By SHERON C. PATTERSON
Editor

About 120 North Texas clergy took time for restoration, renewal and mental stimulation at their annual retreat Oct. 17- 19 at the Tanglewood Retreat Center in Pottsboro. The wooded lakeside scenery was ideal for unwinding and regenerating.

Clergy burnout and fatigue are at high levels nationally, but NTC clergy combatted those statistics at the retreat. They chose from four restorative options: golf, fishing, horseback riding or spa time. In the evening, awards were presented to those who had the best golf game and caught the largest fish.

In addition to restoration, the clergy also had their minds stimulated by presentations from noted teacher, preacher and evangelist Dr. Dana L. Robert, a Boston University professor. Dr. Robert, an author of several books, also wrote Joy to the World: Mission in the Age of Global Christianity, used by the 2010-2011 summer schools of Christian Mission of the UMC.

"I want the pastors to feel empowered to see missions as a part of what they do in ministry and provide leadership to the laity who are in the midst of discovering mission," Dr. Robert said. "The pastor can bring the theological understanding."

"Pastors are overworked," she said. "Mission work is exhausting. We need to integrate mission work into who we are as Christians. We need a theological center from which missions flow. Otherwise, we exhaust ourselves with lots of programs. We United Methodists are activists. Don't tell us to be involved — we already are."

The Rev. Cheryl Jones, associate pastor of discipleship and evangelism at Tyler Street UMC and pastor of Arcadia Park UMC in Dallas, was inspired.

"Dr. Robert's remarks gave me a solid foundation, starting with Bible study. My church already has a great Bible study, but now we can be more directed toward the spiritual formation of mission," she said.

The Rev. Pete Adrian, pastor of First UMC Sulphur Springs, said, "It is hard to pick out one point from her talk because it was all so powerful, whether it was evangelism as the heart of mission or the New Testament as a missionary document or the growth of United Methodism worldwide."

But as a former banker, he said his favorite was "The Balanced Portfolio Effect."

By BRITTANY BURROWS
Special Contributor

The Denton Wesley Foundation at the University of North Texas hosted the Clothesline Project, an event honoring survivors and victims of intimate violence.

Each day, students on campus were invited to come to the United Methodist Student Center to decorate shirts and tell their own stories or to remember a woman who had been hurt by violence. The Clothesline Project, which ended Oct. 28, sought to be a source of empowerment and healing.

The event aimed to reach not only members of the United Methodist Student Center, but also the entire UNT campus.

The Denton Wesley Foundation regularly offers free lunch, worship, small groups, fellowship, mission opportunities and music programs for students at UNT, Texas Woman's University and North Central Texas College.

The Clothesline Project began with a display of 31 T-shirts in 1990 in Hyannis, Mass., as a part of the Take Back the Night march and rally. Throughout the day, more women came forward to decorate shirts with words or artwork and add them to the clothesline on the village green. The movement has since gone worldwide, with one project as far away as Tanzania.

By SHERON C. PATTERSON
Editor

The Rev. Dr. Justin Tull retired from active ministry in June 2006 after serving nine United Methodist churches, ranging from 274 to 2,200 members, in the North Texas area for 37 years. Since then, he has served as interim senior pastor at Suncreek UMC in Allen and Vista Ridge UMC in Lewisville. Currently, he is pursuing becoming a lead trainer for interim ministry in The United Methodist Church. He also teaches preaching to ministers taking the course of study for preachers in this jurisdiction.

Dr. Tull graduated from Hendrix College with a major in literature and philosophy. He received two master's degrees and a doctorate of ministry in preaching from Perkins School of Theology.

In addition to Christmas Journeys, Dr. Tull is the author of Wrestlings, Wonders and Wanderers and Why, God, Why? Sermons on the Problem of Pain.

He sat down with the UMR to discuss Christmas Journeys.

What are the Christmas journeys that are mentioned in your book title?

In Christmas Journeys, each pivotal character is passionately involved in a pilgrimage marked by poignancy and a sense of urgency. In the first half of the book, "Ancient Journeys," I feature the people of the nativity, specifically Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the wise men.

The second half of the book features journeys of three of our contemporaries, those who face similar problems to ours as they navigate through the hectic days prior to Christmas. They know too well the tenacity of guilt, the emptiness of having too much, the fear spawned by poverty and unemployment, and the painful void from the death of a loved one.

Is joy always a possibility at Christmas time?

In the introduction to the book I share my own Christmas journey after the death of my wife of 34 years. In less than two months, I had to travel from the realms of grief into the unwelcoming place of Christmas cheer. My extended family would gather for the first time since the memorial service wondering whether death would rob us of all Christmas joy. To my surprise, a simple gesture of love made Christmas joy much more possible, perhaps even probable. My introduction ends with a statement of faith: "I have come to believe that unless we reward grief with guaranteed reserved seating, it will always, at the nudging of faith, scoot over and make room for joy."

Will this book help those who are blue at Christmas?

Yes. At one time or another, everyone has trouble making it through the Christmas season. Maybe the ghosts of Christmas past simply dampen our spirits or maybe the monumental lists of things to do become daunting or depressing. Or maybe we feel guilty for having so much yet feeling so little. Perhaps we never realize our inner resentments or self-preoccupations are preventing us from becoming a joyful participant of the season. But one group evokes my greatest concern — those who have lost loved ones, those who believe a "merry" Christmas is far beyond their reach. Hopefully, even these will be able to experience Christmas joy.

Christmas Journeys is available through Amazon.com (paperback and Kindle) and local retailers. You may visit justintull.com for other writings and a list of book signings and seminars in the area.

A celebration honoring the Rev. Larry D. Ravert for 50 years of ministry will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13, in the Fellowship Hall of University Park UMC.

Since completing seminary, Rev. Ravert has had 11 appointments: Victoria Methodist, Victoria; White Rock Methodist, Lakewood UMC, First UMC and University Park UMC in Dallas; Axe Memorial UMC in Garland; Wesley UMC in Greenville; First UMC Duncanville; First UMC Heath; and Poetry UMC in Poetry. He also was director of Church Extension and Development for the NTC.

Rev. Ravert and his wife, Carol Ann, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Jan. 30, 2009, and renewed their vows at University Park UMC. They have traveled to China, Europe, Hawaii, Alaska, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Mexico, Canada, Greece and the Caribbean.

The Raverts enjoy spending time with family, including their children and their families: Susan and Bill Bryan, Brittany and Brandon; Russell and April Ravert, Alex and Blaine; and Lisa and Dalen Wintermute, Preston and Lauren. Larry's three grandsons all share his middle name, Douglas. The Raverts like relaxing at Charity, the family getaway in Poetry. Rev. Ravert's hobbies include woodworking, fixing things, camping in the Raverts' RV and driving Sparky, his 1930 Model A Ford.

Celebration organizers ask that there be no gifts but messages, stories and photos about how his ministry has touched lives are welcome.

The Rev. Lee Alvin Bedford Jr., 83, an ordained Methodist minister for 60 years, died Sept. 30. Services were held Oct. 4 at First UMC Bedford.

Rev. Bedford served numerous churches in the North and Central Texas Conferences.

His pastorates included Walnut Hill UMC and White Rock UMC in Dallas, First UMC Garland and First UMC Bedford. He formed the Casa Linda UMC, which grew to 1,800 members under his ministry.

For several years, he was the director of evangelism for the North Texas Conference, as well as chaplain for the Texas Air National Guard and the Dallas Police Department.

He made evangelistic trips to Pakistan and Korea, as well as trips to India with World Vision International, one of the largest relief agencies in the world.

He was a man of diverse interests. While attending seminary, he was a professional square dance caller, signing with RCA Records and holding the top-selling record in Texas at the time. He also enjoyed camping and woodworking and was a model train enthusiast.

He was preceded in death by a grandchild, Jennifer Michelle Grubbs.

He is survived by his wife, Anne Lorene Bedford; children David Bedford and wife Patti, Tom Bedford and wife Becky, Leslie Grubbs and husband Randy, Teresa Granberry and husband Samuel, John Bedford and wife Jan, and Cheryl Devoto and husband Khris; brothers Robert, Lance and Tom Bedford; 21 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

I just got back from prison. No, I have not been arrested by law enforcement officials. I was arrested by the Holy Ghost to return to Kairos prison ministry. You see, 11 years ago I took part in the Kairos prison ministry at the Darrington maximum security prison in Rosharon, Texas. Since then, something always came up and prevented me from returning, but prison ministry is so vital that I had to get back.

The overall theme of Kairos is "listen, listen, love, love." And that was my experience serving as the spiritual advisor for Kairos #48 last week.

Kairos operates with two teams, one outside and one inside. About 40 persons were on the outside team of volunteers, and they did the praying, cooking and preparing agape, such as cookies, handwritten letters of encouragement and even birthday cake — some inmates have never had a birthday cake or party before. I was part of a 50-member inside team, and we ministered directly to and with the inmates.

We were an ecumenical group — some were Catholics, Baptists or Church of Christ. Some were from Bible churches, and some were from nondenominational churches. Many were laity, six were clergy, and most were retired, but not all. The days were long, beginning at 5 a.m. and finishing our work around 9:30 each night. We began on Thursday afternoon and finished around 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Not surprisingly, a lot is the same since I was there last. The only difference I noticed was that the faces of the inmates seem to be a lot younger, and there seem to be many more of them. I was happy to reunite with many of the same inside team volunteers whom I met 11 years ago. They were still there, faithfully living out their calling to reach out and share God's love with those behind prison walls.

There are two questions we are not allowed to ask: What are you in prison for? And how much time are you serving? The warden advised us that after three days of sharing and being with them, they will most likely tell everything.

Once the inmates got over the shock of having a United Methodist bishop sitting in their midst, they relished the moment.

I met several inmates whose parents and grandparents were members of United Methodist churches in the area. There was no animosity toward the church, only grateful appreciation of our willingness to reach outside the walls of the church to share God's love. Many inmates of the Catholic tradition spent time with me confessing their faults and sins. Being a Protestant, this was different for me; however, I understood the need for them to tell me things they had kept deep inside for a long time in fear of reprisals or punishment.

Much of my time was spent listening and praying for the inmates. We sang together, laughed together, studied together, prayed together and cried together, letting the 42 chosen inmates for the week know that God loved them and showing them in tangible ways the love of the church.

What a wonderful testimony to Christian unity! My hope and prayer is that we will not forget people behind prison walls, remembering that Jesus himself was a prisoner. I believe God is at work in prisons and calls us to join in the work of redemption and reconciliation.

To learn more, see www.kairosprisonministry.org.

I receive a monthly newsletter from my good friend and fellow church member Greg Bustin of Bustin & Co., whose company consults with small and midsize businesses to improve their performance. I thought this month's newsletter was especially applicable to what we are trying to do in the church.

It is about the genius of Steve Jobs and his work with Apple. When Jobs died last month, I was taken aback by the number of Facebook postings and the effect he had on so many people.

His bio tells how he started Apple, lost control in 1985 and returned in 1997 to rebuild Apple to great success, worth $170 billion when he died.

Here are the four questions Jobs asked as he rebuilt Apple. They might be helpful to us in the UMC.

Why are we here? Jobs says that he "stayed the course" because he really loved what he was doing.

This allowed him, I believe, to really promote Apple products with great enthusiasm. Do you ever ask yourself "why is our church here?"

Are we here to provide a place for all people to come to learn about the love and grace of Jesus Christ? Or are we here to provide a nice, safe, comfortable place to come to each week to make ourselves feel good?

Are we here to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world or to gain more members so we have someone to help us pay the bills? Would the community miss our church if it just disappeared?

What do people want from us? So many of us march around preaching to people about why they should become a member of our church/denomination that we never listen to them.

What do you think people want from your church when they first come to visit? They may be lifelong church folks or people who have never been inside a sanctuary, but they, for the most part, share one thing:

They want to be part of a loving community that will shepherd them on this spiritual journey called life. The formality of worship and music is not important. It is the loving touch of another human saying, "We care."

How do we attract and retain top talent? Are you aware that many of the young pastors of rapidly growing churches are former United Methodist students or pastors?

They leave because of the bureaucracy of the institution of the UMC. They are more entrepreneurial in their approach, and the results are bearing fruit. We need our pastors, especially the best and the brightest.

Who am I? We all need to know our wants and our needs — what makes us truly happy. For some, it is money, others recognition, but for Christians it should be Christian servanthood. Somewhere on the list of the many ministries of your local church there is a place for you. Find it, and you will discover peace of mind and a sense of purpose.

Four simple questions, but the answers are difficult. Good luck on your journey.

Richard Hearne is Lay Leader of the North Texas Conference, which stretches from just this side of Bogata to just that side of Burkburnett. E-mail him at rbhearne@sbcglobal.net.

Legendary coach speaks at East District Laity Celebration

By JOE DAN BOYD
Special Contributor

When Coach Gene Stallings of Powderly was named keynote speaker for the annual East District Laity Celebration at First UMC Sulphur Springs last month, you might have assumed the legendary football mentor was either a practicing Methodist or a sports recruiter for a UMC-associated college or university.

While neither assumption would have been correct, this former gridiron star at Texas A&M and former coach for his Aggie alma mater and the 1992 national champion Crimson Tide of Alabama — not to mention 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and a stint as head coach of the St. Louis/ Phoenix Cardinals — did make a convincing case for "church people" as lights of the world, ambassadors of appreciation and relentless reinforcements for random acts of kindness.

Stallings learned most of his life lessons the hard way, through sometimes painful experience, some of which he shared in his 1997 book, Another Season, subtitled "A Coach's Story of Raising an Exceptional Son."

In it, he recalls the two saddest days of his life, one in 1962 when his son John Mark Stallings was born: "They told me at the hospital that he was a 'mongoloid,' a word that is, thankfully, no longer used," Stallings said.

His other saddest day was in 2008, when that son died, at age 46, without ever learning to count to 10 and without ever using, or even learning, a single word of profanity.

Stallings painted word pictures for the district congregation about the rich, if limited, life of his son with down syndrome who loved people, loved going to church and was, in turn, himself so loved by others that sports equipment facilities, football fields, playgrounds, buildings, streets and scholarships were named in his honor.

"One university even included the name John Mark Stallings in a special list of only five people who have changed the world," said his father, who received more than 1,500 letters of condolence and appreciation after John Mark's death. Two governors sent police cars to lead his funeral procession.

"It did not matter to Johnny whether you were a CEO or a janitor if he was your friend," said Stallings. "He treated everyone with the same full measure of respect, and from that attitude, I think, many were in turn motivated to show appreciation for others in their lives and were reminded not to pass up chances for expressing genuine appreciation and performing random acts of love and kindness."

There are two basic types of people in this world, Stallings said: Those who need help and those who help those who need help, a point that reminded him of a long-ago declaration by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes: We really need each other!

"It's even more true today than it was when it was adopted," said Stallings, who reminded the East District congregation of the 10 million-plus alcoholics in the U.S. today and the countless young people addicted to drugs, all of whom need the church's help desperately.

"Yet the average dad today works 40 hours a week, but spends only 2 1/2 minutes a day with each of his children," said Stallings.

"But we as parents must set the example for our children and allow them to see Christianity in action," Stallings said. "One way we can do that is by letting our children know those people we consider the greatest among us, ordinary people who care enough to do their jobs well and to help others in need. This is actually a biblical lesson from the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, which tells us that we can do no better in this life than to enjoy our work — a radical lesson in this era when many choose occupations and jobs based entirely on salary and prestige."

Finally, Stallings offered this advice for any new parent with a baby with down syndrome: "You have given birth to a child who will spend eternity in the presence of God. Can it get any better than that?

"Let's never forget that it's often easier to recognize the right thing to do than it is to have the courage to do the right thing, but that's what we are all called to do.

"One way to deal with that dilemma is to remember this one thing: We really do need each other!"

Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe wants clergy and laity to read Back to Zero: The Search to Rediscover the Methodist Movement. It’s about making the United Methodist Church a movement again by focusing on the mission and purpose of the church. Get it online at Cokesbury or other online booksellers.