy of Holy Communion as the base of her remarks utilizing multi-media as well as stories gathered from across the church to demonstrate the power of God at work in our lives. With the bishops sitting in a circle surrounding the delegates, Bishop Christopher called us to embrace and follow the three simple rules of John Wesley: Do No Harm, Do Good, and Stay in Love with God. We had opportunity to lift our arms and pray over the delegates. To have the bishops sitting on the floor of the conference and praying over the delegates in that fashion was, once again, a first for the General Conference. It was, for me, a deeply spiritual time for us to assume the leadership we were elected to provide. It was a powerful time.
Two other reports were given today: the first ever youth address, followed by the laity address. The youth were bold and diverse in their presentation. Several youth shared in the report which was creative, alive and thought-provoking. While some have criticized the speech for being too liberal, I felt that it confronted the church’s inability to change and called for us to have listening ears of respect for one another. The youth are telling us much about who they are these days. We need to have the courage to respond with ministries that bring relevance to a dying denomination and joy to the lives of the younger people who might attend. Hats off to the youth for not being afraid to raise tough issues and deal with them with creativity.
The Laity address, however, left much to be desired. It was calculated and had only one focus. The presenter talked about things we have talked about for years but have had limited success in moving into action. This speech was in direct contrast to the creative, alive, and, at times, confrontational presentation by our youth. This one was predictable, safe, and very guarded. Our laity need ministries and spokespersons that demonstrate their commitment to building God’s kingdom in our midst.
The spirit, on the whole, seems good so far. In any gathering such as this there are those who are not happy unless they are stirring up some kind of issue or controversy. Some things never change. After years of attending this gathering, you learn to put most of it aside and remain focused on the big issue or the main focus.
What is the main focus? Today it is finding a way of celebrating the blessings which God has provided and responding to those blessings with a unified plan of ministry that will strive for something which we haven’t always been able to achieve: Relevancy for the day in which we live.
May it be so!
The Journey Continues, . . .
April 24, 2008
Today could best be described as a day of effective messaging and the power of collaboration. Today the General Conference was exposed to a clear explanation of the vision found within the leadership of our church. The Seven Vision Pathways, discerned by the Council of Bishops, and the Four Areas of Focus for our ministry, developed by the Council & our General Secretaries, was convincingly presented.
Felton May, retired Bishop & Interim General Secretary of the General Board of Global Ministries; Jerome Del Pino, General Secretary of our General Board of Higher Education & Ministry; Larry Hollon, General Secretary of the Commission on United Methodist Communications; and Karen Greenwaldt, General Secretary of the General Board of Discipleship presented the Conference with a comprehensive, unified vision and plan of action for the denomination. Our General Agencies have heard the call of the church to come together under a unified vision for ministry. That has translated into a unified budget as well. The budget, and the plan, are long overdue and represent the first time in our history when these agencies have come together under one umbrella of ministry and accountability. Their work, not without struggle I might add, has sent a signal across the conference that this is a new day.
Earlier, Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher delivered the State of the Church address. Bishop Christopher used the liturgy of Holy Communion as the base of her remarks utilizing multi-media as well as stories gathered from across the church to demonstrate the power of God at work in our lives. With the bishops sitting in a circle surrounding the delegates, Bishop Christopher called us to embrace and follow the three simple rules of John Wesley: Do No Harm, Do Good, and Stay in Love with God. We had opportunity to lift our arms and pray over the delegates. To have the bishops sitting on the floor of the conference and praying over the delegates in that fashion was, once again, a first for the General Conference. It was, for me, a deeply spiritual time for us to assume the leadership we were elected to provide. It was a powerful time.
Two other reports were given today: the first ever youth address, followed by the laity address. The youth were bold and diverse in their presentation. Several youth shared in the report which was creative, alive and thought-provoking. While some have criticized the speech for being too liberal, I felt that it confronted the church’s inability to change and called for us to have listening ears of respect for one another. The youth are telling us much about who they are these days. We need to have the courage to respond with ministries that bring relevance to a dying denomination and joy to the lives of the younger people who might attend. Hats off to the youth for not being afraid to raise tough issues and deal with them with creativity.
The Laity address, however, left much to be desired. It was calculated and had only one focus. The presenter talked about things we have talked about for years but have had limited success in moving into action. This speech was in direct contrast to the creative, alive, and, at times, confrontational presentation by our youth. This one was predictable, safe, and very guarded. Our laity need ministries and spokespersons that demonstrate their commitment to building God’s kingdom in our midst.
The spirit, on the whole, seems good so far. In any gathering such as this there are those who are not happy unless they are stirring up some kind of issue or controversy. Some things never change. After years of attending this gathering, you learn to put most of it aside and remain focused on the big issue or the main focus.
What is the main focus? Today it is finding a way of celebrating the blessings which God has provided and responding to those blessings with a unified plan of ministry that will strive for something which we haven’t always been able to achieve: Relevancy for the day in which we live.
May it be so!
The Journey Continues, . . .
posted by Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton @ 2:15 AM
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