North Carolina Annual Conference 2009 Blog

It’s All About Numbers

Although I’ve never heard this comment from a bishop, a pastor, or a church that was growing, a frequently heard comment in response to our Conference Priorities, from those who have limited their ministry to decline is, “So? It’s all about the numbers.”

Though I don’t see much indication that we have become infatuated with numbers (I was miserable at math in school) in our evaluation and deployment of our pastors, in our evaluation and leadership of our churches (most of our churches are still declining rather than growing) some question our historic Wesleyan focus on numbers of baptisms, attendance, membership, giving, and mission. The church is all about Jesus Christ and his mission. Are we now guilty of moving toward an “It’s all about numbers” posture?

We loaded up our car for our annual family vacation. I had been clear with the family about our time of departure for the beach. Patsy had dutifully loaded the car. I had dutifully been clear about the time of departure. Harriet was there. Where was William?

“That does it. We’re leaving. He knew the time and yet he’s not here,” I said, in love.

“We can’t leave without him,” Patsy asserted. “How can you go on a family vacation without the whole family?”

I responded, “Look, we have one child who obeyed the rules, did as she was told, is punctual and obedient. Isn’t that good enough? Let’s go. Don’t worry about the other fifty-percent of our children.”

“We have two children. We are not going anywhere without everybody,” Patsy commanded, in love.

“One, two, whatever,” I responded. “So? It’s all about numbers! What difference does it really make whether we have all of our children or half of our children? The important thing is the quality of our family interaction on the vacation. This is about love, not numbers!” (adapted from the Annual Conference learning session with Mark DeVries)

You have a problem with our caring about the actual fruit of ministry, the results of our work? Take it up with Jesus (or John Wesley) who commanded us to go into all the world (100%) and make (more) disciples.

There is nothing wrong with most of our churches, nothing that they need to do, other than reach more people. There is no more honest, potentially life-giving measure of ministry than the numbers that are found on our Conference Dashboard.

The Sunday after this year’s Annual Conference Patsy and I had the privilege of worshipping at Northwood UMC in Florence. There, Rev. Peter Hawker is leading this church into the first growth they have had in many years. In just three years Peter has transformed Northwood through an emphasis on passionate worship, mission to the community, and risk with the Holy Spirit.

Upon entering the Northwood sanctuary, the first thing that one notices is that the first two rows of pews are filled with children and youth. Peter commented that only a handful of those children “are ours.” Most of the children (a number of whom the church recruited from “meth families”) are children that Northwood recruited for the church. I thought of all the dying congregations who say “we have no children or youth anymore.” Those children are leading Northwood (100 years old this year) into a vibrant future, all because a church decided to find a way to be obedient to Christ’s mission.

“We weren’t willing to enter the Kingdom of God without all of our children, all of them with us,” said Peter.

And I responded, in love, “So? It’s all about the numbers.”

William H. Willimon

Bishop Al Gwinn fixed the pastoral appointments for 2009 to 2010 including 172 new changes. The Conference body prayed over these pastors and churches.

Reverend Carol Goehring, Conference Director of Connectional Ministries, presented the nominations to Conference teams and committees and the officers were elected. District officers and committee members were also elected as nominated in the handouts on Saturday.

The Online and Web Ministry of the Annual Conference event went to a new level in 2009 and a record number of persons logged on to watch the Conference live and read about it. According to computer records, there were 1,848 views of the live stream. The average viewer watched for 22 minutes.
The Conference blog and new Twitter updates were especially popular this year too. Many thanks to the efforts of the Information Technology and Communications staff as well as the media company MCR that provided audio and video technology.

The 2009 Annual Conference determined the location of the 2010 Annual Conference as the Greenville Convention Center. The Bishop sets the time of the Conference and it was announced that the dates will be June 10th through 12th, one day shorter than usual, as a way of being good stewards of our funds.

Saturday morning was the occasion of the report from the Committee on Resolutions and Reference. They delivered four resolutions that came from the people and committees of the Annual Conference.
Resolution 1: The substitute resolution from the Committee on Disability Concerns in “Favor of Tobacco-Free Environments” was passed by the Conference without amendment.
Resolution 2: The Conference and General Church Boards of Church and Society resolution was on the “Priority of Health and Wellbeing.” The sponsors made one change by deleting a phrase in part 6: “on a single payer basis.” With this change, the resolution passed.
Resolution 3: A resolution to “Evaluate and Overhaul the Criminal Justice System,” proposed by the Committee on Criminal Justice and Mercy Ministries, passed as written.
Resolution 4: This resolution from Rev. James E. Malloy, Jr., asked that churches place a wheelchair in their lobby. The body did not adopt this resolution.

Saturday’s closing worship and sending forth included a new form of witness instead of the traditional Methodist Lovefeast. This year, four speakers came forward to share stories of God’s good work amongst us, followed by reflections from members of the congregation.
Reverend Dr. Roger Elliott delivered the final sermon on the priority of the church being the making of disciples of Jesus Christ. The people were called forward to participate in a service of baptismal renewal, reminding them of their first calling to be disciples of Jesus Christ as they go forth to serve.
Bishop Al Gwinn commended the body on their holy conferencing and read new pastoral appointments for 2009. Joining him were the District Superintendents and Lay Leaders, including two new Superintendents: Rev. Jon Strother to the Raleigh District and Rev. Francis Daniel to the Wilmington District.
The Annual Conference will return to Greenville in 2010 for year two of A Future With Hope.

Our Conference Committee on Finance and Administration presented a revised 2010 budget and a 2011 budget for the Conference. Usually, budgets are determined one year, raised the next year, and spent in the following year. While this is still the normal practice, unusual economic conditions have necessitated adjustments to the 2010 budget. Therefore, the Conference Council on Finance and Administration brought forth a budget with reductions totaling $367,409.
After considering the new 2010 budget, the Annual Conference body determined that the salaries of District Superintendents for 2010 should remain at the 2009 level of $100,388. This means that the total for the 2010 budget will be $19,590,427.
In addition, the Conference approved a 2011 budget of $20,276,199. This represents a 3.5% increase over the newly approved 2010 budget. The budget is brought to the Conference session by the Council on Finance and Administration in consultation with the Connectional Table.

The 2009 Session of the Annual Conference approved 3 resolutions. You can get a PDF copy here.

Find a Wrap-Up edition of The Saddlebag newsletter, covering Saturday’s proceedings, only available online tomorrow.
Videos, blog, Saddlebag newsletters and more available at www.nccumc.org. Click on the Annual Conference banner at the top of the page.
Order DVD’s of the Worship Services (including Ordination) or Adam Hamilton’s Sessions for a small fee. Go behind the stage in the Communications room and pick up an order form.

Burlington – Hillsborough UMC, Prayers and Squares
Durham – McMannen UMC, Reconciliation and Justice
Elizabeth City – Elizabeth City Churches, Mobile Food Pantry
Fayetteville – Solid Rock UMC, Solid Foundations, Inc.
Goldsboro – Garris Chapel UMC, Dana’s Wardrobe
Greenville – Salem UMC, Children’s Ministries
New Bern – Bethlehem UMC, Helping Hands
Raleigh – Fuquay-Varina UMC, Covenant Community Garden
Rocky Mount – Jackson UMC, Community Outreach
Rockingham – Hickory Grove UMC, Outreach Ministries
Sanford – Page Memorial UMC, White Christmas
Wilmington – Pine Valley UMC, Celebrate Recovery

An amendment to the 2010 budget was presented by the Commission on Clergy Counseling and Consultation that generated heartfelt discussion on the floor of Conference yesterday morning. The amendment would have restored $63,300 to budget line item 45 to which the 2008 Annual Conference had allotted $158,720. After reviewing a standing vote, the bishop ruled that the amendment was defeated.

North Carolina Annual Conference
June 12, 2009, 5:00 PM
Ed Priestaf and Carolyn Hankins

Here’s a celebration: not long ago, if you were a woman in seminary, you looked around, and you were the only woman there. If you felt called into the ministry and you were having to hear the words, “No!, Not Yet, It’s Not in the Bible” and you would face a lot of resistance, if not outright rejection.
We celebrate this day, because as we look around, as we pay attention, as we listen, we have observed that about 25% of the clergy that have been before us as speakers or assistants are women. Of course, 51% of the population of North Carolina are women, so we’ve still got a ways to go if we want to embody the blessed community.
Thankfully, by our observations, we celebrate that 41% of the laity that have been before the conference have been men.

We wish that we could end on such a positive note, but our hearts have been disturbed by some of our shortcomings. For the second year in a row, we have observed that our diversity with regard to racial and ethnic persons here at annual conference is very disappointing. One of the seven pathways indicates that we will “end racism as we authentically expand racial and ethnic ministries.” The US Census reports that approximately 30% of North Carolina is made up of racial and ethnic persons. Within our conference, the proportion is only 5%. Here at this annual conference, our representation is approximately consistent with our conference totals. The proportion is startling when we consider that out of the more than 11,000 racial/ethnic persons reported as members of the annual conference, few are here, less than 5 have spoken from the floor, and approximately the same number from the podium. We hope that our conference will do everything it can to create a diverse and welcoming program in the years to come, greatly increasing that number.

We believe that we need to be held to the accountable to goals and visions set forth by Jesus, and articulated by our Bishops in the Seven Pathways, which remind us that we are to “end racism as we authentically expand racial and ethnic ministries.” If we as a church were to “look like the neighborhood” in terms of our ethnic diversity, we would be reaching out to the community in such a way to attract racial/ethnic persons to this wonderful United Methodist Church – not simply as subjects of mission but as brothers and sisters in Christ called to worship and preach and teach and lead. The task is great; even God sized; perhaps as great as the challenge once faced by women feeling the difficulty or impossibility of living out their call into ministry not long ago. In fact, to rise to this challenge, we would need to add 65,000 racial and ethnic persons to our rolls to bring us in line with “the neighborhood” of North Carolina.

We hope that as Rev. Hamilton reminded us, “these facts will become our friends,” and that God will move us to consider celebrating and challenging the conference towards greater diversity as we plan ways to give voice to our whole conference in the coming months and years, so help us God.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Numbers, numbers, and more numbers. In the sessions of the Annual Conference, our work as followers of Christ often seems to get reduced to numbers – program budgets, salaries, pensions. During each session, members of the Monitoring and Accountability Committee add to the inundation of numbers as we take our positions, armed with pens and data recording sheets. We attend to every movement in the session and with our best guess we record the demographics characteristics of everyone who participates in annual conference – those who speak from the floor and from the dais, those who lead worship, those who serve communion. And at the end of the day we tally the totals.

Perhaps it is no surprise to find that most often, our tallies are skewed toward older white men. Sometimes, particularly in worship, the diversity of participants is impressive. But why do we count? Are we hinting to our white brothers that they should be less vocal? Or are we encouraging others among us – women, people of color, young adults, individuals with physical disabilities – to speak and participate more? Either way, should this type of affirmative-action-influenced approach that is mildly reminiscent of quotas have a place in the body of Christ?

As Grace Hackney taught us in Thursday morning’s Bible study, the vision of God’s kingdom in Revelations 21 is a home among mortals. This, perhaps, is why Christ instructs his disciples to pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” The Church is to be God’s co-laborer in creating this new kingdom, the beloved community where all of God’s rich and diverse creation is visible and thriving.

Unfortunately, though, the North Carolina Conference does not currently mirror the diversity that God so obviously loves. We are certainly making strides, but there is much work to be done. That’s why we count – to remind us that some of God’s children are missing from the table of communion. Our counting system is not perfect. It can be daunting, sometimes discouraging. But it is another sign-act pointing us to the beloved community that we one day hope to embody.

Chanequa Walker-Barnes

(Check out my church blog on which I and my lay member to Annual Conference are posting: http://aventview.blogspot.com -Taylor Mills)

Reverend Herbert Lowry preached and Rev. Suzanne Dornsmith danced for the All Saints Celebration—Memorial Service yesterday in which the following clergy were remembered:
Susan Webb Lutz Allred, James Albert Auman, Walton Needham Bass, Sr., René Orville Bideaux, John Robert Blue, Clingman Carter Capps, Clyde McGee Creech, Sr., John Hammond Crum, Charles Spence Hubbard, Doris Jean Johnson, Grady Lee Kinley, John Edwards Reed, Sr., John Milton Roberts.
The following spouses of clergy were remembered:
Sharon Trueman Butson, Evelyn Sawyer Mansfield Cook, Georgia Reid Dodson, Pinear Mae Windley Epps, Doris Elaine Faircloth, Richard Daryl Hawkins, Ruby Humphries Jones, Marjorie Jean Fisher King, Flossie Gillespie McNair, Jamie Pocahontas Jones Ports, Marie Harriett Poole Rouse, Frances Shearon Thompson, Ruth Craft Tyson, Rosemary Todd Wynn.

Reverend Keith Nanney preached for the Retiree Recognition Service yesterday in which the following new retirees were honored:
Milton Bailey Collier, Jr., Sandra Jean (Rose) Conner, William Thomas Cottingham III, John Quinton Covington, Jr., Simeon Dufrene Cummings, Gayle Carlton Felton, Haywood Wrenn Gillikin, Walter Lawrence Graves, Harold Harvey Harbin, Jr., Charles Malcolm Herring, Durward Douglas Jessee, Charles Kenneth Morrison, Roy Keith Nanney, Carol Elizabeth Noy, Jack Ward Page, Jr., Albert Clayton Smith, John Wendell Wenberg, Jr., James Edward Williams, Neal Eddins Wingfield.

Bishop Al Gwinn made a special appeal for generous giving for our mission in Costa Rica. He recalled spending some enriching time amongst the Christians there. The offering brought in $5,038 for the Costa Rican mission.

Seventy-nine churches across our Conference were recognized yesterday by Bishop Gwinn and the Conference as “Acts 2 Churches” who exhibit radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional spiritual formation, and risk-taking mission and ministry to the world.
Nomination forms for being recognized as an Acts 2 Church are available every year online before Annual Conference. This year, with only rare exception, churches who did not fully fund their apportionments were not eligible to be Acts 2 Churches.

On Thursday, Rev. Jim Mentzer presented the good news to the Conference that the Insurance Committee recommends no increase in upcoming health insurance premiums. Rates have remained unchanged for the last six years for active clergy and the last four years for retirees.
The Task Force on Retiree Health Benefits recognizes an unfunded liability of $35 million when it comes to funding the health benefits for our retired pastors. The Task Force suggests that the Conference will need something like the Past Service Liability Fund, currently covering our unfunded liability for pastors with pre-1982 pensions, to fund future retiree health benefits.
The Conference approved an amendment to the Report from the Committee on Equitable Compensation effectively setting next year’s minimum salary for full-time pastors at the 2009 level of $40,319 and for student pastors at $26,207. Minimum utility allowances should be $2,400 and churches should budget at least $4,000 for clergy travel expenses.

North Carolina United Methodists are on the move and this includes the Conference headquarters. As per the 2008 Conference overwhelming action, the Glenwood Avenue and Wade Avenue properties in Raleigh went up for sale. This included the office building and the Raleigh Townhomes. The office building and the 2.5 acres on which it sits were sold on August 13, 2008 and the new owners are currently leasing back the space to the Conference while a new United Methodist Building is under construction.
However, during the due diligence period, the Trustees did not accept the offer for the Raleigh Townhomes property because the offer was not favorable to the Conference. Thus that property is again on the market.
A new United Methodist Building will be on Waterfield Ridge Place in Garner, just off Greenfield Parkway at the intersection of Interstate 40 and Highway 70. This property was purchased in 2002 by funds held by the Trustees at that time. The costs of building the new headquarters is being funded by the proceeds of the sale of the old headquarters.
The new building will be approximately 33,500 square feet and will include space for three tenants. It will be a two-stories with a brick veneer exterior on the first floor and a textured masonry finish on the second floor. An exciting part of the new design is that it seeks to conform to Leadership in Entergy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards in hopes of acquiring a “green building” certification.
Groundbreaking was held on May 29 with 50 to 75 in attendance. You can watch a video of the event on the Conference webpage. The Conference is also invited to follow construction on the “NCC Builds” website portion of the Conference website.

Bishop Al Gwinn recognized the new presidents of two of our United Methodist-related colleges. Dr. James Gray III takes over as leader of Rocky Mount Wesley an College. Louisburg College welcomes Dr. Mark La Branche as president. Finally, the Conference was introduced to Robert (Bobby) Harris III, the new director of the North Carolina United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries.

“What if church was more than a building?” This is part of a new message and media campaign by United Methodist Communications, (UMCom) the media ministry of The United Methodist Church.
In 2000, UMCom launched Igniting Ministry whose message was “Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors.” While this slogan remains relevant, the new campaign offers a new slogan: “Rethink Church.”
Extensive research has shown that 18 to 34 year olds overwhelmingly believe that the church is irrelevant, too busy arguing with one another, and that Christians live one way for one hour on Sunday and an entirely different way the rest of the week.
So Rethink Church seeks to change these perceptions by redefining church beyond Sundays and sanctuaries and by helping the church return to the best of the early church community when the church was one of the original “social networks.”
Reverend Ken Sloane from UMCom came from Nashville to tell our Annual Conference about Rethink Church and to show us a dynamic video. The Communications Committee and Bill Norton, Director of Communications, will be announcing training events for local churches across our Conference. Learn more at www.rethinkchurch.org.

HUGE Congrats to the Newly Commissioned and Ordained Clergy of the NC Annual Conference……..
Provisional Deacon: Kristina Johnson Yeatts
Provisional Elders: Joseph David Beam IV, Harriett Taylor Bounds, Timothy Davis Catlett, Dalma Lynn Garrell Cribb, Alice Wade Davis, Christi DeSha Dye, Elizabeth Ann Gaines, James Haywood Henderson, David Lewis King, Laura Fine Ledford, John Michael McAllister, Donald Thomas Miller, Edward Nicholas Priestaf, Carolyn Nancy Beers Roy, Kelli Summers Sorg, Marc Herman Werner, Nathan Andrew Wittman
Deacon in Full Connection: None
Elders in Full Connection: Julia Ellen Alliger, Matthew Reeves Ashburn, Janet Lea Balasko, Donna Morrissette Banks, David John Blackman, Charles Michael Coppock, Scott Allen Dodson, John Farron Duncan, Seong Il Eom, Michael David Gira, Jr., Franklin Karl Grant, Jared Andrew Hanson, Woo-Il (Paul) Lee, Jane Lee Leechford, Mattheue Brock Locklear, Rhonda Turner Maurer, Christopher Gregory Moore, Jeffrey Raymond Nash, Elmar Karl Neuschaefer, Edward Slee New, Thomas Moore Nichols, Rhonda Riggins Parker, Charles Conrad Pullins, Sandra Barefoot Schaller, Stephen Eugene Smith, Barbara Elaine Swett, Pamela Jane Watkins, James Dean Whittaker, Rani Partridge Woodrow, James Elton Wooten
Associate Member of the Conference: Sue Harvey Owens

The Committee on Finance and Administration (CF&A) proposed a newly revised 2010 Conference budget that generated discussion yesterday afternoon. In addition to the $367,409 of reductions reported in Wednesday’s The Saddlebag, the amount for the Minister’s Transition Fund (line 83) is recommended to be $0 because the Fund is now self-supported by its cumulative assets. This brings total proposed reductions for 2010 to $492,439.
A new formula was also proposed for calculating the salaries of District Superintendents in which their pay would be “the average of the top 25 pastors’ salaries in the Conference for the previous year,” in the words of the CF&A report. This would result in a 2010 salary of $102,902. Yet the Cabinet of District Superintendents has covenanted amongst themselves to give their salary increases to their various districts next year.
The 2010 budget is currently being raised in 2009. If the new budget is passed, the 2009 connectional giving (apportionments) will be recalculated and a credit will be applied to churches whose amounts change. A vote on the budget (Section I of the CF&A report) will be taken Saturday morning.

2009 Ordination and Commissioning Sermon
“In The Midst of New Dimensions”
John 15:1-8
Bishop Al Gwinn

This is a high and holy moment for obvious reasons – but also because the Lord is here! That’s right; the head of the Church is here! Behold the Son of God walks among us tonight! So take a moment to personally acknowledge Him, and to humble yourself before Him.

This is a challenging assignment I have on this occasion! Perhaps for many reasons, but particularly so, in that I am convinced that I am speaking to, at least, four audiences here tonight.
- The first audience is this class of Ordinands – those of you who are stepping into an awesome responsibility. This threshold will give you additional privileges but it also brings with it great responsibilities.
- Then there is a second audience of the class of Provisional members – those of you who are stepping into a new relationship with this annual conference. Without apologies, you are entering into a period of close examination and mentoring regarding your “fitness for ordination and your effectiveness for ministry.” #325.
- Also among us tonight is a third audience of those of you who are thinking “this is not about me!” You have come out of courtesy or necessity and, in fact, you are probably hoping that this time will pass quickly.
- Then there is the fourth audience – those of you who have earnestly prayed for this time and you believe Jesus has a word for every person, every need, and every heart in this place tonight.

Ordinands, I’ve been in your audience. Provisional members, I’ve been in your audience. Those of you who just came, I’ve been in your audience. And those of you who came hoping Jesus would do business with everybody, I’m in your audience tonight and I’ve been praying that He would take these human words and empower them for His glory in each of our hearts tonight.

If time permitted tonight, I would preach a seven point sermon. But you can relax, because I am not going to do it! But I will give you the points. Be a life-long learner, empower your laity, preach well, invest in persons (especially your family), always have a mentor, make ministry to children and youth a high priority and pursue God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength.

But this sermon is about what I believe is the most important of all of those points – the last point. About fifteen years ago, Julian Rush wrote a hymn he titled, In the Midst of New Dimensions, it’s in our hymnbook, The Faith We Sing and we will be singing it tonight. The first two stanzas are provocative questions certainly current for our day – V.1. “In the midst of new dimensions, in the face of changing ways, who will lead the pilgrim peoples wandering in their separate ways?” V. 2. “Through the flood of starving people, warring factions and despair, who will lift the olive branches? Who will light the flame of care?”

We are in the midst of a new and not-yet understood time. We are face to face with breath-taking changes in every niche of our world. Literally and figuratively, people near and far are wandering, starving, warring, and despairing. And, what I want to say to you tonight Ordinand – you are the one called has into the midst of these new dimensions! Provisional member, you are the one God has called into the midst of these uncertain times! Fellow pilgrim, whether you are 18 or 89, you are the one God has called into the midst of these very uncertain times! As Ordinands and Provisional Members, you have told the Board of Ordained Ministry that you have heard that summons. And the summons went something like this in your heart – will you come and follow me if I but call your name? Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same? Will you let my love be shown, will you let my name be known, will you let my life be grown in you and you in me? In some form, don’t we all hear that call? And is it not humbling to think that the God of the Universe who has such a heart for this world is convinced we are what He needs for these times, these new dimensions?

Now, because we live in the midst of a narcissistic, egocentric, self-absorbed society I want to be careful how you hear what I have just said – you are hand picked for these troubled times. Please notice that I did not say, “You are THE answer. And I did not say you have THE answer – to every problem in the world, or in the church, or in your family, or in the community!” Let me assure you this calling, this journey are all about you – and your abilities, and your skills and your gifts – you have misunderstood the calling! If this is your thinking, I want to assure you that before your days on this earth conclude, you will bring more pain than you bring blessing. You will bring more discouragement than you bring encouragement! Your will bring more confusion than you bring direction. You will not be what God is looking for!

It is at this point that I want to return to Rush’s hymn and remind us of the chorus, “God of rainbow, fiery pillar, leading where the eagles soar, we your people, ours the journey, now and ever, now and ever, now and evermore.” That’s it! That’s the answer to the questions! God is looking for partnership! God is looking for persons who want to be in covenant with Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who want to be guided by God, and who want to be led by God – into these new dimensions.

I am more convinced than ever that God is not looking for someone with THE answer, or even someone who has exceptional skills and talents. God is looking for persons who want to be in relationship – relationship with God and with others! Relationship with the God of the rainbow – you remember the story of the rainbow? It’s about covenant! Fiery pillar – you remember? “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light.” Ex. 13:21-22. God of rainbow, fiery pillar, leading where the eagles soar, we your people, ours the journey!

Our Gospel lesson tonight from John 15 is all about being in relationship with that same God! I know that we’re all very familiar with this passage but be careful, this passage is not a little shallow pond around which we can stroll! These verses have the surgings of eternity in them, deep calling unto deep. Oh, I long for these words to sweep our feet from beneath us and carry us out into the great waters – far beyond where the natural eye can see – where we are invited to swim in the unfathomable riches of God’s life and presence.

This passage is so full of love and promise. Knowing all that he knows about you and me, even the very worst, our Lord is not daunted, in the least, to proceed to offer us his tremendous promise – “you will bear much fruit!” “Bear fruit” appears seven times! And “abide” appears eleven times! This God of rainbow and fiery pillar is saying to you and me – like the vine does for the branch, I will keep you alive and vital, green and growing, heavy with fruitfulness and loaded with usefulness. That’s my promise! Jesus gives only one condition to all of this: We must remain in him, receive from him, and reproduce for him. He is the source, and all that is needed in these new dimensions flows through us, it does not come from us.

And I hasten to say that we must never forget that the “YOU” in this passage is both plural and singular. We are in this together – “Ours the journey.” We are called into community together with God – as well as individually with God. This journey is never really “all about me”; it is, rather, all about “us” and our relationship to God.
We are on the journey together! We are to “abide” together! We need to practice the disciplines together! We your people, ours the journey! The crisis in our churches today is not rooted in dwindling numbers, or aging membership, or outdated facilities, or the financial crises. Today’s church crisis stems from one thing: what Leonard Sweet calls a Jesus Deficit Disorder – the loss of a communal hunger to walk with Jesus and love him with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength.

We have been too busy focusing on other stories instead of God’s story, and dreaming other dreams than God’s dreams as revealed by Jesus. When will we come to believe that God’s dream for us is greater than any dream we may dream for ourselves. When Zechariah wrote (4:6), “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord” he uses two Hebrew words that cover all human resources. One is used to speak of human strength, human ability and personal power. The other is defined as strength, valor, wealth, and military force. What God wants to achieve in and through us is determined not by our ‘stuff” but by God’s “stuff”!

So, here’s the offer – Will you leave yourself behind, if I but call your name? Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same? Will you use the faith you’ve found, to reshape the world around, through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?

The Honorable Patricia Dunn, Mayor of the City of Greenville, welcomed members and guests of the Annual Conference yesterday to her great city. This was followed by a special welcome to two Mrs. Gwinns: the bishop’s wife and his mother.
Also at our conference is Rev. Dr. Belton Joyner, the Secretary of the Judicial Council of our denomination. And the new Dean of Asbury Theological Seminary, Rev. Dr. Timothy C. Tennent was also recognized in attendance.

The special offering taken for the Marion Edwards Recovery Center Initiatives (MERCI) brought forth a generous $10,966.92 in giving!

Just checked with the Treasurer’s Office to get the total of the offering for the MERCI center that was just taken. Usually, they are done by now. But they said that the offering is so big, they haven’t finished counting it yet! We’ll get it for you when they’re finished.

STATE OF THE CHURCH ADDRESS
Bishop Al Gwinn
June 13, 2009

J. B. Phillips, once wrote a book with the title, Your God Is Too Small. Whether you agree with his theology or not, his premise is right on target. It doesn’t matter how smart you are, how good you are, or how attractive you are. It doesn’t matter how much you read the Bible, how much you pray, or how much you give to the church and to charity. It doesn’t matter what your culture is, what your gender is, what your skin color is. It doesn’t matter who your relatives are or who you know, where you went to school, or where you live. Your God is too small!

That’s a challenging thought! Do we really believe that this all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present God we serve, always knows what needs to be done, always has the power to do it, and is always where he needs to be to do whatever needs to be done? If that be true, perhaps the biggest challenge for the Church today is to let God be God! And that’s exactly what I believe we have a growing hunger for here in the North Carolina Annual Conference – to let God be God. So our conference, and more and more of our congregations, have been trying to read the signs of what God is up to, connect the God-dots, if you please, then sign up on God’s dotted lines and lay down our own will for a God that’s bigger than we can imagine, up to more than we can comprehend and loves us more than we can know!

I remind you that this annual conference and its Connectional Table (and the many ministries associated with it), our Board of Ordained Ministry, our Council on Finance and Administration, and our Cabinet have clearly stated that we believe God would have us help local churches become healthier disciple-making centers that are Missional, Relational and Incarnational. And, help our clergy and lay leadership become, both in heart and mind, all that the Lord of the Church needs them to be as they lead forth with excellence, vision, passion and godliness. Our mission statement says it more succinctly when it says: healthy churches and effective leaders in every place making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. (Say it with me.)

So, let me give us a quick sweep of what is happening as we try to live out this commitment to God. First, our partnership with the Thriving Rural Communities Initiative continues to gain momentum as we try to help local churches become healthier. This year we are appointing our second Rural Fellow from Duke Divinity School. Leah Scaggs has focused her studies on special curriculum dealing with rural communities and small membership churches. And now, she will have the opportunity to apply what she has learned! Next year we anticipate three additional specialists from this Initiative being assigned to our rural churches and communities. Solid Rock, Cedar Grove and Sandy Plains, three of our Thriving Rural Congregations, continue to offer opportunities for persons to come, experience and learn from what God is doing through them. And, we’re very excited about the new teaching ministry of the Bladen Charge, in the Wilmington District, where they host an annual Fan the Flame for smaller membership churches to be inspired and informed. (Have persons stand who have participated)

Our Healthy Church Assessment Tool continues to find wide use among our congregations of all sizes. And, at this conference we will recognize a number of Acts 2 Churches who are making significant progress toward Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Spiritual Formation from the Cradle to the Grave and Risk-taking ministry and mission to the world. Stories are coming from every corner of our conference about churches that are becoming more missional, more relational, and more Incarnational – and we celebrate all these advancements!

At the same time, we know that a significant number of our churches are struggling – especially in these days of economic challenge. At this annual conference alone we will loose fourteen full-time appointments for our elders and local pastors! Fourteen churches than could not longer carry the financial load required for minimum salary, pension, insurance, housing costs as well as general maintenance and ministry costs – let alone their fair share of our connectional mission giving. They will not close, but like thirty other sister congregations in our conference over the last four years, they will need to go to a part-time pastor in order to continue their work. Sisters and brothers, we need every congregation we have and we must make every effort to strengthen our congregations of every size.

This challenge for some of our congregations has been exacerbated by these economic times. In fact, many of our stronger congregations are being challenged by these economic times. But friends, we must not allow these challenging times to deter us from our mission. We must not develop an attitude of scarcity when we know full well that we are yet in the midst of much abundance. God’s work must not slow when it comes to reaching the lost, feeding the hungry, seeking justice for all and growing disciples of the young and old alike. Friends, history indicates that God’s people have always been more sacrificial and generous in difficult time so God’s work would not suffer. Let it be no different for us! As we reflect and pray together, God will help us accept what we can’t afford to do any longer and at the same time He will help us come to a deeper understanding of what we can’t afford not to do, one way or the other! We can get more done with less! There are other ways to do what really needs to be done!

But you must hear this! An overwhelming majority of our local churches and thousands of their members who have lost they jobs are looking to this annual conference for sign acts which we can do to indicate to them that we understand the situation and are willing to be in solidarity with all who have been affected by this economic downturn. Believing this deeply and convinced that we should lead the way; our Council of Bishops has approved a role back of the salaries of the active bishops. What that means is, at the beginning of 2010 our salaries will be rolled back to the 2008 level. Further, we will cut one day out of our scheduled meetings and we have requested that we stay in less expensive hotels. In addition, our SEJ College of Bishops has cut one entire meeting out of our schedule for 2010. But hear me! W e are convinced we can do more than ever before for our Lord and His Church! We will just do it a different way! We will be creative in becoming more effective and efficient.

As you will see, our own Council on Finance and Administration and Connectional Table are recommending several sign acts and proposals for doing ministries a different way; ultimately though you must make the final decision. A word of caution, we must not fall into the trap of trying to do everything more cheaply. But let us accept the challenge of doing things more efficiently and reasonably. Our task will be to make sure vision drives us and not the dollar!

To help lead the way, I will be appointing a Task Force to Study Superintendency in the North Carolina Annual Conference with an eye on efficiency and effectiveness and I will ask that Task Force to report any recommendations it may have to our 2010 Annual Conference. Further, our Conference Planning Committee believes that this Annual Conference can do effective holy conferencing in two and one half days instead of three and one half days and is recommending such for the 2010 Annual Conference.

Let me turn now to effective leaders in every place. I am pleased to tell you that I am greatly encouraged by the growing number of competent and committed clergy we have in this annual conference! We are blessed! And our blessings are increasing every year! Our Board of Ordained Ministry has significantly redesigned its work so that it may better focus on identifying, recruiting and nurturing godly and able leaders for ordained ministry. The Board’s question will not be, “Are there reasons for us not recommending this candidate?” but the question will be “What are the reasons why we should recommend this candidate?” And our Academy for Leadership Excellence, who works primarily with clergy already in our Covenant, is finding a “full house” in almost every offering it presents for growth and renewal!

During this conference you will hear a report from the leaders of our Clergy Health Initiative. The survey work of this Initiative is completed and we are moving now to pilot programs. This work will be extremely helpful to both our clergy and our congregations as we gain greater insight into the keys for a physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally healthy leader. One thing we do know for sure, this is a very challenging time to lead a congregation. Reggie McNeal says it well when he says, “These are the best of times to be the church. These are the worst of times to be a church.” Meaning, the massive changes that are taking place in the world – from globalization to the breakdown of Christendom to the emergence of post modernity – are wonderful opportunities for Christianity to reach out to a confused world. BUT these same forces are challenging local churches in profound ways. Meaning, familiar ways of doing church, programs that always worked before and old ideas are no longer working. Churches can no longer fall back on what they’ve done before and expect anything more than a continual slow death! This is a challenging time! And, we must hear this! There are no silver bullets out there to slay this dragon. But, I’m discovering that many church members expect the pastor to be the silver bullet.

Friends, leadership in a congregation should always a team effort! Part of the significant role of the pastor today is to ask the right questions and to recruit the right people, so the burden of leadership can be shared. In today’s church that is absolutely essential – not just because no one person can know all that needs to be known or do all that needs to be done, but also because it is the Biblical way for all of God’s people to have meaningful involvement – and, of course, it builds broad-based commitment and enthusiasm for the ministry of the church.

Our pastors are willingly being reminded of and equipped for this kind of leadership through our Academy for Leadership Excellence, the Reynolds Program for Leadership Excellence, and many other opportunities within and beyond the annual conference. To assist in this effort, for the last year our district superintendents, lay leader, treasurer and others have been meeting one full day a month for the purpose of learning more of what it means to be an effective Christian leader in this day, for the purpose of loving God through intentional formation and for the purpose of being accountable for leading through a Ministry Action Plan.
And now, they have begun their own Incubators (as this effort is called) practicing L3 –Loving God, Learning and Leading – as they meet with their team of laity and clergy for eight hours every month. And in just a few years, hundreds and hundreds of our clergy and laity will experience this exciting and empowering opportunity as this Incubator movement multiplies.

Finally, let me remind you, that according to the U.S. Census Bureau we are the fourth-fastest growing state in the nation! Only Utah, Arizona and Texas are going faster. We are already the 10th largest state in the Union. A recent Gallup pole says that 70% of people in our society are functionally unchurched – meaning they go to church less than six times a year! Add these together and it is easy to see that God has placed us in very fertile ground! And friends, Jesus’ parable of the shepherd who looks for the ONE lost sheep when there are ninety-nine in the fold gives us a clear understanding of what we must be about in this fertile ground.

Just a few weeks ago while in Washington, D.C., Joyce and I were privileged to help launch our new United Methodist Church Communications’ Campaign – RETHINK CHURCH. During this conference you will see a video of this campaign. Listen to some of the words of the campaign: What if church wasn’t just about Sunday, but also about the other days of the week? What if church wasn’t a place we go, but something we do? A menu of adventure. An active verb. Instead of a noun. What if church was the way church was in the beginning? Outbound. Unbound. Active. What if church looked at itself with seekers’ eyes? What if church wasn’t just a building, but thousands of doors? What if church was more of an out-of-church experience? An opportunity to prove what we say we believe, with our lives. Then, perhaps, Sunday could be a day of rest and reflection on all that we had accomplished Monday through Saturday … What if we rethink church? Not in terms of what it is, but what it could be. And what if we convince the world to do the same?

Let that be our marching orders!

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Amen.

As I write this, members and guests of the Annual Conference are coming forward for Communion. The Bishop gave his passionate State of the Church address which we hope to post soon. Elise Eslinger is leading moving new music for us to sing.

This year there will be four resolutions presented to the Annual Conference. Three of this come from conference agencies and will simply be scheduled by the Committee on Resolutions. The fourth resolution will be presented with a recommendation for concurrence, nonconcurrence, or referral (to another committee or team).

Resolution 1:  In Favor of Tobacco-Free Environments comes from the Committee on Disability Concerns. [Note: The hard copy book passed out at Annual Conference contains an older version of this resolution. The online PDF version contains the up-to-date version. The new version will also be distributed at Annual Conference on separate sheet of green paper.]

Resolution 2: A Call to Action by the United Methodist Annual Conferences: The Priority of Health and Wellbeing comes from the General Board of Church and Society and the Board of Church and Society of the North Carolina Annual Conference.

Resolution 3: Evaluate and Overhaul the Criminal Justice System, National and State comes from the NC Committee on Criminal Justice and Mercie Ministries.

Resolution 4: The Wheel Chair Resolution comes from the Reverend James E. Malloy, Jr.

To read these resolutions for yourself, you may download a copy of the Book of Resolutions in PDF format.

Check-in at the registration table upon arrival.
Wear your nametag with colored lanyard at all times.
When speaking from the floor, clearly state your name and church or Conference affiliation.
No Conference-wide meals are served.
Please silence your cell phone and other electronic devices.
We gather for what John Wesley called “holy Christian conferencing.”

This year’s Annual Conference will vote on two budgets instead of the usual one. Along with the 2011 budget, a revised 2010 Conference budget will be presented from the Conference Connectional Table and the Council on Finance and Administration. This is in response to economic conditions that have changed since 2008.
The new revised budget seeks a reduction in spending in 2010 of $367,409 and will be voted on Saturday morning. You can find the full budgets on pages 56 and 57 of the Conference Workbook which was distributed at the Annual Conference Briefing Sessions and is available online at the Annual Conference section of the website: www.nccumc.org.

Workshops for lay and clergy members and guests of the North Carolina Annual Conference will be offered for the first time this year. This is in keeping with the 2009 focus on Learning as a part of our theme: A Future With Hope. Five workshops will be held Thursday evening from 7:30PM to 9:30PM. Some will be in the Greenville Convention Center, which will be divided into sections, and some will be in ballrooms of the Greenville Hilton. Registration is not required, but seating may be limited.
“Reaching and Transforming the Lives of a New Generation,” led by Rev. Marty Cauley, will explore how the church can better reach teenagers and young adults. This workshop will be in sections D and E of the convention center, to the right when facing the stage.
“Where Does that Conference Money Go?” will be held in sections A and B of the convention center, to the left when facing the stage. Conference Lay Leader Emily Innes and Conference Treasurer Christine Dodson will help participants interpret the use of their connectional mission giving to our Annual Conference and The United Methodist Church.
“Mission: Possible, Transforming Existing Congregations,” with Rev. Dr. Reggie Ponder, will explore how our churches can reach new levels of health and vitality. Find this workshop in the center section of the Greenville Convention Center.
“Web Presence, Web Schmesence: Why Do I Need One of Those?” This workshop about church websites “for the rest of us” will be led by new Conference web ministries producer Derek Leek and Conference information technology director Douglas Ward and . This workshop has been moved to Ballroom C of the Greenville Hilton.
“Skills for Healthy Storming; How to Navigate Safely Through Conflict” is a workshop led by Rev. Beth Crissman, executive director Plowpoint Inc. ministries. Find hope for dealing with conflict in Hilton Ballroom A.

The Greenville Convention Center is the site of the 2009 Annual Conference of the North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church from June 10 through 13. The theme for the 2009-2012 quadrennium is “A Future With Hope.” For 2009, the focus will be on Learning.
Bishop Al Gwinn will preside over the conference with the assistance of Conference Lay Leader Emily Innes and Conference Secretary Rev. Jerry Bryan.
The featured conference speaker will be Rev. Adam Hamilton of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas. He is a highly sought after speaker and his church has grown exponentially. Rev. Hamilton will offer three teaching sessions on Friday on “Leading Beyond the Walls: Lessons in Leadership, Worship, Preaching, and Evangelism.”
This year’s worship and music leader is Elise Eslinger. She has served in numerous congregations, Conference ministries, and helped found the Upper Room Academy for Spiritual Formation for which she compiled and edited the Upper Room Worshipbook, now in its third printing.
We also look forward to hearing from Kelly Sisney (Christian comedienne from Church of the Resurrection), Rev. Herbert Lowry (Memorial Service preacher), Rev. Keith Nanney (Retiree Recognition Service preacher), and Rev. Dr. Roger Elliott (Closing Worship Service preacher).
Other highlights include the commissioning and ordination of new clergy, early morning Communion, Bible Studies led by Rev. Grace Hackney, and workshops and a Taizé worship service that are new to conference this year.
Finally, amendments to the Constitution of The United Methodist Church, already approved by General Conference, come before our conference this year for possible ratification. Clergy and lay members of the Annual Conference vote by ballot cards.
May God truly bless the 2009 conference as we move together into…
A FUTURE WITH HOPE!

We must have a firewall problem with the printers!

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