TWIMC: There’s Gonna Be Some Changes ‘Round Here April 20, 2008
Posted by jimmorrow in Devo Thoughts.Tags: blog, changes, to whom it may concern
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For those who care, I’m thinking about rearranging the way things look around here at Greatest Story. Maybe even dealing with the name…. We’ll see….
Any suggestions? Any formats and layout options that you find particularly useful?
This guy is becoming one of my favorite people… April 20, 2008
Posted by jimmorrow in Devo Thoughts.Tags: blogs, hack, hacking christianity, jeremy smith, methoblogosphere
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Check out this “hack.” Jeremy Smith is a relative newcomer to the blogosphere, but he obviously has something to say and he says it well.
And seriously, the concept of “hacking” Christianity has so many possiblities for good writing and commentary. For example, mission.hack which looks at church mission statements. In that vein, I love this post: Stop Being a Friendly Church.
Follow up: The Workings of a Role Model April 20, 2008
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I have kept my eye on the Church of the Resurrection since I began to feel called into planting churches later in my life. I’ve watched them because this is a church that is staunchly United Methodist and committed to the United Methodist connection and because they seem to have grown without relying strictly on church growth models.
Yesterday I was inspired by Rev. Hamilton’s thoughts on incorporating a conversation of calling into his confirmation classes, though I was curious about his use of a quantitative goal for how many ordained ministers would come out of CoR in the next 20 years. I was curious because I wondered if this was a way to fulfilling an empty statistic or if it was a way build a system based on the calling of God on that congregation.
A mother named Lisa from CoR, has assured me that CoR isn’t the kind of church that uses numbers to get a pat on the back. I am thankful for this and thankful for Lisa’s commitment to her local church. Lisa’s son Matthew was among those to stand when asked about feeling called to ordained ministry. She writes:
I too have always been concerned about placing numbers on things especially worship attendance and the like. Being at Resurrection though has changed my perspective a bit. We deal in large numbers but knowing the numbers helps us to decide where we need to focus ministry.
Knowing who these kids are will help us as a church to lift them up and help them to decide if God is truly calling them to ordained ministry. I do hope that Resurrection will build on this and offer something to help these kids discern their call.
LA Bishop’s Top 10 for General Conference April 20, 2008
Posted by jimmorrow in Devo Thoughts.Tags: bishop swenson, general conference, LA
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Bishop Swenson of the Los Angeles Episcopal Area gives us an idea of what General Conference can do to make a difference. What do you think? What could else could be done?
Top Ten Actions of General Conference That Would Make Disciples of Jesus Christ For the Transformation of the World
Bishop Mary Ann Swenson, Los Angeles Episcopal Area
1. Admission into congregational membership shall be contingent upon the following criteria: pending members shall regularly participate in a class / covenant group meeting (3/4 of the scheduled meetings over four months); be recommended by the pending member’s class / covenant group; accomplish 72 hours of hands-on mission service; make and keep a pledge of 3% of net taxable income. Annual continuation of membership shall be contingent upon these same criteria, with the modification that the period of class participation shall be over ten months.
2. Every annual conference shall annually provide evidence to the Council of Bishops that 25% of the conference’s total worshipping attendance has participated in 72 or more hours of hands-on mission work with the homeless and the hungry, the ill and dispossessed.
3. Every annual conference shall provide evidence to the Council of Bishops that the Conference is annually increasing the percentage of those in worship attendance participating in hands-on mission work.
4. The General Conference shall expand funding in order to scholarship at least 50% of the cost of full-time enrollment for approved ministerial candidates attending United Methodist seminaries.
5. The General Conference shall extend funding to cover at least 50% of the cost of lay speaker certification across the denomination.
6. The General Conference shall assign to the Jurisdictional Sessions the authority to monitor and approve the operational and missional structures of the annual conferences within their respective jurisdictions.
7. Congregations seeking a full-time appointed elder shall show pledged and loose plate receipts for the prior two years sufficient to fully compensate an appointment at the minimum equitable salary rate as established by the Annual Conference in which the congregation is located.
8. For the purposes of interfaith dialogue, General Conference shall suspend Articles I and II of the Restrictive Rules for one quadrennium.
9. The General Conference shall make the following co-contingent changes:
§ Re-set the term of service for Bishops from four years to six years;
§ Re-set the frequency of Jurisdictional Conferences to every three years;
§ Re-set the total number of delegates to General Conference to 500;
§ Re-set the frequency of General Conference to every six years;
§ Empower the Connectional Table to address denominational needs in the interim between General Conference sessions.
10. General Conference shall schedule one full day of the 2012 General Session for all delegates to be in hands-on service to the indigent living in the city hosting the General Conference.
