NTC delegates already in team mode for General, Jurisdictional Conferences

The delegates elected at the Annual Conference include from left (front row): Natasha Ray, Linda Parks, Gretchen Toler-Debus, the Rev. Jan Davis, Lisa Tichenor, the Rev. Don Underwood, the Rev. Jill Jackson-Sears, the Rev. Ouida Lee, Mary Brooke Casad; (second row): Frank Jackson, the Rev. Dana Coker, the Rev. Deborah Chapman, Tim Crouch, the Rev. Gary Mueller, the Rev. Lisa Greenwood, the Rev. Andrew Stoker, the Rev. Timothy Morrison, Kay Yeager, Ruth Robinson, Alys Richards;...

Vet, college student make General Conference history

By SHERON C. PATTERSON  Editor    The Rev. Don Underwood, senior pastor of Christ UMC, Plano, and Ricky Harrison, a 19-year-old McMurray College student, made history at the 2011 Annual Conference.    For the third time, Rev. Underwood as the first to be elected from the clergy. the first person electd first leads the delegation to the General Conference. No other clergy in the North Texas Conference has led the GC delegation three times, although Albert...

Liberian bishop points up global focus during opener

By JOHN A. LOVELACE Special Correspondent   For its opening worship service under the theme “God Is Doing A New Thing,” the 2011 North Texas Conference returned to one of Methodism’s earliest locations in Texas -- First UMC, Dallas.   The venerable sanctuary, whose predecessors date to 1838, sprang to new life as more than 100 United Methodist-related summer interns received blessings as commissioned ambassadors of Christ and conference representatives. ...

Joy greets the new and advancing in ministry

By JOHN A. LOVELACE Special Correspondent   Twenty-four people entered or advanced in the United Methodist ministry of North Texas on Sunday evening, June 5, in the resplendent year-old sanctuary of Christ UMC, Plano.   One by one in the ancient laying on of hands ritual with names read aloud, Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe and other clergy, friends and family members welcomed four commissioned for the work of a deacon, three commissioned for the work of an elder, three...

Memorial service remembers those who died in the last year

By JOHN A. LOVELACE Special Correspondent   In the ageless manner of storytelling by candlelight, conference members on June 7 honored 14 of their own — four clergy and 10 clergy spouses — who died within the past year.   The Rev. Milton Guttierrez, retiring this year as superintendent of the North Central Distrrict, titled his Memorial Service sermon “A Story to Tell.”    “Our faith is much more based on stories than on...

What the Core Leadership Team means to the everyday Methodist

 Group takes a bird’s-eye view of conference while part of grass-roots churches  Sometimes for United Methodists, the structure of the denomination above the local church is a bit of a mystery. So here is a primer on the Core Leadership Team, one of the vital pieces for the North Texas Conference.   What does the Core Leadership Team do?   The Core Leadership Team functions as the board of directors of the North Texas Conference. On one hand, we have a...

Church planting coach sows ideas for growth

BY NTC STAFF Rev. Jim Griffith of Griffith Coaching Network conducted a three-day boot camp for about 60 clergy and lay people on how to plant churches. What he told them opened some eyes on what church planters need to do to make congregations thrive and where they often go wrong. Griffith, who has planted six churches himself, has assessed more than 1,900 potential church plantings, trained more than 7,000 planters and coached more than 1,500 sprouting churches. Through that experience, he...

Perkins dean reminds candidates: 'Nothing else like ordination'

By Joe Dan Boyd Special Correspondent Lord, you call us to your service, grant us fruit as you ordain. Risking all, we make disciples, working for your coming reign. —from the hymn by Willimon and West The stars on this June 7 night were, indeed, big and bright, deep in the spiritual heart of West Texas, near the Oklahoma border, where mesquite is the majestic arbor and, on this night, ordination is the hot ticket. Those who came very early were the lucky ones, quickly seated in...

From Bogata to Burkburnett: Don't Just Sit There, Do Something!!!

BY RICHARD B. HEARNE NTC Board of Laity, Chair One of the highlights of the annual conference in Wichita Falls was the talk of Rev. Gary Henderson in support of the Imagine No Malaria campaign when he challenge those in attendance at the opening worship service with the exhortation—Don’t Just Sit There, Do Something! Rev. Henderson hit on something that I think is critical to all of us at this time in the life of our annual conference. Just as we, the United Methodist Christians...

Opening worship hears challenging word

By John A. Lovelace Special Correspondent  On the brink of her own assignment-without-parallel in the entire United Methodist Church, Rev. Dr. Clara M. Reed ignited the 2010 opening worship service Sunday evening, June 6, with her sermon titled “Alignment for Divine Assignment.”   She employed Joshua 1:1-9 to describe how God gave Moses’ right-hand man, Joshua. His divine assignment: To lead God’s people into the Promised Land following Moses’...

Grand total paid offers bright spot in 2009 statistics

Conference statistician Dr. L. Marvin Guier said in his written report to 2010 conference sessions, “The 2009 statistics continue to indicate that different results are needed from the churches of the North Texas Conference.”   He said that despite remarkable population growth in the 20 counties that make up the NTC, “it is striking to note that the total membership, the average worship attendance, the number of new members received, the number of professions of faith...

New Districts organize

Following adoption of the Strategic Plan Team report Monday afternoon, June 7, -- 709 For, 85 Against, 10 Abstain -- members of the four new districts met in designated sites within the Wichita Falls Multi Purpose Event Center. Each district superintendent presided over his or her session: Metro, Dr. Clara Reed; North Central, Rev. Milton Guttierrez; East, Rev. Paul Gould; West, Rev. John Rosenberg.   Each district during those sessions elected its member of the Conference Committee on...

Annual Conference overwhelmingly approves strategic plan

Dr. Sheron C. Patterson Special Correspondent Wichita Falls - “A Time to Lead,’ the proposed NTC Strategic Plan, was overwhelming approved at the June 7 session of the North Texas Annual Conference, with a vote of 709 for, 85 against and 10 abstentions.   Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe was elated with the vote and with the spirit in which the vote was made. He personally thanked the delegates for their “willingness to move ahead in a new direction.” “Now...

Clergy Laity event: What Would John Wesley Have Thought?

By Joe Dan Boyd Special Correspondent Both the West Texas heat and the stifling humidity were soon tamed by gallons of iced tea, scoops of home-made ice cream and a not-to-be-denied air conditioning system that sent shirt-sleeved attendees searching for jackets, sweaters and second helpings of hot barbecue and spicy jalapeños.    Bishop Earl Bledsoe said, to the approval of mild applause, that he wished he had worn his cowboy boots and blue jeans for this event.   Uni...

2010 Annual Conference to consider defining issues

BY DR. JOAN G. LABARR Editor When the 144th session of the North Texas Annual Conference gathers in Wichita Falls June 6–8 (Sunday through Tuesday), lay and clergy members will be making decisions with significant impact on the future ministry of the UMC in the 20 counties within its geographic bounds. “Risk-Taking Mission” is the foundational principle of the 2010 conference, exemplified by words from Micah 6:8, “Do Justice, Love Kindness, Walk Humbly” on the...

Charting a course for the future...'A time to lead'

BY BISHOP W. EARL BLEDSOE North Texas Conference, Dallas Area Within a few days we will gather in Wichita Falls to decide the future of how we will relate to one another in our common vision and mission as the North Texas Conference. It will be a time of fellowship, Christian nurture and support. As promised, the Strategic Planning Team that annual conference members unanimously affirmed last year is bringing back a plan. The team worked hard all year long and did the due diligence...

From Bogata to Burkburnett...Thoughts about Annual Conference

BY RICHARD B. HEARNE NTC Board of Laity, Chair Annual Conference may be “old hat” to some or considered a waste of time by others but it has always been a joy and blessing to me. It is the one time each year when I get to see, visit and share in the lives of my brothers and sisters in Christ, laity and clergy, and share the joys and sadness of the past year. I look forward to seeing each of you in Wichita Falls. Annual Conference 2010 has taken on an increased sense of importance...

Celebrating ordination and commissioning for the Class of 2010

BY DR. JOAN G. LABARR Editor June 7 will be a very special night for 28 clergypersons and their families as the North Texas Annual Conference gathers for the annual service of Ordination and Commissioning scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at First UMC, Wichita Falls. Eighteen elders and one deacon will have been voted into full membership in the North Texas Annual Conference at the clergy session held the day before. Nine persons will be commissioned on the elder and deacon tracks at the same...

Consultants to provide expertise, guidance

The consultants who are presently committed to help guide the NTC in New Church Development and Transformation include: Rev. Gloria Young-eun Kim Fowler serves as an associate pastor at First UMC, Grand Prairie, a predominantly white congregation. While not a professional consultant, as a Korean-American, she has also served Korean-American churches in the North Texas Conference, including Korean Central UMC and Good Seed UMC. She spent her childhood in South Korea and studied in India during...

Sixth annual Robertson Awards set for local church communicators

The sixth annual Robert L. (Bob) Robertson Awards for  Excellence in Communication will again recognize local church communicators who do outstanding work that stands as an example to others. Categories for 2010 will include newsletters/newspapers, websites, photography, and video. Entries will be judged by volunteers from the Dallas Chapter of the Religion Communicators Council and prizes awarded at the annual Communications Luncheon set June 7 at the Wichita Falls MPEC Center. The...