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...

I have been in Western Jurisdictional meetings here in Portland, Oregon since Friday last week. It's been a long weekend of meetings. Fruitful and productive, of course. But long. We ended yesterday (Monday) late afternoon and I found myself with a lot of free time before my flight late this afternoon. Here's how I filled it: I slept-in a little, got caught-up with emails, made necessary phone calls and... went for a long run! There's nothing like a nice, long run to decompress after a long weekend of meetings. And it did just that- it helped me decompress. Runs always have that effect on me. That's one of the reasons why I run. It clears my head. It allows me to organize random thoughts. It helps me crystallize ideas. It helps me reflect. And that's why I am cranky on days when I don't get a run in. On today's run, I followed a trail that was parallel to the Willamette River on my right and the Portland International Airport on my left. Mid-run, I f...

Photo credit: Rev. Jim Doepken I have been asked by many to reprise my first Superintendent's address in my blog so they can review and share it in their local churches. I will do that. In fact my plan is to dedicate a blog post for each of the six points I focused on. But that series will have to wait until  I get back from vacation in August. For now, let me give you an abridged version for you to start reflecting on. In my address I shared six areas I am really passionate about in my ministry with you as your Superintendent. These were born out of a year of "walking" the conference; a year of listening to your stories, dreams and visions; a year of getting to know each church, each context and each ministry setting. I purposefully resisted casting a vision for leadership until I had gotten to know the conference a little bit deeper. These six areas come out of our shared dreams and visions. They are areas I will hold myself accountable to you, you to me and us to...

I ran a marathon here in Anchorage a couple of weeks ago. In the two weeks that followed the race, I have only ran a total of seven miles. I've given my body time to rest and recover. Today, I plan to lace up my shoes and hit the trails once again. My next race is in less than 6 weeks and I have to train. But I surely enjoyed the time-in-between. Now I feel that both my body and my mind are ready to run again! Summers are typically times-in-between in the lives of churches. This is a time when things slow down; when Sunday schools and choirs take a break; when worship services are combined; when meetings are more spaced-out. And while one may argue that ministry and mission doesn't really stop, that the need is always there and that summers present rich and unique opportunities to reach out to our communities (i.e. VBS, Summer Camp etc.), the reality is that everyone, church people included, need times-in-between to rest and renew. The work of...

My bib from doing the same race two years ago I'm running a half marathon this weekend. I'm using it as a training run for the full marathon I am doing next month. And as I have done in previous races, I will again be doing it as a prayer run. Half of a marathon. 13.1 of 26.2 miles. Halfway to a goal. In between. Midway. In this prayer run, I will be running for those who are finding themselves in some form or state of being in between... for those who are in between jobs... for those who are moving, from one side of town to the other, or from one state to another... for those in between school levels, those moving up a grade level... for those transitioning from being a student to working and beginning a career... for those in the middle of major projects in life... for those in the middle of medical treatments... for those in the midst of family transitions... for those who are in the midst of picking up the pieces and figuring things out after the loss...