What is Annual Conference?

                 Bishop Goodpaster Refuses to be Lukewarm

Last week I represented Light of Christ at the Western North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church at Lake Junaluska (near Waynesville, NC). Annual Conference is the yearly gathering of clergy and lay representatives from the 1100 United Methodist churches in western NC. The theme of the week was Lessons by the Lakeshore, based on Jesus’ teaching by the Sea of Galilee and also inspired by Revelation 22:17, Let those who are thirsty come; and let all who wish take the free gift of the water of life.

Here are some of the highlights:

- Worshipped in eleven diverse services throughout the week.

- Learned from Adam Hamilton, the pastor of the largest United Methodist Church (averaging 8600 in worship) about preaching, worship, leadership, and evangelism.

- Supported new clergy that were ordained and commissioned to serve in ministry.

 - Celebrated with retiring clergy and their spouses; honored the clergy and spouses that went to be with God in Heaven over the past year.

- Collected offerings for the Gulfside Ministry in Alabama and for the Imagine No Malaria ministry.

 - Changed the structure of the Annual Conference from 15 districts to 8. The Charlotte District is now the Metro District. The Rev. Dr. Gary Royals will serve as Light of Christ’s District Superintendent.

 - Approved a budget of $15.7 million dollars to support the ministry of the Annual Conference, a decrease of $1 million from 2012 (-6.13%).

- Received appointments to our churches for the 2012-2013 year, beginning in July. I am blessed to be back at Light of Christ for a ninth year.

General Conference
We also heard reports from General Conference, the international gathering of United Methodists held once every four years that took place in Florida earlier this year. We face many challenges as a denomination with continued decline in worship attendance, professions of faith, and new members. Basically, we are an aging denomination that is not reaching younger generations. We gratefully welcome and embrace all generations in our churches. We just are not balancing out our older members with young people. The average age in United Methodism is 57. Thankfully, Light of Christ is ahead of the curve in age diversity. We are reaching young families.

Other challenges to United Methodism include financial support, polemic views on issues such as homosexuality, and an overly bureaucratic structure hampered by impasse and frustration. Cheery stuff, huh?

 In the midst of this, I kept hearing encouraging themes throughout Annual Conference from our leaders, such as:

- Seek God in prayer!

- Persevere! God is with us. Be true to our calling and mission, and let God lead us into a bright future.

- Heed the warning to the church in Laodicea in Revelation 3: refuse to be lukewarm!

- Receive God’s joy in ministry and life every day!

 - Stay true to our first love, Jesus. He will see us through!

I left Annual Conference feeling renewed and excited. Yes, we United Methodists have challenges ahead, but we are in this together. Guided by the Holy Spirit, we will shine the light of Christ in the world through life transforming ministry to people of all ages, races, genders, and nations.

Guard Your Marriage #10

 

Adultery does not just happen. It is the culminating act of many tiny steps of unfaithfulness. We are examining these in order to help safeguard marriages. We offer word-for-word quotes from real people who wrecked marriages (theirs and others). This information comes to us at great expense.

Special Notes or Gifts
"He would write these little encouraging notes and leave them in my desk, pocketbook, or taped to my computer.  They didn't say anything which could be traced.  If anyone found them they wouldn't suspect anything.  But we both knew what was going on.  We just didn't want to stop yet."

"I would sometimes call him and leave a short message on his answering machine.  He would leave little notes in my Bible."

"He would buy me a little gift - not that expensive, but it always showed me he had taken extra thought to get exactly what I liked.  Of course everyone else thought he was just being a good boss."

"She started leaving unsigned notes to me in my desk sharing her feelings for me.  It scared me at first, because I thought someone would find one.  But after a while I found myself looking forward to the next one, even though I knew the risk."

Source: Money, Sex and Spiritual Power by Keith Drury.

Guard Your Marriage #9

Adultery does not just happen. It is the culminating act of many tiny steps of unfaithfulness. We are examining these in order to help safeguard marriages. We offer word-for-word quotes from real people who wrecked marriages (theirs and others). This information comes to us at great expense.

Minor Yet Arousing Touch, Squeeze, or Hug
"He never touched me for months.  Then one night after working late, we were walking toward the door when he said 'You're so special, thanks for all you do.'  Then he turned and hugged me tenderly just for a second.  I loved how I felt for that moment so much that I began to replay it over and over again in my mind like a videotape.  Now I know that I should have stopped it all right then.  I never intended to ruin my family like this."

"She was always hanging around our house and was my wife's best friend.  Often she would stay late to watch TV, even after my wife went to bed.  She would sit beside me on the couch and I was drawn to her."

"He would often pat me on the shoulder - you know, in appreciation for a good job I'd done.  But I knew it meant more than that."

"The first time she touched me was when we were doing registration together.  We were sitting beside each other.  I'd say something cute or funny and she would giggle, then under the table she'd squeeze the top of my leg with her hand.  That was really exciting to me."

"Every time she shook hands with me at the door she seemed to linger, sort of holding my hand more than shaking it.  No one else would notice, but I knew there was more to her touch than appeared to the eyes.  She knew, too."

Source: Money, Sex and Spiritual Power by Keith Drury.

Guard Your Marriage #8

Adultery does not just happen. It is the culminating act of many tiny steps of unfaithfulness. We are examining these in order to help safeguard marriages. We offer word-for-word quotes from real people who wrecked marriages (theirs and others). This information comes to us at great expense.

Talking about Personal Matters
"We would talk about things - not big things, just little things that he cared about or that I was worried about."

"We'd meet together for coffee before church and just talk together."

"I was having problems with my son, and she seemed to understand the whole situation so much better than anyone else I talked with.  I'd tell her about the most recent blow-up and she would understand so well.  We just became really deep friends, almost soul mates.  That's what is so weird about this.  We never intended it to go this far."

"I had lost my father just before we got to know each other and he had lost his mother a few years earlier.  He seemed to understand exactly what I was going through.  We would talk for hours about how each of us felt."

"I was so lonely since my husband died and hungry for someone to share life with.  Then he began to call just because he cared.  I loved hearing his caring voice at the other end of the line, even though I knew he was married."

"We spent so much time together at work that I swear she knew more about me than my wife ever did."

Source: Money, Sex and Spiritual Power by Keith Drury.

Your Face Here

We are planning something special for worship on Father’s Day, Sunday June 17.  We need your help. You are invited to email Pastor Rich baby and/or childhood pictures of your kids (and of yourselves) by noon on June 13 to be shown in the Light of Christ Father's Day service at 10:30 AM. Dust off the scrapbooks and WOW us with those tiny toes and fingers, chubby cheeks, and dashing dimples!