While reading and considering the book: the blogging church, I began to think about how some of the themes presented in the book could be utilized in The United Methodist Church in the annual conference. What if there was a blog about the appointment possibilities that the cabinet was considering? While some annual conferences are […]
Resurrection was host for FBI SWAT training exercises last week. I watched the team go through several training scenarios and observed several characteristics of their action together that have application in ministry and the church. Some of the characteristics that were evident: Preparation – Before any action started, each member of the team was equipped […]
This is part of a series of posts on my understanding of faith, ministry and the church. I would enjoy feedback and your response to my answers to these questions. Question – Describe your understanding of diakonia, the servant ministry of the church, and the servant ministry of the probationary member and commissioned minister. Response […]
I recently posted about the the concept of narrative leadership – the interaction between individuals and the story that they find themselves in. I think that one concrete example of that is taking place within the United Methodist Church in Kansas. In both the Kansas East and Kansas West Conferences there has been significant work […]
An update from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership brought my attention to: Facts on Growth – A new look at the dynamics of growth and decline in American congregations based on the Faith Communities Today 2005 national survey of congregations. From the Lewis Center: Some findings are: Congregations that change worship format and style […]
Yesterday I met with the Kansas West Conference Board of Ordained Ministry and received a recommendation to the clergy session of the Annual Conference for election to probationary membership and commissioning. This is great news and I am excited! As a United Methodist, this is an important step moving toward ordination as an elder within […]
The Mainline Emergent/s gathering was an encouraging encounter with others seeking to do ministry in a way that is relevant to the surrounding culture and may be different than the way that things have been done within The United Methodist Church. I am considering how the conversations that I have had at this conference will […]
I originally wrote this on November 30, 2006… During Staff Chapel on November 30, Adam Hamilton spoke on Part IV of Thomas Merton’s Life and Holiness. On page 73 of Life and Holiness, Thomas Merton writes: It is quite possible to “believe in Christ,” in the sense of mentally accepting the truth that he lived […]
Nanette Sawyer, pastor at Wicker Park Grace, and Troy Bronsink responded to Doug Pagitt during the first session this morning. I found one of the particular interesting ideas presented was Doug’s view that: Church communities ought to be cauldrons of theological participation and imagination. Cauldrons – what a great word. He was referring to the […]
Day 1 at the Mainline Emergent/s event included hearing from, among others, Brian McLaren, Karen Ward, Tony Jones, Holly Rankin Zaher and Dixon Kinser. It is an interesting mix of being an event in which there is a main speaker for plenary sessions, but also conversation is encouraged as the primary means of learning and […]
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend The Summit here at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection. It is an event designed around the Annual Church Conference that celebrates the past year, looks forward to the year ahead and seeks to inspire living the vision of the church. In 2006, the Journey […]
This morning I had the opportunity to screen the upcoming movie Amazing Grace along with other church leaders from the Kansas City area. Amazing Grace will be released on February 23, 2007. The movie tells the story of William Wilberforce who was a leader of the effort in the 19th century to end the slave […]
Rev. Andrew Conard 