Throughout history, Methodists have taken advantage of the newest innovations in communication, including the telephone, radio and television.

But I have become frustrated because even though I have all these tools, I find I am not using the “accepted” method of communication. One dear friend told me not to call or email her – just text her. I have discovered that many youth and others no longer answer the cell phone (unless they want to speak to you specifically) or read their emails – they’d rather see a “tweet.”

This has caused me to be a little concerned about what is happening in our society and church. We are becoming so technologically advanced that we are losing the face-to-face interaction that makes us human and complete. We have substituted honest, sincere, caring and loving conversation with Facebook posts that say “I am going to the grocery store” or “check-ins” at Sonic or Starbucks.

For us to truly communicate the love and grace of Jesus Christ, we must have a personal relationship with people to witness to them. The sound of love and concern in someone’s voice, a gentle touch and the look into someone’s eyes are what really make a difference. I have never been witnessed to nor have I witnessed to others through any other communication than face to face.

If we, the laity and clergy, are going to revive The United Methodist Church, we need to do it through personal contact.

If we again become a movement of committed disciples seeking God’s will by being in ministry with those on the margins – and not an institution – God will use us for mighty purposes.

I have often dreaded going to be with the poor, homeless and hungry – I am busy and it is such an obligation. But when I go, I am always the one who benefits. I am the one who is blessed by the presence and the thanks of those less fortunate than I am. How about you?

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.

From Bogata to Burkburnett 

From Bogata to Burkburnett
by Richard Hearne

From Bogata to Burkburnett
by Richard Hearne

On a recent rainy Sunday, I paused to reflect on our commitment as United Methodist Christians to attend our places of worship. The weather coupled with the normal downturn following Easter resulted in many empty spaces in the pews. As soon as I got home from church, I turned on the TV and listened to the news about the latest rise in gasoline prices and the possibility that we could pay $6 a gallon. Now this really interested me because it takes about a gallon of gas for me to go round trip from my home to University Park UMC.

Wow, I said to myself, each trip to the church is going to cost $6 – not a lot of money but enough to think twice about before just popping over. I then wondered how members who live longer distances away will feel about the weekly trip to Sunday School and worship. Can we expect even more spaces in the pews?

For some, attending church seems to be an obligation – something they have to do. For others, it is a duty we check off for being a good Christian and community leader. Yet for some, the lucky ones, it is a privilege to go to their sanctuary each week to joyfully worship God.

I really found it interesting several years ago when a pastor friend mentioned to me that he expected attendance to be down since it was Communion Sunday. For me, this is the highlight of the month (I wish we were like the Disciples of Christ and had it every week) and I don’t understand the attitude of not wanting to participate in Holy Communion.

Wouldn’t it be great if people wanted to come to worship each Sunday just to thank God for all their blessings and recharge their batteries for the coming week? To share in the joy of fellowship with other believers, many people with whom they have shared many wonderful and sad moments of life?

I believe if people would come to worship with a more positive attitude, they would quickly find that the preacher is doing a better job preaching, the music is more inspiring and the prayers more meaningful.

Wouldn’t it be great if the congregation got so excited that someone might dare to say “Amen” at some point? That is why I so enjoy worshipping in the black church – the congregation is there as participants and not consumers. I feel sorry for so many UM preachers who work on preparing a sermon, and the congregation just sits there with no enthusiasm or feedback. Then members walk out and say that they were not touched or fed. Maybe we are the problem – not the pastor or the choir.

I know that a church that is focused on having a spirit-filled, relevant worship service with a congregation that is participating and not consuming – that is a worship service that will be worth $6 to share. What do you think?

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.

 Being in leadership in any organization is daunting. Sometimes I find myself discouraged as I spend so much time and energy trying to lead the laity of the North Texas Conference to “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the word.” So I was delighted to read this from Albert White, a member of First UMC Coppell and the NTC Core Leadership Team. Alfred gets it and is right on target about what should be expected of laity. Here are his words:

 The North Central District had its itineration with the bishop April 16 at Custer Road UMC in Plano. Perhaps because of my role on the Core Leadership Team, I thought the event was a fabulous update on the execution of the NTC Strategic Plan and the work of the centers and their staffs. My only disappointment was that more people from our district were not there.

 My friend Richard Hearne knows that engagement by our members has been a concern of mine, and this worry was exposed again that Saturday. It would have been wonderful if all our churches had more people engaged in the movement that the Bishop talks about all the time. It would have been great if we would have needed the entire Custer Road sanctuary for our meeting.

 Dr. Jim Ozier gave some scary numbers on the lack of engagement in the NTC mission field. I understand the need for members to be engaged because of my day job at Conference USA, the college athletics conference. Its activities are so much more rich and valuable when the members are actively engaged in the development and execution of league activities.

 Likewise, the not-so-rich activities do not have as much engagement. Definitions for engaged include: (1) Committed to a cause; and (2) Involved in a conflict or battle. I understand the “numbers of people involved” is a churchwide issue, so my hope is we’re dissecting the “engagement” issue by creating the cultures to get more people involved. I also think what is happening at the district and conference levels is an example of what is going on at the local church level.

 Unfortunately, it seems most laity only want to be engaged when they have a problem. They, either individually or as a group, want somebody (typically clergy) to perform a miracle on their behalf. When the reaction isn’t to their liking, their emotions create the challenges that the conference and global church spend lots of time to resolve.

 In the meantime, until we need bigger rooms for updates like this month’s, can we provide each church with a condensed version of the presentation in digital form to spread the good news?

 
 Richard Hearne is Laity 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.

Recently, the Rev. Dr. Jim Ozier, director of the Center for New Church Development, shared the stunning fact that more people in the U.S. claim no religious affiliation than claim membership in mainline denominations, 17 percent to 14 percent. How has this happened? Everyone has a theory on why people claim no religious affiliation and don’t participate in the organized church. Many say they are spiritual and believe in God but don’t want to be involved in a local congregation. Why is something so important less than a generation ago now almost irrelevant?

One reason might be that people see little difference between the actions of Christians and non-Christians. According to surveys, the morals of all Americans are almost the same no matter how they define themselves.

All of us involved in the church constantly search for an answer. Speaking for myself: I am just afraid!!!

I am afraid of living according to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I follow only the easiest scriptures to obey.

In Matthew 22:37-38, when asked which is the greatest commandment, Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you have a red-letter Bible you may be, like me, intimidated by reading the words.

Hard words – not to believe, but to act on. Do I take the good news to the poor? Do I consider the oppressed? Do I love my neighbor as myself? I talk about it a lot, but I know that I am not living up to Jesus’ expectation.

So what am I afraid of? Am I afraid that my family and friends will think I am a religious zealot? Will I sound judgmental and consider myself superior to others? Will some think that this redneck, conservative Bubba has been transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ to someone who, on some issues, (oh my goodness!) is a liberal. If I am going to love God then I must love my neighbor as myself. So who is my neighbor? It is all the people who are marginalized and live on the edges of society – those we often refuse
to accept in full connection. It is the alien, the poor, children, the sick, the disabled and those different from us in skin color, language, culture and sexual orientation. We cannot hope to change the world or to deliver the Good News unless we are in a personal relationship with all of these folks.

At my age and position in God’s church, I can no longer be afraid. I must stand with Jesus. How about you?

Richard Hearne is Laity 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.

     “The honor is getting elected, but then you have to serve.” That is the way my good friend Don Renshaw describes representing the North Texas Annual Conference at General and Jurisdictional Conferences. It is a great honor and responsibility to go to these conferences, but also a tremendous commitment of time, effort and finances to attend. 

     At Annual Conference June 5-7, the North Texas Conference will elect six clergy and six laity to serve on the General Conference delegation and another six clergy and six laity to serve, along with the General Conference delegation, on the Jurisdictional Conference delegation. Once elected, the delegates will meet monthly to prepare for the General Conference April 24-May 4, 2012, in Tampa, Fla., and the South Central Jurisdiction Conference July 18-21, 2012, in Oklahoma City. 

     General Conference is the decision-making body for the United Methodist Church and the only body that can speak for our denomination. Over long, grueling days, committees confirm our positions on all matters or rewrite the Book of Discipline and Resolutions. 

     The primary reason for the Jurisdictional Conference is the election of bishops, and South Central will elect at least three in 2012.

     For laity, the selection process is open to all who have been a member of the UMC for two years, active in an NTC congregation for four years (to accommodate people who participate in the life of our local churches for some time before joining) and a member of the NTC Annual Conference.  Those laity interested in serving need to complete a questionnaire with a covenant and submit a photo to the Center of Congregational Development (jana@ntcumc.org) by April 30.  This questionnaire is posted at www.ntcumc.org.  The information will be compiled into a booklet and distributed to all members of the NTC Annual Conference at District Day on May 22.  Also, at the Laity Dinner on Sunday, June 5, each candidate can make a brief statement. 

     Many complain that the election process is political and sometimes a popularity contest.  That is true to some extent, but in the NTC, at least on the laity side, we strive to avoid someone “running” for the delegation. The way we proceed, while not perfect, is the best we can come up with.
     Pastors, we are depending on you to tell the laity about these opportunities. And laity, feel free to contact me about these positions.

     So if you are interested in taking two weeks of vacation time to work from early morning to late evening to serve the United Methodist Church, consider applying. If not, pray daily for those who are elected.

     Richard Hearne is Laity 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.

One of disadvantages of being NTC Conference Lay Leader and involved in many committees, task forces and meetings is that I am not in my local church on a regular basis.

After being away over six weeks, I returned to discover that it was Youth Sunday, when the youth take on all the roles of worship from preaching to serving as ushers. It was also Communion Sunday as well as Transfiguration Sunday. One of our senior high members, Lee Wiley, preached an inspiring sermon, “Just Ask,” based on Matthew 7:7–8 and chronicling his life and support in the church. He told the congregation that he knew if he ever needs any support, all he needs to do is just ask and the “church” will assist him.

At the completion of Holy Communion,Mary Hosch, 16, delivered the Prayer After Receiving and just gushed out, “Wow, that was cool!” And it was cool for all of us to experience the excitement of a young person given the opportunity to serve in the church.

One of the goals that I set forth last year in my Laity Address was to be very intentional about including young people in the life of the church. We officially designated Rachel Magruder of First UMC Rowlett the Conference Youth Lay Leader, as well as district youth lay leaders: Samantha McCulley of Trinity UMC Duncanville in the Metro District; Sara Finney of First UMC Denton in the North Central District and Sarah Perkins of Wesley UMC Greenville in the East District (the Northwest District position is vacant).

The leadership of the NTC has also sought to include young people on committees and task forces but we have had limited success. The good news is that these young people want to serve God and the UMC, but the bad news is that their schedules are crowded and committed, so they can’t be there at the times that work best for older members. At the recent Day With the Bishop, neither the Conference nor District youth lay leaders could attend – although they wanted to – because of other commitments.

We did have 10-15 young people in attendance. I jokingly said that to get young people to our next meeting, we would schedule it from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. That got one of those nervous laughs of people acknowledging the truth of an uncomfortable statement.

I have learned through the reverse mentoring from Ricky Harrison, last year’s Conference youth lay leader, that young people don’t see the world as we older folks do, and their views and beliefs about many issues often conflict with the views of the majority of older UM members.

But on the essentials that should matter to all of us – the belief in the love and grace of Jesus Christ – we are of one mind.

Young people are not only the future of the UMC, but also the now.

I challenge older folks to engage with young people to learn how they see the world. To youth, I remind them of I Timothy 4:12, “Don’t let anyone put you down because you’re young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity.

Of course, I know that none of the youth will see the column unless I put it out in a digital form – a blog. Richard Hearne is Laity 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.
 

     When something goes wrong, people are more interested in “who is wrong – not what was wrong,” says Gil Rendle in his new book, Journey in the Wilderness.

     I’ve been thinking about that as I review the Day With the Bishop, sponsored last month by the Board of Laity at St. Luke Community UMC. It was a great day – Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe devoted the entire day to answering any and all questions asked by the laity who attended. By all standards, except attendance, it was successful.

     I’d hoped to have a minimum of 300 laity hear the bishop discuss the Call to Action recently passed unanimously by the Council of Bishops. Of the 125 laity there, the responses have been positive. I’m thankful for each person who attended, but am disappointed more didn’t hear the bishop’s vision for the NTC and the United Methodist Church. I keep reminding myself that Mother Teresa said, “God does not call us to be successful but to be faithful.” The Board of Laity was faithful to its calling, but it is difficult not to judge success based on numbers.

     At one point, Bishop Bledsoe asked how many lay speakers were there. More than half of the audience members  raised their hands. How thankful I am that John Barham, chair of the Lay Speaking Ministry, was so diligent in promoting the event among the lay speakers in the four districts.

     The reason John was successful is that he has an accurate list of lay speakers and the ability to reach them easily. Unfortunately, the Board of Laity does not have an accurate, updated list of laity leaders in the local churches. We had to ask the clergy in local churches to pass the information on, and their to-do lists are so full that this has not worked very effectively.

     This situation reminds me of a retail business principle: The three most important reasons for the success of a store are location, location, location. If people cannot find you conveniently, you will not be successful. 

     I am convinced that the No. 1 reason the NTC can reverse the trend of decline in our denomination is communication, communication, communication, whether that is through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or old-fashioned printed invitations and fliers. Otherwise, if people don’t know what is going on, they can’t participate and are disenfranchised.

     One final – and critical – consideration: We must want to communicate with each other within the “Connection” of the UMC.  I hear laity and clergy often say they are not really concerned about what happens outside their local church. Many even hope their congregation never knows what is going on outside their church. For controversial issues and the short term, that may be fine. But for the long-term success of our denomination, this is poison. An informed congregation – and informing folks is hard work – is the key to the future of the UMC.

Richard Hearne is Laity 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.

Who would ever think that one of the most prominent philosophers of our lifetime would be a convicted burglar who had the misfortune of being the victim of one of the most publicized cases of police brutality? In 1992, at the height of the riots protesting the Rodney King beating, these words were spoken by the victim: “People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? Can we get along?”

These words come to mind as I consider the shooting Jan. 8 in Arizona in which six innocent people died  and a dozen were injured. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupruk spoke for many when he said, “I think the tone of rhetoric that occurred in this country over the past couple of years affects troubled personalities.” 

Like many of you, I have been troubled by the tone and lack of civility in government and our society.  Outrageous and incendiary commentators on the far left and far right are feeding much of the frustration and anger that we see people exhibit. I never cease to be amazed that almost everyone agrees with this statement but are 100 percent convinced that it is those on the other side really causing the problem — never those with whom “I” agree.

I wish that I could say that it is only in the secular world that I experience this attitude, but unfortunately it has made its way into the life of the church.  In my role as the NTC Conference Lay Leader and a board member of the General Board of Church and Society, I have had many occasions over the past couple of years to experience the  wrath of members of our denomination. I am not talking about people just upset about a policy or statement, but folks who become loud and abusive when I just try to state my understanding of a situation even when I actually agree with them. 

Now I do know that Jesus did get pretty angry with the money changers in the temple, but in every other case that I recall, he responded calmly when others in the “establishment” tried to trick him into incriminating himself.  As Christians, should we not try to emulate Christ in all that we do? While I would never speak for Jesus, I am fairly certain he would not be pleased with the level of discourse in our society today, and I know that he would not approve of violent actions such as what occurred in Arizona.

So the question remains as King pleaded: “Can we all get along?” I think we can — but not as long as we stay isolated from others with whom we differ.  We must stop believing that only we have the answer to all the questions and that someone who disagrees with us is evil or stupid.  We must stop being so condescending and patronizing to each other.

I have a very simple but hard solution that I know works, for it has been helpful to me as I try to understand controversial social issues. Find someone  who sees issues from a different perspective than you  but with whom you can truly talk. I challenge each of you to discuss gun control, immigration, health care, homosexuality, abortion, etc., in frank but respectful conversation.  Ask how we should respond to these issues as followers of Jesus, the Christ.
What do you think — can we just get along?

What do you think — can we just get along?

Richard Hearne is laity leader for the North Texas Conference