On Being Too Comfortable in Ministry

This week marks the second week of the 2012 General Conference for the United Methodist Church. The General Conference meets every four years and is the only body of the UMC that can establish polity (make rules) for the church as a whole.  The GC consists of about 1000 delegates elected from local conferences, about 50/50 lay to clergy proportion from all over the world.

One of the issues they tackled this year was security of clergy appointments (a.k.a guaranteed appointments).  Until this GC, every ordained elder in good standing must be appointed by a bishop.  Some say that this balances the fact that UM clergy promise that they will go wherever they are sent while the church promises they will always have a place to serve.  Others point to the fact that this guarantees a place for women, minorities, and prophetic voices within pastoral leadership of the local church. The problem is that both effective and ineffective clergy alike must be appointed under the previous rules.

Yesterday, the security of clergy appointments was eliminated from our polity; no longer are ordained elders guaranteed an appointment.  (For a detailed discussion of the specifics, I refer you to this interview with Rev. Ken Nelson of the SC Conference ).  To borrow from the Facebook post of another colleague, Rev. Michael Hood placed the following caption and picture together...

I felt a great disturbance in the Force... as if thousands of United Methodist pastors suddenly cried out in terror

 I agree that United Methodist clergy can become complacent and too comfortable with mediocre ministry.  There does need to be a system of mutual accountability to ensure that the mission of Christ is being fulfilled through the life and ministry of each pastoral leader. There should be a process in place where we identify and transition clergy into opportunities to recapture God's passion, God's Spirit, and God's vision for ministry in the always changing culture of today. Now that some accountability has been put in place for clergy, this begs the question, "Are there any other people within the body of the United Methodist Church that have become too comfortable in their ministry?"

I believe that the answer is "yes." As the General Conference affirmed a bishop's ability to appoint ineffective ordained elders in less than full time, transitional appointments, the Conference affirmed that episcopal office is for life.  Should we not have the same process for bishops that we do for clergy?  If a bishop is deemed ineffective in ministry, should that person be assigned an Episcopal Area or be placed into a process of transition? There should be a process in place where we identify and transition bishops into opportunities to recapture God's passion, God's Spirit, and God's vision for ministry in the always changing culture of today.

But before you think that I am picking on bishops, I wonder if members in the local church can also become complacent and too comfortable with mediocre ministry.  Should there be a process in place where we identify and transition laity into opportunities to recapture God's passion, God's Spirit, and God's vision for ministry in the always changing culture of today?  What might the church look like if we were all held accountable to holy living?  What if every part of the Body of Christ that we call the United Methodist Church were to burn with the fire that raged through the Church on Pentecost?

I agree that United Methodist clergy should be subject to accountability for their ministry. I welcome the opportunity to engage in true reflection of the effectiveness of my leadership within the Church.  The process can be helpful and insightful.  Mutual accountability is one of the founding principles of the early Methodist movement.  However, accountability that is not mutual and that is not done in the spirit of love is simply judgmental.

Dare I suggest that the same accountability for clergy be extended to all parts of the Body of Christ from laity to episcopacy? What about if general boards and agencies were also held accountable for effectiveness especially in reaching today's younger generations?  Only as we begin to hold every United Methodist accountable to the high calling to which we have been called will the Church be transformed into the active, vital Body of Christ for the world.  As we are reminded in the letter to the Ephesians:

 Therefore, as a prisoner for the Lord, I encourage you to live as people worthy of the call you received from God.  Conduct yourselves with all humility, gentleness, and patience. Accept each other with love,  and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together.                                  --Ephesians 4:1-3 (Common English Bible, 2011) 

 In the Name of the One who calls us,


James

   

The Secret to Our Weight Loss (which is no big secret)

       Over the past eight months I have been working to reduce my weight to what is generally considered "healthy."  My wife, Ashley, had been working for several years - slowly, but surely, reducing her weight as well.  Since January 2011, we have lost a total of 90 pounds between us and have dramatically changed our lives.  Because of this, many people have asked us "how did you do it?"
       Truthfully, it was one of the most difficult, simple things to do.  I'll break it down into four parts in order of importance to my success and then give you a recap of the results at the end.  Please feel free to send me any specific questions about what we have done. Of course, I'll go ahead and tell you that this or any change in diet and exercise should always be supervised by a qualified physician (and I am not a physician).  So...here goes.

       1. Spiritual Grounding -This is not the first time that I have tried to make a change, but every time I tried to "diet," I failed miserably.  What made this change different is that Ashley and I began our journey very differently.  We made our relationship with God in Jesus Christ as a primary focus of our change.  We took seriously the call for disciples to spend time in prayer, Bible study, and fasting.  This time is different because God through the power of the Holy Spirit has been with us throughout.

       Twelve step programs are definitely onto something: you have to admit that you are powerless over your addiction before you can begin the process of healing.  Many of the eating patterns that are encouraged by modern food processors are inherently (and I believe intentionally) addictive.  Without God's help, it was impossible for me to break the cycle of addiction to certain foods.  Even now, I sometimes have to take time to refocus my efforts on what I want my spiritual and physical health to be.

       2. Combined Effort -The second critical element is that my wife and I are in this venture together.  I think that you may have noticed that there were lots of "we" mentioned in the previous area.  That is because Ashley and I committed to this journey together.  We talked, prayed and planned together.  We made a commitment to change the way that we would eat -- together.  We hold each other accountable for our journey toward better health; we each have a stake in the other one being around (and in good health) as long as possible.
       We had tried for years to change things separately.  The problem is that when one person is trying to eat healthy foods and the other one continues to bring things into the house that aren't, the healthy eater gives in more often than not.  When we were not working together, we would undermine each other by the choices we would make.  Once we made the decision to work together, things began to fall into place. 

       3. Changed Diet - Again, I will state that you should always discuss changing the way that you eat with your physician. We knew that we had to come up with a plan that was doable for the long term.  One of the main books that we used as a resource was Dr. Dan Colbert's book Toxic Relief.  Bottom line is that we began to examine what we ate and now try to live by the basic idea "if God didn't make it, we should probably not eat it." For example, God made sugar cane, but we make refined sugar; therefore, we avoid refined sugar in all of its many forms.


       Processed foods are all suspect, as are additives, preservatives, and fried foods. You're beginning to get the picture.  Eating big snacks after 8:00pm is out; we just cannot eat that late and maintain a healthy weight.  Our meals and snacks consist of lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats (Well, my wife is a pescitarian so she only eats fish, eggs, and dairy)
       We continue to support one another in learning about healthy eating choices through ongoing reading and education.  It also helps to talk with others about what we're doing.  I have discovered that most people are supportive even if they do not want to eat the way that we do.

        4. Moving your Body - One more reminder about your physician -- before you begin any exercise, the two of you should have a conversation.  Yep, no surprise here. Parts 1 and 2 work to get the heart and mind working together toward success.  Changing the diet and exercise work to remove the excess weight and build up a new, healthier body. Honestly, I could have lost much of the weight that I have without a lot of exercise, but working out has strengthened my muscles and accelerated the process.  For my part, I try to exercise 4-5 times a week with a minimum of 30-45 minutes.  We try to make our family times active as well so that we can all work together to be healthier as a family.

       That's it...four parts including Spiritual Grounding, Combined Effort, Changed Diet, and Moving your Body. What were the end results? For me, I have transformed from

         With the exception of my socks and shoes, I have had to almost totally replace my wardrobe - a wonderful problem to have.  Not only have I replaced my XL sizes with Medium, I have weaned myself from ALL of my prescription hypertension medication.  I now take supplements (garlic, red yeast rice, cayenne pepper, etc) that naturally keep my blood pressure in the normal range.  Another benefit has been the lessening of my springtime allergies with the total elimination of any hint of allergy induced asthma I had experienced every year since 1994.  Also, Ashley says that my terrible snoring has all but disappeared.


       This has been an incredible journey that I am excited to see where it goes.  Fortunately, I know that God goes with me to give my family the grace and strength to continue to make the best choices for our family.

       Thank you to all those who have cheered for us on the way.  I hope this helps those who face the same struggle that I do.

Grace and Peace,

James










    Sept. 2010


 




 



    
                            
May 2011