Tag Archives: UMC

Is Your Congregation Viable or Vital?

Posted on by

There are at least three different possibilities for the life of a congregation:

  • Vital – A vital congregation that is one that is creating places for new people to love God and love neighbor. The ministry and impact of the congregation is expanding.
  • Viable – A viable congregation is one that continues to exist at the same ministry level and opportunities as years past.
  • Inviable – An inviable congregation is one whose financial and mission reality is not sustainable.

The goal for congregations could be to move from one level to another – inviable to viable and viable to vital. Vital congregations can look for ways to expand their ministry and help move other congregations toward vitality.

Reading John Wesley’s Sermons in Community on Twitter

Posted on by

In response to one of the questions from the #dreamUMC conversation on Twitter, I shared this update.

My Twitter friend and fellow UMCer Matt Lipan (@mattlipan and check out his blog here.) responded.

There was a good deal of interest from this conversation. Matt and I followed up with an email conversation to put together a framework.

What is the plan?

  • We will host a Twitter chat each Monday night at 8:30pm cst/9:30pm est starting on June 4th.
  • We will use the hashtag #jwchat for our Twitter conversations.
  • We will read and discuss Wesley’s first 8 sermons over an 8 week period, reading & discussing one sermon a week. You can find these sermons online here and here.
  • Here is our reading schedule:
    • Salvation by Faith (6/4)
    • The Almost Christian (6/11)
    • Awake, Thou That Sleepest (6/18)
    • Scriptural Christianity (6/25)
    • Justification by Faith (7/2)
    • The Righteousness of Faith (7/9)
    • The Way to the Kingdom (7/16)
    • The First Fruits of the Spirit (7/23)
How do I participate?
  • Read the sermon for the week in advance.
  • We will use these 3 questions to guide our discussions each Monday:
    • If you were to preach this sermon in 140 characters, what would it be?
    • How did you hear God speaking to you through this sermon?
    • What did you discover that is most relevant to your community?

Let me know if you have any questions, suggestions, or plan to join us.

I Speak in Favor of One Conference in Nebraska and Kansas #kwc12 #gpgp

Posted on by
English: , located on west side of just north ...

English: , located on west side of just north of the Nebraska-Kansas border in southern . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today was my first time to speak on the floor of annual conference. While it was not exactly what came out, this is what I prepared:

My name is Andrew Conard. I am a clergy member of the annual conference.

I am currently serving at Church of the Resurrection in the Kansas City area and will begin serving at First United Methodist Church in El Dorado beginning July 1.

I speak in favor of forming the Great Plains Annual Conference.

Since its statehood more than 150 years ago, Kansas has been a place of action, a place where people could rally around a cause. Whether it was the abolition of slavery, settling the untamed prairie or recovering from disaster, Kansans mobilized around the cause and demonstrated great leadership abilities.

This is the time to demonstrate leadership in the United Methodist Church on the Great Plains. The annual conference exists to equip the local church for ministry. Becoming one annual conference in Kansas and Nebraska creates the best opportunity for the conference to fulfill its purpose on the Great Plains so that all of our local churches can make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Since I was first appointed to serve in Kansas in 2006, I have prayed every week for three things: the mission and vision of the local church where I serve, renewal within the United Methodist Church and spiritual revival across the state. I believe that forming the Great Plains Annual Conference is the next faithful step in our life together of living God’s dream for us as United Methodists in Nebraska and Kansas.

Members of my family are active in the United Methodist churches in Norwich, Plains, Sterling, Burdett and First-Hutchinson. My father is a United Methodist pastor and his father was a United Methodist pastor. The Kansas West Annual Conference is my home.

The month before we began to serve under appointment in Kansas, my wife and I were driving to Colorado on our honeymoon and we made a point to visit two of the churches where my granddad was appointed – the United Methodist Churches in Tribune and Towner on the Kansas / Colorado border. It was a blessing to step into those sacred spaces. I am proud of the United Methodist lay and clergy people who have come before me and been a part of faithful and fruitful ministry all across this Annual Conference for decades. This annual conference is part of who I am.

The Great Plains Annual Conference will be a change. There is no way around it. I believe that this change is the next faithful step in our life together as United Methodists on the Great Plains. I pray that we will continue together in faithful and fruitful ministry.

One hundred years from now, I want the people of the United Methodist Church in Nebraska and Kansas to look back and remember 2012 as a milestone in our lives together when courageous United Methodist took action that fanned the flames of spiritual revival across the Great Plains.

I urge you to vote in favor of forming the Great Plains Annual Conference.

2012 Twitter Hashtags and Live Streaming for #UMC Conferences

Posted on by

At the end of the #dreamUMC chat last night, I volunteered to collect hashtags for United Methodist conferences this year. I hope you will find it helpful to stay connected across the denomination.

Will you please help me complete this list? Please send me an @reply on Twitter @andrewconard or leave a comment on this post with dates, clarification on hashtags, link if it is being live streamed or additional conferences.

Please tweet or share this link to this post to spread the word – http://j.mp/K26ox3

Dates for Conference Unknown (to me)

  • #tnumc12 / #tnac2012 – Tennessee (@tnumc)

UMNS 2012 Annual Conference Reports

Why I Support #PlanUMC at #gc2012

Posted on by

There has been much discussion about the reorganization of The United Methodist Church at General Conference 2012 with plans from various constituencies.

I believe that Plan UMC is the best starting point for a way forward for the denomination. You can find out more about this restructuring plan at http://www.planumc.org

Plan UMC:

  • is the only restructure plan that emerged at General Conference after the response of delegates in #Gen Admin Committee
  • preserves and strengthens the role of #gcorr and #cosrow in the Committee on Inclusivity #gc2012
  • is a way forward that will provide greater clarity, organization and direction for our boards and agencies #gc2012
  • will focus on creating vital congregations which incarnate the work of all the boards and agencies in a local context.
  • puts the denomination at the edge of its comfort zone – a place where progress is most likely to occur.

Regardless of what restructuring plan does or does not pass at General Conference, I am hopeful for the future of The United Methodist Church. I am looking forward to continuing our mission together to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

The #gc2012 Twitter Word Cloud Project

Posted on by

The #gc2012 Twitter Word Cloud – Milk Paints

The #GC2012 Twitter Word Cloud Project

Twitter was a powerful tool of engagement during General Conference 2012. I thought it would be fascinating to archive and analyze the updates tagged with #gc2012. On Tuesday morning, I set up an Archive of the #gc2012 hashtag through a HootSuite Pro account. Every day I downloaded the data from the previous day, corrected the date and time to be local for Tampa, removed extraneous data and put it in a spreadsheet. Then I used Wordle to create a word cloud with the text of all the updates for that day. After a few days, I began to edit out Twitter usernames and prominent hashtags to get a better view of the conversation. I hope that you enjoy the results!

Where can I find the data?

The raw data of Twitter updates tagged with #gc2012 are available in a spreadsheet at http://j.mp/Iad0fW. Use the tabs along the bottom of the page to navigate to each day of the conference. (Updated through May 3, 2012)

Where can I download full size images for the entire conference?

I created multiple word clouds for the entire conference in various color schemes and arrangements. You can find the links to these images below.

Where can I download full size images for each day?

You can find the full size downloadable word cloud images created from these Twitter updates with the links below. The #gc2012 Twitter Word Cloud Project for:

How can I support and join in this project?

  • Share – Use http://j.mp/JPiBqj to share this blog post with others.
  • Analyze – Dig in to the raw Twitter data with the spreadsheet above and share what you discover
  • Post – Use the images in your own blog posts, make prints, share with others and include in articles both online and in print.
  • Donate – Will you please donate to a few dollars to help cover costs of the archiving service? Use this link to donate securely via PayPal or credit / debit card.

The #gc2012 Twitter Word Cloud Project Daily Images

12-04-24 Twitter Updates from #gc2012

12-04-25 Twitter Updates from #gc2012

12-04-26 Twitter Updates from #gc2012

12-04-27 Twitter Updates from #gc2012

12-04-28 Twitter Updates from #gc2012

12-04-29 Twitter Updates from #gc2012

12-04-30 Twitter Updates from #gc2012

12-05-01 Twitter Updates from #gc2012

12-05-02 Twitter Updates from #gc2012

12-05-03 Twitter Updates from #gc2012

12-05-04 Twitter Updates from #gc2012

@HarvardBiz and the UMC: The Right Mindset for Success

Posted on by
Mindset (book)

Image via Wikipedia

One of my favorite podcasts is the HBR IdeaCast. Episode 283, The Right Mindset for Success, focuses on the distinctions between a fixed and growth mindset. One of the most helpful portions was about supervision and management. This list, from Carol Dweck, describes the methods and message that a manager or leader could give to new employees that would put them into a growth mindset:

  • We value passion, dedication, growth and learning; not genius.
  • We do not expect that you have arrived here fully formed. We expect that you have arrived here ready to learn.
  • We expect you to stretch beyond your comfort zone and take reasonable risks. We do not expect you to do the same thing you are good at over and over and stay in your comfort zone.
  • We value and reward process, taking on big but reasonable challenges, dogged pursuit of challenges and teamwork.
  • Even without success we reward that you have engaged in the process in a wholehearted and smart way.

I have much to learn from these methods in the way that I supervise staff and volunteers. These methods would be helpful for:

  • Pastors with staff and volunteers
  • Board of Ordained Ministry with candidates
  • Bishops and District Superintendents with appointed clergy.

Metrics for the UMC: A Question of Counting (1 of 3)

Posted on by

Several weeks ago, I wrote a series about Why Numbers Matter in the UMC and I wanted to follow that up with some thoughts that I have been percolating on since then.

Statistically, for metrics to be any good they need to be measuring the same thing across time and among different locations. I don’t have any conclusions today, but just a question:

What is the standard for counting worship attendance? Do you include:

  • Children?
  • Infants in the Nursery?
  • Adults?
  • Volunteers?
  • Staff?
What do you count at your church for worship attendance?
Related articles

Strategic Pruning: Senior Staff Retreat (2 of 4)

Posted on by
View of the Great Plains near Lincoln, Nebraska

Image via Wikipedia

The conversation around the  Call to Action: Reordering the Life of the UMC and the subsequent UMC Leadership Summit, as well as the conversation in Kansas and Nebraska about Great Plans for the Great Plains: A Vision (PDF Link), I have been reflecting on the time that I spent on the spring senior staff retreat at Resurrection in which we read together, Bearing Fruit: Ministry with Real Results.

If your organization is strategically planning, it is also important to strategically prune.

When have you or your church stopped doing something good so that you could do something better and better align with God’s work in the world?

You Are Invited: Young Adult Meetup at Leadership Institute 2010

Posted on by
Friendship / Amistad

Image by victor_nuno via Flickr

One of the best parts of Leadership Institute is the opportunity to make and continue friendships near and far, to that end I invite you to a young adult meetup at Leadership Institute next week.

Who: Young adult (35 and under) leader

What: Meetup at Leadership Institute 2010

When: Thursday, October 7 from 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM

Where: The Spring Cafe, in the West Building at Resurrection Leawood

Why: Collegiality, mutual encouragement, and hear stories of God‘s work

I will be there on Thursday morning and hope that you can make it. I am leading a pre-institute session in the afternoon, but I encourage you to continue to hang out through the afternoon and into the evening.

Spread the word to others

Say Hi.

Encourage one another.

Listen for God.