After serving eight years as chancellor of the North Texas Annual Conference, attorney John Croft will retire April 1. Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe has worked closely with Croft over the years and praised him and his service to the conference. “His focus and attention to details and the laws of the church and the nation enabled us to better serve the church,” Bishop Bledsoe said. “He will be sorely missed as the conference’s chief lawyer.” 

Croft, a native of Jacksonville, Texas, holds undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was in the top 10 percent of his law class. This former Army captain spent most of his career at the Exxon Corp. As conference chancellor, he represented the College of Bishops, South Central Jurisdiction, before the Judicial Council in the Bush Library Case, Decision No. 1113, in 2009.

Croft served as co-chair of the Building Committee and chairman of the Church Council at Highland Park UMC. He is a member of the executive board of Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University.

He is married to Kathryn Garlock, and they have three children, Karen, Michael and Allison, and five grandchildren.

In a parting interview with Sheron C. Patterson, UMR editor, he offered a behind-the-scenes look into the world of law and faith.

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What does a chancellor do?

In our conference, the chancellor is the legal adviser to the bishop in his official capacity. The duties vary somewhat in the different Annual Conferences. Previous bishops called on the chancellor almost entirely for advice on secular, not church, law. Bishop Bledsoe has sought advice on both church and secular legal matters. He has also asked the chancellor to serve as Annual Conference parliamentarian. That is a good idea, I think, and consistent with the practices of other conferences.

Why does a bishop need a legal adviser?

It is not wise to act as one’s own lawyer, even when you think you know the answer. Of course, when a secular legal matter comes up, particularly a lawsuit or other such claim, a licensed attorney is essential. Both types of matters come up more often than I would wish.

What’s best about the job?

The best part of the job is being helpful to the bishop and other leaders in the conference. I have made some wonderful friendships among the clergy, staff and laity of this conference. It is true that there are no atheists in the foxhole. When serious legal issues have come along, I have worked with some of our very wisest clergy. Lawyers aren’t the most popular of professionals, but they are certainly appreciated when the deputy sheriff shows up at the door with a warrant. I have felt truly appreciated in those foxholes of life. Oh, yes, there have been a warrant or two in the last eight years. I suppose I should mention my two trips to our UM supreme court, one far more successful than the other. But that is how it goes in my profession – you do win some and you are likely to lose some. At Bishop Norris’ request, I represented the entire College of Bishops in what I call the George Bush Library case [a controversy over the site at SMU]. It was one of the most important cases I have ever been involved in. It was a team victory, but it turned out right, I thought. As to the other case [on the organizational structure of the NTC], I still think Bishop Bledsoe was right; unfortunately the Judicial Council didn’t.

What is the hardest part of the job?

The hardest part of the job is when someone violates the trust bestowed in them under the ordination process. Sadly, that does happen from time to time. It is a time when we have to recognize that human sin and error occur among church folk, as well as “out there.”

Any overall reflections on the NTC?

I think the North Texas Conference is the very best, and I am familiar with quite a few.

Any parting wishes?

My parting wish is that my successor enjoys a quiet term. I suppose my other parting wish is that the Jurisdictional Conference recognizes the sterling leadership qualities that I see in Gary Mueller [NTC endorsed candidate for bishop].

What are the financial implications facing the 2012 General Conference? God provides the church resources to accomplish its mission – and one of those essential resources is money. Money enables us to fulfill God’s mission, and we must be responsible stewards of God’s gift. We must target our resources carefully to be most effective in ministry.

The local church pays apportionments to the Annual Conference, the Jurisdictional Conference and the General Conference. Those General Conference apportionments really add up to about $640 million.

Jan Davis, clergy delegate to the General Conference, will represent the North Texas Conference in the Financial Administration Legislative Committee and will be “shadowed” by Natasha Ray, Jurisdictional lay delegate, and Jodi Smith, conference treasurer. There are two major issues to be tackled by the Financial Administration committee – the quadrennial budget and proposed changes to the clergy pension plan.

The budget for the General Church is a four-year budget. The General Council on Finance and Administration, or GCFA, must submit a quadrennial budget to the General Conference for approval for 2012-2016.

Three scenarios

GCFA’s economic advisory committee proposed three budget scenarios based on economic predictions. The members recommend a $603.1 million budget that they believe is the best option be- cause it is realistic and predicts slow economic recovery.

This is a decrease of $38.77 million, or 6.53 percent, from the last quadrennium’s budget. GCFA should be commended for its diligence in trimming the budget for the first time in decades, but many believe it is still not enough.

The North Texas delegation has submitted a petition asking for a $96.28 million, or 15 percent, reduction in the budget. To successfully accomplish our mission, more money needs to be put back into local churches, which have had to significantly sharpen their pencils on their own budgets. There are 36 petitions involving clergy retirement, benefits legislation and the church system task force report that deals with the health of clergy.

We are at a crossroads in our denomination because there is great tension between providing sound, adequate lifetime benefits for clergy and their spouses and ensuring that our Annual Conferences can pay for the benefits over the long term. The cost of supporting full-time clergy increasingly exceeds the ability of small congregations to pay. The church must reduce costs and improve predictability in different market situations.

The General Board of Pension and Health Benefits appointed a Sustainability Advisory group that worked four months to come up with proposals.

The plans

GBPHB is bringing two proposed plans: a defined- benefit and defined-contribution combined program (DB&DC) and a defined-contribution-only (DC) plan.

In a DC-only plan, the contribution is defined and the clergy manage their own account balances to use during their retirement. The payout for clergy depends on what happens in the market. The participant bears the risk, but it protects the Annual Conference and removes future pension liabilities.

In the defined-benefit (DB) plan, the participant receives monthly pension payments for life. The Annual Conference has the investment risk, not the participant. The DB&DC combined plan is the recommendation of the board. The combined plan is a balanced approach and shares risk between the clergy and the Annual Conference.

Compared to today’s CRSP plan, the DB benefit formula is changed from 1.25 percent of the denominational average compensation to 1 percent, and the DC non-matching contribution changes from 3 percent of participant compensation to 2 percent.

Davis and Smith support the board’s recommendation. The plans have been carefully vetted, and they believe this is the best of the three solutions.

The worst solution is to stay with what we have now, which we will not be able to afford.

A trip to the Rio Grande Valley is among the many taken over the years by Christ UMC of Farmers Branch

By KATHY GUIER
Special Contributor

The Adult Mission Home Repair Team of Christ United Methodist Church of Farmers Branch has just returned from a week of renovating a home in Pharr, Texas. It was the latest in a series of similar projects that began with the church’s youth ministry and that date back for decades.

The assignment on this trip was to replace a severely leaking roof and repair water damage to two bedrooms on the house of Becky, who has liver disease and needs a transplant, and her daughter Velma, her full-time caregiver. The home was originally owned by Becky’s father, who was a Methodist minister.

The repairs required removing the roof over two bedrooms down to the rafters. New rafters were installed to increase the pitch of the roof, and new decking and roofing put on.

The water damage from the leaks into the two bedrooms, which were add-ons to the original structure, had destroyed the interior and the contents of both rooms and an adjoining storage room and carport. All the contents had to be removed and hauled off. The two bedrooms were then stripped to the studs and a center closet section between the rooms was removed. Rotted base plates and studs were removed and replaced, the walls were insulated, new drywall was installed, and joints were taped and bedded.

The result was one much larger bedroom. The area still needs to be painted and new flooring installed, a project that will probably be done by Velma and other family members.

The mission team accomplished this task in 41⁄2 days. The mission participants were grateful for the opportunity to serve others and felt blessed by a sense of accomplishment, particularly given how appreciative and grateful the family was. To express their appreciation, Becky and Velma served lunch to the entire mission team on the last full day of work. Becky, who was soon celebrating her birthday, told the mission team what a wonderful present she had received!

This latest visit was coordinated through Susan Hellums, a member of First UMC McAllen who is the Border Area mission coordinator for the Methodist Border Friendship Commission, and Roland Pecina, program construction coordinator. The team, which included Joe and Doris Williams, Richard Ramsay, Connie Bouas, Kathy Guier, Jerry Russell, Kyle Walters, Ed Kay, Mark MacDonald, Soila Escamilla and Jim Casten, stayed at the San Juan UMC Bunkhouse.

Christ UMC Farmers Branch has long placed emphasis on mission outreach, especially in home repairs. The youth have been involved in home repair ministry for almost 30 years, starting with the Appalachia Service Project, originally sponsored by The United Methodist Church.

The Adult Mission Team had its beginning in 1996, when several members who had been counselors to the youth on the Appalachia trips decided to make the experience available to adults of Christ UMC as well.

The adults made their first home repair mission trip that year to an Appalachia Service Project year-round center in Jonesville, Va. The home repair ministry grew with the formation of a Young Adults group that also went to Appalachia the same year.

The Adult Team worked annually in Appalachia for 10 years until Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Texas Gulf Coast in 2005. The mission effort then shifted to the Rita Recovery Program, addressing needs in the Beaumont/Port Arthur area and then in Galveston after Hurricane Ike. From 2006 through 2010, the adult team made 10 trips to those areas for disaster repairs.

In February 2011, the team was referred to the program in the Rio Grande Valley by Marji Bishir of the Center for Missional Outreach at the North Texas Conference. The area needed help after Hurricane Alex and Tropical Depression 2 made landfall around Brownsville before turning in to Mexico in summer 2010. The infrastructure for help in this area is in place, and the need for volunteers is still great. The Pharr trip was Christ UMC’s third to the Rio Grande Valley.

One of the great things about the trips is the inclusiveness. Through the years, the teams have been composed of people with few repair skills to those who are quite proficient, and all are amazed at what they accomplish. Another bonus: The outreach has drawn non-church members, who also find the experience rewarding.

Christ Church is also active locally in the Amigos Days program of the North Texas Conference. Two weekends this April have already been scheduled to do home repairs for a woman in the Fair Park area of Dallas.

By MARJI BISHIR
Center for Missional Outreach

For years, the General Board of Global Ministries had its board meetings in Stamford, Conn.

This year, General Secretary Thomas Kemper decided the semi-annual board meeting should be someplace different, so it was held at Christ UMC in Plano. The members, including the Women’s Division and the United Methodist Committee on Relief, flew in from all over the globe for meetings held March 16-18.

“They have members from around the world, and for a week we were able to connect with them and to serve those that serve others. For one week, we were honored and humbled to even be a small part in helping them with their mission of serving others near and far,” said Tina Wilson, the lead organizer and a lay member of Christ UMC.

Because board members are nominated every four years at General Conference, the meeting was the last one for this group of directors.

One afternoon, the board members and staff split off to mission sites all over the North Texas Conference. Some went to the Justice for Our Neighbors legal clinic at Umphress Road UMC in Dallas, Crossroads Community Services at First UMC Dallas, One Man’s Treasure Clothes Closet (a ministry started at First UMC Rockwall), Seven Loaves Food Pantry at St. Andrews UMC in Plano or Wesley Rankin Community Center in West Dallas.

Another group went to the Conference Ministry Center to hear presentations about international missions. They also learned about missions unique to Christ UMC, such as House on the Corner, in which the church constructs a house in its parking lot and moves it to a permanent site for a family in need, and Project Hope, a coaching program to move people out of poverty.

Pulling off the board meeting was a huge undertaking for the church. One volunteer took an entire week off of work to help the church run the event. The Rev. Tom Hazelwood of the UMCOR staff said, “While the logistics of meeting in Plano were a bit more difficult, the hospitality of the North Texas Conference in general and Christ UMC in Plano in particular made for a wonderful meeting.” The volunteers and staff at Christ went far above and beyond the call to provide a welcoming atmosphere. I think everyone felt more at home meeting in a church facility.”

Dr. Don Underwood, pastor of Christ UMC, was pleased that his was the first local congregation in recent history to host the General Board of Global Ministries.

“Our emphasis on missions made this a perfect fit for both organizations, and everyone enjoyed the fellowship as well as the work,” he said. “This is a great example of how the partnership between an agency and a local congregation can create synergy that leads to more effective and vital congregations.”

Among some of the important decisions made in the meetings was the UMCOR board vote to approve $2.1 million for disaster projects in conferences in North Carolina, North Alabama, Missouri and Upper New York.

It’s often said that the mission field begins at home.

That was the case for the youth of Wheatland United Methodist Church over spring break as they put together their own in-town mission trip called “Mission: Dallas.”

They served at Crossroads Community Services, affiliated with First UMC Dallas, sorting clothes, sizing shoes, stacking canned goods and packaging diapers.

The Rev. Jay Cole, Crossroads director, explained the mission and goals of Crossroads, which served 4,600 households in 2011. The youth learned that each family has unique needs.

Some, for instance, have pets. When families struggle to make ends meet, pets often go hungry. Two Wheatland volunteers were put to work repackaging 17 large bags of dry cat food that had been donated. The group also served a day at Austin Street Shelter, on the out- skirts of downtown Dallas, where 450 homeless men, women and children are housed each night.

“At both agencies, the youth learned what you call a homeless or needy person receiving services: They are called clients,” said the Rev. Peter McNabb, Wheatland’s pastor.

“The term is a sign of respect and one used by medical, legal and business professionals to address those they serve. It sends a strong message.”

The youth from Wheatland and the House of Healing Mennonite Church, which shares part of the Wheatland campus, were housed at no charge by Oak Lawn UMC in the Uptown section of Dallas. In addition to serving at the agencies, the youth visited downtown sites including Thanksgiving Square, the Chase Tower, Farmers Market and Pioneer Park. Staying in town also saved gas and made Mission: Dallas more affordable.

It cost just $10 a person.

C.C. Young kicked off its yearlong 90th Birthday and Anniversary Celebrations on March 16 with more than 100 residents age 90 or better. The event included a slide show of C.C. Young’s history, a hymn sing-along and cake.

C.C. Young, named for the Methodist pastor who stepped down from Tyler Street UMC in Dallas to found it, was chartered in 1922 in south Dallas where Methodist Hospital now stands. Today C.C. Young is a continuing care, nonprofit retirement community on 20 acres next to White Rock Lake.

Prosper UMC is celebrating its 110th anniversary this month. The congregation originated in Rock Hill, Texas. In 1901, the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad decided to build a railroad in Prosper. In 1902, the Rock Hill settlement moved lock, stock and barrel to Prosper to be near the station.

The Methodist Episcopal Church South moved its place of worship, a simple frame structure including a belfry with a large bell, to Church and Third streets. The current Prosper UMC building, built in 1924, stands on the original church site, and materials from the original structure became part of the existing church.

Today the congregation still worships in the sanctuary decorated with 23 stained- glass windows honoring church families of past and present generations.

Online Giving Can Raise Your Church's Income!

April 12, 2012
6:30 p.m. CST

Online giving through electronic funds transfer (EFT) is not the offering of future, it is already here! Churches that have offered this to their people are seeing more income through the consistency of EFT, while their donors are appreciating the convenience!

Reserve your Webinar seat now! A complete list of GBOD Webinars for local church leaders (and archives of Webinars you might have missed) can be found at http://www.gbod.org/Webinar_Archives.htm.

Register now!

Shares its Varied Ministries:

On Friday, March 16th, the Southeast Dallas Parish Ministries shared how each church undergirded a three-base Missional Priority of The Church. Those components highlighted included, of the United Methodist Church’s 2008-2012 quadrennium foci, “Ministries with the Poor” and the United Methodist Women’s “Mission in Action” and “The Shalom Ministries.” A delegation of The Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church, along with United Methodist Women representatives of Pleasant Mound – Urban Park, St. Marks Mesquite, and Umphress Road United Methodist Churches gathered at Umphress Road UMC dialogued about these three churches’ Shalom outreach. Mary Beth Garcia, Executive Director for Justice for our Neighbors Ministry provided a detailed power point presentation. This ministry is an Immigration and Citizen Clinic that is currently serving 200 families per month. This ministry is housed in Pleasant Mound – Urban Park church facility.

The Southeast Dallas Cooperative Parish was organized in 1996. Although the pastorate leadership has changed at Pleasant Mound – Urban Park, the initial concept for reaching out and serving the community has not changed. St. Marks Mesquite became a new member of the Parish in 2011. Today the Parish undergirds and organizes its mission and vision around the theme, “Together We Can! Make a Difference in our Communities.”

Pastor Annelda Crawford, pastor of Pleasant Mound – Urban Park identified the church’s ministries of Nova Academy Charter School with an enrollment of 240 students, grades K-6; A year round Project Transformation program with an after-school tutorial component and a summer component for grades 1-9; A site for the Kiwanis Club that is dedicated to changing the world; one child at a time; Amigos Days participant that is a United Methodist Church community clean-up day in conjunction with the City of Dallas

Pastor Levy Leguardia, 20+ years pastor of Umphress Road highlighted its ministries of CLIMB (Changing Lives, Improving Minds and Body) an Afterschool program that convenes for 25-30 children in partnership with the Wilkinson Center, Monday – Thursday of each week; Senior Citizen’s Nutrition Program, in partnership with the Dallas County Older Adults Program, that serves a hot lunch Monday – Friday to older adults in the community; Senior Ministry with the residents of Umphress Terrace (a Retirement Housing facility sponsored by C. C. Young under HUD 202 Program; a Community Crime Watch Meeting Site; VNA Meals on Wheels Site; Site for Boy Scout Troop #783 weekly Tuesday meeting

Pastor Jackye Waiters-Lee, pastor of St. Marks Mesquite shared that the church’s support for Ministries with the Poor are inclusive of the adoption of 5 schools in the Mesquite Independent School District. Over 300 students in need received a “NEW” winter coat; School supplies are provided to 5 schools in the MISD throughout the school year, i.e. October and March; Collaborative support given to the Mesquite Fire Department by providing 100+ bears; Church partners with Mesquite’s Sharing Life Community Outreach. Church members volunteer, donate clothing, household goods, and food to the Center. Also, quarterly monetary gifts are given from the church’s benevolences; Site for Boy and Cub Scout Troops #90 weekly Tuesday meeting; Future plans are the incorporation of a KIDZ KLUB University, an afterschool tutorial program for MISD students, to convene each Wednesday 3:30-4:45 p.m.

An overview of the continuous Parish Ministries activities inclusive of the Pleasant Grove Food Pantry, Annual Advent Worship Service, Bi-Monthly Board Meetings, and Annual Community Ice Cream Social were also shared with the gathered audience.

The morning was filled with joy and excitement for everyone who was in attendance!

In the wake of recent painful events in the North Texas Conference, the Executive Committee of the Board of Ministry decided it would be helpful to sponsor a Service of Healing and Wholeness. It will be held on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 1:30 pm at the First United Methodist Church of Richardson, 503 North Central Expressway, Richardson, Texas 75080.

Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe, Episcopal leader will be speaking at the service, and North Texas Conference District Superintendents and Board of Ordained Ministry members will be offering leadership in communion and anointing with oil. There will also be a time of sharing.