Incoming NTC leader known as hands-on senior pastor at First UMC Hurst

Bishop Michael McKee, center, is greeted by well-wishers after his election.

Photo by: Amy Forbus

The United Methodists of North Texas have a new episcopal leader, Bishop Michael McKee.

Bishop McKee, a newly elected bishop, was assigned here July 20 at United Methodism’s South Central Jurisdictional gathering in Oklahoma City.

Prior to his election, Bishop McKee served as pastor of the 1,100-member First UMC Hurst since 1997.

As a hands-on senior pastor who was highly involved and committed to the mission and ministry of the local church, Bishop McKee spent the last 36 years forming and building upon his relationships with people across the nation. Among his gifts: He never meets a stranger. His collaborative leadership style has touched, encouraged and energized congregations across the nation. Also, Bishop McKee’s skills in communication are diverse and exemplary.

North Texas delegation chair the Rev. Don Underwood has high praise for Bishop McKee.

“I think Bishop McKee is the perfect fit for the North Texas Conference,” Underwood said. “He will bring strong leadership that is coupled with sensitivity, compassion and the heart of a true servant of Christ,” he said.

Born in Fort Worth, Bishop McKee and his wife, Joan, have two daughters, Meredith McKee of Dallas and Erin McKee Chidsey, who now lives in Los Angeles with husband Darin and son Knox.

Bishop McKee holds degrees from the University of Texas in Austin and Perkins School of Theology.

Bishop McKee assumes his post Sept. 1. Look for more on Bishop McKee in upcoming editions.

A small group of North Texas Conference leaders gathered July 24 at the invitation of Jan Davis and Ron Henderson. The purpose: to discuss ways that we lead healing our conference as we move forward together.

We are deeply aware of a variety of emotions in response to the difficult events surrounding South Central Jurisdictional Conference and the involuntary retirement of Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe. We acknowledge that our conference is fragile along many dividing lines, but we are also committed to guiding the healing process and strengthening our covenant.

We began discussions to assess ways to dialogue and rebuild trust in our conference family. This may involve a conference-wide event of worship, healing and small group dialogue. But we also acknowledge that the road to healing is not a quick fix. Healing will be a process that will take time.

Our two past lay leaders, Billy Ratcliff and Richard Hearne, joined in expressing deep concern for the unity of the conference. Pastors Tim Morrison, John Allen and Owen Ross were also present. We are in conversation with Rusty Hedges, chair of the Order of Elders; R. Jeremiah Booker, chair of Black Methodists for Church Renewal; Keith Boone, director of the Center of Leadership Development; and Scott Smith, chair of the conference episcopacy committee. Many others also have expressed concerns and ideas.

Solidarity Riders offer perspectives and prayers

“Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them!” Luke 6:31, The Message

The Gospel of Luke best describes what occurred Monday, July 16, when more than 100 people participated in “A Ride of Solidarity,” sponsored by the North Texas Conference Black Methodists for Church Renewal.

Two charter buses of Solidarity Riders and others in cars journeyed from Dallas to Oklahoma City.

The Revs. Janet Bell Odom and R. Jeremiah Booker were the driving forces behind the trip.

Photo by: Wil Murphy

The riders met at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City to pray and stand in support for Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe. Bishop Bledsoe and his advocate, the Rev. Dr. Zan W. Holmes Jr., were also at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church to meet with the South Central Jurisdictional Episcopacy Committee.

The committee convened a closed hearing with Bishop Bledsoe to determine if he would be placed on involuntary retirement.

There were prayers on the hour as we traveled on the buses to Oklahoma City.

We prayed for Bishop Bledsoe, his wife, Leslie, and for each member of the SCJ Episcopacy Committee by name. These prayers continued after we arrived at our destination.

The prayers were lifted up for fairness, due process and justice for Bishop Bledsoe as he met with this committee.

We prayed dutifully for the SCJ Episcopacy Committee and the North Texas Conference.

Prayers written by riders, including the young, were read in the chapel at St. Luke’s during a time of worship and praise.

The Solidarity Riders hoped to hear the results of the hearing before leaving Oklahoma City.

But after several hours of waiting and praying, we were told there was no action taken by then.

We boarded our buses to return to Dallas with God’s assurance that we had accomplished the purpose for which we were sent.

Supporters from around the South Central Jurisdiction also came in solidarity for Bishop Bledsoe.

The North Texas Conference laity, young and old, and clergy were witnesses to this scripture from Luke.

We prayed to God and asked ourselves what we would want other believers to do for us if we found ourselves in a time of uncertainty.

A Ride of Solidarity was initiated and stood as a sacred event in the history of the North Texas Conference as well as the South Central Jurisdiction.

Two North Texans are among the young adults being commissioned as mission interns and US-2s on Aug. 3 at Aldersgate UMC in Alexandria, Va.

Laura K. Wise will be a US-2 peace advocacy associate at Initiatives for Peace in Mindanao (In Peace), Davao City, Philippines.

Michelle Wood will go to the Methodist Church of Southern Africa in Pretoria as a US-2 child care worker, teacher and trainer.

The US-2 program was created to expose young adults to a different cultural setting.

The idea is that young adults will deepen their faith by forming a commitment to live, learn and work with traditionally marginalized communities in movements for social change. The two-year experience not only allows young adults to live out the radical gospel message, but also serves as a time of discernment in understanding where God is leading them to serve in the greater church.

Barbara Wendland, a United Methodist lay member who writes the monthly Connections letter and authored Misfits: The Church’s Hidden Strength, will host Connections Live, a gathering of progressive Christians, Sept. 28-29 in Temple.

Dr. Robin R. Meyers, senior pastor of Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ in Oklahoma City, is the featured speaker.

Dr. Meyers will speak Friday on “Galilean Sage or Supernatural Savior (or How I Became a Heretic With Help From Jesus).” On Saturday, he will lecture on “The Underground Church: Reclaiming the Subversive Way of Jesus” and lead a workshop, “Being Subversive for the Cause of Love: What Would It Look Like?”

The conference will also include Saturday afternoon presentations by a consultant on new media and by lay Christians who are working to promote justice and compassion, and bring progressive-minded people together.

The registration fee of $75 includes all materials, three meals at the hotel, and a light buffet Saturday evening. Registration deadline is Sept. 5; registrations cannot be accepted at the door. For details, see www.connectionsonline.org.

Solidarity Riders offer perspectives and prayers

Life has been defined as the sum total of all of a person’s choices. Among those choices we make throughout our lives are those that are so life-changing that they ultimately define who we are for years to come. Once you have a defining moment, you are never the same.

Supporters lay hands on Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe in prayer at the South Central Jurisdictional Conference, where he fought involuntary retirement. Solidarity Riders earlier in the week came to support him.

Photo by: Sheron C. Patterson

The secret is to discern the defining moments given to us and to learn to walk in the path that is life-giving and life-affirming. One of those defining moments for me was making the choice to get on the bus with a group of pilgrims in Dallas, Texas, and journeying to Oklahoma City, Okla., in support Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe and his ministry among us these last four years.The bus ride was a journey saturated with prayer, scripture and hymns, of laughter and tears.

Upon arrival, we received a warm welcome and extraordinary hospitality from St. Luke’s UMC, the South Central Jurisdiction host.

After a four-hour bus trip, it was refreshing and a blessing to be greeted by smiling faces and a wonderful meal. Over 150 pilgrims, ages 9 to 90, gathered at St. Luke’s during the time when Bishop Bledsoe was meeting with the South Central Jurisdictional Episcopacy Committee.

We wanted to be a visible and prayerful presence for Bishop Bledsoe, his wife, Leslie, and the SCJ Episcopacy Committee as they were deciding whether bishop’s status would remain as active in the jurisdiction.

I will close with one of my favorite scriptures, appropriate for the times in which we live:

“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

Have you ever wondered how a clergyman becomes a bishop? The selection of bishops occurs every four years at jurisdictional conferences around the nation. Although the process can be complicated, here is the basic path that many take to the episcopacy. But note that all clergy don’t follow this exact path to become a bishop.

1. The clergy person desires to serve the church on a national level, beyond the local church.

2. The clergy person seeks the endorsement from his or her Annual Conference delegation and/or other UMC organizations. In the North Texas Conference, clergy must win 80 percent of the ballots from the delegation. If no one gets 80 percent, there is no endorsement for the episcopacy

3. The clergy person interviews with the all the Annual Conference delegations in the jurisdiction.

4. The clergy person puts a strategy team together to assist in connecting with other delegations.

5. The clergy person attends the Jurisdictional Conference and enters the election process. Candidates need votes from delegates of all Annual Conferences in their jurisdiction.

6. A clergy person who gets at least 60 percent of the votes is elected. The number of bishops elected is determined by the number of bishops who are retiring.

North Texas United Methodists may never forget the South Central Jurisdictional Conference, held July 16-20 in Oklahoma City, because of its dramatic lows and exhilarating highs. Here is a chronology of the week.

Monday, July 16

NTC Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe has a hearing at St. Luke’s UMC with the South Central Jurisdictional Episcopacy Committee to determine if he will be involuntarily retired.

North Texas clergy and laity travel to Oklahoma City, some by bus, to pray for Bishop Bledsoe.

Tuesday, July 17

The South Central Jurisdictional Episcopacy Committee decides Bishop Bledsoe will be involuntarily retired. The committee votes 24 in favor, four against and two abstaining.

Wednesday, July 18

Annual Conference delegations meet and are briefed on the Jurisdictional Episcopacy Committee Report.

Thursday, July 19

Don House, chairman of the South Central Jurisdictional Episcopacy Committee, addresses the conference regarding the report and asks for approval to retire Bishop Bledsoe.

Bishop Bledsoe addresses the conference in his defense.

Conference delegates vote to retire Bishop Bledsoe involuntarily.

The Rev. Gary Mueller, pastor of First UMC Plano, is elected bishop.

Friday, July 20

The Rev. Michael McKee, pastor of First UMC Hurst, is elected bishop.

Episcopal assignments are made: Bishop Mueller goes to Arkansas, and Bishop Michael McKee to North Texas. Bishop Bledsoe is not given an episcopal assignment.

What’s next

The national edition of the United Methodist Reporter says Bishop Bledsoe has asked the UMC’s Judicial Council to overturn his involuntary retirement and give him an episcopal area to oversee. He has asked that his appeal be put on its October docket.

Letter from Gary Mueller

Brothers and Sisters in the North Texas Conference: So much has changed in past few days. In all honesty, I’m still trying to wrap my mind around what has happened and what it will mean.

The three bishops elected at the SCJ conference, Michael McKee, from left, Gary Mueller and Cynthia Fierro Harvey, who is going to Louisiana.

Photo by: Shari Goodwin

But I have come to grips with one reality: I no longer will be part of the North Texas Conference.

I am grieving this significant change in my life. Ever since this Kansas kid moved to Dallas 35 years ago to attend seminary, you have embraced me. Indeed, you have been my family. My heart is filled with decades of images of all that we have experienced together.

During these past years, we have been the body of Christ in a world that so needs the love Jesus offers. We have sought to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We have scaled mountains and, at times, languished in valleys.

Quite simply, we have shared in ministry, made mistakes, laughed and cried, experienced incredible grace and forgiveness, and grown and journeyed through life. I truly am grateful and blessed to have served with faithful laity, talented pastors and vital congregations. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

The last year has been an amazing experience as I was honored by those of you who know me best (and that means you also know my foibles and failings) with your endorsement as a candidate for the episcopacy. I met wonderful people, was pushed to think about our church’s future in new ways and grew far more than I imagined possible. Your support, love and talent at “keeping me real” has been a true gift. I could say thank you for the rest of my life and never run out of words of gratitude.

We United Methodists are at critical juncture. Are we are going to be a dying institution or a vibrant, positive and faithful church? The churches and people of the North Texas Conference have an incredible future as you provide leadership so we are that church that reaches people with Jesus’ love, transforms their lives and gets them on board with God, who is at work in the world. I am excited for you, will learn from you and always in prayer for you.

Please keep in touch with Wink and me as we move to Little Rock. Pray constantly for us. And, every day in every way, let’s all get hungrier and hungrier to follow Jesus.

I love you, my sisters and brothers!

Grace and peace
Gary E. Mueller