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?
Last week, I was part of the Kansas West Annual Conference. It was a great conference. I tried a new thing and reserved a booth for young clergy. This had several positive outcomes, including:
- Gathered a (perhaps) comprehensive list of young adult clergy within the annual conference
- Increased awareness of young adults in ministry in the conference
- Created space to share words of wisdom about ministry
- Created space to share dreams for the denomination
- Shared information about 40 Days of Prayer and Exploration 2009
I felt that it was a significant step in encouraging young people in ministry within Kansas West.
Thanks to Jeff Slater for the photos!
GracePoint UMC Final Worship Service
April 9, 2009
From an email sent to Kansas Area clergy in the United Methodist Church. How do you respond?
CONFERENCE STILL COMMITTED TO NORTHWEST SEDGWICK COUNTY WICHITA, Kan.—GracePoint United Methodist Church will have its final worship service on Easter Sunday, but the United Methodist Church remains committed to having a presence in northwest Sedgwick County.
“We would have liked to continue the GracePoint United Methodist congregation. Unfortunately, there were not enough remaining members to continue the congregation,” said Kansas United Methodist Bishop Scott Jones. “We are disappointed that things worked out this way.”
The bishop and conference leaders decided that closing GracePoint and regrouping was the best option in consultation with new pastor Rev. Steve Spencer and the 17 remaining church members. Spencer, who was appointed to GracePoint UMC on March 6, will continue as its pastor until the church is formally closed. Remaining church members are being assisted with finding other United Methodist churches in the area to meet their needs.
“The United Methodist Church is still committed to a new and evangelistic presence in northwest Sedgwick County,” Jones said. The land and assets of GracePoint United Methodist Church will remain with the denomination and will be used for the future United Methodist new church in the area. An exact timetable for starting the new congregation has not yet been determined, he said.
GracePoint United Methodist Church was started five years ago by the Kansas West Annual (regional) Conference of the United Methodist Church. On March 1, the pastor and leadership team announced plans to leave the United Methodist Church and form a new community church of the same name. Over the course of the past month, GracePoint UMC has continued to meet weekly for worship at Maize South Middle School while the conference and church leaders assessed the congregation’s future.
UMYC Booth at Annual Conference
March 27, 2009
I reserved a booth at Kansas West Annual Conference for young clergy and have the following ideas…
- Gathering place for young clergy
- Distribution of social media guide for UM Young Clergy
- Distribution of physical copy of 40 days of prayer initiative
- Share ideas for young clergy gatherings throughout the year
- Potentially a place to audio record stories of young clergy to be able to share with others.
What else purposes might a booth at annual conference for young clergy serve? Add comments here and I will compile into a document to be used in any conference.
GracePoint Community/United Methodist Church
March 4, 2009
I have heard rumors about what has happened / is happening at GracePoint Community Church and GracePoint United Methodist Church and have sought to compile the story as best as I can.
Posts in chronological order:
- @gpwichita tweet from Sunday afternoon
- GracePoint Community Church
- GracePoint United Methodist Church
- Sunday Setlist … March 1, 2009
- GP Leaves the UM Church
- Email from Bishop Scott Jones – I could not find a link on the web. It was sent to members of the KS West UMC clergy
CONFERENCE COMMITTED TO GRACEPOINT UMC
WICHITA–The United Methodist Church’s commitment to a new church start in northwest Sedgwick County remains strong a day after the leadership of GracePoint United Methodist Church announced plans to leave the denomination and begin a new community church of the same name. “We want the membership of this congregation to know that we are deeply committed to this church and that we hope they will continue to be part of GracePoint UMC,” said Kansas Area United Methodist Bishop Scott Jones.
GracePoint United Methodist Church will continue to worship at Maize South Middle School at 37th Street North and Tyler Road. Jones and the district superintendents are working to name an interim pastor this week and plan to introduce the new pastor to the congregation at 11 a.m. worship Sunday, March 8.
“We would have liked to have some opportunity to discuss this in advance to see if the issue could have been resolved in a different way,” Jones said. “While we knew there was some disagreement about the church’s desire to expand faster than we were able to support, we were unaware of Rev. Bryson Butts’ decision to leave the United Methodist Church.”
Butts has surrendered his clergy credentials in the United Methodist Church and is no longer a United Methodist minister.
- GracePoint leaders vote to leave Methodist denomination, will form a new church
- GracePoint’s Proverbial Fork in the Road
- GP2
Perspectives from others with whom I have been in conversation:
- I think this is definitely a time to wait and see, pray and fast, and see what the Lord has next.
- we can either be mean or gossipy by our nature, but if i learned anything from the umc its that grace is my rule of life
- there is likely a difference between Bishop Mutti and Bishop Jones’ leadership that may have had an affect on the situation
- What does it say about the United Methodist Church that pastors like Bryson and Craig Groeschel leave?
- There will be an interim pastor in place by Sunday, March 8. It will be interesting to see who it [is].
My Reflections
I know I don’t understand this whole thing. There is a great deal of grief involved for many people and a great deal of hope for many people. I hope and pray for spiritual revival in the state of Kansas and renewal in the United Methodist Church. I believe that GracePoint has been and will continue to be used by God in these areas.
I’ll close with these three scripture passages that sum up my feelings.
- 1 Corinthians 12:26 – “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it”
- Romans 12:4-5 – “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
- Acts 5:38-39 – “Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
- Thanks to Chuck for this reference.
Your Invitation to Respond
- Please add a link to your thoughts or other relevant web pages in the comments
- What do you make of all this?
- What perspectives need to be added?
- How does this make you feel?
I do[n't] care.
February 25, 2009
My life would be easier if I didn’t care as much.
- If it didn’t matter to me if people changed their lives and became followers of Jesus Christ…
- If I didn’t care about the future of the United Methodist Church.
- If the possibility of revival throughout the state of Kansas did not excite me…
- If the purpose, vision and journey of the church that I serve did not compel me…
But they do.
It does matter.
I do care.
It is exciting.
I am compelled.
I do care and these things matter.
