My mother died nearly two years ago, and since then we have moved my father twice into a retirement center and now into assisted living in the retirement center. All of that has caused us to sort through my mother’s things. We have made a delightful discovery that none of us kids nor my dad knew: Mother kept a personal journal of every family vacation and every trip where she accompanied Dad on business trips. Those journals are very precious, because they help us to know what Mother was feeling and experiencing.

Here is the thing about those journals: they are filled with exclamation points!!!! Nearly every day of every trip she found something to exclaim about with joy, such as: The airplane was really big!!! The food was delicious!!!! The scenery for the drive was gorgeous!!!” On and on it goes, her journals are filled with what I would call “exclamation points of joy.”

That tells you a lot about my mother, and it also tells you a lot about how the Christian life is meant to be lived. Along our journey with Jesus, we can expect to find “Exclamation Points of Joy” nearly every step of the way. Is the journey with Jesus also filled with challenges and tough times? Of course! But the journey is worth it, simply because we are traveling with Jesus.

So, here is my prayer for you today: As you follow Jesus this day, this week, this month, this year, and this lifetime, may you find many Exclamation Points of Joy along the trip!!!!

Bishop Michael Coyner

John Meunier

Help me to watch and pray,
And on Thyself rely,
Assured, if I my trust betray,
I shall for ever die.

The opportunity to gather every four years with those who fellowship as United Methodists is a great privilege. I am reminded of our vibrant connectionalism as I reconnect with friends and colleagues I have met over the past years at various denominational events. During the morning break, I was able to greet again Bishop Judith Craig, who ordained me in the West Michigan Conference in 1991. The day before I saw one of my former students and learned he has been appointed to be a superintendent. My current students have been surprised to see former pastors from their Field Education placements, or international delegates they met on mission opportunities. It doesn’t take long to meet many within the Methodist family, and the reunion is a glimpse of the reconciliation Jesus offers us.

The opening service of worship illuminated our diversity through its style, participation, and language. From the opening hymn written by Charles Wesley, to new choruses written especially for this gathering, our music ranges from traditional to contemporary. Whether drawn together by a Native American ritual or an African drum, the sounds of United Methodism move across time and continent.

Nevertheless, we still have a long way to go to demonstrate to the world how we love one another. Immediately after Bishop Larry Goodpastor’s sermon about following Jesus, the voting members of General Conference, in tweaking and failed votes to adopt the Rules of Order for these proceedings, exposed our deep mistrust and misgivings about how we will work together. Much of our deliberations quickly move to debate.

So much of the activity at General Conference is reworking, rewriting, and restating the language exchanged among and by United Methodists. As careful as we are to set the rules, we seem careless in our willingness to follow the guidelines once they exist. This is evident in more than ordering our process. The extravagant worship experience bears little resemblance to a service moving from gathering the dispersed members of our community together into the presence of the God who scatters us in service. Very few of our words serve as a reminder of our shared heritage as the people of the God revealed in Jesus Christ empowered by the Spirit. Very little of the time set aside for corporate worship of God, rehearses the story of God’s faithful activity to reconcile the world as demonstrated in the life and ministry of Jesus. Mirroring the culture at large, the service highlights our race, gender, age, ethnicity and culture. We are indeed a diverse assembly. But what is it we share that testifies to our unity, saying the Lord’s prayer notwithstanding.

Unlike the multinational multicultural gathering described as Pentecost in Christian Scripture, our diverse tongues fail to declare the works of God. We express pain, brokenness, and desire. We pledge to be different, we long to be better, but God rarely gets a sentence with a strong verb describing divine justice reconciling the world. If God shows up at all in our litany of prayers and songs, rarely is there a rehearsal of God’s action in a dramatic way that would cause someone to pause in reverence and gratitude. The biblical narrative is insignificant; ancient Israel absent; our hope in what God is doing in Christ to reconcile the world abandoned for Pelagian promises.

Evidently designed by committee, the ordering of worship has the feel of hearing an iPod playlist randomly shuffle from Bach to Beyonce by way of a Burger King commercial. While our efforts to include as many cultural and ethnic expressions is admirable, what is extraordinary about gathering as a community is the common unity of a shared testimony. Our shared testimony seems to be a litany of lament and longing . Where is the Christian witness to the Triune God that testifies to a hope that God transforms us and the world? Where is the testimony to the presence of God’s reconciling power that convinces a watching world that said God still intends justice and truth to prevail? Where is the good news that God’s faithful activity in the world is trust-worthy because of what God has done in the past?

We know so little of the biblical witness to God, most do not recognize that this testimony is even absent in our worship. We speak of the effects of encountering God rather than of God reconciling creation. We ignore the words of Scripture which challenge the people of faith to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before God. God is not sought for being God, but for what we demand be done in the name of God.

In these quadrennial gatherings, much is revealed in the ways we worship. Our words name who and what is important for us; what drives our lives; what we seek and long for. Would that first we humbly seek God. If we believe Jesus promise to be with us always, maybe we can trust the Holy Spirit continues to sustain even the United Methodist Church. That would be a first step toward transformation in the world. Then all these other things will be added. Written by Joy Moore

UMC General Conference website

Making Life Matter

Making Life Matter is a weekly 30 minute Christian inspirational and teaching program hosted by Maxie Dunnam and Shane Stanford. Next Step partners with Kingdom Catalysts to bring you MLM, which tackles issues of faith and life in order to deepen discipleship and encourage strong connections between following Jesus and living in today’s world. Mark your calendars to visit Next Step and listen regularly. Click below to hear today’s program.

A Worldwide Church: The Pain of Growth and Pruning

I’m finding blogging any deeper than a tweet is next to impossible as the General Conference workload and tension/stress level begins to intensify. To tide you over, check out the article I wrote for Seedbed.com:

A Worldwide Church: The Pain of Growth and Pruning.

My grandson Austin is 20 months old, and he was with us on a little vacation in Florida where he had his first encounter with the ocean and the beach. It was great fun to watch him have that first experience.

At first he was scared, reluctant to walk on the sand, fearful of the waves, worried about the little birds that were walking and flying around, and even unsure of what to do. But it did not take long for him to settle down, dig in the sand with his new shovel and bucket, and even chase the birds along the beach. He tried the water, was still a bit unsure, but kept wanting to experience it. Of course it helped him to know that his parents and grandparents were there with him, holding his hand at times, and always ready to help.

So much of life is like that. New experiences, new people, and new movements of God’s Spirit cause us to be fearful, reluctant, and unsure. At that point we have a choice: give in to our fears and seek to maintain our current comfort levels; or give it to our curiosity and move fully into that new experience.

In my ministry as a bishop, I see too many churches which give in to fear and seek comfort in the past. They use “tradition” like a weapon to beat down new ideas, new opportunities, and even new people.

But I see other churches, often ones in tough situations, who are open to a new future, ready to allow God to lead them, and able to overcome fear with faith.

What makes the difference? I think it is knowing that God’s presence is right there with us, holding our hands at times, allowing us to walk on our own at other times, and yet always present. We can face any new future if we use that faith to overcome our fear of the new.

May God bless you today with an assurance of God’s presence as you move into new experiences of life and faith.

Bishop Michael Coyner

Let the Games Begin…

Tampa, Florida

An awesome opening worship experience, albeit a bit over-orchestrated. But wow! Great singing, great preaching, meaningful Eucharist – the always amazing stuff of General Conference.

A few interesting moments…

• Opening a Christian worship service with a non-Christian ritual (important to experience, but maybe before worship?)

• The smell of reefer (burning palm leaves?) wafting through the auditorium during the opening ritual

• The Mayor of Tampa referring to the group as clergymen and lay people

• Having to be told, “please, PLEASE do not ask to touch another person’s hair”

A few cool things…

• Translating everything into seven languages

• 37% of the delegates are women

• 41% of the delegates are from outside the US

• Nifty wireless electronic voting pads (but with lots of instructions )

• Attendance tonight – 4700

UMC General Conference 2012

And now the business (tedium?) of the evening begins…we get the rules sorted out…

General Conference 2012 ~ Random Thoughts

Tampa, Florida

Sunday, April 22 ~ The view out my hotel window is gorgeous and I already have the feeling that I won’t get to enjoy it except in the dark after about 10pm.

I’m totally bummed that I forgot my camera. I can take pictures on my iPhone, but I’m never as happy with the way they come out (probably user issues). I’m pretty good with taking pictures on my iPad, but look like an idiot when doing it. Now that I think of it, looking like an idiot hasn’t ever really stopped me from doing anything.

I’m bummed about forgetting my camera, but ashamed that I forgot my Bible (except the version on my iPhone). But I have my Discipline! I guess I’m walking proof that Jason Vickers is right.

Monday, April 23 ~ The Council of Bishops has assigned me to the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters. We began our work this morning – voting on officers. Odd that over half of the people on this committee are newly appointed but are now expected to vote on people they don’t know to serve in a position for four years. Basically the same people were reelected to serve again. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, just interesting.

Best news so far: Our Nothing But Nets campaign has been instrumental in cutting the death rate from malaria in half.

Best first encounter: As I sat waiting for the beginning of the Central Conference meeting, I caught the eye of Alexis Nzabonimpa from the Gisenyi District in Rwanda who greeted me with a joyful smile. He came over and introduced himself and we shared about ourselves. Our time of getting to know one another ended with Alexis offering an amazing prayer of thanksgiving for our meeting. Afterwards, he said, “I am always so glad to meet a fellow servant in the Lord! Working together for the Lord brings such joy – like being in heaven!” That provided me a fresh context for the next two weeks.

There really is some theological stuff going on here, I just don’t think it will make it out of the legislative committees. Case in point: A Declaration from the Church in Africa (Petition #20921), which will come before the Faith and Order legislative group. This declaration was brought before the 2008 General Conference but no action was taken. Here are some interesting excerpts:

We are convinced that our connectedness has only been possible and solidified over the years because of our devoted loyalty to Jesus Christ as our only Savior and risen Lord. Our uncompromising belief in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the redemption of the whole world, and our obedience to the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20), is the primary reason for our commitment to “making disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

The Church in Africa believes the totality of the Holy Scriptures (the 66 canonical books) as the Word of God for belief, obedience and practice. And, hence, we believe in the exclusive claim of Jesus Christ as the only “Way, Truth and Life” to eternality with God (John 14:6); and of his eternal co-existence and of one substance with God the Father and the Holy Spirit (Gen. 1:1-2, 26-27; John 6:5-15).

As we conclude the 2004-2008 quadrennium, and look forward to the commencement of a new one (2009- 2012), it is incumbent upon us, as a global Christian community to evaluate the past, understand the present and thereby anticipate a realistic future of the Church of Jesus Christ which he has entrusted to our care. Against this background, we wish to make the following inquiry for our consideration: How well is global United Methodism doing in ministry? How spiritually healthy is the Church? Is it growing, declining or stagnant? What is the Church’s priority? How does that priority measure up with its call by the Head of the Church, Jesus Christ, to fulfill the Great Commission? How many Churches have been planted during this past quadrennium? Have we as United Methodists, along with feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, building hospitals and schools, and responding to the physical needs of the poor, intentionally and significantly invested in evangelistic outreach, and discipleship ministries resulting in the planting of new churches for new converts?

The above inquiry is based on the fact that we of the Central Conferences of Africa are deeply concerned that the global United Methodist Church is beginning to speak with different languages, and not with the common speech that presents Jesus Christ as the Good News of salvation, our only Lord, and only Savior. As a result, the global witness of United Methodism is being threatened with the proclamation of different kinds of “gospels.”

We in Africa are deeply concerned that some Euro-Western Churches seem to be deserting the biblical path of Church planting, disciple-making, of prayer, and evangelistic and missional endeavors to an inward focus. This inward focus of some Churches has almost changed the biblical mandate from the “Great Commission” to the “Great Omission.”… Five years before his death John Wesley entertained the fear that in decades to come “the people called Methodist” would not cease to exist but would exist merely as a dead sect, having the form of godliness but no power to live for and proclaim Christ, unless they held fast to the Doctrine, Discipline and Spirit with which they first set out. We are painfully saddened that these current trends within the Euro-Western Church are, unfortunately, confirming the fears of John Wesley.

We in Africa hear the lamenting voice of the Apostle Paul when he says, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel- which is really no gospel at all” (Gal.1:6-7a). By such actions and attitudes towards the Gospel we are throwing both our adults and our children into confusion and, without words, telling them that Christianity does not have all the answers to their spiritual longing…

Therefore, we declare:

That the Lord God Almighty is the creator of heaven and earth and everything that is in it (Gen. 1:1; Psalm 24:1-3); That God made humanity in his own image and set humanity apart to be his vicegerent to manage and care for his creation (Gen. 2:15-17); That humanity willingly made a choice to sin against God, beginning with our original parents, Adam and Eve. As a result sin entered into the human race, bringing all humanity and all creation under the damnation of sin (Gen. 3:1-7, 14-19; Rom 3:10-12,23); That “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him might not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16-17; Rom 8:1); That Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, voluntarily submitted Himself to be crucified for us, under Roman authority, as a sacrificial offering, taking upon Himself the guilt of all humanity, standing in our place, atoning for our sins, forsaken as a criminal on a rugged Roman cross (Is. 52:13-53:12, John 10:18); That Jesus Christ, the Lion of Judah, arose literally and physically from the dead, victoriously resurrected to life in indestructible bodily form, presenting himself to hundreds of eyewitnesses over 40 days (John 20:19-30); That Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, literally ascended into the clouds and now sits on High as our Intercessor at the right hand of the Father (Acts 1:1-11; 1 Cor. 15:1-8); That Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, will literally return on the clouds to reign with his faithful and true Church, his Bride and Body, for all who have been rescued by his atoning death (Acts 1:10-11; Rev. 21:1- 8); That anyone who will confess that Jesus is Lord and believe of the heart that God raised him from the dead will be saved, resurrected bodily like Him to live and reign forever with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:13-18).

Kim Reisman

The declaration goes on to address a host of other issues such as evil, the authority of and faithfulness to scripture, spiritual decadence, use of our tithes and offerings commensurate with the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ worldwide, the equipping of seminaries, evangelism, and just and proportionate representation – to name just a few.

The Church in Africa is deeply worried about all of us Euro-Westerners. I’d like to hear more about that, but I don’t think I’ll get the chance. Petition #20921 is really long and cumbersome to read. I’ve also been told it’s misplaced. That likely indicates it probably won’t get very far – no sense talking about something that’s cumbersome and misplaced.

Alexis provided me a fresh context. I need that as the work begins. It really is a joyous thing to come together with other servants of the Lord. I just hope that the work we do really is the Lord’s and not just our own.

UMC General Conference 2012

Tampa, Florida

Making Life Matter

Making Life Matter is a weekly 30 minute Christian inspirational and teaching program hosted by Maxie Dunnam and Shane Stanford. Next Step partners with Kingdom Catalysts to bring you MLM, which tackles issues of faith and life in order to deepen discipleship and encourage strong connections between following Jesus and living in today’s world. Mark your calendars to visit Next Step and listen regularly. Click below to hear today’s program.

A word from Mr. Wesley as we come to General Conference…

John Wesley ~ Asbury Theological Seminary

In the quad at Asbury Seminary, we have a statue of John Wesley preaching in the public market. There is a plaque on the statue with some words of Wesley. I had these words put there because I wanted our students to be constantly reminded of the peril in which we stand in the United Methodist Church. I encouraged our students read that plaque and pause often there in the presence of Mr. Wesley, and pay attention to what he said:

I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid, lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case, unless they hold fast the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.

These words have special meaning as we participate in the upcoming United Methodist General Conference (April 24-May 3). It is clear that we are not holding fast the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which the Methodist movement first set out.

Another word from Mr. Wesley is our challenge:

If you preach doctrine only, the people will become antinomians; and if you preach experience only, they will become enthusiasts; and if you preach practice only, they will become Pharisees. But if you preach all these and do not enforce discipline, Methodism will become like a highly cultivated garden without a fence, exposed to the ravages of the wild boar of the forest.

We are seeing it happen. The wild boar of the forest has been loosed not only in the highly cultivated garden of the Wesleyan movement, but in all mainline churches. So there is,

• experimenting with pagan ritual and practice
• consuming the world’s goods without regard for the poor
• accommodating the prevailing patterns of sexual promiscuity, serial marriage, and divorce
• resigning ourselves to the injustices of racial and gender prejudice
• condoning homosexual practice
• ignoring the historic Church’s long-standing protection of the unborn and the mother… nearly 50 million abortions in the last 3 decades

Maxie D. Dunnam - Kingdom Catalysts

God called Israel to be “God’s own people…a holy nation.”  The church, as the “new Israel,” is to function in the same fashion. So God’s call to us is, “Be holy as I am holy.”  While we will spend a great deal of time dealing with structural issues, which is essential, my prayer is that we will not compromise on the critical social issues: care for the unborn, attention to the “strangers in our midst” (immigration), the practice of homosexuality (same sex unions, ordination of avowed homosexual persons), what merits a supposed Christian nation to initiate war, and peace in Jerusalem and care for Palestinians – particularly recognizing how we have given far more attention to Jews than to our Christian brothers and sisters in that “Holy Land.”

And wouldn’t it be wonderful if we would discipline ourselves to spend as much time strategizing on how to live out our mission – “Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world” – as we do on how we will structure the governance of the church?