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Listening for a Vision: Conference Quadrennial Training

By: Claire Asbury

The sun shone through Hickory’s early morning haze as I walked into St. Luke’s United Methodist Church. Truth be told, I didn’t really know what to expect of an all-day workshop with the committees of the Western North Carolina Conference.

Even though this is my sixth year living in North Carolina, I still feel fairly new around here. I’ve never been to Annual Conference. I sit in one office in one church in one city, a bubble of bulletin notes that makes me forget about the countless other congregations peppering the map. I’m 24, which, even though a good number of young folks were present, still makes me feel like I stick out. And here I was, standing awkwardly, smack in the middle of a chatting crowd.

I’m not going to lie: I had a strong urge to crawl into my introvert hole and hang out there for, oh, the next six hours.

But as the morning progressed, as I found friends from my college campus ministry and past internships, as I gazed, mesmerized, at the sparkling stained glass of St. Luke’s sanctuary, I caught up with my surroundings. I took a deep breath. I listened.

I listened to Bishop Goodpaster speak about renewing our commitment to the Conference mission. I listened to him speak about connection and transformation. And I sat up straighter in my seat when I heard him say that we cannot reform the world until we create our own communities. I scribbled that one down.

Lovett Weems kept me scribbling. As leaders in the church, he said, we are called to be stewards of the church’s mission and vision. We are called to put aside personal goals and gains, and become one body, supported and elevated by each person’s unique gifts and tasks. Community: dynamic, never static, open to the journey of faith, the journey to reach the vision.

Throughout the day, shaking new hands, sharing fellowship at lunch, gathering into our smaller committees and coming together for worship, the joy and excitement was palpable. Before my eyes, the buzzing crowd transformed into one body. Representatives recited each committee’s vision in loud, clear voices, as if bells were ringing from all corners of the room, blending to create one song.

It’s funny, isn’t it, how we think about our call? How God calls us, how we feel called within the church, whether we are clergy or laypeople. When I go to work each day, I am constantly grateful to live my work days out in the environment of church, this concept of community that I have breathed and loved since I was a young child. Of course, there are days behind a desk and in front of a screen when it feels annoying and tiresome, more like work than ministry, more frustration than faith. But even then I can glance down at my desk, where my Hymnal is open to this Sunday’s music, and feel revived, refreshed, uplifted.

I always start humming.  

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Improvements Require Patience

By Mary John Dye

Like many members of the Western North Carolina Conference, I was excited when I left Annual Conference on Sunday after lunch.  I came east on I-40 with a heart overflowing with inspiration and high moments.  The miles flew by…until I reached Iredell County.  Whoa. 

Once I hit the Iredell County line – just when I thought I was almost home, the traffic slowed to a near stop.  Although there were only 10 miles to go, that stretch of interstate took more than five times the normal amount of time.  I wasn’t cruising any more.

I was eager to get home after 10 days of traveling.  As things turned out, I was heading even further east for a follow-up appointment at Duke and, more dear to my heart, the chance to hear my marvelous daughter, Christi, preach that night at the church she serves in Chapel Hill.   I had been listening to preaching all week, but there is something breathtaking about hearing my daughter preach.  My time was tight.  And, I am not patient to begin with.

So I sat in the stalled traffic, reminding myself impatience only complicates things.  I prayed for patience.

The right lane was closed because of construction.  And, sure enough, once the traffic crawled past the construction site, it was smooth sailing.  I got to Chapel Hill in time for worship and hearing Christi’s very inspiring sermon put the slow-down behind me.

In the long run, needing patience is a blessing to me.

I hope everyone leaves Annual Conference embracing the value and importance of patience.

Traffic was limited to one lane on I-40 because they are making improvements.  The slow-down is temporary.  Truth be told, it wouldn’t hurt any of us to deepen our capacity for patience.

Our new, eight-district structure is likely to require a new level of patience. Every improvement involves some kind of learning curve, some kind of inconvenience, or some kind of delay.  An interstate can’t be paved without redirecting – and slowing—traffic.  It is not reasonable to think we, as a conference, will be able to go through this kind of widespread change without everyone needing to practice patience. 

Like I realized on Sunday, it doesn’t hurt any of us to deepen our capacity for patience. 

Slow-downs are signs that improvements are underway.

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Major Event in Progress—Expect Delays

By Erin J. Beall

This sign stood ominously in a prominent place along the road around Lake Junaluska throughout Annual Conference.  As I drove past it each day, a feeling of eye-brow-knitting and jaw-clenching resignation fell like a dark shadow over my excitement.  You see, this was my first Annual Conference, and I have heard the horror stories—plenary session that last for hours, fighting and mean-spiritedness, politicking, absenteeism, and worst of all empty, dry worship to which the Spirit never feels close.  (Of course, I should note that most of these horror stories come from friends in other conferences, certainly no one would ever find such things at a Western North Carolina Annual Conference, right?)

In any case, I was expecting delays, without a doubt.  Coming off the heels of a deflating General Conference in which much was left unresolved, “Expect Delays” felt like inevitable in a meeting of so many differently-minded and diverse people.  Delays in bureaucratic processes, delays in starting sessions on time, delays in making decisions, delays in getting things accomplished, delays in worshipping God.

However, the delays never came.  Or, if they did come, they were minor and well worth the fifteen minute shorter lunch.  The smoothness of the logistics of Annual Conference astounded me.  How could so many people fill that tiny place so civilly, so (relatively) seamlessly?  Bishop Goodpaster’s management of time was a marvel to witness—he could teach a few seminary professors I know a lesson or two on that!  This event was so major, so large, so involved, that I expected delays at every turn, but was greeted with only excellent planning, beautiful management, and inspiring staff and workers.

The biggest surprise, however, was that there was no delay, for me, in feeling the presence of the Spirit.  From the opening worship service, the Spirit sang over the communion that we took together as one body.  Each day as we came together to work, to learn, to pray, to worship, and to sit in stillness and listen to the prophetic, convicting, inspiring, and sometimes nauseating (a la Adam Hamilton) reports of the committees, the Spirit dwelled in Stuart Auditorium, and in the Harrell Center, and along the lakeshore, and in Memorial Chapel with us. 

And at the closing worship service, Bishop Goodpaster effectively stomped into the ground that sign on the roadside warning me to expect delays.  “All hands on deck! This ship is sailing,” he bellowed from the stage.  Preaching on Jesus’ rebuking the wind and the waves, the good bishop had his sights set on eradicating delays in the hearts and minds and hands and feet of the laity and clergy that filled Stuart Auditorium and all those watching the live stream.  No more dawdling.  No more sitting in pretty buildings playing religion while the people across the street starve.  We are called and gifted to be sent to the other side of the street—just as Jesus went to the other side of the lake. 

The stirring words drew rapture from the crowd, which applauded and “Amen”ed the bishop throughout his sermon.  I was moved to find that the people who had sat so quietly, so politely, throughout the majority of this conference were breaking open like clay jars, bursting to be filled with this fire.  What is the point in waiting for your heart to be strangely warmed, I found myself wondering, when God wants to set it positively ablaze right now?

“Major Event in Progress—Expect Delays.”

There is a major event in progress—the United Methodist Church is on the move.  The Imagine No Malaria campaign proves that we are making a global, medical, personal, and spiritual difference in the lives of thousands of people who are alive today because some people called Methodists went to the other side, carrying Christ and a few nets with them.  As we seek to set our church back on the path toward growth and revitalization, many of us find our stomachs clenching and our eyebrows knitting together as we expect major delays in finding the right people, gathering all the resources, and getting the timing right. 

Friends, as the bishop said to us at the closing worship service, there is no time to wait.  There is no time to settle.  The Church must stand up and be what She is called to be—Christ to the world.  “The mission has not changed,” Bishop Goodpaster said.  We must not be afraid to get into our boats, despite the wind and the waves.  Such frightening things will happen with this kind of a major event in progress.  But in Christ, we need not fear delays.  As the Lake Junaluska Singers reminded us, “You don’t have to worry, and you don’t have to be afraid… With Jesus I can take it, with Him I know I can stand; no matter what may come my way, my life is in Your hands.”

So be not afraid, and be not delayed!  The Living God goes with you and before you, and you can rest assured that where God moves, a major event is indeed in progress.

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The 2012 Annual Conference: Lessons by the Lakeshore

By Ken Carter

Some of the lessons by the lakeshore were given in the sermons throughout the week; these were grounded in scripture and inspired by the hymn, “Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore”.  And of course the background was the beauty of Lake Junaluska.  But some of the lessons were living parables, images of people gathered in this holy place.   These were some of the “Lessons by the Lakeshore”, for me:

The New Day Apart, particularly Shelly Webb describing the Oakley Farmers’ Market and the resurrection of Oakley UMC;  “We feel like a neighborhood church again”, one of the members noted

The Extension Ministry Lunch with the music of Ed Kilbourne

Dean Jan Love’s remembrance of childhood in a racist deep south culture, and linking this to the storms we enter and survive

The Missions Breakfast, a room filled with dedicated servants…and the moment when we were asked if we had ever had Malaria, and all of the guests from the Democratic Republic of the Congo raised their hands

The invitation to listen to God’s call to ordained ministry by Bishop Goodpaster, and the fifteen or so men and women who responded and came forward for prayer with the district superintendents

Adam Hamilton’s willingness to meet with young adult clergy (under 35) at 9:00 pm one evening

Adoption of a budget, with no discussion or amendment, that reset the financial baseline and returned funds to local churches

Late night gatherings of the newly reconfigured districts---connecting with friends and beginning new relationships

The Board of Ordained Ministry Dinner with testimonies of men and women being commissioned and ordained about the support of their spouses and parents

The Temptations’ “Get Ready” and Elvis’ “Aloha From Hawaii”

The sound of bagpipes in the Celebration of Life

The extraordinary humility and transparency of Adam Hamilton, the practical tools we received over two days with him and the riveting and personal testimony he gave about welcoming all people into our churches

The funny and insightful tweets (#wnc2012)

 Reunions with members from former churches and with clergy one sees only once a year

Singing “And Can It Be?” at the beginning of the clergy session

The faces of men and women as they were commissioned and ordained, surrounded by the prayers of the church and touched by the hands of those who had shaped their calls through friendship in ministry

Of course I could not be everywhere, and this is not a comprehensive list of the lessons.   But perhaps it will prompt you to explore a question:  as you depart from annual conference, what were your lessons by the lakeshore?

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Three Thoughts on Annual Conference

By James Howell

(1) On Friday afternoon, the business session wrapped up early – and I noticed in myself some curious nostalgia for the olden days, when we had dozens and dozens of petitions, meeting late into the night, feelings ruffled.  In a way, it’s been lovely to have a calm, uncontroversial conference; we’ve all got enough stress without Annual Conference piling more on.  But at the same time, I wonder what it means.  Is it entirely a happy thing, that the Kingdom has dawned a bit, therefore conference is easier?  Or it is a weariness, not caring enough to get upset?  In the early centuries of Christianity, when big meetings were held, riots ensued, and you might even get your knees broken by thugs who disagreed with you on the nature of Christ or what to do about lapsed bishops.  I wish we cared enough to fight – but then maybe we’re like the wizened married couple, who’ve fought over the years, but have finally settled in enough to let trivialities go, and nestling up next to one another on the couch really is better than wrangling once more over whether to buy a new refrigerator or not.

(2) Adam Hamilton.  I can confess that when I first saw on the schedule that we would get not one and not two but three long sessions of Adam, I felt hesitant.  I’m not even sure why.  Adam is a friend, and I can’t stop admiring what he’s done, not only in Kansas but for our entire denomination.  And yet sometimes, when I hear him, I feel really small:  I could never do what he’s done, and I won’t get that much done any time soon or ever.  Some of what he describes is just so obvious, so do-able – so why haven’t I been doing it these past 31 years?  And yet, even if I could nitpick with this or that in his presentations, I was moved – even when he told stories I’ve heard before (or more than once before).  Most of us have come to conference for years, and have never heard anything about how to be in ministry, or at least have never heard anything that is both utterly practical and yet emotionally inspiring.  I thank God for Adam, and for Bishop Goodpaster for bringing him to us.

 (3) In 1976, when I first filled a field slot in our conference, as an embarrassingly green prospective seminarian, we had a little session to reflect on ministry with an elderly pastor whose name I cannot recall.  The conversation drifted toward loneliness in ministry.  This wise gentleman – and as I do not know his name I do recall precisely what he said – mused that “Oh, you will never be lonely.  You have the conference!”  In the 36 years that have passed since then, I’ve battled a good bit of loneliness.  But to this day, my favorite (by far) part of coming to annual conference is seeing people, catching up, having lunch or dinner, or even those brief interactions that seem trivial, but are not.  If someone bothers to look at me, remember my name, smile and say “Hi, James” – that might not mean much to you but to me it means the world.  Often after these encounters I think “We should get together some time, or more often” – and maybe we will, probably we won’t.  We do have the conference.  I wonder if we can leave Lake Junaluska and remember this, and stay connected through the year, perhaps via email or text or Facebook, or even driving a ways to break bread together.  It still means much to me, and will even more as I get older.

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Bishop Davis to Ordinands: “Joyful Stewards of the Grace of God”

By A.J. Thomas

For many, one of the high points of Annual Conference is Saturday night’s service for the ordination of deacons and elders.  This year’s service was no exception.

After a stirring and emotional processional of ordinands, assisting clergy, the cabinet, and four bishops, Bishop G. Lindsey Davis delivered his sermon to the 2012 class of full connection candidates, “The Manifold Grace of God,” based on 1 Peter 4:7-11.  “We are called,” Davis preached, “to be joyful stewards of the manifold grace of God.”  Joy was the operative theme that permeated his entire sermon.  “Find joy, lead people into the way of joy.”

Joy in Christ is a prescription our world desperately needs.  Davis went on to say, “We are called to joyful ministry in a dysfunctional church.”  He encouraged everyone present to joyfully take the ministry of Christ outside the walls of the church.  “Be sure to watch over and love not only the people in your church, but those outside it.  We are not called to spend our entire life pandering to the overchurched; there is no joy in that.”

The ministry of ordained persons is not based in their own perfection, knowledge, or ability, but God’s grace and abiding joy.  “Be a good and joyful shepherd to your flock; that alone will cover a multitude of mistakes.”

Encouraging the new class or ordinands to always seeks ways to grow, learn, and stretch, Davis said, “You and I don’t know enough today to be effective tomorrow.  We still have so much to learn from our Master.”

The centerpiece of the service, of course, is the laying of hands upon each ordinand and invoking the Holy Spirit’s power and presence upon them and in their ministry.  Bishop Goodpaster then invited an impromptu response from those in the congregation who were feeling the strange stirrings in their heart toward exploring ordained or licensed ministry, and invited them to the stage to be greeted by members of the cabinet.  The stage was soon full of people - many accompanied by their pastor or friends - who had sensed God’s call upon their life and wished to acknowledge and respond to that call.

As we celebrate the setting apart of persons into the ordained ministry, we also celebrate the movement within the hearts of those who are just beginning to hear a call into ministry and respond to it.  The winds of the Holy Spirit are surely blowing through the Western North Carolina Annual Conference, and God is raising up new leaders.

Perhaps you, dear reader, heard the bishop’s invitation and sensed God’s nudging in your heart on Saturday night, but for whatever reason, you remained in your seat.  You know that God is calling, but you weren’t quite ready to respond.  God is still calling your name, and the good news is that it’s still not too late to answer.  When you get home, call your pastor and let her or him know that you have heard God’s call and you want to respond; your pastor will be delighted to walk that next step with you.

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Today is the Day!

By Anne C Conover

Today is the day!  This day, June 23 – 6/23 (I love the fact that 6 divided by 2 equals 3 – I’m weird I remember numbers in quirky ways)!  Forever, June 23 will be a special date for me!  I have dreamed of this day for more years than I’d like to admit, but being a clergy spouse of 27 years and the mother of three sons gave me many reasons to take the slow road to ordination.  Ordination on 6-23-12 is finally here – a good date...I like these numbers!  Yesterday, I was on the stage of our Annual Conference meeting as the spouse of a retiring clergy member and today I will be kneeling on that same stage experiencing the most HOLY moment of my life!  Wow!  This is what AWESOME is! 

I like the numbers 6/23 but there are so many more reasons why this day and date are going to be forever special to me.  I come to this special day in my life withthanksgiving, awe and an amazing sense of reverence.  I have heard God’s call, and today is the day I receive ordination.  I have earned academic degrees, served in various churches, written papers for the board, have been examined (and I mean examined!), and received approval from the church. Tonight with my heart full of   love and gratitude I will kneel in humility to receive the most sacred blessing and prayer of my life.  Bishop Goodpaster and others will lay their hands on me as the Bishop prays for God to pour out the Holy Spirit on me! POUR OUT! Now, that’s not just a little trickle but to pour something out means “give us a whole lot!” I believe God will POUR OUT God’s Holy Spirit on me and through God’s grace the Holy Spirit will empower me to be the voice, the hands and the feet of Jesus Christ in our world today. 

I learned that there is not just one bishop – No - there will be four! Amazingly each is significant in my life – for this is a connectional church!  Bishop Goodpaster is my bishop now and has appointed me to use my artistic gifts through serving Center UMC and now Yadkinville UMC and through the Conference Worship Planning Committee.  Bishop Stockton was my pastor at Myers Park United Methodist Church and was one of the elders who laid hands on my husband at his ordination in 1988.  Bishop Lindsey Davis was bishop of the North Georgia Conference, the Conference in which I received my baptism, confirmation and in which I was married. Bishop McCleskey commissioned me as a provisional deacon and launched me on this journey.  Each of these bishops represents a special part of my journey.

As I kneel to receive ordination I know many in the auditorium will be standing with me.  I also know the Western North Carolina Conference is affirming me.  And I know, too, that the Saints in heaven are celebrating with me.  Thanks be to God!

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From One Mother and Child to Another

By Pam Carter

It had been some time since I had last seen my friend, Susan.  She was the team leader for my first international mission trip. At that time our church mission team traveled to Guatemala to help build a place of worship for a small mountain community, and I remembered with thankfulness those days when I began to see God’s world in a different way.  We had connected as a team to God’s vision for a transformed world as we worked alongside our Guatemalan brothers and sisters in Christ.   In those days, Susan was the associate at the church where my husband served as Senior Pastor, now 10 years past.   Now here she was at Lake Junaluska with her two young children in tow, Hank and Caroline, visiting lots of friends at Annual Conference.   Her life had been transformed as well since we had last been together.

As we gathered near the bell tower under a tent, just beyond the reach of Stuart Auditorium, the kids chattered on about their day with pride.   That week, while at Junaluska, they had raised more than $41 at a lemonade stand they set up for Imagine No Malaria.   When Hank and Caroline had wanted to help, Susan had shown them the website, ImagineNoMalaria.org, and talked with them about the need.  How children and mothers just like themselves, far away, were at risk or suffered because of this disease.  Hank and Caroline were ready to act.  So one cup of lemonade at a time they did their part.  That $41 has grown to well over $150 as others heard about the work of four small hands (and one attentive mother).  A lay woman here in the crowd, or a pastor there, reached into their pockets and contributed, giving generously out of love and compassion for the sufferings of women and children far from the place where we are now singing praises and offering prayers.  Others connected to the hearts' desire of   Caroline and Hank, 7 and 8 year old children, and the results are inspiring.

Compassions calls forth compassion.  That’s what can happen when our hearts are moved by Christ to compassion for the suffering of others in this world, and we join in this effort with other friends, neighbors, churches, districts and conferences to help alleviate the suffering of those affected by malaria.   Children under five and pregnant mothers are most at risk, unfortunately.  But in this case, the fate of a mother and her children far, far away is being met with the compassion of another mother and her children.

We can make a trickle of compassion into a river, an ocean - one lemonade stand at a time, one barbecue supper, or yard sale.   Please join Hank and Caroline, and their mom Susan in making a difference.  Tomorrow morning our offering at Annual Conference will be given to Imagine No Malaria and we will join with the mothers and children of sub-Saharan African as they fight the threat of malaria.  Please be generous – generous and joyful, like Hank and Caroline - and one very smart and attentive mother named Susan.  Your heart will be the better for it, and so will the mother and child who will sleep under a bed net in peace because you acted.  

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Raising My Ebenezer: Thoughts on Ordination

By Otto Harris

In his Leading Beyond the Walls teaching series, Rev. Adam Hamilton reminded us about the importance of engaging head and heart. Further, Rev. Hamilton encouraged us to consider non-Christians and nominal Christians in all aspects of our worship expressions, including singing hymns.  Rev. Hamilton used the hymn phrase “Here I raise mine Ebenezer” to illustrate the teachable moment we have in the hymn introduction to make singing the hymn more meaningful.  He shared how he explained to the congregation that “Here I raise mine Ebenezer” is an announcement that refers to setting up a “Stone of Help” to memorialize a significant event along life’s journey. As I reflect about Rev. Hamilton’s illustration and my journeytowards ordination, I resolve that here, at the 2012 Western North Carolina Annual Conference, I raise mine Ebenezer!

 At Annual Conference, against the backdrop of majestic mountains and glistening waters, I am reminded of the grandeur and holiness of our God. I feel quite small and insignificant. I recall my eight-year journey up to this moment and am overwhelmed.  I anticipate my journey from this moment and am overwhelmed. Nevertheless, I remember that I was called to be here. Further, The Body of Christ is made evident through the Connection here. Here I raise mine Ebenezer.

In November of 2009, during the days that I prepared papers for my ordination candidacy, I had a stroke, which delayed my ordination journey one year. In 2011, I was deferred and given instruction to study the doctrine of the incarnation, delaying my ordination journey a second year. I was overwhelmed with disappointment. I did not understand it then, but the Board of Ordained Ministry issued a bitter prescription to make my ordination journey more meaningful for me and for the people I will serve.

A year of reflecting with Augustine, Bishop C. FitzSimons Allison, Rev. Donald Jenkins, Rev. Jonathan Marlowe, the Union Memorial United Methodist Church family, and my Greensboro Cluster covenant group helped me to better understand and better articulate Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross. During the Recognition of 2012 Retirees, my District Superintendent, Dr. Frank “Duke” Harris Ison illustrated the incarnation through having nearly the entire congregation stand as a sign of how God works in and through us to usher us into encounters with God.

At the 2012 Western North Carolina Annual Conference, I have been overwhelmed through prayers, hugs, handshakes, holy kisses, encouragements, gifts, and well-wishes from those with whom I have intimate relationships and from those I met for the first time. I expect to encounter significant challenges as I continue this journey. As I do so, I expect to recall the words, smiles, embraces and other expressions of affirmation from 2012 Western North Carolina Annual Conference as stones of help for me. Here I raise mine Ebenezer!  

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What Ordination Means to Me

By: Todd McCullough

When I was a teenager, I began to truly wrestle with God’s call on my life to serve the world through ordained ministry.  I remember that my experience resembled one of my high school wrestling matches, minus the strange singlet we were required to wear.  This wrestling match of sorts required me to deeply examine my heart and discern if this journey was something I was cut out for, but more importantly, if this was really what God had in mind for my life.

In a way, ordination has brought me full circle.  Our journey of faith always moves in more of a circular fashion rather than the flight of an arrow shot from a bow.  As I began to wrestle with this strange idea that God wanted to use me to proclaim God’s love for the world in a special way, I traveled with my youth for our annual trip to Lake J.  At the foot of the cross, with tears flooding my soul, I bowed before God next to an evergreen bush on my walk back to Providence Lodge and submitted everything and agreed to God’s call on my life.

As I publically celebrate this journey of ordination, I now better understand that the story of our faith is less about our individual process and more about the people whose hands have molded us closer to what God sees in us.  Not to minimalize my accomplishments, but I believe my Ordination has little to do with the individual and everything to do with the community that affirms God’s workings in our lives.  I have been fortunate to experience the love and support of so many on this journey.  As the bishop and several others place their hands on my head Saturday night here at Lake Junaluska where it all officially began, I will remember the love that has been given so freely by God and this great cloud of witnesses that have shaped and confirmed my call.

 Thanks be to God!

Amen.

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Holy Budgeting

by Danielle Snider

While others of you were gathering under the beautiful trees sharing stories, or nestled in a rocking chair reading one of Adam Hamilton’s bestsellers, I took part in the finance and budget discussion in Stuart Auditorium. To say I know anything about finance would be an overstatement. But luckily I came away with a few key items that I think would be helpful for all of us to know.

First on everyone’s mind may be how the decrease in districts will affect the budget. Overtime, the budget will decrease because of it, but in this first year there are just too many uncertainties to see a big change. There is an allotted contingency fund that is higher than years past, to be used as we figure out this transition. One other increase that can be seen in is the information technology line. As our district superintendents transition to a more “mobile” position, hopefully being on the road four days a week, having up-to-date technology will be vital for success. This will also allow for the conference to transition to a more modern website that allows added continuity throughout each district.

One line item that intrigued me was the “Leadership Development” line that nearly doubled for this next year. It seemed a bit vague, but the conference will be using this funding to send clergy and laity to different educational opportunities throughout the year. Conferences, workshops, and continuing education have a high priority in our conference, which I believe is vital for our future.

 There were two other major concerns discussed in our dialogue. First was the cost of health benefits. The only change here was, of course, the continued rise. Many people are worried about this, but our conference is doing everything they can to keep costs low while still providing high quality care. Every three years, the benefits are re-examined and all major and minor carriers are considered. The overall health of the denomination is what is worrisome and what causes the price to be so high.

Finally, there is much concern regarding the decrease in giving to our health and human services outreaches. There is a large decrease in that giving, but it comes down to two main things. The first thing discussed was that our conference is doing new things. We are moving in new directions. If we keep giving the same thing, to the same people, there cannot be growth or change. Secondly, we have to pay the fixed costs first (salary, pensions, health benefits etc.). Often, we are unable to pay the additional funds so these are the places cut. In our discussion, a pastor challenged us to bring these discussions up in our local churches. This will be an excellent way for able churches to step up and care for the local ministries of our church and it will be interesting to see these churches rise up and give.

There was a lot that was discussed in our ninety-minute time slot- some of which was completely over my head. The biggest take-away I had from this discussion was that there are many people in our conference who have spent hours upon hours praying over and juggling with this budget. People are passionate about this and truly don’t get enough credit for the hard work they put into creating this masterpiece flow sheet. After listening to them discuss the issues and concerns, it is evident that our trust should be in them because they are listening to the Lord and feel His guidance for the upcoming year.

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Incarnation

On June 21, Duke Ison addressed the 2012 retirees, recognizing the service of retirees and blessing incoming class of Elders.

INCARNATION

By Duke Ison

Greetings from the 2012 class of “Worn-Out Preachers and ecstatic clergy spouses who finally get us worn out preachers, lock, stock, and barrel. We represent 1,034 years under appointment with the longest appointed one among being John Ferree with 51 years. This means that John Ferree is just older than dirt. The shortest one among is Russell Brownworth with six years. This represents 737 years of service in local churches. We have had around 2,653 professions of faith in our tenure, with again John Ferree having the most with 429 and CM Worthy having the second most with 380. We have had 2,656 deaths, which means we broke even on those coming in and those going out. If we did 90% of the funerals of those died it means we did around 2,390 funerals.

Most of served as local church pastors, serving 152 appointments. But not all of us did. In our class we include a therapist – Susan Bennett, a PhD in psychology who was part of the Psychology Studies Institute –James Powell, a professor of New Testament at Princeton – James Charlesworth, a general evangelist – Cam Conover, a hospice chaplain – Paula Judy, an Army chaplain-Dewey Smith, a child of missionaries to Korea – Wes Judy, a missionary for a year – Jim Bob Reeves who also worked forever with the licensing school, a college president – Craven Williams, an administrator in the school system who then became an administrator in the church – Lillie Jones. Lillie said she only thought the school system was hard until she became a DS. Four up here served on the cabinet and as George Thompson put it about service on the cabinet, such service is penance for all the good years. We have some who were Associates and stayed put becoming institutions in the communities where they served. Bill Jeffries, my favorite lawyer who did great good in Charlotte especially among the homeless and Jim Westmoreland, educator extronaire in Gastonia.

No wonder we are worn out! We come grateful for the opportunity to have served, grateful for the churches who received us, and grateful for the people who let us into their lives representing Christ to them. And we are especially grateful to faithful spouses who gave us the strength to do this ministry.

We come to say Thank you and to give blessings to the 2012 incoming class of Elders. Would you the incoming class please stand. Take a look at them. They don’t look worn out at all. They are full of vim and vigor, ready to go. Be seated.

We the outgoing class have one question for you. Are you out of your minds going into the ministry? For all your education you are getting adequate pay – good benefits but adequate pay. I can remember when my friend Lee Dukes and I graduated from seminary. We had two other friends making the same as us – Stuart Todd who was a medical resident, and Richard Boner who was a public defender. When Todd finished residency and Richard became a judge they left us in the dust and never looked back. You have got to make peace with that in a culture that says what you make defines your self-worth. We witness to a different set of values.

Then there is this itinerancy business. Now we all make the promise to the Bishop to go where sent. Often we do that with our fingers crossed, thinking the Bishop and cabinet surely are only going to send us to places we think we are suited for. Forget that! Instead remember what one of CM Worthy’s ministers said to him when he learned of his new appointment – GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO SEND ME THERE ARE YOU?

You will think the cabinet is out of their minds and we have all thought it. And some of the spouses up here no doubt have questioned why I ever married a United Methodist preacher. CM Worthy remembers moving, in 105-degrees, about right for moving day, and the bedroom had no air conditioner. Charlene looked at CM and said “there will be an air conditioner in this room tonight.”  There was an air conditioner in the room that night.

Then there is parsonage living – a strange antiquated system that is counter-cultural to our time. You will have stories to tell, not funny at the time, but in time to become part of your family lore. In my family we thought we had moved everything but we forgot a drawer full of unmentionables which was quite a shock for Steve and Nancy Haines when they opened that drawer. How do you tell your predecessor, I think you forgot this?

So again, I ask you – are you out of your minds for saying yes to this counter cultural system that witnesses to a whole different way of existing? GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO SEND ME THERE ARE YOU. “What have you gotten us into?” Expect such thoughts and such comments.

It will take time for God to surprise in this system but trust that God will. My daughter whose comment when we moved to Huntersville at age 15 was, “This is the last time I have to do this,” ten years later wrote in her Masters portfolio this. “I was forced against my adolescent will to go to behind the time towns in the mountains of western North Carolina, and for that I am eternally grateful.”

Trust that God is in this crazy system. Remember the words of my friend. Ralph Eanes, who would say “The Holy Spirit doesn’t show up at cabinet in appointment-making season. You are going to think that, though the cabinet will give you a different witness. And then Ralph would say, “But Jesus was waiting for me at every church I was appointed to.” There is it my friends; that is the truth of it, even when we are at our lowest ebb, Jesus is there waiting on us.

We believe in some crazy stuff as Christians. God resurrected a dead man so we no longer have to fear death in whatever form it comes. Or how about incarnation – the Word became flesh. As my favorite Presbyterian write wrote – “Incarnation is untheological, unsophisticated, undignified, but according to Christianity it is the way things are. It means that all ground in holy because God not only made it, but walked on it, ate and slept on it and worked and died on it. If we are saved anywhere, we are saved here.”

And that my brothers and sisters is what you will be a part of. And that is what we will miss being a part of. Now if you don’t believe that, let’s do a little exercise.

·      Every church that has been served and blessed by a minister or clergy spouse please stand and remain standing. Look around.

·      Now every minister who has been blessed, influenced, mentored by a minister or clergy spouse up here, please stand. Remain standing.

·      Now every minister or clergy spouse on the stage who has been blessed by a church or colleague please stand.

Look around you class of 2012. You are seeing incarnation at work. If you are saved anywhere, you are saved here.

Now incoming class of 2012 Elders please stand. People around them, stand with them and put your hands on them to remind them they won’t be alone. On your good days remember you are part of something great. You get to be a vehicle of God’s blessing and grace and in the process get blessed yourself. On your bad days remember others have gone before and survived. Remember you are not alone and even the bad days are part of God’s new creation coming into being.

Now 2012 class of “Worn out preacher and ecstatic spouses, let us stand and give our blessing to the incoming class.

      May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

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Seeds and Soil - Camp Meeting Musings

by Preston Davis

It’s a very difficult task to hold comedy, the Gospel and social justice all together especially with a group as theological diverse as ours. It takes the right kind of vessel. Rev. Frederick Outlaw is that vessel.

For instance, the comedic part: While reflecting on General Conference, Outlaw—a fitting name for his irreverent yet grace-filled style—suggested, “If we were still in the Old Testament times, God would have gotten rid of us. (Trust me, it was funny.)

Social Justice (I paraphrase): The story of Mark is one of expansion and increased inclusivity of the Kingdom of God.

The Gospel: Outlaw presented the always relevant parable of the sower, which as Outlaw showed, has much more to say about the soil, us, the receiver of this seed.

His preaching is a beautifully engaging display of forward-looking theology that rides on top of a vantage style. It was indeed a camp meeting for the 21st century. It was revival in the best sense of the word. Revival of spirit, hope in the midst of turmoil, God’s promise and presence to make a way out of no way.

The parable of the sower is a bit of misnomer though, as Jesus spends more time on the soil than seed. Perhaps we should know the seed, the message, the gospel is constant, but the soil, the medium, the camp meeting is changeable in style—new wineskins and new wine, or something like that. But this is getting away from the main message. We’re talking about soil. We’re talking about Western North Carolina’s soil.

Outlaw mused that he hired someone to plant sod for him once and the company cheated him by planting sod on top of Alabama clay. The question is does our soil capture the message, the seed of Christ’s liberative message for our individual and collective lives?

I had the privilege while Outlaw was speaking to be the volunteer photographer for the evening. While I was taking shots the camp meeting, I got to walk amongst the filled seats of Stuart Auditorium. I got to walk amongst fields with different soils. And I say different on purpose. I’m not making a qualitative claim about the soil I walked through—that some people were rocky soil or that some were shallow soil. It’s hard to see into people’s hearts while you’re looking through the viewfinder of a Canon. What I am saying is that this conference has some varying soils churned by varying experiences, economic statuses, ethnicities, etc. Once the gospel is planted into those soils, it’s only expected that the fields of growth have a different texture. It’s quite a beautiful scene to walk through people who may look like fescue, or those who look like Bermuda taking part in a camp meeting. May all these fields continue to lean into the sower who feeds them all. May we then be one unified plot of land, one unified body of Christ. So I was wrong. It is about the sower after all. Thanks be to God.

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What Does It Mean to be Commissioned?


by Steve Keaton


The road toward ordination is certainly not for the faint at heart. And I have often questioned if I had what it takes.  Instead it is something that if not entered into, and pursued fully with an open heart to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and one's willingness to be stretched and challenged, can leave a person with many questions about themselves and their calling.  The road toward ordained ministry must start with being called.  Not of our worldly ambition, or a desire to play a role. While it may be affirmed by, it is not a calling from a church, an individual or any other earthly entity.  Instead, it is calling by God to become the person God has called us to be in a life of clergy serving with, guiding, loving and nurturing those we shepherd and the communities we live in.  It is a spiritual, emotional and physical response to embracing the call to be the harvest worker, and going to all places sharing the Good News through word and action.


I have been blessed to experience many wonderful things in my lifetime.  However, few compare to the joy and honor I experienced when I was notified by the Board of Ordained Ministry that I had passed the boards and will be commissioned as a Provisional Deacon at the 2012 WNC Annual Conference.  A 13-year journey as a full-time local pastor, student, father & husband, has reached this amazing place.  I actually struggle with the words to express how humbled and joyful I am for this blessing.  Also understanding that it is a place that few are called to, and even fewer reach throughout this necessary yet grueling process.  The wonderful part is to know that as I am commissioned on Friday morning, not only will I feel the power of God in this moment, but all those who have had a hand in my development from that 17 year old teenager that walked in the doors of the youth group at then Belmont Park UMC, to those I am so blessed and honored to serve today, 25 years later, at Mt. Tabor, along with my wife Kim and family, will join in this experience with me, and I pray be blessed by God as well.  Being commissioned could not have been done alone.  And the journey is not yet complete.  I know my experience is far from over, and God willing I will encounter a life-changing Saturday night at The Lake in a few years.  



So, to those who are being commissioned along with me, congratulations!  It is a honor and privilege to stand with you.  Let's enjoy this moment, but not lose focus on the calling at hand.  To continue to strive to live a life of servant-leader, loving all we meet the way we have been loved, and see persons grow as disciples of Jesus Christ, and our world transformed for the glory of God.

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Thoughts on Commissioning

by Erin J. Beall

In preparation for my commissioning as a United Methodist elder in the Western North Carolina Annual Conference, I recently spent a weekend of prayer and stillness at a Trappist monastery.  While there, I penned a poem in which I described that place as a thin place between our side and the other—like all the world was covered in thick rubber but this place was covered in hol(e)y cheesecloth—or as a damp place—a cantina nestled in desert dunes with refreshing, running water to lubricate my soul and my joints—as a holy place where I could inhale the exhalations of God. 

In the final stanza of the poem, my soul groaned these lines: “Oh, that I could be a thin place, a damp place/ to which the people of God could flee/ and be refreshed, and be renewed, and breathe.”

These lines bubbled up from my depths and revealed my greatest desires for ministry, which I now have the blessing of sharing with you.  My desires, I confess, are not to rise through the ranks, or to be well-known, or even to be remembered.  My desires are to be for the people of God what that monastery was for me that weekend: a place where the presence of God is tangible, permeating, sweet on the tongue, and healing.

As I look forward toward being commissioned, this odd and wondrous calling for which I have been working and toward which I have been wandering for so many years, I think of those who have acted as thin places for me in my life.  Old women who have cupped my cheek in their hand and prophesied God’s good work in my life, pastors who have squinted into my face and spoken words wiser than they realized, parents and friends who have bowed their heads for me, and mentors who have sat in the stillness of discernment with me and helped me to bear it.  Some were ordained by the United Methodist Church, but all were ordained by the Holy Spirit to be almost a sacrament to me in those moments—they were the very presence of God sitting, kneeling, standing, weeping beside me and for me and with me.

So what does it take to be that thin place for those whom we are sent to serve?  To be a refuge, a sanctuary, a place where the children of God can flee, and there can breathe more deeply, breathe Heaven’s sweet air?  I imagine it takes centeredness and discipleship—long walks with God at dawn, intentional places and times for prayer and meditation, and time between television shows and hospital visits to sit quietly or to laugh loudly.  I imagine it also takes community and presence—breakfasts with widows, Saturday afternoons in the sun with family, and smiling big at every waitress, bank teller, and mechanic you meet.  I imagine it also take a great deal of self-care—long baths, hot tea, good books, and good pets.

If we, by God’s grace, carve out within ourselves a permanent place for the presence of God to dwell, a hollow and still place where God can set up camp and whisper to our depths, then we will have no alternative but to be a thin place, a damp place, a holy place for the children of God to come.  And when they come to me asking after my Master, it is my prayer that they will not find a righteous woman looking down at them, not a girl who made a B in Church History and is struggling to remember the right Athanasius quote to answer their questions, not even a nervous recently-commissioned pastor.  Rather, it is my prayer that they will find Christ, the very God inhabiting me and smiling out from within me. 

Oh, that I could be a thin place, a damp place, to which the people of God could flee and be refreshed, and be renewed, and breathe.  Then, this wandering and calling and commissioning process will have been all the more worth it.  Then, three years of seminary and the nail-biting meetings with the Board of Ordained Ministry will be things for which I am even more grateful.  Then, amazingly, the glory of God will be revealed in me.  Amen and amen.

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Celebrate God Times

by A.J. Thomas

If you stop by the hotels and restaurants of Haywood County right now, you’ll see them: the Methodists.  In an annual migration pattern, thousands of the people called Methodist have swarmed upon Lake Junaluska for Annual Conference, turning the usually quiet hamlet into a hive of cross-and-flame activity.  They have come from local churches from Gibsonville to Murphy, Boone to Lilesville and all points throughout Western North Carolina.  They are from extension ministries around the corner and around the world.  Let the holy conferencing begin!

Western North Carolina United Methodists have gathered for lessons by the lakeshore to celebrate and remember that we are a connectional people who have been given an exciting and life-changing mission: to spread scriptural holiness across the land in such a way that the John Wesley bobble-head doll in Cokesbury bookstore won’t stop nodding in approval.

Annual Conference is many things: part United Methodist family reunion, part business meeting, part worship, part celebration of what God is doing throughout our connection, part remembrance of where we have been and those who led us in those times, part looking forward to where we’re going and discerning who will lead us there, but the core of all that is connection.  We are a connectional people, and we celebrate our connectionalism this week.  We are connected to God and connected to each other (you know, that love of God and neighbor thing), and what a cause to celebrate that is!

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Yes, We Are Yet Alive - but Sometimes, We Had a Close Call

by Mary John Dye

When you grow up as a PK, Annual Conference is a turning point of every year.

The first time I was a delegate to Conference, I was 16.  (We used to be "delegates" -- now delegates are more appropriately called MEMBERS of the Annual Conference.)  In 1966, I was a delegate and proud to be so.  Having never been to conference except to hear the Saturday reading of the appointments to find out where Daddy was being appointed, I was surprised that the conference began with the singing of Charles Wesley's "And Are We Yet Alive?"  I remember laughing and thinking, "How silly is that?  OF COURSE we are alive or we wouldn't be here to sing the hymn..."

Now that I have been a minister myself, I don't laugh about starting conference with the singing of "And Are We Yet Alive?"  Often, life has been a close call.  Sometimes, there has been a health scare that reminds of how precious life is.  Sometimes, there has been a car accident or big family life change that has brought a vivid reminder that life is a gift to be cherished.  How important it is for us to not take for granted that we are yet alive to gather again at Annual Conference.

And, far too often, faithful servants of Christ (clergy and lay) come to conference alive in body but deeply wounded in spirit.  Hurtful, contentious exchanges in church leave a trail of pain.   Whether from battles within the congregational family, insistence on comfort over missional challenge, resistance to change, church fights leave people deeply wounded.  

The hymn says it beautifully:  "What troubles have we seen, what mighty conflicts past!  Fighting without and fears within since we assembled last."  Only God's heart is big enough to hold the disappointments and pain within the family of the faithful.  We need not try to pretend the pain isn't there.  Denial does an additional disservice to already discouraged and disillusioned people.   I have come to love the honesty of the traditional hymn.  Often people come to conference having seen a host of troubles and survived some mighty conflicts indeed!

After acknowledging and singing the truth of how hard church life is, I relish the closing affirmation:  "Yet out of all the Lord has brought us by His grace and still He doth His help afford..."  God's help in the past and ongoing source of strength for the future is one of the richest of all affirmations leading into our holy conferencing time.

I don't laugh about singing, "And Are We Yet Alive?" at conference anymore.  I think we need to sing it more often.