A Message From the Bishop

In my previous column, I used fishermen’s terms – fish or cut bait – to describe what the UMC needed to do at the 2012 General Conference.

What actually happened at the 2012General Conference may best be described in terms of a chemist who pours vastly different liquids into a test tube and stirs the tube. A frenetic combustion takes place. The mixture pops and fizzles. Eventually the chaotic action ceases, and the vastly different liquids meld. The combined liquid that comes out of the tube does not resemble the varied liquids that first entered the tube.

That’s what I believe happened at the 2012 General Conference, and I had the opportunity to see it from a different perspective than elected delegate or visitor. Bishops at General Conference do not vote, but sit on a platform that gives us a bird’s-eye view of the action of the delegates.

I witnessed various groups that came hoping to move the denomination in a number of ways. They are like the various liquids. The truth is, many of us are passionate about our church, and we all want improvement. But all the ideas and plans cannot prevail if we want to focus on the mission of the church and increase the number of vital congregations in the UMC. That’s where the chaotic action comes in. During the second week, there were heated debates and lots of tension as delegates spent hours trying to focus on an improved denomination.

At times it was not a pretty sight. I witnessed hurt feelings, disappointments, rage and dejection. However, as with the test tube, a calming eventually occurs, and the end result is a combination of liquids that look far different than those that went into the process. I witnessed many delegates, caught up in angry debates earlier, shake hands, pray and agree to work together.

I want to salute the North Texas delegation as they took major roles in the efforts to reshape the UMC. The 2012 General Conference ended with unexpected up and downs, and the North Texas delegation was in the thick of it. Many of the delegation members poured countless months and even years into legislation that would restructure the denomination.

But late on the final night of the General Conference, the approved restructuring proposal, Plan UMC, was ruled unconstitutional by the Judicial Council. Another North Texan, the Rev. Gary Mueller, played an instrumental role to ensure that women, people of color and older persons would not be hard hit by the loss of guaranteed appointments.

While this legislation was approved, it will be reviewed by the Judicial Council in the upcoming months and a ruling will be rendered.

Although many were disappointed by the rejection of Plan UMC, there are reasons for the North Texas Conference to be proud. We had North Texans working behind the scenes in the band, serving as marshals and planning worship. I was proud to see the Deaf Ministry Choir from Lovers Lane UMC signing during worship. All outstanding.

And there is one more group that I must mention. We had a group of lay and clergy North Texans who came to General Conference to watch, support and pray. They tweeted and added their voices to the experience and were a blessing to us all.

A Message From the Bishop

As many of you know, I am an avid fisherman. There is a phrase that we fishermen use: “Fish or cut bait.” It means do something or get out of the way. It also means make a decision and take action without any more delay.

I believe that the General Conference 2012 is a time when we as a church must start fishing or cutting bait. A lot is getting done here in Tampa, Fla. The atmosphere is electric. Watching United Methodists from around the globe come together is life-changing. I believe we are taking the necessary steps to strengthen our denomination for the future.

This is a defining year for The United Methodist Church. I have attended four General Conferences before as a delegate; this is my first General Conference as a bishop. The biggest difference this time is that I am proud and honored to represent such a strong, vibrant annual conference as North Texas. As I walk around the Tampa Convention Center, I am reminded that we are a church that is very diverse and fast becoming more global.

This means that we must live a different way and serve a different way. We must embrace the newness and live into it. When we do, the church will find a relevant place in our society. Since many of you are watching and reading about General Conference, I want to offer a few pointers to help you interpret actions effectively.

Don’t rush to judgment about an issue because of national news reports. The national media tend to spotlight the most controversial topics and events, neglecting other meaningful and important legislation.

Look to our website, northtexasumc.org, to follow reports from our denomination’s news services. The North Texas delegates, the North Texas United Methodist Reporter staff and I are constantly sending fresh news and event updates to the website so that you can access what matters most to North Texas.

Keep up with the status of the Call to Action throughout the General Conference. This powerful piece of legislation could turn our denomination around for the good.

Pray for those of us in Tampa as we move the church forward to make disciples of Jesus Christ to help transform the world.

A Message From the Bishop

Easter Sunday is over, but I thank God that the resurrecting power of Jesus Christ never ends. I am certain that glorious worship services filled all of our churches last Sunday.

Our Annual Conference is blessed with anointed preachers, teachers and musical professionals. Our challenge is to keep that Jesus joy all the time.

I want us never to forget that the world is watching us, especially during this post-Easter period. They watch us to see whether we act like Jesus got up from the dead. After Easter is our crucial time to be witnesses for Christ. We Christians often call ourselves a people of the resurrection. Let’s challenge ourselves to truly show the world what a resurrected people look like. There are two ways to accomplish this.

First, we must have an overcomer’s attitude. Overcomers know that the even the most dark and dreary night will eventually end with the rising of the sun. Overcomers do not wait until the battle is over before they shout. They know that in the end, they will win. 

Secondly, like Jesus, we should shake off death. Jesus put death in its place by his resurrecting power. If we are honest, there are some dead issues and situations in our lives that we need to put in their place. Holding on to negative issues from the past is harmful and never helpful. The weight of yesterday hinders us from being who God calls us to be.

North Texas Conference, an overcomer’s attitude is what we need as we move into a busy season of church meetings (General Conference in Tampa, Fla., Annual Conference in Plano and Jurisdictional Conference in Oklahoma City). I pray that these three major meetings are covered in positive attitudes that stem from the power of Christ. 

Too much is at stake to forfeit our progress with a spirit of hopelessness. In fact, there is a great resource called “Pray for General Conference.” It is an online devotional guide from Abingdon Press that seeks to unite us around daily prayer leading up to the start of General Conference on April 24. Also, do not underestimate the impact of holding on to negativity in your life.

I am grateful for the Board of Ordained Ministry for its leadership of the recent Service of Healing and Wholeness. The members realized that the clergy were burdened with painful issues, and the weight threatened to divide us. During that service, we came clean, admitted our concerns and decided to leave them behind. Join me.

Let’s show the world that we truly are a people of the resurrection in thought, word and deed.

A Message From the Bishop

The word leadership is on my mind and in my heart as I write this column.

Friends, this Annual Conference is blessed by an abundance of quality leadership, especially among our laity. Leaders have the God-given ability to understand their season to lead in relation to God’s plans for their lives. You see, there is a time to begin leading and a time to cease. The realization of both time periods reflects the leaders’ relationship with and obedience to God. First, let me lift up John Croft as an example of a leader who is ending his time of leading. John has been the Annual Conference chancellor for eight years and has done a remarkable job.

He recently informed me that he is retiring from this post. I am sure that John will continue to serve in other ways and remain active in his church, Highland Park UMC, but he listened to God. He came to an understanding that this season of service is over. That’s leadership. Second, let me lift up an example of those who are beginning to lead. Due to the work of many, our Annual Conference has a refined and functional nominations process to bring lay persons into service in our conference-level committees. This new system has brought forth many talented people who feel God nudging them into action.

Many from across the conference submitted forms and demonstrated a willingness to serve. They are responding to the call of God in their lives to get started. That is leadership, too.

Any column on leadership must also reflect the ultimate leadership of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. During this Lenten season, we witness His leadership put to the test. Jesus knew what it meant to start His time of service. He also knew what it meant to end His time of service.

The scriptures give countless examples of Jesus’ leadership. Luke 14:11 touches my heart because it reveals the humility required of leadership. Jesus said, “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

That’s leadership.

The North Texas Conference Cabinet and I just returned from the Perkins Lectures at First UMC Wichita Falls. What a testimony of inspiration and insight from Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson, the Roger Woodruff Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta.

This year the lecture series was about the Book of James. I thought I knew the basic content of James’ message. But after listening to Dr. Johnson, I gained new revelations and greater insight about the book and the message for the church today.

You might ask, “Bishop, what did you learn?”

I’m glad you asked! I discovered that the Book of James may have been written earlier than many of Paul’s letters and much earlier than the synoptic gospels.

The target audience and focus of the book suggests that it was written to the Jewish Christians in the diaspora prior to any formal organization of church structure or hierarchy.

I discovered that the Book of James has a lot to say to the Christian church, especially those of us formed and developed in the Wesleyan tradition.

Dr. Johnson laid out his brilliantly delivered lectures in ways that kept me on the edge of my seat as he weaved historical criticism and theological development into a pattern of beliefs and practices for the Christian church.

His first lecture was on “Friendship With the World and Friendship With God: The Need to Choose.” Subsequent lectures from the Book of James included “The Power of Speech for God and Evil,” “Faith and Faithful Use of Possessions” and “Christian Community: Competition or Cooperation?”

I want to thank Kay Yeager and the Perkins/ Prothro family for their generosity and leadership in bringing the lectures to Wichita Falls each year since 1943.

I thank the Rev. Paul Goodrich and the staff and members of First UMC Wichita Falls for extending hospitality to other clergy and guests in the greater community to come and enjoy the fellowship, music, worship and educational opportunities.

I hear that the 2013 lecturer will be our very own Dr. William B. Lawrence, dean of the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University.

My hope and prayer are that the entire North Texas Conference, both clergy and laity, will come and support this event.

It’s great and stimulating teaching/preaching.

And the fellowship is awesome!

This year is a year to celebrate many things, but one celebration should not be overlooked. It is the 40th anniversary of the creation of the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women.

It was at the 1972 General Conference that the first study commission was created and in 1976 that it was expanded to become a churchwide agency. Its purpose is to assist The United Methodist Church in identifying and correcting institutional sexism in order to bring women, both clergy and laity, into full participation in the witness, work and leadership of Christian communion.

I reflect back on my father's words as I left home in 1970, telling me that women were not called to preach, primarily because he had not seen women preachers in his ministry formation years.

Upon enrolling in Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, I discovered that women were indeed called to preach and serve in all facets of the church.

Change is hard for all of us, and when we experience something new or different, it often seems suspect. But I thank God for the pioneers in our society who persevere and demonstrate the power of God by overcoming the barriers of sexism.

Several of us just returned from the Liberia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church in Africa, where we witnessed firsthand the leadership of women. The first Sunday there, I preached at First United Methodist Church of Monrovia, which is pastored by the Rev. Erlene Thompson, a woman of great stature and spirituality. Many of Liberia's leaders, including the president, are members of this congregation.

I just finished reading This Child Will Be Great by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female president of the Republic of Liberia. In her book, she shares her story of being raised by a Christian mother, educated by The Methodist Church, hurt by an abusive husband and abusive male-dominated political leadership in the country, and faced the barriers of sexism and male dominance in the world.

She persevered and overcame many of these barriers by her strong faith in God and the educational opportunities afforded her. She tells the story that just a few days after her birth, an old wise man came to see her. He told her parents: "This child will be great!"

We as a church need to thank God for and celebrate the work of women in the church.

As bishop of the North Texas Conference, I would ask all congregations to observe the 40th anniversary by designating at least one Sunday as General Commission on the Status and Role of Women Sunday, using the time to celebrate the achievements of girls and women.

I've also asked the Rev. Dr. Larry George's office to seek ways in which we can recognize the work of women at this year's Annual Conference session. Indeed, we have much to be thankful for.

The Bible teaches us that "the earnest prayers of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results" (New Living Translation).

I am certainly a witness to this. The prayers of the North Texas Annual Conference have covered me and my family following the passing of my granddaughter Hannah. Your cards, calls and concern ensured that we felt the loving power of God.

I am especially thankful to the 180-plus members of my Prayer Team. This group receives prayer requests from me, and they get on their knees. It all makes a difference. Prayer does change things.

All of the above is more than enough, but there is still more kindness flowing from this wonderful annual conference.

At the Clergy Covenant Day on Jan. 30, I was presented with a prayer blanket. It was embroidered with my name and the name of my wife, Leslie. There were knots tied along all the borders. I was told that a women's group from one of our local churches created it, and they prayed for us as they tied each knot.

My eyes filled with tears when this blanket was placed in my arms as I felt the tangible love and support of all of you. The women's group that created the blanket chose to remain anonymous. I suppose they wanted everyone to feel connected to their project.

It worked. I have never felt so much pain in my life; yet I have never felt so loved in my life as well. Thank you!

The recent death of my 9-year-old granddaughter Hannah is one of the most trying situations I have ever faced. I was blessed to preach this eulogy at her funeral Jan. 28. Below is an excerpt.

If anyone would have suggested that a grandfather would be giving the eulogy for one of his grandchildren, I would not have believed it. No great-grandparent, grandparent, mother, father, older brothers or sisters would ever think of having to bury a child, but such is our occasion today. My good friend, the Rev. Dr. Hector Grant of San Antonio, reminded me that "the deepest sorrow is not death, but the unnatural ordering of death." In our minds, we usually think: great-grandparents die, grandparents die, parents die and then their children. That is our hoped-for ordering of life and death.

However, we all know that this is not always the way in which our human experience is lived out. And when that hoped-for ordering is broken, there is true mourning. So the question for us is, "Where is God in the process?" Dr. Grant had to remind a bishop of the church, and I remind us all that God cries with us.

The name Hannah in Hebrew means beauty and passion, and that she was. Not only was she a beautiful child from the inside out, but one who had a passion for life. Hannah was precocious.

She had a special insight that enabled her to get along with everyone and to show the love of God in very special ways. Hannah at an early age developed a love for technology and used it quite well. When her mom gave her a cell phone for emergency purposes, Hannah would call all those in the family needing an encouraging word. The only problem is that the calls were often made late at night.

Hannah's dream was to go to college, study veterinarian medicine and become a veterinarian. She loved people and she loved animals.

We may not be able to see Hannah complete her dream, but we can enable Hannah's dream to be lived out in the lives of others. An endowment/scholarship fund has been established at the Texas Methodist Foundation in Austin to enable Hannah's dream to become a reality in the life of another.

What can we say during a difficult time such as this? I have learned that our words, though many, are just not adequate for such an occasion. The prayers, visits, cards, flowers, gifts and expressions of love enable us to know that we are not alone in our grief, that others have walked this path and empathize with our loss. I've walked this path with many families and uttered words of hope and comfort, but it is so different when it is your own family that grieves the loss.

The only sense of peace that I have experienced is from the word of God. That word begins in the Book of Samuel with the name Hannah and her devotion to God, crying out to God for a son and making a vow to God that when the child was weaned, she would give him over to the Lord for service. God heard Hannah's prayer and blessed her with a child. She named him Samuel and gave him over to the temple for upbringing.

The second word comes from the Book of Psalms and reminds us "that weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning."

We all have done our share of weeping. If I could take away the pain of a loving daughter weeping for her baby child, as a father I would. However, that is not possible – we all have to weep and cry for our children. Weeping is a part of the natural process of grieving, and everyone grieves in his or her own way. Hannah would remind us that it's OK to cry. The tears for the loss of a child are ways in which we experience catharsis and get our hurts out. For some, it may be for a short time; for others, the hurt and pain may be there for a long time. No matter how long, each of us must grieve in our own way.

There will be a time when we come to know the love and care of the true and living God that enables us to experience what those first believers experienced when they discovered that Christ was not dead, but alive for ever more.

We will see Hannah again because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Until that time, we have all these signs and reminders of the gift that God gave us in the life of Hannah. When we see her pictures, her smile and her unique way of expressing the joy of life, we will rejoice in the Lord for such a great gift.

The Apostle Paul reminds us that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." So weep on . . . joy comes in the morning!

Have you ever seen glimpses of God's grace in life?

Normally, I try to respect the privacy of individuals and what they do for others in life, but I witnessed an act of love that is too good to not share.

Nearly a year ago, you may have read in The Dallas Morning News about a woman who was hit by a car on Central Expressway.

She was listed as "Jane Doe" because there was no identification.

Well, Jane Doe turned out to be the mother of my college-age daughter's boyfriend, Brandon.

As you can imagine, it was an emotional and trying time as we visited the family and prayed for the mother. She died in the hospital without ever regaining consciousness.

A year has passed since then.

This past week, we celebrated Leslie's 65th birthday.

I arrived home and found Brandon cooking a meal of smothered pork chops, green beans and corn on the cob.

On the anniversary of his mom's death, Brandon chose to spend the day with Leslie and provide our family with a wonderful meal. What an act of grace and love!

When we can live out our grief in caring and sharing with others, I believe we are experiencing God's grace at its best.

Where have you seen glimpses of God's grace in life?

As we begin another year, I want to focus more on the spiritual side of episcopal leadership.

We as a conference have been going full steam with metrics and measures of fruitfulness and accountability.

But we should not forget where the motivation and inspiration for fruitfulness really comes from: our relationship with God and one another.

To that end, I'll be working with our communications team to put together The Bishop's Prayer Team.

Join the Bishop's Prayer Team

Anyone can sign up to be on the team.

Essentially, you agree to pray for the bishops and leaders of the church, our churches' mission and ask God's help in guiding our work together.

I hope you will join me in one of the greatest opportunities we have: to pray for one another.

May God bless!

Happy New Year, again! During my daily devotions, I decided to look up the word new in the Bible.

To my surprise, practically every book in the Old and New Testaments contains the word new.

It's as if every moment God's people who wrote about their encounters with the holy spirit were confronted with something new.

This year, 2012, will be challenging for us in The United Methodist Church.

The question for those of us in the mainline church will be whether we will embrace change and trust in the power of God to lead us to become a movement reaching the next generation or whether we will shrink back in fear of change, holding on to what is comfortable and familiar.

I, for one, am excited about God's future for the church.

It amazes me what God can accomplish through individuals with open hearts and willing spirits to seek and discern the will of God for their lives.

I've discovered that no matter what our circumstances, life never stays the same.

I've also discovered that it is my attitude toward change that determines my outcome.

The good news is that God has equipped us with the ability to choose our attitude.

Although there are many uncertainties in 2012, I choose to rejoice in the true and living God who will do a great work in us and through us during the coming year.

I like the pastor and scholar Eugene Petersen's interpretation of Isaiah 42:5-9 in The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language: "God's message, the God who created the cosmos, stretched out the skies, laid out the earth and all that grows from it, who breathes life into earth’s people, makes them alive with his own life: 'I am God. I have called you to live right and well. I have taken responsibility for you, kept you safe. I have set you among my people to bind them to me and provided you as a lighthouse to the nations, to make a start at bringing people into the open, into light: opening blind eyes, releasing prisoners from dungeons, emptying the dark prisons. I am God. That's my name. I don't franchise my glory, don't endorse the no-god idols. Take note: The earlier predictions of judgment have been fulfilled. I'm announcing the new salvation work. Before it bursts on the scene, I'm telling you all about it.' "

Happy and blessed New Year!