Archive for April, 2008

General Conference VI: A Glimpse of Hope

I was so proud this morning as our choir and orchestra led worship at General Conference and then later performed in concert at General Conference.  They represented you well and were inspiring!  I’ve had so many here at the conference comment on what a blessing they were.  I felt like a proud father.
This afternoon was […]

General Conference V: A New Kind of Hymnal

Monday night a proposal was brought forward to begin the process for developing a new hymnal for the United Methodist Church. Every 30 years, give or take a few, a new hymnal has been produced for our denomination. New hymns are included, some unsung old hymns are left out, language is updated, […]

General Conference IV: Monday’s Musings

The legislative committees began making their reports to the full General Conference today. This will continue through Friday morning. The most far reaching action taken today was the approval of a study that will bring to the 2012 General Conference a proposal to decentralize our denominational structure, giving greater freedom for the […]

Finding Contentment in World Built for Greed

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General Conference III: Legislative Commitees

There are hundreds of resolutions and proposals (over 1,000 if I remember correctly) that are submitted to the General Conference by laity, clergy, churches and other groups across the denomination - all asking for action by the United Methodist Church. Some relate to doctrine, others to positions on social issues, some to how we […]

General Conference II: A Great Vision!

It’s 2:00 a.m. and I’m just getting ready for bed after a long day at General Conference. The day began with in a most amazing way. Bishops and the heads of our General Agencies cast several visions for our denomination for the next four years and beyond - visions that were specific, exciting, […]

General Conference I: Opening Worship

Last night General Conference began in Fort Worth, Texas.  This event, held once every four years, brings together the Council of Bishops and 900 delegates (1/2 laity, 1/2 clergy) from around the world in order to seek God’s will and to set the direction for our denomination for the next four years and beyond.  We’ll […]

This is My Father’s World

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The Future of the Church

I just finished speaking to our Spring confirmation class - 136 excited and energized 7th graders (and a few older youth as well) who are preparing to publicly profess their faith in Christ on Sunday.  As a part of my talk with the group each semester I invite them commit their lives to Christ and […]

Surviving the Setbacks and Storms

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