Reflections of a Running Reverend

A month ago I wrote a summary of my first Superintendent's Address that I gave at annual conference in June. (If you missed it, read it here .) It was an abridged version outlining the six points I emphasized and I promised to expound on each of them at a later time. That time has come. For the next six weeks I will be sharing my thoughts on each of the six aspects of mission and ministry in Alaska that I am deeply passionate about. My prayer is that you would catch the passion and share in the vision. If your church closes its doors today, would your community notice it? This question was my biggest take-away from a Rethink Church workshop we had a few years ago. It underscores the importance of our call to community engagement. We are called to reach out to our neighbors as the hands and feet of Jesus. Is our church's existence in the neighborhood impactful enough that closing it would be detrimental to the community as a whole? Or is our church visible only to its memb...

This blogpost is almost a repeat of the one I wrote exactly a year ago: Come Run With Me . Hence the title. On Sunday, August 16, I will again be running the 49K Ultra Marathon of the Big Wild Life Runs here in Anchorage.  And just like last year, my plan is to do it again as a prayer run. Because the distance I will be running (49 kilometers) is equivalent to 30.44860 miles and there are 28 United Methodist Churches under my care as Superintendent of the Alaska United Methodist Conference, I will be dedicating a mile for each of these churches. As I run each mile, I will prayerfully hold the church assigned to that mile, their pastor/s, lay people, missions and ministries. The remainder I will dedicate to conference-related ministries. Last year I found this especially helpful for me as a rookie Superintendent to mentally wrap my mind and spirit around the task before me. The prayer run helped me spiritually "walk" or "run" through the different ministry s...

My role entails a lot of flying, both in state and out of state. A quarter of our churches  in the Alaska Conference can only be reached by plane. For a couple more which are on the road system, it is more economical and also more time efficient to fly than drive. Being part of the Greater Northwest Area Cabinet means regular trips to either Portland or Seattle. Add to that the Western Jurisdictional meetings I attend twice a year also because of this role and the role of Director of Connectional Ministries which is part of my portfolio. I think you get it. I travel a lot. I am in airports a lot. And I go through security a lot. And half the time, I get "in trouble" because of what's in my bag. Let me explain: When I travel, I always bring my totem cross with me. Every clergy person being commissioned for ministry in the Alaska Conference receives a cross with a miniature replica of the Easter Totem pole carved by Rev. David Fison ( Click here to learn more ab...