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Radical Hospitality
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Passionate Worship
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Intentional Faith Development
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Risk-Taking Mission & Service
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Extravagant Generosity
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Recent comments on pages throughout the site
Pamela Dilmore wrote on 5/13/2008 10:58:06 PM
Yes. Definitely maple. The maples in Missouri fly their "seeds with wings" a bit later than in Tennessee. Pomegranates and maple seeds....nice metaphors, both. -pam Dilmore
Mike Hargraves wrote on 5/12/2008 9:55:49 PM
I believe the tree you observed is a Silver Maple. I used to play with the winged seeds when I was a child; we called them helicopters for obvious reasons. I love your metaphor about them, the seeds that don't just fall under the tree. Too many times our churches are so inward focused that we only plant seeds under the tree (our kids etc). Churches that grow plant seeds and reach out beyond themselves. They start Classes and have ministries for kids other than their own. They look at their community and see who is not in their church and plan ministries for them. As you said, they plant seeds with wings!
Micah wrote on 5/10/2008 11:58:16 AM
Your message on risk taking mission is stretched to apply to building a new building. I believe that we as pastors too many times equate "building a new building" with "mission work". A new building could be something seen by new people in the community, but most likely will just be used by the people in your own church family.
62. A Daughter of United Methodism
Michael D Pope wrote on 5/5/2008 12:03:53 PM
I too was at the General Conference when the President of Liberia spoke to the gathered delegates and visitors. She did a wonderful job of describing the opportunities for ministry that exist in that country and the continuing need for our partnership in ministry there.
Bishop John Innis and I were classmates at St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, MO in the 1980s. We have remained friends ever since our seminary days. Bishop Innis was a devoted student, and he is a loyal friend, a loving husband and father and great leader of the UMC in Liberia. He, too, was a product of a rural UMC school in Liberia and later became the principal of Camphor Mission, a junior high boarding school for UMC pastors' children. His wife Irene served as the campus nurse there.
John and his family could have stayed in the US after John's graduation from seminary but instead they risked their lives to go back to Liberia and serve in their country because they love Christ and they love the people of Liberia.
I heard once that John was killed by rebel forces under Charles Taylor but this turned out not to be true. John is very much alive today and working to bring freedom, peace and democratic rule to Liberia as he works in and through the church as well as through his political contacts and organizations.
Liberia needs us to stay informed, to pray for them, and to commit our time, talent and resources to help their nation as well as other nations in Africa overcome the effects of war, disease, illeteracy and poverty. Please help if you can and will!
Your brother in Christ, Michael
Otis Boggs wrote on 5/4/2008 3:46:29 PM
Some business principles that could be adapted to the Church, "five barriers..."
http://www.schaefersblog.com/how-to-kill-an-organization-5-barriers-to-kaizen/
Jeff Jaekley wrote on 5/1/2008 9:52:19 AM
Bishop Schnase,
Thank you for a view of the process from the other side of the window. I share the anxieties, and sometimes frustration, of those affected by this process, but we tend to see it only from the perspective of waiting and wondering, speculation, rumor, and inuendo. It helps to see it from the perspective of those who make these decisions and to hear your heart for all who are affected by the process. We're praying for all of you.
Blue Eye UMC Organizes for 5 Practices Vision
Brad Reeves wrote on 4/29/2008 6:48:22 PM
I am interested in the survey instrument that you used with your congregation. I am looking at ways to determine how congregations are doing in relation to the five practices. Thanks for your help.
Sara Chaney wrote on 4/29/2008 2:35:39 PM
I so wanted to hear/see Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher's presentation. When she was elected we knew she would change the church for the better in her quiet, thoughtful, powerful way. Having grown up in Texas and serving in Wisconsin (before her election), she also has insight into strengths of the different jurisdictions. Thank you for this reflection. Sharon has endured, transformed and been transformed in her time as Bishop. The church is brighter for her service.
Erika Gara wrote on 4/28/2008 1:36:33 PM
Thank you Bishop for the insight you offer about GC and specifically letting us not present know how the "spotted owls" are "representing" young folks and working on changing the process. I appreciate the ways you speak out for future generations, too!
Richard Davis wrote on 4/28/2008 10:58:26 AM
I couldn't agree with you more, Bishop Schnase. I am in Course of Study currently and serving my first assignment in the MO UMC as a part-time local pastor at three rural churches in northern MO. I am amazed that the process between declaration of candidacy and ordination, especially for part-timers who can only go to COS twice per calendar year (because of their secular job constraints) is such a lengthy ordeal. I truly feel that God has called me into full-time ministry within the Methodist church, and yet, I can only do so much ministering as a part-time pastor. Sometimes I feel as if I am doing my parishioners an injustice because I cannot be there for them 24/7/365. Any suggestions?
Also, will there be any discussion at GC (or Annual Conference in MO) about the future of rural churches? They are the lifeblood of many smaller farming communities, but oftentimes seem to get left behind as more and more grant monies are being given to larger churches. To some parishioners in my area, the small church is all they have left, and they feel abandoned by the Conference. They pay their apportionments adn try to do their best, but are told by Conference officials that there are no funds available to them for church renovation; just for new church start-ups and "youth-oriented" facilities. My opinion, for what it's worth: if there were no smaller churches, there would be no bigger churches. The Body of Christ started out in these rural and forgotten communities; shouldn't we help them out in some way?
Just a small-town pastor's look at things. :)
Amy Forbus wrote on 4/26/2008 1:15:30 AM
Thanks for sharing your reflections here. Wish you could come observe legislative committees -- you know it's loads of fun you're missing!
Sue Watson wrote on 4/23/2008 5:43:26 PM
Bishop, Thank you for the descriptions that you paint with words for those of us "back home, " that we may experience the unique Holy Conferencing of General Conference at Fort Worth. I join others in praying unceasingly for our delegation from Missouri. I join others in praying unceasingly for you, and for your role in United Methodist denominational renewal and turn arounds, in our many AC's that have been in decline for too long. I look forward to your daily blog about GC 2008.
Anon wrote on 4/23/2008 4:01:41 PM
Some Sunday mornings I have breakfast with friends and attend evening services. I contemplate the number of people at the restaurants and wonder - are we meeting these people where they are? What precludes these folks from attending church? No invitation? Services too long/short or not at a time that would allow them to attend? Not feeling welcome? Do these folks have a relationship with God? Perhaps I will be less apprehensive and give an invitation to strangers in line with me waiting for a table...
56. Looking Back, Looking Forward
Wendy (West Ohio) wrote on 4/23/2008 9:25:20 AM
Lord, hear our prayer.
56. Looking Back, Looking Forward
Kevin Buckrucker wrote on 4/22/2008 6:30:34 PM
Positive, encouraging, forward looking, and with opportunity of healing past difficulties and together finding solutions in Christ-like fashion; we as laity members of this denomination have a huge stake in picking up this mantel of shared leadership for lifting up our Wesleyan traditions and partnering with our Clergy to see the love and grace of Jesus Christ be the beacon by which we spotlight this “new” UMC quadrennial period. God is leading us to change not to bolster a denomination, but to affect the lives of our friends, neighbors and co-workers who all to often see the reported fall from grace of Christians on broadcast news reports – not the blessings offered through connection and personal relationship with the Lord. I’ll leave the politics to CNN and Fox News – God’s church, OUR church has so much more to offer than single issue griping and selling advertisement slots and I for one am excited to be a Methodist right now, right here! Bishop, I can’t wait for your thoughts and observations of our unprecedented “Laity Report” at General Conference, I’ll keep a look out. Godspeed.
Kevin Buckrucker wrote on 4/22/2008 6:00:13 PM
Thanks Bishop Schnase, I look forward to the journal blogs and am in prayer for our denominations many delegates while here in Ft. Worth. Godspeed.
Tom Austin wrote on 4/22/2008 10:24:20 AM
Thanks so much for your forward looking and inspiring leadership. In a time where most churches are spending all their energies holding on to an ever shrinking and aging congregation you have shown that there is not only another way but that we are all called to that way by Christ.
Communication and understanding of new roles, activities and plans are key. They are also one of the most difficult challenges. Thanks for the BLOG information and please keep up your great efforts.
Adult Study Guides by Brenda Stobbe
Meg wrote on 4/20/2008 3:46:44 PM
I found this series of study guides by Rev. Brenda Stobbe to be an excellent companion to the 5 Practices book. I sued it for a 8 week study of the 5 Practices with an adult SS class. Thank you to everyone (Especially Rev Stobbe) who made it available at no cost for our use.
David Conley wrote on 4/17/2008 9:07:00 AM
I am reading this blog while at a workshop in Bethesda, Maryland. During Monday's workshop, "The Brain and Healing," we learned that a labyrinth is one way to use and gain access to our whole brain. Perhaps that was part of your experience...
Michael D Pope wrote on 4/16/2008 3:59:46 PM
I've never used a labyrinth before to help me get in touch with my spritual journey to God but I have to admit that sometimes my life feels like a labyrinth. Sometimes I feel that I am moving around like I'm walking in concentric circles, repeating sights, sounds and experiences with something new interjected from time to time. I sometimes think that we need to follow paths and use them because they are tried and tested ways of getting us from one point to another. However, they can also prevent us from following
our own unique path or making our own authentic faith response. The bottom line for me is being willing to try, to experience what someone else saw or heard or thought or spoke to see if it fits me. If it does, then I'll find a way to keep it and incorporate it into my life. If it does not, then I'll move on to something else that does fit me. We are not called to walk the same path as Jesus or anyone else, for our paths are all unique and individual, but we are sometimes called to walk a similar path with similar outcomes as others. The way to heaven for Jesus led him through Gethsemane to Calvary. Our path as Christians may be free from a literal, physical cross but it will never be free from "crosses that we are called to bear" or the "garden of prayer" where we spend personal, intimate time seeking to follow God's will and not our own. It seems to me that without Gethsemane there would not have been a Calvary. I believe Jesus got the courage to face the cross on his knees or literally on his face before God with an earnest desire to know what God wanted him to do and through prayer he found the courage to die for God and for us. There could have been no salvation for us or for all humanity without the enlightenment that comes from Jesus and the sacrifice that he made for all of us. That is why he declared himself to be the way, the truth and the life. Jesus said: "Take up your cross daily and follow me." Without this One to show us the Way we are lost. The Way of the cross leads us to God and to our heavenly home. There is no other way for Christians than this way!
Rosalie Addison wrote on 4/16/2008 10:33:32 AM
I have walked labyrinths numerous times, and it is a different experience each and every time. Sometimes I repeat a prayer, almost like a mantra; sometimes I try to not think of anything but the path ahead. At times I have been moved to tears - and other times have felt sheer, utter connection to the Holy. It is amazing that an act so simple can be so profoundly life changing.
John wrote on 4/13/2008 4:49:29 PM
When I first entered seminary, I noticed right away that non-Christians had vanished from my life, and that this was a problem. It's a problem that's never fully gone away, but it's important that we clergy continue to be able to "speak human" if we are to be effective.
Sharon Colbert Garretson wrote on 4/12/2008 9:33:07 AM
This story helped me realize that I, too, am an introvert even after decades of pastoring churches and being in sales. I love the church, warts and all. Perhaps I love it too much and am not alone in this fact. Perhaps, no,it is a fact that we need to get out of the church and use the information in the story as a primer for casual, non-threatening conversation where ever the we can. Wesley taught: we are to do what we can, where ever we are, with what we have. May the Holy Spirit prompt me, us, to be intentional in looking for the opportunities and taking them. We may meet some really great friends outside of our church family.
Pastoral Leadership Development Training for Teachers
Donna wrote on 4/11/2008 5:26:36 PM
What's PLD?
50. Learning from Young Pastors
Eric Helms wrote on 4/9/2008 4:33:22 PM
Wow! This is a great analysis in that I can see myself (a 28 year old probationary elder) in many of your points. I wonder if your last observation, that young clergy in the process are too inwardly-focused, is in part due to the inward nature of being a student and/or being in the ordination process. In addition to all of the inward pressures that everyone experiences, students and those in the process have selfish concerns including "what grade will I get, what will the board think of my papers, will there be enough appointments available for the cabinet to appoint me after I graduate... not to mention personal concerns like dating, marraige, starting a family." I don't mean to excuse myself or others, but there may be a systemic reason younger people are more inwardly focused.
