3MP

May 2013 Newsletter Article - Why

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:44:00 -0400

The devastation that we’ve witnessed in the last month is enough to make anyone wish they could just numb their minds. We’ve seen the senseless loss of life and horrific injuries that occurred in Boston. We’ve witnessed the destruction and devastation wrought by the explosion of a fertilizer plant in Texas. And then, along with that, we’ve had what has seemed to become the normal miscellany of violence and hurt that swarms in from all sides on top.

Its times like these that Christians from everywhere, stretching from the areas directly impacted by these events to all over the globe, will be looking for answers. They’ll be looking for hope and strength and comfort. But most will also be desperately looking for the answer to the question that is on almost everyone’s mind: “Why?”

And with that question will come a myriad of different types of answers. Some will say that all of this is just too complex, too big, for our limited minds to comprehend and so we just have to get used to the fact that, with God, there are some things we will just never be able to understand. Others will say that “everything happens for a reason” and find their comfort in the idea that God is in control and that there is some purpose behind all of this, even if we can’t see it. And, as we have seen with many of the recent horrible things like this that have happened, some will say this is God’s punishment for the sins of a community, a nation, or a people.

These are indeed ways that a lot of people will find their comfort and the strength they need to get through times such as these. For many, though, none of the theories that are listed above will fill that void that has been created. They won’t find anything to hold firm to in these words and may find that they actually do more harm than they do good. Because, underneath all of these answers, is the belief that God caused all of this devastation. God made the terrorists put the bombs in the midst of a crowd of people and caused children to die and be maimed; that God caused the fertilizer plant to explode, killing many and wiping out everything that many more owned right down to the house they lived in. Many will wonder, if this is to be true, how a good God could do things that look, honestly, evil. I count myself among these.

There is, I believe a different message, a different answer, that is the truth of times such as these. That truth is that God did not send the terrorists and the bombs. That truth is that God did not cause the fertilizer plant to explode. That truth is that God did not cause the rivers to rise and produce floods that kill and destroy.

The truth is that I can’t pretend to have easy answers about suffering; mainly because such answers just don’t exist. But still the question of “why” must be asked. It’s not a new question by any stretch. The people of God have asked this same type of question since the very beginning of the beginning. There’s an entire book of the Old Testament, Job, that grapples with the problems of suffering and yet even it doesn’t answer the question “Why?”

And the reason it doesn’t, I believe, is because there is no cut and dry answer for every scenario. For some of these events that have been thrown at us this past month, the answer lies in the forces of nature. Sometimes hot and cold air collides and makes rainfall. This rain is absolutely necessary for life on this planet, but sometimes it can also fall in such great amounts as to produce floods. A chemical reaction occurs that in one instance can make land fertile and able to grow food for us to eat and in another can produce an explosive gas that has the capability to erupt with astounding destructive force. And sometimes we flawed, broken human beings get lost in the darkness and make flawed, broken decisions that lead to sin and destruction and death.

Just about a month ago, on Good Friday, we Christians remembered that the Son of God himself had to go through pain and suffering and tragedy and loss. We remembered that even he, in a striking moment that revealed the human aspect of his nature, asked why even he had been forsaken. The founder of our faith, the Son of God, was himself crucified and that means that we can never assume that God’s people will never suffer. God doesn’t stop nature from working or there would be no rain and, thus, no life. God doesn’t stop chemical reactions from occurring because then there would be no way to grow food and, thus, there would be no life. God doesn’t remove free will from us because that is one of God’s greatest gifts to us; it is we who misuse it for destructive instead of constructive ends.

When we ask the “why” questions, we need to remember the promises that are given to us again and again, throughout scripture and encapsulated in that great Psalm 23 where it says, “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger because you are with me.” We will remember the promise of the just celebrated Easter where we said with passion that evil and suffering and destruction and even death will never have the final say in things; to paraphrase Frederick Buechner, that the worst of things is never the last of things. We can have faith that because it was not so in Jesus’ life, it is not so in ours.

Instead when people have nothing to eat, when people have nothing to drink, when people have nothing to wear, when everything has been yanked out from underneath them and they feel like a stranger in the place they have called home for their entire lives, the people of God are called to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and welcome the stranger. We are to become God’s hands, feet, and voice to give our of resources and time and energy and passion so that whenever tragedy strikes and we are left struggling with all the “whys” we will know that we are not alone, we are not forsaken, we are not forgotten. We will let the people know that there are people who love them and that they will never be abandoned.

As Christians, we need not believe that God sends the floods or the terrorists or the explosions. What we do need to know is that God walks with God’s children through all the horrible places of life and that God sends God’s people to help in the aftermath, no matter how horrible it may be. The worst of things is never the last of things. Ever. Amen.

"So I haven’t been posting much on tumblr lately …"

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:40:42 -0400

“So I haven’t been posting much on tumblr lately …”

- Me … all the time

Maddie Hinkle and Josh R Danbach’s wedding was such a...

Sat, 20 Oct 2012 16:21:38 -0400

Maddie Hinkle and Josh R Danbach’s wedding was such a great event. So amazing to see two amazing people unite together. Best wishes and lots of love from Bryan and Noelie!

I’m uploading this to my tumblr as well as facebook because on fb it wasn’t animated. :P

Hopes, Dreams, & Prayers

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:29:13 -0400

A couple of years ago, during my ordination service at Annual Conference, instead of having a normal sermon delivered they invited a group of people to come up and address the question, “What are your hopes, dreams, and prayers for those we will ordain?” The first person was a youth, the next a young adult, the third a laywoman with years of on the ground leadership knowledge, and finally an experienced pastor. Everyone who attended was deeply moved by the depth and spirit of the insights, especially myself. It was both inspirational and a bit daunting at the same time.

At the end of the service, Bishop Schnase, moved by the words that had been offered as much as I had been, stood and offered his own insights on the question at hand, including this part below:

“Why would people offer themselves to be ordained as United Methodist pastors today? With the downward trends, the aging membership, the crisis of relevancy, the organizational challenges, why would people give their lives to ministry in the United Methodist Church? Adam Hamilton thinks people enter United Methodist ministry for one of three reasons. First, they become United Methodist ministers because they want to offer hospice care for congregations. They’re willing to love congregations to the end, commend them to God with a good send off, and help them to a peaceful death. Or second, they become United Methodist pastors because they have no other choices; they’ve been fired from everything else, and they can’t get into any other denomination. Or third, they offer themselves to this ministry because they want to reform and renew the United Methodist Church. They believe that our way of understanding God and revealing Christ’s grace is profoundly important, that the Wesleyan branch of the Christian family has truths and practices that truly change lives, and they are willing to pour themselves into the task of leading and renewing the church. I hope and pray that each of these people we are about to ordain are doing this because they love Christ and want to renew the United Methodist Church and bring us to a new expression of the faith.

“I hope you are utterly offended by the decline of the church. And yet I hope your spirit is not broken by the difficulty of the challenge, and that you are able to mobilize people to take the mission of the church seriously, passionately, and fruitfully.”

Sisters and brothers in Christ, I can assure you that I did not enter United Methodist Ministry to be a hospice pastor: to just love a church to the end and help it with a peaceful death. I can also assure you that I did not enter ministry in the United Methodist Church because I had no other choices: when I received my call to ministry I was working my way through a computer programming degree and could have continued on with that instead. I entered United Methodist ministry because I believe, with passion and conviction, that the Wesleyan way understanding and proclaiming God’s love and grace is vitally important in our world today and perhaps more so today than ever before in human history. I am committed to reforming and renewing the United Methodist Church, both in the United States as well as right here in Cape Girardeau.

I am indeed utterly offended by the decline of the Methodist Church in the United States today, but I testify boldly that my spirit is not broken and that no matter how many dents, dings, and scratches we pick up along the way, we are made new by the Spirit every single day. When adversity strikes, when setbacks occur, when darkness seems to loom closer than ever before, I believe that God is still acting in the United Methodist Church. In just my three months here, thus far, I have seen God acting here in Maple Church and in each and every one of you and it warms my heart while strengthening my soul.

Maple Church is primed to make a great difference for the purposes of Christ in this region and I have seen the passion and ability that you all have. I said on my first Sunday here that I could feel the Spirit moving in this place and that has only been confirmed during my time here. So I am inviting you to proclaim that you, too, are utterly offended by the decline of the United Methodist Church. I invite you to proclaim loudly that Maple Church is not a hospice church that is just going to fade away in time. I invite you to proclaim that we are going to be a church that offers itself in mission and ministry to reform and renew the United Methodist Church across this country as well as right here at home. Maple Church is a place where we lift high the name of Jesus, his love, and his grace. I have seen it. I have felt it. And now I invite you to proclaim that to your friends, your family, your neighbors, your waiters, your checkout person, and everyone else so that they might come to see it and feel it for themselves. That’s how we’ll grow and that’s how we’ll bring change. Let’s be inviting folks from all walks of life to come and join us as we proudly proclaim the majesty of Jesus the Christ.

Blessings and Peace,

Pastor Bryan

Greater Things Are Still To Be Done

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 10:35:11 -0400

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and don’t do what I say?I’ll show what it’s like when someone comes to me, hears my words, and puts them into practice.It’s like a person building a house by digging deep and laying the foundation on bedrock. When the flood came, the rising water smashed against that house, but the water couldn’t shake the house because it was well built.But those who don’t put into practice what they hear are like a person who built a house without a foundation. The floodwater smashed against it and it collapsed instantly. It was completely destroyed.”

Luke 6:46-49 CEB

Imagine what our church would be like if its entire life was consumed by finding ways to live out its faith and mirror God’s love, as taught and modeled by Jesus.

Imagine our church, filled with God’s spirit, being of one mind and one body as it brings its life into line with God’s great dream of restoring the world under the lordship of Christ. Imagine every one of our church’s members fully committed to seeing God’s dream become a reality.

Imagine our church having one central objective for every Sunday-school session, small group and committee meeting: to equip its members for living and sharing more effectively God’s love in the world.

Imagine our church joyfully recognizing and putting to full use the gifts and capacities God has given you. And imagine members desiring nothing more in life than to develop those gifts for the purpose of offering them back to God in passionate, life-long witness and service to others.

Imagine our church taking a bold step of faith into ministry … and then another … and another, until an ethos of outreach is deeply woven into the fabric of our congregation.

Imagine our church being so welcoming of sinners, so filled with compassion, that word of our love and care spreads throughout our community, and even around the world.

Imagine our church being sought out by those experiencing injustice, because we have become known for insisting on just relationships and fair treatment of those who are most vulnerable, and for loving our enemies.

Imagine our church so connected with people—both within and outside the church—that we begin to reach their deepest hurts and needs, offering healing to the broken and extending open arms to people of diverse racial, cultural and economic backgrounds.

Imagine our church designing and conducting worship experiences that celebrate what God is doing in our neighborhood and around the world, and that regularly invite each member to explore and expand their participation in these God-inspired initiatives.

Imagine our church being committed to daily intercessory prayer for our neighbors, our co-workers, our family and friends, and our nation’s leaders.

Imagine our church being the best window that seekers have into the life God intended.

Imagine our community becoming a better place to live, and a little more like heaven, because our church is in it. Imagine that if our church left the community, we would be missed.

We don’t have to imagine this because I see in Maple United Methodist Church a fellowship of believers that wants each and every one of these things to happen and, more importantly, can make them happen! There is a great love of Christ and a welcoming of others inside these walls. There is a deep compassion for those who are hurting, lost, vulnerable, and a genuine want to help them in whatever way we can. I’m excited about what the future holds for Maple UMC! I think that we are on the precipice of some wonderful things and I am honored to be your pastor. We have our Serve 2012 event coming up on September 8^th, and I know that our community is going to notice Maple Church putting their faith into action. We have our 100^th Anniversary Celebration coming up on the 30^th of September and I look forward to celebrating not only what Maple Church has been and has done but what it is becoming and what it will do. God has provided us a bright tomorrow to walk into and the gifts that we need to get there. So let’s get our in our community, let’s invite our neighbors and friends and co-workers, and let’s show this town just what a church can do when the Spirit is present and moving within them. In other words, let’s show them Maple United Methodist Church.

Blessings and Peace,

Rev. Bryan Schaefer

Sometimes you’ve gotta go with what you know is right...

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 12:24:00 -0400

Sometimes you’ve gotta go with what you know is right instead of what everyone else around you says!

New Beginnings

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 12:16:00 -0400

Hello! It is a real thrill for me to be able to write my first newsletter article here at Maple United Methodist Church! I’ve had the opportunity to begin to get to know some of you through the small group meetings we’ve had, and I have to say that these times of getting together, discussing Maple Church and your dreams for its future have been uplifting, enheartening, and I feel blessed to have been a part of them. Getting to hear your stories and your passion for Maple Church has been a highlight of my time here thus far, and I look forward to all the times we have left ahead of us as well.

I’ve here less than a month so far, and already your generosity, your love, and your faith have made an impact. To everyone who brought over deserts and meals and casseroles, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Moving into a new home is stressful enough as is. When you add on to the top of that starting at a new church, the pressure can be just plain overwhelming at times. Everything that you brought over was such a blessing and helped Noelie and I get through the beginnings of this transition. I also want to say thank you to those who brought by flowers, gifts for the home, and especially every single person who worked so hard to get the parsonage ready for us to move in. I know that so much work was done in a very small window of time and Noelie and I can definitely see the love that went into it. This is a wonderful parsonage and we feel blessed to be able to call it our home.

For the past several weeks in worship, we’ve been going through a message series called “To Dream Again.” Through it, we’ve been finding the ways that we can dream for Maple Church, vision its future, and have real, on the ground practices we can be doing to help bring it all to fruition. So far, the response has been great! It is obvious to me, and to anyone else that might walk through the doors here, that you care passionately for this church and you care passionately for reaching people in the name of Jesus Christ and serving them just as he would.

I want to make sure that this energy continues and so I want to just briefly outline what we can be looking forward to in the next couple of months in worship. This series will take us through the middle of August and then we’ll have a brief, three week series called “Catch” where we’ll be taking a look at how we can be active in our evangelism and our witness to people outside the church and how we can be inviting them to join our family here. And then, following that, we’ll have a special series that’ll be designed around really talking about the basics of the Christian faith in an interesting and unique way. It’s my hope that this series will really grab on to and interest people who are new to the faith as well as be renewing and empowering to folks who have been Christians a long time.

We’ve got a bright future ahead of us here at Maple UMC and I know that if we work together for our God, are a unified body of Christ, focus on everything positive, discard everything negative, and draw on the power of the Spirit, great things are on the way.

Blessings and Peace,

Rev. Bryan Schaefer

Engaging Outsiders

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 13:18:04 -0400

Engaging Outsiders:

While this article is aimed at churches that are primarily African American, I think that the learning contained within is valuable and something that ALL congregations need to hear.

The commissioning of the new candidates for this year. Good to...

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 12:44:51 -0400

The commissioning of the new candidates for this year. Good to see the new faces entering the ministry! Congratulations! #moac12

The passing of the mantle from the old to the young. A tradition...

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 12:37:10 -0400

The passing of the mantle from the old to the young. A tradition of renewal and rebirth every AC. #moac12 #fb

I am thankful for Bill Reese: his mentorship and his friendship....

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 12:24:33 -0400

I am thankful for Bill Reese: his mentorship and his friendship. I pray that he has a blessed retirement and knows he is loved.

"Mission is not a trip."

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 10:57:58 -0400

“Mission is not a trip.”

- #moac12

"God is not stagnant. When God speaks, He expects something to change. Transform and roll out!"

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 12:14:41 -0400

“God is not stagnant. When God speaks, He expects something to change. Transform and roll out!”

- Rev. Dr. Emanuel Cleaver, III

Rev. Dr. Emanuel Cleaver, III starting Annual Conference off...

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 11:54:18 -0400

Rev. Dr. Emanuel Cleaver, III starting Annual Conference off with worship this morning! #moac12

Smitten Polish Has Launched!

Thu, 31 May 2012 14:12:00 -0400

Smitten Polish Has Launched!:

My wife has just launched her own line of indie nail polish! She has always been a fan of the indie polish community and now has a chance to use her amazing artistic talents to create her own. Head on over to the post about it on her blog and then check out her Etsy store. This is a soft launch with only a few available of each, so if you see one you like, snap it up. I couldn’t be more excited for her and proud of her! Yay!

Saying Goodbye

Thu, 31 May 2012 13:59:15 -0400

This week we’re starting a new message series … and my final one here at Desloge UMC. It’s titled “Saying Goodbye” and, well, you can guess what it talks about. We have just three weeks left together in worship and that means that over the next month there will be a lot of “last times” for you and I together.

This Sunday will be the last time we celebrate communion together. The week after that will be the last time I go to Annual Conference as your pastor. Then in the next two weeks there will be a final children’s message, a final sermon, a final blessing … and then I will be gone and another pastor will take up the responsibility and the privilege of doing those with you.

We’ve seen a lot happen over the last seven years together. We’ve gone from a church that was struggling to a church that is growing. We’ve seen the repair and revitalization of our church building and the renovation of the worship space in the sanctuary. We’ve brought in new musicians, a choir director, and started using video to enhance our services. We’ve taken up new ministries, outreach, and missions. We brought back VBS and have started a men’s group. Yes, a lot has happened through our years together.

But you know what else? I believe there is a lot more still to happen at Desloge UMC in the years ahead. I see more radical hospitality, more risk-taking mission, more passionate worship, more extravagant generosity and even more growth. And when I say growth, I don’t mean just in the number in worship, but also in the faith and spirituality of those who are a part of our family here.

I’m moving to Maple UMC and am looking forward to serving them and all the great ministry that I will get to take part in there, but if you continue the hard work you all have done, if you continue to grow in your faith, if you continue to grow in your service, and if you continue to grow in your evangelism, just as you have over the last several years together and embrace change that has to come when it comes, then I have no doubt that what has started at Desloge UMC is only the beginning of a great and joyous future.

I look forward to hearing through the connection of all the great works Desloge UMC has in its future. I may be moving, but it is my heartfelt prayer that ministry and mission of Desloge UMC are here to stay.

Blessings and Peace,

Rev. Bryan Schaefer

Screens in Worship: Top 10 Questions

Thu, 10 May 2012 13:26:54 -0400

Screens in Worship: Top 10 Questions:

An excellent article on why to use screens in worship and how to best utilize them. A great read for any church considering bringing screens into worship. It’s also good for those churches that currently use screens to be sure they are using them well!

Easter Letter 2012

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:03:32 -0400

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb. Look, there was a great earthquake, for an angel from the Lord came down from heaven. Coming to the stone, he rolled it away and sat on it. Now his face was like lightning and his clothes as white as snow. The guards were so terrified of him that they shook with fear and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.” He isn’t here, because he’s been raised from the dead, just as he said. Come, see the place where they laid him. Now hurry, go and tell his disciples, ‘He’s been raised from the dead. He’s going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.’ I’ve given the message to you.”

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. Jesus came near and spoke to them, “I’ve received all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.”

— Matthew 28 (selected verses) CEB

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This Lent we have been journeying to hope and reflecting on what Easter means in our lives: right now, right here in Desloge UMC. And as we now approach Easter Sunday, I encourage you to “practice resurrection.” You might wonder how we can “practice resurrection” in our daily lives? Well, resurrection has a lot to do with both how we act and what we think.

Jesus did not want people to just believe in him; he wanted people to follow in his way of radical love and non‐violent resistance to evil. Even when faced with a horrible death on the cross, he would not turn away from this path, even to save his own life. When Jesus was about to be arrested, one of Jesus’ followers pulled out a sword, attacked and injured one of those who had come to arrest Jesus. Jesus rebuked him saying, “Put the sword back into its place. All those who use the sword will die by the sword. Or do you think that I’m not able to ask my Father and he will send to me more than twelve battle groups of angels right away?” (Matthew 26:52‐53) Jesus was clear that his purpose was not to continue the long, bloody, violent history of humankind, but to change history entirely and offer a radical new model of hope, love and justice for all.

Jesus still offers that alternative today … the alternative to be crazy enough to follow God. So friends, every day do something that won’t compute. Love the Lord. Love the world. Laugh and be joyful despite everything in the world that tries to bring you down.

In the midst of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote that faith is not about having all the facts. It is about being joyful though you have considered all the facts. He preached,

“If it weren’t for faith, I would have given up long ago. I am certain lots of us would have been hate‐filled and bitter. In the middle of our faith is the death and resurrection. Nothing could have been more hopeless than Good Friday … but then Easter happened, and forever we have become prisoners of hope.”

To be a prisoner of hope is to practice resurrection, fearless for the sake of following the Gospel imperative to bring light, joy, love and peace into the world: gifts Jesus left for all his disciples.

This celebration of Easter let us dream of new ways to bring the power of God’s love and energy into this world. So, let us practice these dreams in our daily lives. By our actions and our gifts, let us demonstrate resurrection, showing our neighbors here and around the world, that death in all its forms is not the final word. Death could not hold Jesus. May his resurrection empower us to practice resurrection … this and every day.

Blessings and Peace,

Rev. Bryan Schaefer

An Open Letter

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:58:36 -0400

In my attempt to keep you all updated on the upcoming General Conference that I wrote about last month, I want to share an open letter with you that is being sent to all the delegates of General Conference. It does not come from any denominational body, but has instead been compiled by several prominent pastors in the United Methodist Church nationwide and then signed by many other pastors after being posted online. I, personally, have not signed the petition because while I agree with a lot of the Call to Action report this is addressing (more information can be found here: http://umccalltoaction.org/ ), I do not agree with all of it. I do find it heartening to see such an open and honest discussion of the future of the United Methodist Church, though, and think that conversations like this need to keep happening and action does need to take place to ensure the future of the United Methodist Church and her ability to continue the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ. I encourage you to be in prayer for General Conference as it meets from April 24^th through May 4^th.

Blessings and Peace, Rev. Bryan Schaefer

We are local church pastors and leaders in the United Methodist Church writing in support of the legislation being proposed by the Connectional Table related to the Call to Action. We love the church and want her to have a “future with hope.” We believe that the downward trends in church membership, attendance and giving will accelerate in the years ahead. If we do nothing, our church will be half the size she is today in twenty years. Now is the time for action.

We do not believe organizational change alone can ignite a renewed United Methodism. But we do think this kind of change can focus our national leadership, both our agencies and the Council of Bishops, on the task of revitalizing the 85% of our churches that were found to be less than highly vital in the Call to Action studies.

Our current organizational structure is not sacred. It met a variety of needs in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, when it was implemented. Today is a very different time for the church and our society. This is a time of integration, collaboration, and teamwork. Gone are the days of silos, separate organizations, redundancy and inefficiencies. And while the conversation about what constitutes appropriate representation is important, the days of bloated boards and millions of our missions dollars spent on bi-annual meetings cannot continue. We must have our general agencies working together as one, on common and shared objectives, laser focused on helping the church to turn from death to life.

Ultimately, the revitalization of the United Methodist Church will happen one congregation at a time through local church leadership. The average age of our clergy is 58. Our question: Who are the leaders that will reach and connect with today’s 5, 10 and 15 year olds? That is the question we must ask as a church. Now is the time to focus on raising up such leaders. It has been said that the cost of raising up these leaders is too great. It will require reducing national and international programs. We suggest the cost of not raising up young leaders is far greater, and that this may be our only hope of saving our national and international programs.

Finally, while there has been much talk of giving too much authority to our bishops, our fear is the opposite. Our bishops, over the last forty years, have not exercised enough leadership and this is part of the reason we are where we are today. Bishops cannot be tyrants, but they must be spiritual leaders who hold us accountable and help our annual conferences to work towards greater vitality. We need them to lead. And we need the Council of Bishops to effectively collaborate and work together if we will have a future with hope.

We’re asking the delegates to the 2012 General Conference to have courage. We implore you to not let fear keep us from the change we desperately need. We are praying for you as you perfect and vote on legislation that will enable our denomination, at every level, to work together to create more vital United Methodist congregations who are making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

General Conference

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:57:14 -0400

A lot of people know that we have Annual Conference every year. During this time, pastors and laity gather from every church across the state for prayer, worship, renewal, education, and to do the business of Missouri Conference. What is probably less well known is that every four years, the global United Methodist Church has what’s called “General Conference.” We may hear this term passed around every four years, but may not understand exactly what it is or what it does.

General Conference starts this year on April 24^th and the General Conference Prayer Support Team is asking for everyone to begin a period of prayer for the 40 days leading up to it, beginning March 16^th and going through the end of General Conference on May 4^th. Information about this prayer vigil in support of General Conference can be found here: http://50daysofprayer.upperroom.org/ and I fully encourage everyone here to take part.

However, in order for us to be fully in prayer for General Conference, we need to know exactly what it is we’re praying for. So, below, I’m copying a few bits of information from the General Conference website to give you a better insight into just what General Conference is. If you would like to know anything more about General Conference and its implications, please do not hesitate to ask.

Blessings and Peace,

Rev. Bryan Schaefer

The United Methodist Church’s top legislative body, the General Conference, will gather April 24-May 4 in Tampa, Florida. Nine hundred and eighty-eight delegates from around the world will set policy and direction for the church, as well as handle other business. General Conference is the only entity that speaks for The United Methodist Church.

During the 11 -day session, 988 delegates will revise The Book of Discipline, which regulates the manner in which local churches, annual conferences and general agencies are organized. The book sets policies regarding church membership, ordination, administration, property and judicial procedures. The assembly may modify most disciplinary paragraphs by majority vote, but the Constitution can only be amended by a two-thirds affirmative vote, followed by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the aggregate number of members voting in annual conference session. Delegates may not revoke or change the Articles of Religion or the Confession of Faith unless two-thirds of the delegates agree to change this provision and three-fourths of the annual conference members also agree.

Delegates also revise The Book of Resolutions, a volume declaring the church’s stance on a variety of social justice issues. The book contains more than 300 resolutions that are considered instructive and persuasive, but are not binding on members.

In addition, the assembly approves plans and budgets for churchwide programs for the next four years and elects members of the Judicial Council and the University Senate.

Primary sources of legislation are petitions and proposals from church agencies and organizations. Petitions must be submitted 210 days before the opening of the conference. Any organization, ordained minister or lay member of the church may petition the General Conference. Approximately 1,600 pieces of legislation are expected at the 2012 assembly.