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August 31, 2006
O Young and Fearless Prophet
How often have we sung a hymn without really taking the words in? I know we "know" the words but have we really "heard' the words or lyrics? Sometimes the lyrics we sing with joy can become very troubling if we listen closely enough.
I hear this in the challenge of the words of the hymn "O Young and Fearless Prophet." I see such a call to step outside our comfort zones. And when I "read' (yes, read not sing) the first verse of Hymn #444 "O Young and Fearless Prophet" I cannot help but be encouraged to follow this Jesus.
O young and fearless Prophet of ancient Galilee,
thy life is still a summons to serve humanity;
to make our thoughts and actions less prone to please the crowd,
to stand with humble courage for truth with hearts uncowed.
I continue to study the Holston Conference Vision Statement.
God envisions
bold, passionate, and joyful communities of faith
where the spiritual hunger to worship God and to serve Christ
sets disciples on fire
with Spirit-filled, risk-taking love for all God's children
until Holston Conference reflects the saving grace
and redeeming justice of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If we are to move toward God's preferred future for the people of Holston Conference, we must follow the young and fearless Prophet with bold, passionate, and joyful hearts.
Posted by Bishop at 11:24 AM | Comments (0)
August 26, 2006
Whitewater Rafting
I went whitewater rafting for the first time and I enjoyed myself. It was an exciting experience. It was exciting but I also noticed some very vivid lessons about life.
The first lesson I noticed is that the rough water if followed will provide you with momentum needed to travel the river. The second lesson was that the Lord always provides an eddy to give you a rest when needed. The third lesson was that the most fun was had when we were in the rough water. And the last lesson was that we needed to work as a team if we were to make it down the river.
I believe these lessons apply to life in the church. Can you see how this applies?
Posted by Bishop at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
August 16, 2006
Frustrated Pastors
In my conversations with most pastors I have found that the vast majority of them are frustrated by the politics involved in local churches. When I use the term politics I am referring to long-term power brokers, family controlled churches, or powerful clicks that through the use of their power seek to have the church reflect only their view of ministry. It is interesting that I have not had one pastor come to complain about their salary but many do complain of what they believe are impediments to growth and ministry.
If this is true and the pastor is the chief agent of change in a congregation, then it appears we need to assist pastors by equipping them to be more skilled in generating change. We are called to equip the saints for the work of ministry.
Posted by Bishop at 09:56 PM | Comments (0)
August 10, 2006
Vision
The Message paraphases Proverbs 29:18 as saying "When the people cannot see what God is doing they stumble all over themselves but when they attend to what God reveals they are blessed."
In response to our need as an annual conference to begin to attend to what God reveals, we adopted the following Vision Statement:
God envisions
bold, passionate, and joyful communities of faith
where the spiritual hunger to worship God and to serve Christ
sets disciples on fire
with Spirit-filled, risk-taking love for all God's children
until Holston Conference reflects the saving grace
and redeeming justice of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I realize it will take more than a statement to turn us toward God's preferred future for us, but you cannot turn toward a future if you don't know what it is. We have articulated that so I intend to get busy making it happen. What about you?
Any helpful comments?
Posted by Bishop at 10:50 PM | Comments (0)