Reflections of a Running Reverend

This is the fourth installment of a 6-part series on the points I made in my Superintendent's Address in June. These are six things I am deeply passionate about and encourage our pastors, lay people and churches to be serious about them as well. In this year's charge conferences, these will comprise our main talking points during our time together. Our reality In many, if not all, of our churches and ministry settings, we’re finding that a lot of the ways we do things are no longer relevant . The world is constantly changing. Technology is developing at a very rapid pace. The demographics in our communities and neighborhoods have shifted dramatically over the years. Many of the buildings and spaces we have are no longer used in the ways they were meant to be used, and sadly, they sit unused or underutilized. Many of our methods of ministry and mission are just not pertinent anymore. Even our churches' standing and role in the community are no longer what they used

The third point I made in my Superintendent's Address (which I continue to make now) has to do with the first part of our mission as United Methodists: " to make disciples of Jesus Christ. " What to do with those we welcome In last week's blog post , we talked about cultivating a culture of genuine  welcome as one of the six priorities I would really want our churches to be serious about. The next questions then is: What do we do with those we welcome? The United Methodist Book of Discipline (par. 122) outlines the process for carrying out our mission as follows: " We make disciples as we: Proclaim the gospel, seek, welcome and gather persons into the body of Christ; Lead persons to commit their lives to God through baptism by water and the spirit and profession of faith in Jesus Christ; Nurture persons in Christian living through worship, the sacraments, spiritual disciplines, and other means of grace, such as Wesley's Christian conferencing

As indicated in the title, this is the second of a six-part series on the points I made in my first Superintendent's Address in June. These six points represent what I am most passionate about in our common ministry here in Alaska. These are six areas I am hoping that churches and individuals will be serious about. That's My Spot! A good number of years ago, a Filipino couple came to Anchorage as immigrants. Being active and devoted United Methodist leaders back home, they went to one of our UM churches here in the city. They arrived as the service was about to start. The sanctuary was half full and there were a lot of empty pews. They picked a spot close to the back. Just as they had gotten settled and were reviewing the contents of the bulletin, an Anglo couple wearing name tags (obviously members of that church) arrived, stood by the pew where the Filipinos were seated and sternly said, "That's our spot!"The newcomers apologized and gathered their belon