Column: We can do this, with God's help

• By Benton Heisler, West Michigan Conference Director of Connectional Ministries •

The candidates for ordination stood before the Bishop at the 2011 West Michigan Annual Conference, as he asked the “Historic Questions”. Many answers were not a simple “yes”, but noted a belief that their “yes” would only be possible “with the help of God.”


I came away from Annual Conference convinced that indeed God was at work in our midst “helping us.”

We set a record of attendance (1,800+) as people gathered for the Miracle Saturday.

We set a record for the amount of money ($41,000+) given in the special Conference offerings. We heard the testimony of lives being touched at our newest church start Valley Church.

Our worship and preaching experiences moved our hearts and stretched our minds in ways to put our energy into new forms of action.

One year ago there were no Free Stores; now persons are being connected and served in Evart, Concord, Berrien Springs, Centerville and Boyne City and congregations in other cities are contributing.

The Rev. Rudy Rasmus inspired us with principles of loving our neighbor that transcend the size of our community or economic context.

Miracle Saturday’s mini-events provided experiences, resources, inspiration, connections to ministry networks and a sense of a united community of faith in action for God with one another.

I found myself saying, “Now the real work begins”, after the new Plan of Organization was approved.

Our expectations of new levels of measurable outcomes, evaluation, accountability, alignment of resources toward strategic goals, continued collaborative ministries and constantly improving communication were not accomplished by our approval of this new structure.

The new fruitfulness will now be the focus of our assessment in terms of has our organizational change led to the ministry changes we intended.

I am grateful that eyes will be watching to see what happens next and observing the new expectations and outcomes.

I write this as I take a moment out of my vacation to meet the necessary publication deadline. My geographical context is the Rocky Mountains and my theological understanding is that the real ministry will happen in the “valley.” That valley has its own unique characteristics for each of us.

Our challenge as the Church is to be welcoming, inviting, hospitable and gracious to every person.

God’s message entrusted to us is to model and proclaim that “No matter what valley your journey has led you into, the grace of God will lead you through it and to the place of green pastures and still cool waters on the other side.”

The Psalmist captured these promises in both Psalm 23 and Psalm 121: “I will lift up my eyes to the hills…my help comes from the Lord.”

I pray that as we all engage in ministry with a renewed vision and vigor in the coming year, we will look for the daily glimpses of God’s guidance and grace to help us.

Read More

Column: What to expect at the 2011 Detroit Annual Conference

• By Jerry Devine, Detroit Conference Director of Connectional Ministries •

“Lord, when was it that we saw you?” (Matthew 25:37 NRSV)

Within just a few days we will welcome one another at our 2011 Detroit Annual Conference session. 

Our theme this year, “When Did We See You, Lord?” is grounded in Jesus’ teachings in the Gospel of Matthew. It is an expression of one of our four denominational foci — ministry with the poor.

To incarnate our theme we intentionally requested practical items for the Adrian area outreach. We offer our gratitude to Adrian First United Methodist Church and Rev. Gary Dawes for coordinating this effort.

Jesus made it very clear in his way of living and teaching that his followers were to be aware of and responsive to the needs of others, and that in doing so we are connecting to Christ himself. See our DAC website, www.detroitconference.org for a list of the items being accepted to help the local food pantry and other denominational initiatives.

The hope of the DAC Program Committee is that when over a thousand United Methodist disciples gather together, life for others will be made better because of our presence. Additional opportunities to be in ministry at annual conference will be to bring Haiti medical supplies, Bishop’s “seat covers” (new undergarments that will be distributed across our conference), and to be prepared for a special Covenant Offering for Haiti and Liberia.

Once again, this year we will live-stream all of the worship services and plenary sessions so that local churches can not only be informed but be a part of the gathering. We have expanded the Ministry Fair table space so there will be an even more creative environment. This year we have arranged for the Fair to be on Friday evening at the same time and location as the Methodist Children’s Home Strawberry Shortcake Social. It will be a festive opportunity to see one another and to see how Christ is working through various ministries.

We have business to care for as well. There are 10 resolutions related to our annual conference and 16 petitions related to the 2012 General Conference.

One of the ten resolutions is the proposed creation of a modified New Church Development Committee.

It is an intentional strengthening of this work of creating new places for new people. How we organize our shared life and structure says a great deal about where our priorities are. Likewise, how we spend our shared funds says the same. This year you will see a reduced and more focused 2012 budget request. 

The Conference Leadership Team portion prioritizes church growth, leadership development and congregational vitality in a diverse demographic.

For those who love details you can peruse the Standing Rules and Structure. While much remains the same each year, this year we will see a streamlined structure for the Board of Global Ministries. The board brought this forward in order to free people up to be directly involved in areas of passion and calling. The desire is to connect people directly to ministry, not simply place them on an agency.

Finally, we will make decisions about leadership. We will see this in the immense work done by the Conference Nominations Committee as they sought to bring appropriate gifts and more diverse voices to many of our conference agencies.

At a time when multiple studies are taking place on the future of our denomination and our methods of recruiting, credentialing and deploying clergy, we will discern and elect four ordained clergy and four laity as our delegates to the 2012 General Conference.

We will elect an additional equal number for the 2012 Jurisdictional Conference. We will celebrate the leadership of those clergy who retire from active service this year, along with celebrating with those who are now to be licensed, commissioned or ordained. Developing principled Christian leaders is yet another of the four foci of the denomination.

We are United Methodists as we gather. May we see Christ in one another.

Read More

Column: Shaped by God's hands over and over again

• By Benton Heisler, West Michigan Conference Director of Connectional Ministries •

“Go down to the potter’s house and there you will receive my message.” The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, so Jeremiah went.

He saw the potter working at the wheel. The pot being shaped was marred, so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as he saw fit.

The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, “Can I not do with Israel [you, me, a conference?] as the potter does?” The word of the Lord continued, “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand.” (Jeremiah 18:1-6)

Plenty has been written about the numerical decline of the United Methodist Church and other denominations as well. We get it! We too are “marred.”

I find it curious that often when suggestions are made about how the UMC can re-shape itself, persons will often default to metaphors of human failure.

A common reference is made to a massive ocean liner; finest in its class in its day, driven by a human quest for power and fueled by a thirst for greed.

Full steam ahead it cruised into the dangers of the North Atlantic. The gaping hole torn in its side meant sinking was inevitable that cold April night.

I encourage those who face the struggle and opposition the Church encounters to look instead in the images found in scripture:

“What you intended for evil, God intended for good.” (Genesis 50:20)

Five loaves and two fish fed the 5,000 gathered together. (Luke 9: 16 & 17)
New wine is stored in the new wine, because the old containers would not be able to adapt to the change. (Matthew 9:17)

Clay, in the properly skilled hands, can be re-shaped and given new value and opportunity. (Jeremiah 18)

Actions, human, financial and property resources, relationships and ideas — they are all resources at God’s disposal to be shaped and used.

One of the responsibilities the Book of Discipline of the UMC gives to the position of Director of Connectional Ministries is “to ensure the alignment of the total resources of the conference to its vision (¶608.)”

We have 23 program boards, agencies and committees, and another 12 administrative boards and committees that together carry out components of the ministry of the Annual Conference. These 35 units do not include all the camps, campus ministries or other related institutions connected to the West Michigan Conference.

During the past three years the 57-member Conference Council on Ministries (CCOM) has met to review the vision, mission, purpose, structure, allocation of financial resources and staffing to help move ministry forward.

As that review moved forward, it was felt that “the pot” with which we were working was “marred”, i.e. not as complete as it could be.

A task force was requested by the CCOM to bring back a new Plan of Organization proposal. They have completed their work, which was affirmed by the CCOM.

At the June session of the Annual Conference the action of us gathered together as the West Michigan Conference becomes the final shaping.

As God moves in our honest debate, inspired amendments and prayerful actions will establish the positions and people who will share the responsibility of leadership in various contexts in our Conference.

As you study the proposed Plan of Organization, you will see that the 22 program boards and agencies continue and the 57 seats on the Council on Ministries is being replaced by a 16-18 member Leadership Team. The purpose, responsibilities and accountability for the team are clearly outlined.

The revised Plan of Organization also contains a newly expanded ministry area.

The proposal would create the Committee on Hispanic/Latino Ministries as a 23rd program committee. It would no longer be a representative single position on the Board of Global of Ministries — it would now be a freestanding committee with clear responsibilities.

You are encouraged to study the opening sections, which include the Preamble, Vision Statement, Goals and Strategies, Core Values and Beliefs & Organizational Principles.

Please note that every board and agency will have the following components: accountability, purpose, membership, organization, meetings and responsibilities.

Those areas which do not have all the details spelled out are expected to complete that work and bring it to the next year’s Annual Conference for affirmation and/or refinement.

My prayer is that we will be open to God’s reshaping as necessary of every aspect of our lives both as God’s children and God’s community so we might be “as seemed best” in God’s hands.

Read More

Column: Leaving a legacy of love

By Benton Heisler, West Michigan Conference Director of Connectional Ministries

Benton Heisler

It is early February as you read this column and the other articles in this edition of the Michigan Area Reporter.

The marketplace is flooded with pleas to eat, wear, give, go, tell in a card —all as expressions of love.

Valentines Day invites us to be certain to demonstrate in every way possible our love toward those most dear to us.

John Maxwell in his book, The 21 Laws of Leadership, lists ‘The law of Legacy’ as number 21.

I once heard him teach about these “laws” and their biblical examples and he emphasized that Jesus was the greatest example of this law.

The Church is the steward/trustee of this legacy of love.

Jesus commissioned us in Matthew 28 to fulfill this legacy when he said: “Go and make disciples in my name…”

It meant, “Go and teach of how God’s love is for all God’s people…all the world.”

“Go and tell them their sin is forgiven.”

“Go and demonstrate this love in your actions to feed, clothe, visit, cast out demons, work for justice and heal relationships.”

At their sessions this spring the West Michigan and Detroit Conferences will focus on ways to implement this legacy of love as we continue to discover ways to be in ministry with the poor.

Leadership in both conferences is also collaborating on a pilot initiative designed to help our congregations be more vital, healthy, and fruitful. We believe this initiative has the potential to foster important transformation in patterns of growth and effectiveness.

Read More

Burning Questions with Bill Volume 2: Clergy Assistant to Bishop responds to unanswered queries

By Bill Dobbs, Clergy Assistant to the Bishop


Continuing our conversation about questions that were raised at the Michigan Area School for Pastoral Ministry

Question: Who is the pastor to pastors? Will the conference ever consider having someone to confide in that doesn't have connection to (the) appointment process?
Dobbs: When I was serving as a local pastor, I always thought that my “pastor” – the one to whom I looked for spiritual guidance and support – was my District Superintendent. Sometimes that worked out well and sometimes not so well. The “well” or “not so well” component was most often an indicator of the strength of our relationship.
Those superintendents that I could relate to — the ones that were open to having that kind of a relationship with me (and I could always tell, no matter what their lips said) — were the ones who really were my “pastor.”
I called out to them in times of illness or family hardship or church struggles, and they were there – by thought or word or deed.
Words I have heard from others suggest that many of you have had similar experiences with your DS.
And yes, I knew that they were sharing things that were happening in my family with the Bishop, but I always assumed that the Bishop cared for my family and I even if he or she did not always know my name.
At the same time, I know that not all of you have had the same kind of experiences, either with your DS or your Bishop. To you I would tell you that your pastor can be someone you choose who will agree to provide spiritual guidance and support, someone who will listen and offer helpful feedback as you seek to grow as a person and as a pastor.
Many of you may recognize that I have given you an incomplete description of a Spiritual Guide or Advisor, and some of you have already established a relationship with your own Spiritual Guide. That can be a truly helpful thing, and I would encourage you to continue building that relationship.
I cannot speak to what an annual conference might do in the future, but annual conferences can do whatever they wish regarding the employment and job descriptions of personnel, so long as it is not specifically prohibited in the Discipline.

Question: How can Bishop Keaton’s pastors express both their support and affection for him without appearing to simply be currying favor (sucking up)?
Dobbs: As I serve in this office, I see and hear many things that come across my desk or across the screen of my computer. Perhaps you can imagine, but you might be surprised.
I have come to believe that the most important thing clergy and laity can do for their Bishop is to pray for him. Even as I say that I know it sounds like a cliché and I don’t mean it to be so.
I believe in prayer! I believe in the power of prayer!
I believe that Christians cannot be Christians without prayer and I am convinced that Bishops cannot be Bishops without prayer either. If you are praying for Bishop Keaton and God prompts you to send a note about something in your prayer, trust the Holy Spirit and send the note. Be honest. Remember that if it is from God, it will bear the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5: 22-23) and not the works of the flesh (Galatians 5: 19-21).

Next month, we will discuss whether “there any conversations within the UMC regarding the time between sessions of General Conference and the inability of the church to respond to a rapidly changing culture” and “what I envision for future pastorates trying to deal with the high costs of pensions, health insurance, etc. for congregations.”
If you would like to submit a question, please write me: bdobbs@miareaumc.org.
Thanks for letting me share this time with you.

Read More

Column: What are 'they' looking for?

By Jerry Devine, Detroit Conference Director of Connectional Ministries 

Perhaps you’ve heard a conversation like this:


“Do you know them?”


“No, they don’t look familiar. I wonder if they are just visiting from out of town or if they live around here?”


“They are probably just curious during this time of year. A lot of people are travelling through.”

I love Epiphany each year. Two wonderful professors from my early college days, Drs. Linda and Dwight Vogel, had invited the religion class to their home. The home had the rich character of the late Victorian era and they had decorated their home for the journey from Advent to Christmastide to Epiphany.

My young understanding of the length of time that is actually suggested in the Gospels was given a visual image through the symbols in the Vogels’ home.

The shepherds and their flocks were still on the hillside in one corner of the room, a respectable distance from the inn/manger scene where Joseph and a pregnant Mary had recently arrived.

Then, at a distance, there were sojourners that had a particular spiritual hunger and cosmic curiosity.

They were the Magi that had seen an unusual star in the sky and undertaken a journey to find the source of this mystery.

Had the Magi come to your local community would someone know where they might find the light that had shown in the darkness?

While working as a Ministry Consultant a few years ago I took a convoluted route through many back roads to find a modestly small town tucked into a rural community.

MapQuest could not identify exactly where the church was located so I stopped at a local gas station/convenience store. When I asked where the United Methodist Church was in town the two young workers looked at each other with a blank stare.

One of them named a couple of non-denominational or non-connectional churches she thought she knew about, but neither had any knowledge of or encounters with the local United Methodist community.

Did you catch that?

Read More

Bishop's Column: A Star, a Gift and Slide 59

By Bill Dobbs, Clergy Assistant to the Bishop

This is the season of Epiphany.

It is a time marked by our remembrance that wise ones of old left home to follow a star and to honor a king.

I’ll not retell the story; you likely know it well.

It is enough, I think, to remember that these learned astrologers caught a vision that changed their lives. It inspired them to set out on a journey that took them far from home, far from their “comfort zone.” It was a journey that may well have cost them as much as four or more years out of their lives.

All because they believed that God was doing something special in history and they needed to respond, to “pay homage.”

They brought gifts – precious gifts – and gave them as a witness that God’s sign had been seen and responded to.

People are still seeing signs of God’s activity in our time, signs of God’s saving grace at work in our world. And wise ones are still responding with gifts – gifts that are precious to them – as a witness in our day and time.

Gifts like time and treasure and even their very lives, all because they have been captured by a vision that will not leave them in their comfortable places. A vision that summons them to leave home and even safety to go and tell others what they have seen.

To be captured by a vision of Jesus, and Jesus’ great commission to all who call themselves disciples, is to be invited – even compelled – to leave the places where we have become comfortable in order to give our witness to what God is doing now and in the New Year.

Our routines are, for many of us, comfortable. They are “the way we have always done things!” The day-to-day business of our ministry – wherever that is – can lull us into thinking that we are following Jesus. But then something happens that causes us to look again or, as was said to young Simba in Disney’s great movie The Lion King, “look closer” at what we are doing so that we become uncomfortable with the status-quo.

For me, it was a presentation by Jim Salley, General Board interpreter for Africa University, to the area appointive cabinet.

He was speaking about recent research examining the reasons why people do and do not give to mission projects in the United Methodist Church. It was interesting information, but it was not until he got to slide 59 in his presentation that the “wake-up and pay-attention” call arrived.

Read More

Adrian College Chaplain: We Are Seldom Ever Prepared

By Adrian College Chaplain Chris Momany
As published on the General Board of Higher Education & Ministry website

This year I heard the best Advent sermon in more than twenty years of ministry. It was preached by one of my college students, and his message underscored the way we are seldom ready for God’s majestic love.


Joseph and Mary were hardly prepared for the reality given them. Are we any better prepared? If Advent is all about preparation, let’s be honest. We are seldom ready for the wonder of Christmas.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. Preparation can be little more than a way to control our environment.

It is a splendid irony that the best preparation opens our hearts to the possibility that life is not about controlling our fate. I do not say this to excuse purposelessness. I know myself better than that. I am a certifiable control freak most of the time, and I bear a deep anxiety about disorder.

I like the rationale of cause and effect, especially when I possess power over the former. Christmas can seem like a tidal wave – the obligations, family pressures, and cultural demands. Yet the problem has more to do with my desire for control than with the event itself. We are never really prepared for the majesty of God’s love, but grace comes from a realm beyond expectation. That is why we call it Good News.

Seasons like Advent and Christmas make me ponder many things about our church. At the risk of speaking heresy, I question our increasing obsession with models of ministry that worship power and control. Many of these approaches are borrowed from the business world. There is nothing wrong with being intentional about mission, but in an attempt to remain “relevant” we risk swapping the inheritance of grace for a mess of pottage.

Especially dangerous is the conditional nature of many popular “leadership” models. There are always strings attached to the relationships involved. These approaches portray the church’s challenge as a matter of offering better services in an increasingly efficient manner. This may inspire some, but do we really need to be more like the cable company or other self-interested commercial ventures? 

Read More

Column: Fields and highways — where disciples are made

By Benton Heisler, West Michigan Conference Director of Connectional Ministries

Jesus is recorded as telling his disciples in Acts 1:8, “When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power. You will be my witnesses, in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”

Sometimes we attempt to accomplish the ministry tasks in front of us in our own power. As we begin every day opening our lives to the Holy Spirit, our witness is strengthened by the Spirit’s power. Our reminder is that Spirit is there all the time.

I recently traveled the length of Illinois. I had not been on that section of highway for a number of years. What caught my eye were two unmistakable features. One was the blades of the hundreds of turbine reaching out to capture the energy of the wind.

Wind, nearly always present, just awaiting the opportunity to be transferred into electricity that will power any number of machines, homes or (who would have believed it, automobiles.) Opening our hearts in prayer to receive the Holy Spirit centers the movement of God in all we do. I was struck to remind myself to keep my life open to that movement. How about you and your congregation?

A second image which spread before me was cornfields. Not just acres of corn, but square miles of corn. Some had been harvested, the combines churned through others, and mile after mile stood awaiting the transfer from stalk to silo to a store near you in one form or another. In Luke 2 Jesus is recorded as saying to his disciples, “The harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few. Pray that the Lord will send workers to the harvest.”

Any given Sunday less than 20 percent of our nation attends worship. I have no idea about all the intricacies of soil chemistry, planting, fertilizer application, seed corn, the mechanics of a 12 row combine, market strategies or corn product production and distribution.

It would be overwhelming to me to be given a square mile plot of land and told, “Go and make a cornfield and transform the hunger of the world.”

We may feel equally overwhelmed with Jesus’ Great Commission to “go and make disciples…” Yet, any one of us does know a great deal about people. We understand their joy and heartaches, their search for meaning and purpose, their struggles with relationships and finances, their moments of great joy and satisfaction.

Read More

Column: Are you dressed for action in your ministry?

By Jerry DeVine, Detroit Conference Director of Connectional Ministry

It was a teaching moment. To learn how to live life with substance and readiness sometimes we need to observe, listen and integrate the way of life we see in those leading the way. Who is watching you to learn a way of life?

I do not recall when I first heard my father tell the story, but it obviously stayed with me in a manner that actually helped form how I would make choices in my own life. My father grew up as a farmer and a trapper.

By the time I was an infant he had become a business man, complete with starched white shirt, suit and tie. To feed our growing family he had become an insurance salesman, providing both health and life insurance options to help others care for their own lives or families. He was dressed for the occasion and profession he was now in, quite a change from denim overalls and work boots.

Here is where the story changes, however.

Selling anything to farmers and ranchers in South Dakota and Wyoming is no small feat. Working from before sunrise to after sunset, often doing hard labor, does not leave much room for worrying about getting one’s shoes scuffed up.

Dad told the story of one particular farm that he visited. He came to the farmhouse first and was told that he would need to go out to the barn to talk to the farmer himself, though not to anticipate any interest.

Dad was not one to be dissuaded easily so he walked out to where the farmer and his workers were throwing hay bales. The farmer looked down at the man with the tie and suit, making some kind of comment about “readiness to work”. Within moments the suit coat and tie were off and this stranger was throwing the bales six tiers high, surpassing the workers’ efforts.

By the end of the day Dad had shared a meal at the farmhouse table, and developed a client/provider relationship that lasted for many years.

Read More

Clergy Corner Column: 'Y'all come on home now'

By Rev. Jack Harnish, FUMC of Birmingham

Over Labor Day last year I read a lovely book called The Big House.

Lest you assume it has to do with my preference of college football stadiums, it’s actually about a family’s long-time summer home on Cape Cod.

The author describes it as an extraordinary four-story, shingle-covered house with gables and dormers, 19 rooms, seven fireplaces, and a warren of closets and crannies that four generations of children used for hide-and-seek. The house had been through five weddings, four divorces, three funerals, several nervous breakdowns, an untold number of conceptions and countless birthday parties and anniversaries.

Even though the family is now scattered coast to coast, they always came back.
After 42 of his own summers at the Big House, author George Howe Colt concludes: “I have always thought of it as home, if home is the one place that will be in your bones forever.”

And I thought, “That’s church. That’s God’s Big House, the place that will be in your bones forever. “

Now shifting my geographical metaphor from New England to my one-time home of Tennessee let me offer the invitation: “Y’all come on home now, ya hear?”

“Y’all” really is a wonderful plural form of the word “you”. It certainly beats the plural form I grew up with in rural Western Pennsylvania: “you’ns”. And it is more inclusive than the Midwestern “you guys” or even worse, the East Coast double plural “you’s guys,” but wherever you are from and however you say it, Jesus’ invitation to all is: “Ya’ll come.”

In Luke chapter 14-15, Luke tells the story of a Sabbath sunset dinner party. During the pre-dinner cocktail hour, much to the dismay of the hostess and the other guests, Jesus heals a sick man. Now first you have to ask, “who invited a man sick with dropsy (probably edema in the legs, due to congestive heart failure) to the party, anyway?” It was embarrassing.

And second, it’s the Sabbath and everyone knows you can’t touch sick people on the Sabbath. That would mess up the whole party!

But Luke, the physician, records that Jesus took note of this man. Jesus healed him right there — at the party, even on the Sabbath.

Read More

Column: Can these dry bones live?

By Benton Heisler / West Michigan Director of Connectional Ministry

A friend asked, “Do you think you could make anything out of all this old barn lumber?”

You know, kind of like God asking Ezekiel in chapter 37, “Can these dry bones live?”

As a hobby, a few days of labor each year the past four years has yielded: two chairs, a hutch, a book case, six benches, three storage boxes, a table, and some projects that are still in the design stage.

And the woodpile is only partially used up.

The steps include sorting boards like puzzle pieces, scrubbing off years of accumulated dust (or other animal debris, enough said), cutting to length and width as well as thickness and sanding to a splinter less finish. (Especially important for the chairs and benches, no further instructions required!)

I have some of the necessary tools and knowledge but the best part of these projects has been sharing time and tools with others. Ideas, solutions, techniques and mistakes to avoid or correct have been just a few of the gifts, not to mention the new function of timber that might have otherwise decomposed or simply become heat in a wood stove.

Most of the lumber I am reusing is over 100 years old. The barn and granary were disassembled to make way for more contemporary functions in their space. Thankfully someone saw the potential in much of the lumber and saved it, even though they didn’t know the exact form it would take. Others and I have been blessed by the release of this stored resource.

My point? I see a parallel to many of our congregations. They are not like they were 100 years ago. God may be asking of us, ”Can these dry bones live?”

They can if we allow connecting muscles and sinew, the covering flesh and the breath of God to come upon us (Ezekiel 37:6). We will need to allow God to shape us into new forms, relocate us to new destinations and remove and discard the accumulated, unattractive, unnecessary debris. We will need to share ideas, tools, mistakes made and knowledge acquired as we work together.

Read More

Column: Transforming our welcoming ways

By Benton Heisler, WMC Director of Connectional Ministries

One business in my neighborhood has a new name.

Same location, same function and most of the same employees, but a new sign and a new spirit is present. I am greeted at the door with:

“Hi! How are you today?” / Hospitality

“May we help you?” / Service

“Did you find what you were looking for? / Compassion

“Thanks for your business Benton!” / Gratitude

“You have a great day!” / Praise

It didn’t always go that way before. The new hospitality seems to have replaced complacency.

Optimism has overcome the sense of obligation I used to experience.

Personal attention is the new priority instead of the previous attitude that I was intruding.

They even gave me a coupon to share with a friend if I would invite them to come and do business at this location. / Evangelism

Such a transformation in one secular business has me wondering what the church might learn from the very world we believe we are called to transform!

Hospitality, compassion, gratitude, praise, evangelism/invitation; those are “our” biblical models. I return to this business because I find a value in what they provide and how they provide it.

Take a look around your congregation and the way you approach its ministry.

Does it need a new sign and “employee enhancement program’? Are people greeted warmly and personally? What intentional ways do you strive to serve the persons you encounter? How do you go about inviting them to participate in the ministries you provide so church becomes more of a verb instead of a noun?

Is there a sense of, “Have a great day!” that pervades all that transpires?

You see, this is the unique gift we have to offer to persons — hope.

No matter what the circumstances, we know God is present, sees it all and desires the “good answer” in our lives. We believe God is willing to sustain us as we journey toward such a blessing.

This summer people will move to your community or simply “check out” your worship experience, VBS, and community service project. Will your congregation lapse into a quiet dormancy for the next few months or be anticipating the “new customer” and then receive them graciously?

What “marketing” techniques will you implement to spread the word about the hope, hospitality, healing and “home” that will be experienced in your congregation?

Throughout this edition of the Reporter are ideas for re-thinking our efforts for welcoming and inviting others.

The West Michigan Annual Conference, June 3-6 at Calvin College has the theme of “Making Spaces for New Faces.” I invite you to take the ideas you encounter there, or read here, or receive elsewhere and give them an intentional attempt at new implementations.

I noticed at the business I mentioned that some of the employees are not there anymore. I realized they were the same ones that I had experienced as inattentive, unwelcoming and seemingly uninformed.

I guess some changes were made by the leadership to remove who and /or what wasn’t working in order to grow forward. I pray each of us can make the necessary changes to improve our efforts at making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Well, I’ve got to go.

I need something at that business and the last thing I remember hearing as I left was ”Come again soon. We look forward to serving you again.”

Read More

Column: Why you matter and how to become the change you seek

By Jerry Devine, Detroit Conference Director of Connectional Ministries

You may have seen the television ad that shows one person helping another, who then helps another, who then helps another … until the circle reminds us of a way of life that is compassionately attentive to the environment we are in. Large or small, the decision to be “incarnationally” involved in the world makes a difference. That is why YOU MATTER. 

On the afternoon of Sunday, May 25, 1986, more than five million people joined hands to form a line that stretched 4,152 miles—from New York City to Long Beach, Calif. A young couple and their three young sons joined the line, hand in hand, along Philadelphia Pike in Claymont, Delaware. They had not started the movement to raise funds and awareness for hunger relief programs; they had not signed up early, partly due to struggling to make a personal donation beyond the needs of their own family.   

Perhaps they were even a little skeptical about large events and the media hoopla surrounding them. Even so, as the day approached, they felt compelled to move out of their personal space into the world, linking with others for a public witness of concern and involvement.

On that day participants joined hands across the United States and sang“We Are the World,” “America the Beautiful,” and the Hands Across America theme song. I would have to ask my adult sons if they remember that sunny Sunday afternoon where we had a sense of the larger world and the need to care and be involved — I still do.  Large movements and moments are made up necessarily of small decisions to make a difference. 

Change the World is a United Methodist invitation to make a difference. April 24-25, 2010, has been identified as a day for local congregations and individuals to join in an effort to make a larger visible public difference—to make the love of Jesus Christ visible in the world. 

With some skepticism I decided to read Mike Slaughter’s new book, visit the Web site, and then decide whether it was worth my time and attention. As I freely decided how I would be involved, I was convicted with the awareness that people with hunger do not have that choice. 

People with malaria or other diseases of poverty do not have that choice. People that live without health care or housing do not have that choice. Many of us have the luxury of deciding how and when I feel like making a difference, while others are forced to make decisions in the midst of their unjust realities.

Read More