Sometimes making a difference requires stepping outside of one’s comfort zone and Bishop’s Day 2010 encourages people to do just that.
From the radical vision of mission work from nationally acclaimed author and church leader Mike Slaughter to the basics of a concept called “servant evangelism,” which has been fashioned by church-expansion expert Steve Sjogren, Bishop’s Day has expanded to offer ideas and hope the people of the United Methodist Church.
The 2010 theme is “Called Out – Creating New Places for New Faces” and sessions will be held in six different regions throughout the state in the month of March.
According to Michigan Area Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton the events are much more than just speaking engagements, they are “continuing education events that should be worshipful, creative and full of ideas — something that has some sort of fellowship to it.”
Bishop’s Day is Keaton’s brainchild, an initiative he created to help support and affirm the opportunities UMC members have to make a difference through discipleship, evangelism and stewardship.
It started out as being a day where the bishop would invite people from throughout Michigan to come to Lansing for a day of teaching and enlightenment, but Keaton soon realized God had bigger plans for Bishop’s Day.
“(After two years) I realized that I look over an area with about 170,000 United Methodists, so I should have more than 300 people show up to come visit me,” he said. “So the following year I decided that rather than being the sponsor of this event and have everybody come here, I had the idea of talking to my 13 (district) superintendents and telling them we should have Bishop’s Day in every single district.”
Now over 3,000 people attend sessions each year and Keaton said ideally he’d like 10 percent of the membership from each district to be trained and inspired through this mission.
This year’s lineup of speakers is as diverse as the general church population itself.
Sjogren’s engagements mark the beginning and end of the festivities in March, as he will speak at Southfield: Hope UMC for the Detroit East and Detroit West districts on March 6, before traveling to Gladstone: Memorial UMC on March 27 to present to the Marquette district.
Sjogren is highly regarded for his passion and leadership in the area of servant evangelism and he has published more than half a dozen books and hundreds of articles in a variety of magazines, while maintaining a blog that he says has more than 3,900 “trackers.”
He said he hopes his message will help people realize how easy it can be to connect with total strangers, in the most mundane, common ways.
“As we simply get beyond our own lives, and look beyond ourselves and our circle, God opens doors that are tremendous. There’s a verse in Romans chapter 2, “The kindness of God leads to a radical life change,” is what I think ‘The Message’ version says,” he said. “So as we show God’s kindness to people we are more open to becoming like Christ ourselves. It’s a simple way of connecting with people that’s going to make a difference and open up their hearts and the rest of their lives really, so they can feel more in touch with Christ.”
In between Sjogren’s sessions, four events will take place on March 13.
Bishop Robert Schnase of Missouri will deliver a presentation for the Ann Arbor, Albion and Lansing districts at Goodrich Chapel at Albion College.
Schnase is the mastermind behind the ideology of “Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations.”
The Heartland, Grand Traverse, and Saginaw Bay districts will be graced with the presence of Slaughter at Mount Pleasant: First UMC.
Slaughter is the lead pastor of Ginghamsburg Church in Tipp City, Ohio and he is revered for his commitment to the Sudan Project in Darfur and his financial and missional principles.
Slaughter said he hopes to encourage people to start doing more of the little things to accomplish much bigger things in the future.
“My first talk is going to be about the Biblical mandate for mission and why we exist. It’s not to get people into the church to support the church, that was never the purpose of Jesus…but to get the church into the world for the sake of ministering to the needs of the least and the lost,” he said. “And you don’t have to be a big church to do that — a tiny church of under 40 people can begin to do things like food pantries, like clothing stores, like recovery ministries.”
Slaughter said at the core of most human beings is a desire to be significant and he wants to open people’s eyes to the significance they can find through God in the workings of His church.
Speaking at Cornerstone Church in Caledonia for the Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo Districts on March 13 will be Scott Rigsby, the first double amputee to ever compete at the Ironman World Championships.
He tells his story of highs and lows, overcoming adversity and always keeping goals in sight.
The Flint/Port Huron region Bishop’s Day will be held at Lapeer: Trinity UMC with Celinda Hughes of www.umcom.org as the speaker.
She is the Strategic Marketing Associate at United Methodist Communications, the primary resource for news and PR in the UMC.
Bishop Keaton said he is excited about the prospects of what can be accomplished through Bishop’s Day and how the program has evolved, but it is just one step in a great journey for the conferences.
“I have to take a long view. I no that no one event is going to solve our problems, but it can help our continuing education and it’s just one of the things we can do,” he said.
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