I spent last week at a youth camp, Institute 2010: God’s All Stars, which is a ministry of the Conference Council on Youth Ministry of the Kansas East Annual Conference. This post is part of a series reflecting on the week and making applications for the local church. Institute is an institution with the good and […]
Tag: call to ministry
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My Call to Ministry
My call to ministry has been a chain of experiences that have brought me to my current understanding of God’s call in my life. In the summer of 2002, I realized that God was not calling me to a career in biology, my field of study at the time. I considered many possibilities for life […]
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Women Officiating Weddings
I very strongly believe in equal opportunity for women and men in ministry. Sometimes the issue of the gender of a pastor arises around weddings. The following email is an excellent response from a male clergy person to someone who requested that he officiate a wedding ceremony instead of the female clergy person who had […]
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Advice, Suggestions and Self-Reflection
Last week I interviewed for a clinical pastoral education position at St. Luke’s Hospital. One of the questions that I try to ask any interview team is this – What advice would you have for me (as a person in his second year of professional ministry)? I received the following responses from the interview team […]
On March 21, it was announced to the Resurrection congregation that Judy Long O’Neal will be appointed to Shawnee Heights United Methodist Church in Topeka beginning July 1. I have learned a lot from Judy and her ministry at Resurrection. She is passionate about care for each person, the environment and dialogue among persons of […]
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It is Hard to Care
I had a conversation with a staff member in the hallway this afternoon that was too good not to share. I had been thinking about a conversation that I had just had on the phone and he could tell that I was a bit troubled. He stopped and asked how I was doing. I said […]
This is a review of the document Leadership Under Constraints (PDF Document) by Gil Rendle. This document was initially presented at The United Methodist Way: A Convocation that took place in 2007. Main Themes This essay provides: “… a perspective on the current setting and challenges of leadership within the United Methodist Church from the […]
I invite you to read the article Leaders share best practices to attract young clergy by the United Methodist News Service. After you have read it, I want to hear what you think. I am glad to hear that the denomination is concerned with the lack of young clergy. I believe that this is an […]
This is part of a series of posts in which I am responding to questions of purpose and improvement for the annual conference in the United States. In paragraph 601 of the United Methodist Book of Discipline there is a dual purpose for the annual conference – to equip local churches for ministry and to […]
Earlier this month, I received an email from a member of the Methodist Church in India who is feeling a call to ministry. This person is currently attending seminary at a seminary in the United States. It was great to get this email which included a few clear questions about the annual conference in the […]
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Wisdom from Staff Parish
Earlier in the month, it was a blessing to meet with Staff Parish for my annual review. I met with a few representatives of the entire Staff Parish team for an interview / conversation that lasted about an hour. I felt genuinely supported during our time together. At the end of our time together, they […]
Earlier this week a member of the congregation shared a story of God’s call in the life of a member of her family. I was inspired by the story. It is encouraging to hear stories of God’s call in the life of another and it can serve as a reminder of one’s own call. I […]
Rev. Andrew Conard 