Blogging Break – Zimbabwe
January 27, 2010
Nicole and I are flying tomorrow to Zimbabwe. I will be away from internet access for a while and will take a break from blogging in the interim. I am looking forward to sharing more after our return from the trip on February 9. Will you please pray for safety, health, God’s vision and direction for us while we are away?
Ordination Paperwork in the UMC: A Provocative Proposal
January 25, 2010
I have been working to complete my paperwork for ordination and full membership as an elder in the Kansas West Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. I realized that this vast body of theological thought is going to waste after it is being turned in. It would be a great gift to the church if these were made publicly available. This would give a pulse of the theology of those entering ministry and provide a roadmap for where the denomination may be headed in the years ahead. A service such as http://turnitin.com could be utilized to maintain the integrity and original thought required as part of the process.
I will post my paperwork here in the days ahead. I welcome your thoughts, feelings or opinions about my work.
Choosing Excellence: A Life of Intentional Ministry
January 13, 2010
This is the theme for the 2010 Kansas Area Professional Ministry Seminar this week in Wichita, KS. From the website:
“Choosing Excellence: A Life of Intentional Ministry” is the theme of the 2010 Kansas Area Professional Ministry Seminar.
Dr. Paul Nixon, author of “I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church,” will speak on excellence in church leadership.
Rev. Susanna Southard, Phillips Theological Seminary instructor, will speak on excellence in Biblical exegesis and study.
I am excited to be part of this event for several reasons:
- It is an excellent continuing education event.
- It provides an opportunity for people from both Kansas West and Kansas East to be together. This does not currently happen very often.
- The shared experience contributes to renewal across the state.
Kansas clergy – Why did you choose to attend or not attend this event?
Resurrection Online Event: Kingdom of God
January 12, 2010
On Wednesday, January 13 at 12:00 noon central time, Resurrection Online will host our first midweek experience at http://live.cor.org.
At The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, we are in the middle of a worship series in which we hope to experience Jesus Christ using the gospel according to Luke as our guide. Pastor Adam Hamilton will present additional teaching and information tied to the theme from this past weekend. The theme for this week is the Kingdom of God.
Will you join Resurrection Online tomorrow? You can find out more and RSVP via Twitter at: http://act.ly/E3v
Top 10 Posts of 2009
December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas to you!
Nicole and I are excited to be with family in the days ahead.
I am going to be taking a blogging break until January 4, 2010. Until then, enjoy the top 10 posts from 2009:
- GracePoint Community/United Methodist Church
- Top Hymns for a Funeral
- Twitter Hashtags for Annual Conferences
- GracePoint UMC Final Service – My Response
- GracePoint UMC Final Worship Service
- Kansas House Church Charge – A New Appointment
- Top 5 Reasons I Stay in the United Methodist Church
- UMNS = FAIL on the Constitutional Amendments
- Invitation to UMC Young Clergy Collaboration
- South Central Jurisdiction UMC – Official Hashtag
Resurrection’s Christmas Eve Worship Schedule
December 24, 2009
Christmas Eve is one of the busiest days of the year at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection. We began our Christmas Eve services yesterday to help make room for guests today. Here is a complete run down of the services for the afternoon and evening.
December 23
- 3:00 – Children’s Christmas Eveat Central Campus Sanctuary
- 6:00 – Contemporary Christmas Eve at Central Campus Sanctuary
- 6:00 – Resurrection Online at http://live.cor.org
- 8:00 – Contemporary Christmas Eve at Central Campus Sanctuary
December 24
- 1:00 – A Christmas to Remember (multi-generational) at Central Campus Sanctuary
- 3:00 – Traditional Children’s Christmas Eve at Central Campus Sanctuary
- 3:00 – A Vibe Christmas at Central Campus Student Center
- 5:00 – Traditional Family / Children’s Christmas Eve at Central Campus Sanctuary
- 5:00 – A Vibe Christmas at Central Campus Student Center
- 5:00 – Resurrection West at Holiday Inn
- 5:00 – Resurrection Online at http://live.cor.org
- 6:00 – Resurrection Downtown at Grand Avenue Temple
- 7:00 – Class Traditional Christmas Eve at Central Campus Sanctuary
- 7:00 – A Vibe Christmas at Central Campus Student Center
- 7:00 – Resurrection West at Holiday Inn
- 7:00 – Resurrection Online at http://live.cor.org
- 9:00 – Class Traditional Christmas Eve at Central Campus Sanctuary
- 9:00 – Resurrection Online at http://live.cor.org
- 11:00 – Traditional Christmas Eve with Holy Communion at Central Campus Sanctuary
I hope that you can join Resurrection or your local church for worship today.
Family Christmas Traditions
December 23, 2009
Over the next few weeks, Nicole and I will have a chance to be with both our families of origin to celebrate. I want to share a few family traditions that I remember from growing up and some that continue today.
- Kris Kringling – A tradition in my family where we drew names at the beginning of Advent and did nice things for that person throughout the year. A few days before Christmas we would have a meal with special food – especially lil’ smokies and cheese curds – in which we would guess and reveal which person had been doing nice things for us throughout the season.
- Lighting the Advent wreath – For as long as I can remember, we have had an Advent wreath in our home and would light a candle each Sunday using the Upper Room Devotional as a guide. Nicole and I lit the fourth candle this past Sunday.
- Grab Bag – In addition to drawing names to give gifts among siblings and cousins, a grab bag would accompany the event. You might know this as yankee swap, dirty santa, white elephant, or some other variation. This is often the most anticipated part of the gathering. Here’s a tip: throwing in a bag of M&M’s makes nearly any worthless piece of junk an intriguing possibility to keep.
- Program Piece – Before you can receive your present, you would need to perform a program piece. When I was growing up, this was most often a musical number – piano or a few times trombone. My brother, Jonathan, is known for his magic tricks. Nicole and I are working up our program piece for this year.
The bottom line is that it is great to be with family.
Will you please share some of your family Christmas traditions?
Candlelight Christmas Eve at Resurrection Online
December 22, 2009
Will you join Resurrection Online this year for Candlelight Christmas Eve?
I hope that you have a chance to worship at at a physical location this Christmas Eve, however if you would like an opportunity to worship without leading or if you are unable to physically be present for whatever reason I invite you to join us online for worship this week.
- December 23 at 6:00 PM CST
- December 24 at 5:00 PM CST
- December 24 at 7:00 PM CST
Will you join us at http://live.cor.org?
Theology, Vocation and The Practice of Ministry – A Work in Progress
December 21, 2009
I am currently working on preparing my ordination papers to be considered for ordination and full membership in the Kansas West Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. I have made one of the primary documents, Theology, Vocation and The Practice of Ministry, available at http://ow.ly/NqmE so that you might know more about my understanding of theology, vocation and the practice of ministry. Will you please share your thoughts, feelings or opinions about this writing?
Please note that Theology, Vocation and The Practice of Ministry by Andrew Conard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://andrewconard.com/about/.
