New Bible Invites All into ‘Meeting God’

NASHVILLE, Tenn., December 19, 2008/GBOD/ -- Upper Room Books has published The Meeting God Bible as a way to help Scripture become more personal.

Throughout the study Bible there are more than 1,500 “Entry Point” reflections. These will help the reader tap into the vital heart of Scripture through time-tested spiritual disciplines. They include such practices as Lectio divina, Ignatian reading, Franciscan reading, fivefold questions and quotations from respected Christians. Each of these disciplines is fully explained for those new to them.

“In a way it is more like a devotional Bible then a study Bible,” says Robin Pippin, editorial director for Upper Room Books. The Meeting God Bible is a revision of The Spiritual Formation Bible, previously co-published with Zondervan. Pippin says it is designed for “any Christian or seeker who has a desire to connect with Scripture in a more personal way.”

Some of the suggested activities include journaling or working with clay. In all, the idea is to form the reader as a spiritual being over informing. It is about letting the Bible guide who we are as Christians or seekers.

Scattered throughout the study Bible are sections on Meeting God in Prayer, in Service, in Worship, in the Created Order, in Scripture, in Community and in Everyday Life. These articles, written by scholars and church leaders such as Reuben P. Job and Marjorie Thompson, elaborate on “Ways of Meeting God.” Other scholars as well as Upper Room staff contributed to the various “Entry Point” reflections and a section entitled “Getting Started in Spiritual Formation.”

The Meeting God Bible connects with an Upper Room study series entitled Meeting God in Scripture. These studies build on the content in The Meeting God Bible. A study on the Old Testament and another on the New Testament already are available. A Meeting God study on Psalms will be available in 2009, with more coming later.

The various studies as well as The Meeting God Bible may be ordered through the Upper Room Bookstore at www.upperroom.org/bookstore or by calling 800-972-0433. They will also be available in Cokesbury and other bookstores in late January.

Bishop Wills' Life Journal entry for December 1, 2008 -- Life Is Not About Me

Life Is Not About Me

S: Romans 8: 9 (The Message)
But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. ( vs. 10 Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won’t know what we’re talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells-even though your still experience the limitations of sin-you experience life on God’s terms)

O: Old ways of living can start living in our lives again, sometimes without us even knowing they are there. The sure way to tell is that you begin to start thinking more of yourself than of him.

A: Up until recently, this has been a very difficult time in my life. What comes to me daily is not “good news”. There are so many problems in our church and in our churches.

I must work with Pastors who have fallen or who are having a very difficult time in their churches.

And on top of all of this, I am aware of so many who are facing hard times financially. These hard times effect our churches and the ministries beyond the local church which we support with apportionments. But behind the hard times of finances, I see so many people who are suffering because of our dwindling resources.

I guess this morning the Lord is telling me, it is easy to put Jesus first when things are going well and the news is mostly all good news. But when trouble comes, I easily start thinking more about myself than I do of Jesus.

I must be reminded I am not in this alone. God has taken up residence in my life and my focus should be on letting God direct my life and help me during these difficult times. God is not my judge, but a loving presence within me which still seeks to redeem me so my life reflects Jesus and I live in such a way that I know “absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us” (vs. 39)

P: Father thank you this morning for helping me and living within me. Let me not forget I am becoming a new creation in Christ Jesus and that I am not alone. Love, Dick

Y: I give up my focus on myself.


To reach the website containing Bishop Wills' Journal Entries -- and to discover how you can prepare your own Life Journal Entries click on the web address below:
http://nashvilleareajournal.org/

Bishop Wills' Life Journal entry for November 11, 2008 -- "Keep Running"

S: I Corinthians 9:26-27 (The Message)
I don’t know about you, but I I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.

O: The church will always have critics sitting in the pews, no matter what is going on. Yet, we are not spectators. We are running toward a goal and if we run well, we will gather participants or affirm other runners to run with them. It is the goal that defines the race, and your act of running that defines you as a runner.

A: It is so very easy to get caught up thinking the church is a club rather than a race. In a race you don’t have time to complain. You must press on toward the goal.

In our culture we build people up to be leaders, only to start tearing them down once they are leaders. We spend a lot of time complaining about leaders. I know I have this tendency deep down in me. When it raises its head, I know I have gotten distracted from running the race which God has placed before me.

For me, it is important to seek out other runners and encourage those not running the race, to join in running with me. We seek the goal which is eternal life and we must not lose time in running this race.

I am running when I notice a child. I am running when I make a daily time to study scripture, reflect, and pray. (I must stay close to the coach and guide in this race). I am running when I seek justice for all people. I am running the race when I join others in telling the good news of Jesus Christ. I am running the race when I seek to make sure every child gets a quality education, especially those who are poor and often forgotten. I am running the race when I encourage other runners not to give up to the ways of the world. I am running the race when I press on toward the goal of “Thy Kingdom Come On Earth”. I am running the race when my life is about being obedient God. I do not want to be left behind, nor do I want a single person to be left behind. But I cannot give into those who want to church to remain a club where members come to be served.

P: Father thank you for today. May I encourage others to keep running. May I be one who runs each day in obedience to you. Love, Dick

Y: I give up my club mentality thinking I am here to be served.


To reach the home page for all the Bishop's Life Journal postings click on the address below:
http://nashvilleareajournal.org/

United Methodist Hymnal Revision Committee Named

NASHVILLE, Tenn.,/UMPH/GBOD/—The Hymnal Revision Committee, authorized by the 2008 General Conference of The United Methodist Church, has been announced.

The committee is charged with preparing and presenting to the 2012 General Conference a hymn and worship resource for adoption as an official hymnal of The United Methodist Church for congregational use in the United States.

As the first comprehensive resource since publication of the initial United Methodist Hymnal in 1989, the new resource will aspire to

.reflect the changes that are occurring in music and liturgy throughout the connection and the larger Christian world
.enable United Methodists to sing and worship in ways that honor God and transform persons and congregations toward personal piety and social holiness
.provide a common language of prayer and song
.remember and celebrate the rich Wesleyan (Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren), sacramental, evangelical, and diverse theological traditions
.incorporate expressions of worship in new and revitalized congregations to engage all persons, including new, younger, and diverse people
.hold broad appeal across cultural, geographical, age, and congregational settings
.incorporate the newest technologies and ways of communicating the music and liturgy of the Church
.offer a clear expression of hope that The United Methodist Church is growing in its love of God and neighbor to transform the world
.enable all who use it to express their own heart-language for God and to hear the heart-language of others

As provided for in action by the General Conference, a total of 27 voting members were named by the Council of Bishops, The Order of St. Luke, The Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts, the General Board of Discipleship, and The United Methodist Publishing House.

The first meeting of the Hymnal Revision Committee will be held from January 20-22, 2009, in Nashville. The voting members are as follows:

Bishops
William W. Hutchinson
Deborah L. Kiesey
Ernest S. Lyght

Lay Persons
Neil M. Alexander
Beverly Clement
Mary Jo Dahlberg
Stacy Hood
Heather Josselyn-Cranson
Jorge Lockward
Raquel Martinez
Marcia McFee
Shannon Meister
Mark Miller


Clergy
Laura Jaquith Bartlett
Grace Cajiuat
Patricia Farris
R. Carl Frazier
Karen Greenwaldt
Trey Hall
Hyoik Kim
Walter Kimbrough
Andy Langford
Robert H. McMichael III
Donna Strickland Smith
Eric Smith
John Thornburg
Mark J. Webb

The committee includes 13 women and 14 men. Three of the members are bishops, 7 female and 9 male clergy, 2 male clergy candidates, 6 female laity, 3 male laity. A further breakdown shows 17 Caucasians, 5 African Americans, 2 Hispanic/Latino/Spanish/ Portuguese, 1 Asian American/Pacific Islander, 1 Korean, 1 Native American. Members bring a vast array of experience to this new task, including work on the first United Methodist Hymnal, The Faith We Sing, Zion Still Sings!, and Mil Voces para Celebrar.

Amerson brothers sign new book on stewardship; lead Upper Room Chapel

NASHVILLE, Tenn., September 18, 2008 /GBOD/ --The Revs. Melvin and James Amerson, clergy brothers from Texas, have at least two things in common: they are from the same family of origin and they are passionate about giving. So much so they have co-authored a new book on stewardship called “Celebrating the Offering” (Discipleship Resources, 2007).

Discipleship Resources, one of two publishing units of the General Board of Discipleship, invited the brothers to Nashville for “An Evening with the Authors” at Scarritt-Bennett Center and to lead Upper Room Chapel Service September 9-10.

Come Sunday morning, the brothers believe worshipers should be as excited about giving the offering as they are about other aspects of worship, such as singing and preaching.

Speaking to a gathering of local pastors and laity, the Amersons said that the reality we find in most churches is a tendency to disconnect giving from the act of worship.

“Celebrating the Offering” (http://www.gbod.org/stewardship) emphasizes that the offering is a part of the worship experience, though frequently it appears to be disengaged from the rest of the service and happens without much forethought.

“In my two decades of ministry, I have come to realize that any time the preacher or minister begins to preach on stewardship, the natural response of the people in the pews is to fold their arms and close their ears,” says the Rev. James Amerson, senior minister of Lolita and Point Comfort United Methodist churches in the Southwest Texas Conference.

The offering is not only a time to worship the Lord through the presentation of the believers’ tithes and offerings, but it is also a time to recognize how blessed we are.

The Rev. George Donigian, editor of Discipleship Resources, says, “’Celebrating the Offering’” is important because many churches fail to think about how they invite people to give their offerings and it often comes across as if the church is putting forth a commercial instead of really celebrating the grace of God and what is really represented in offerings.”

Planning is essential in making the offering an integral part of worship.

“Pastors and worship leaders must be more intentional about re-connecting the offering as part of the worship experience,” said the Rev. Melvin Amerson, stewardship consultant for the Texas Methodist Foundation.

“Through planning and education, worshipers will begin to feel and see the offering as a time of celebration,” he said.

Pastors and worship leaders can use “Celebrating the Offering” as a means of revitalizing the spirit of generosity in their churches.

In addition to sections that help children and youth celebrate the offering, prayers and litanies are included in the resource, which is designed for both clergy and laity.

The brothers read from “Celebrating the Offering,” and this was followed by a Q & A on stewardship and a book signing.

Bishop Wills’ Life Journal for September 16, 2008, “Thirsty Again”

S: Revelation 21:6
He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life."

O: Jesus is the water of life. In John 4 Jesus promises to give the woman living water: John 4:14 “but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Jesus is the living water. Here again to those who are thirsty is the promise of a drink from the spring of the water of life.

A: I remember so well when I first tasted that living water in my own life. I was in the 7th grade. Since then I find my life goes through times of drought when I lose touch with that living water.

I do not rebel with my fist shaking at God. Rather for me, while still doing the things of a pastor, I let life crowd in on my walk with God. For me it more like being in a boat without an anchor. I just drift spiritually.

Then one day I realize there are sharp edges in my life. My soul is thirsty for that living water again. I lack a deep peace while living a very hectic life.

I am grateful this morning the Lord offers once again to me a chance to drink from the spring of the water of life…and without cost. It is, again, a free gift.

P: Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for allowing me to drink again living water during this quiet time with you. You are so gracious to me and I know there are times I do not deserve your grace. Help me so to live that others will see that living water in my life. Help me to extend grace to all those who cross my path. Love, Dick

Y: I yield my life being so busy that I miss the living water.

Traditional Worship for Contemporary People, November 11-13, 2008, St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Houston, Texas

There are many churches all across America that use traditional worship as their primary way of doing worship services. Jim Bankston, pastor of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Houston believes in the importance of traditional worship and St. Paul’s does only traditional worship. The large United Methodist Church I served for over 30 years in Tulsa does both traditional and contemporary worship. We are both committed to finding ways to do traditional worship better. We believe it will make a significant difference for the church to be able to improve the quality of traditional worship.

Therefore, we are holding a national conference on November 11-13, 2008 called Traditional Worship for Contemporary People. The event will be held at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Houston and features some of the great, practical experts on traditional worship. Although this conference has been designed primarily out of the United Methodist tradition, we want to respect all the customs of traditional worship. We hope that you will come to the conference and enjoy it. You can view the brochure and more information at www.leadershipnexus.net/houston.htm. Feel free to make copies of the brochure for your friends, or forward this email to them. There are many aspects of the conference that will add unusual excitement and effectiveness to any traditional worship service.

Please email me if you have any questions. You can register by mail or online at www.leadershipnexus.net/houston.htm. I hope you will begin that process as soon as possible and get the early discount!


Yours in Christ,

Bob Pierson
Executive Director
Leadership Nexus
7103 S Columbia Place
Tulsa, OK 74136
Cell: 918-809-7489
Office: 918-477-7549
Email: bpierson@leadershipnexus.net

Quiet Center Ministry Expands To a Second Location

Rev. Jo Bentley Reece is honored to announce that in September she will be offering guided personal spiritual retreats at Mercy Convent, expanding her Quiet Center Retreat Ministry to a second location in the city. Just minutes north of downtown nestled on 9 wooded acres, Mercy Convent is located at 2629 Pennington Bend Road across Briley Parkway from Opryland Hotel.

According to Sister Suzanne Stalm, RSM, Coordinator, “The Spirituality Ministry of the Sisters of Mercy at Mercy Convent offers a place for individuals and groups of all faiths to deepen their relationships with God, others and self. Whether it is a time for quiet reflection or building a sense of community, Mercy Convent offers an ideal setting, from the serene environment and day facilities, to lodging and meals.” The web site for further information is www.MercyRetreats.org

Rev. Reece looks forward to continuing to offer retreats at Glendale UMC, the first location where she opened The Quiet Center two years ago. Glendale UMC, located at 900 Glendale Lane near I-65 South and Harding Place, is a welcoming place offering the ministry of hospitality to those seeking a quiet place of healing in the city.

A Quiet Center guided personal retreat is a place for quiet time with God. There is no expectation except to come with a spiritual companion waiting to guide you. The Usui Method of Natural Healing, or Reiki, is an ancient healing art. It involves intercessory prayer while laying on hands guided by the energy/nerve centers of the body. Retreats may include: music, art, guided meditations, and hands-on prayer.

During the past two years, The Quiet Center at Glendale UMC has continued to grow offering 20 + personal retreats/month for 60-90 minutes or more. Persons that have come include: laity and clergy who need a quiet place for re-creation; persons dealing with trauma, stress, illness or pending surgery; persons who live alone seeking a companion for the journey; and persons who are grieving to name a few. Couples and friends have also come together to celebrate their anniversary, share a retreat time together, or deal with a difficult decision.

Henri Nouwen, in A Spirituality of Waiting, says that the role of the church is to “be the body of Christ in the world by using our gifts to love, serve and heal a hurting world while making space to wait together patiently in expectation.” Our world today is hungry for rediscovery of the art of resting in God’s presence and being truly present with one another in our daily lives and life journey.

You are invited to come and fill your cup with God’s love and grace! For questions or appointments: contact Rev. Jo Reece by phone -- 615-367-3586 (h) 943-9092 (c) or email -- MinisterMama@juno.com Her website is www.thequietcenter.mysite.com with further information. Individual guided retreats are available for one-hour or one-day. Donations for retreats are suggested but not required. Retreat gift certificates are also available.

Whether you need ‘rhythm or fire’—God is there for you

Editors believe that those who are not “churched” — and those who are burned out with the church — will find a prayer, poem or essay in “Rhythm and Fire” that will bless or challenge them in their journey with God.

NASHVILLE, Tenn., August 15, 2008/GBOD/ --Upper Room Books has published a new resource, Rhythm & Fire – Experiencing the Holy in Community and Solitude, edited by the Revs. Jerry Haas and Cynthia Langston Kirk of the Desert Southwest (regional) Conference.

Haas, director of the Academy for Spiritual Formation, conceived the idea to compile the stories of people who had experienced the Academy in a collection that other people could use in developing their faith life.

“People who go through the Academy have a rather intense experience and need and want to talk about it or write about it. Participants share prayers, poems or essays that they have written in response to a faculty presentation or to something inside themselves. It was easy to think of sharing some of these writings with a wider audience,” said Haas.

This resource is important for the church because it reflects the experience of people who have had an encounter with the Living God.

“The material here is not ‘canned’ or highly processed. It’s very authentic, reflecting how people make sense of sometimes very difficult things in life (such as sexual molestation, suicide, depression and aging) and sometimes very beautiful things in life (natural beauty, love, music, gospel and relationships).

“My prayer is that this book will open up readers to their own experience of encounter with God and help them claim it for themselves. I also hope that they can see that they are not alone or meant to be alone with their own experience,” said Haas.

Haas believes the church really needs to hear expressions of authentic spirituality. Since many of the writers have not been published before, their voices are being heard for the first time,” said Haas, who invited Kirk to co-edit Rhythm & Fire, which is dedicated to the founder of the Academy, the Rev. Danny Morris, the saints who worked with him in creating it, and the members of Academy #25 for their prayers and financial support.

“Jerry wanted people who had experienced the Academy to tell their stories … so that other people could use and be touched, transformed and changed by them,” says Kirk.

“We created chapter titles that are indicative of the journey — that awakening that sort of stirs our souls initially, the longing that we all go through, and listening to the silence — which is something the Academy offers. [Participants] come to appreciate and experience silence for the first time, and that moving into the rhythm of God’s grace,” she said.

Among the fifty-four writers are published faculty members who contributed to the work: Don Saliers, Wendy Wright, Roberta Bondi, Luther E. Smith Jr., Marjorie J. Thompson, Robert C. Morris, Robert Mulholland, Larry Peacock, Robert Benson, Linda Douty, Hee-Soo Jung, Stephanie Ford, E. Glenn Hinson, Jane Vennard, Barbara Wendland, Wil Hernandez and others.

While the writers all have one thing in common — the Academy for Spiritual Formation — Rhythm & Fire is a gift to the church from the Academy, not an advertisement for the Academy. It is above all to say to the church — whether you need rhythm (i.e., rest, renewal, engagement, balance, peace) or fire (i.e., passion, call, commitment, mission, desire), God is there for you.

The book progresses from awareness to community to help readers recognize that they share a journey with a community of faith that is much larger than they had imagined. The chapter titles are: Awakening to Sacred Fire, Longing and Wrestling, Listening to the Silence, Moving to the Rhythm of Grace, Living Community/Living Flames and Radiating Faith.

“The Academy is not about just one person; it is about how we are in community. So the last chapter is about living in community, reaching out and being the Light of Christ in the world,” Kirk said.

Kirk and Haas believe that all readers — including those who are not “churched” as well as those who are burned out with the church — will be able to find a prayer, poem or essay in Rhythm & Fire that will bless or challenge them in their journey with God.

The Academy for Spiritual Formation is a two-year experience in the spiritual practices of prayer, silence, worship and study, which offers a setting for lay and clergy to deepen their sense of call to follow Christ and to serve the church and the world.

Bishop Wills' Life Journal entry for July 24, 2008 -- The Blessing Is Not For Me Only

S: 1Peter 3: 6-7 (The Message)
Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless - that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing.

O: This passage is the recipe of how Christ followers are to live. There seems to be no other way that is acceptable for those of us who claim to follow Jesus.

A: This passage looks easy at first. Of course I seek to be all positive attitudes as a Christian. And, when there is no one around, I can do all of them without much effort. For me, the problem comes when there is tension or conflict. That is when “the rubber hits the road”.

I think the secret, for me, is to stop trying to live by a check list, but rather to focus my life on being a blessing to others. In fact early in the Old Testament God tells Abram in Genesis 12:2 “I will make you a great nation and bless you….You will be a blessing.

I think the only reason we are blessed is so that we can be a blessing to others. If I am blessed (which I am), it is not for me, but rather I am blessed in order that I might be a blessing to others.

Since I feel so very blessed this day, I will use this blessing to bless others who cross my path.

P: Father thank you for the many blessings in my life. May I never think the blessings are only for me. But rather may I use my blessings to bless others. Love, Dick

Y: I will seek to be a blessing to all I encounter today.

Teen musician steps up to lead church choir

Music director Ryan Brunkhurst, 15, leads choir rehearsal at Mount Gretna (Pa.) United Methodist Church. UMNS photos by John Gordon.

By John Gordon*

MOUNT GRETNA, Pa. (UMNS)-Many members of the choir he leads are old enough to be his grandparents.

But 15-year-old Ryan Brunkhurst is more than the choir director and organist at Mount Gretna United Methodist Church. He also shows members of the Pennsylvania congregation how youth can make valuable contributions to the church.

"I love hymns," he says. "I love taking a hymn and just putting my own style into it and just playing the way I like to play."

Ryan volunteered for the job last year when the church needed to find a new organist.

The Rev. Janet Steger says Brunkhurst is treated with respect by choir members, many of whom are old enough to be his grandparent

"We did not have a choir director, and there might not be music, special music, anthems and such for Christmas, (so he decided) that he had to do something because he loves Christmas," says the Rev. Janet Steger, pastor of Mount Gretna. "And so he came to me and he said, 'You know, that's not acceptable to me, so I will lead the choir.'"

Grandma's lessons
Ryan first played the organ at the church when he was 11-and barely able to reach the pedals. His first introduction to music came when he was 3.

"My grandma taught me how to just play some of the basic things," he says. "She was the organist at her church at 12."

He's now taking organ lessons from a college instructor.

Ryan says he feels comfortable around church members who are often several times his age. "I don't get along with most people that are my age too well," he says. "I get along with a lot-older people."

Tracie Brunkhurst encouraged her son to pursue the choir director's position.

"He takes it upon himself to do these things and he looks forward to it, and he really puts all his efforts into it," says Mrs. Brunkhurst. "We often say that he's a 60-year-old man trapped in a 15-year-old's body."

Ryan does not neglect his homework while he plays for the choir. He's at the top of his class with a perfect grade-point average.

Age not a barrier
Ryan held a benefit recital at the church that raised $2,000 for sanctuary renovations. Steger says he's also involved in mission work and other programs at the church.

"Because he is so talented, the adults in this church treat him with a lot of respect," she says. "And I don't know that we always treat and honor our children and our youth with a lot of respect."

Sarah Ellis, a member of the Mount Gretna choir since the time Ryan was born, says the age difference is no barrier when the choir rehearses and performs. "I forget that he's only 15, I truly do," says Ellis. "I know when I was his age, I don't think that anything like that would have even been on my radar."

Choir member Ron Jones, 54, calls Ryan "very gifted" and predicts he will go far in his future endeavors.

"The hour that we spend together every Tuesday night (rehearsing) is, I would say, about half serious and about half bantering back and forth between choir members. And I think that's part of our identity and that existed before Ryan, but it continues now," Jones says.

But there is one reminder of Ryan's young age. Choir members offer to take him home after practice, since he is not yet old enough to get a driver's license.

Using God's gifts
Ryan hopes to continue his musical pursuit after high school. He wants to get a doctoral degree in music, play for a church and perform.

Based on what they've seen so far, members of his congregation have little doubt he will succeed.
"If I wasn't the organist here and if I didn't use my talents in a good way, I just can't imagine that," he says. "I mean, when God gives you something like that, it's just, how can you not use it."

*Gordon is a freelance producer in Marshall, Texas.

Bishop Wills' Life Journal Entry for June 17, 2008, "The Small Everyday Things"

S: Colossians 3: 6-8 (The Message)
….grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It’s because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.

O: Paul is reminding his beloved Christians not to fall back into old ways of living. In our culture it is easy to let life be shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. Paul wants Christ followers only to live lives obedient to God and the teachings of Jesus.

A: This morning as I look at my own life, I find it easy to say I am doing pretty well at being a follower of Jesus. I do not steal money. I do not commit adultery. I show up to work and do my best each day. I sometimes think Paul’s words are for others. Then comes verses like these this morning.

For me the old way of life is easy to slip back into living. I do not do big things but my sin is in the small everyday things. Paul lists small things in our lives which we must continually work on, or they will pull each of us away from God and living the kind of life Jesus called “abundant”.

These are things like having a bad temper (I was born this way). irritability (I have a right to be that way when things don’t go my way. Profanity (I just say profanity the way my Dad said it when he was upset. It is just the way I am). Dirty talk ( I know devout Christians who talk dirty so it should be OK for me to do the same). For me it is the small things that sneak in my life and begin to destroy the life that God put into me through Jesus the Christ. I must guard my life to make sure the small things of everyday living do not drag me down so my life is guided by things and feelings.

P: Father thank you for this lesson today. Help me to watch even the smallest things in my life and make each word and action a gift to you as a follower of Jesus. Love, Dick

Y: I will watch the small things each day which are not pleasing to God

Academy for Spiritual Formation marks 25 years

By Jeanette Pinkston*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)--Twenty-five years ago, the Rev. Danny Morris was on a quest--but found that what he was seeking did not exist.

In 1978, Morris took a sabbatical from his position at the United Methodist Board of Discipleship to create a place where people could meet God.

The Rev. Danny Morris

It was an academy of sorts-not one made by hands, but one shaped and created by others seeking to share in a journey of faith. What Morris helped to build is now known as the Academy for Spiritual Formation, a product of The Upper Room.

Launched in 1983, the academy is a setting that is spiritually shaped around teaching, fellowship, communion and prayer. Nearly 1,200 people have attended the two-year academy, and another 10,000 have participated in its five-day experience.

"The idea of [the academy] was a spiritual gift," said Morris, former director of developing ministries at the Board of Discipleship. "I received it that way and I honored it that way all the way through. The fact that it would attract this many people over this length of time is not because it was cleverly organized; it was a spiritually anointed program from the very beginning and still is."

Refresher course
What Morris initially sought was an immediate refresher course focusing on spirituality and prayer. He was advised by Morton Kelsey, a well-known author in the field of spiritual formation, to find a spiritual guide who would help him design a study and guide him through it.

That is what Morris did.

During a three-month period, Morris talked with a cross-section of people in houses of prayer, monastic communities and churches. He found that there were many seeking a comprehensive program of spiritual formation that would be biblically based, theologically strong and ecumenical in its underpinning and also in its appeal to people.

"Danny was a receptive soul to the movement of the Spirit," said John Mogabgab, editor of the Weavings journal, an imprint of the Upper Room Ministries. "This vision was a gift, and Danny was primed to receive it. Danny took the vision and shaped it into a program."

Intended for both clergy and laity, the academy communicates knowledge about Christian spiritual formation and offers a context to experience first-hand diverse dimensions of spirituality.

"The word 'academy' means learning experience itself. It suggests comprehensiveness in terms of depth and breadth. The term 'academy' was with me almost from the beginning and it has turned out to be a good word," Morris said.

He designed an academy experience for people wanting to move into their spiritual journey in a rather dramatic way. It was a two-year program where people came together quarterly for two years, read 28-30 books, engaged in small covenant groups, spent time alone in prayer and developed personal ministry plans to implement when they returned home.

The emphasis was on body, mind and spirit and contained dimensions of physical and nutritional fitness, Morris said.

"I felt a sense that there ought to be spiritual 'feeder pens' in the life of the church that people could come to … those specific places … to get spiritual nourishment and to grow into the likeness of Christ in their own way and on their own time," he said.

Others on the journey
Prior to joining The Upper Room, Mogabgab was instrumental in shaping and directing the academy. Some participants consisted of hand-picked potential leadership teams from annual (regional) conferences with the idea that they would replicate the academy in various parts of the United States.

"This was thought to be a wonderful way to resource the church," said Mogagab, who views the Weavings journal as a print expression and sibling of the academy.

Today, the academy targets clergy and lay leaders who are serious seekers and desiring to grow in relation to God, and it provides them with a small group of spiritual friends to make the journey.

Many participants, including a Catholic nun, have gone on to become bishops, district superintendents, spiritual directors and writers.

"This is a wonderful gift to the church. The academy's greatest impact has been in identifying the importance of spiritual formation in the central consciousness of the church," Mogabgab said.
"The Academy has become an oasis of God's sustaining grace for all who, through its, ministry, have sought a better, more faithful, and fulfilling way of living," wrote Bishop Rueben Job in the foreword to Rhythm & Fire: Experiencing the Holy in Community and Solitude.

The book will be presented at the academy's 25th anniversary finale event in June. The Upper Room Ministries' Academy for Spiritual Formation is sponsoring a gathering of academy participants at June 23-26 at Camp Sumatanga in Gallant, Ala. Celebrations already have occurred in Texas, Wisconsin and California.

The academy is led by an advisory board that offers guidance but is not involved in any one specific academy.

"The wisdom of the design, curriculum, worship, rhythm of daily life, emphasis on holy and holistic living, and the selection of the leadership was no accident," Job said. "Rather, it resulted from a several-years-long experiment in disciplined discernment, carefully and prayerfully designed and directed by Danny Morris. He gathered around him faithful seekers with a rich variety of backgrounds, skills and experiences."

The academy
According to Mogabgab, the academy has been a formative experience rather than one shaped by the desires of any single individual along the way.

Thousands of people have participated in either two-year or five-day academies. Many call it a "seminal experience" to help them assimilate and proclaim their faith.

"As we look to the future, the model is so well regarded it will be continued in its same form. At the same time we know the context we live in is changing. Because of this we are challenged to work on new frontiers," said the Rev. Jerry Haas, who completed the academy in 1992-93.

While participants strongly affirm the academy, the experience leaves people with what Haas calls a "kingdom itch," a restless feeling that the church and the world can be different.

"This restlessness has led to a sense of 'generativity'--a desire to create and adapt. There is a sense of the academy being very fertile and very rich and it is something people want to share," he said.

*Pinkston is director of media relations at the United Methodist Board of Discipleship.

Bishop Wills' Life Journal Entry for May 28, 2008 -- "My Projects or God's Will"

S: Romans 9: 31 (The Message)
How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their “God projects” that they did not notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road.

O: It all comes down to being obedient to God and trusting where God is leading even if we cannot see the results at this point.

A: This morning I am aware of how often I try to come up with good ideas which will help churches to grow. In a way, these become my “God projects”. I can easily get absorbed in them to the point the focus becomes “me” instead of following the teachings of Jesus and being led by the Holy Spirit.

In the Bible someplace it says: “God’s ways are not our ways”. This is where I can often get tripped up. If I do not stay daily in scripture and prayer, I find myself adopting the thinking of the world and trusting my own “good ideas”.

Trusting God and trying to live the way Jesus would live if he were in my body is hard work. I would much rather trust in what I can see rather than trust in the leading of the Holy Spirit which I cannot see. I spend my day searching for God’s Will and here it is right in scripture each morning. Paul quotes Isaiah in the last verst of chapter 9 in Romans: “Careful! I’ve put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion, a stone you can’t get around. But the stone is me! If you are looking for me, you’ll find me on the way, not in the way.”

P: Father lead me today in the living of my life. Help me to have more faith with those things I cannot see and forgive me when I live only by what I do see. Forgive me for my own thinking of how to run life. Walk with me today so I live by faith and act in the ways Jesus would act if he were in my place today. Love, Dick

Y: I give up only what I can see and will trust the leading of the Holy Spirit in what God, the potter, decides to do with my lump of clay.

Bishops can give deacons sacramental authority

United Methodist ordained deacons, with the approval of their bishop, may now administer Holy Communion and baptism in the absence of an elder. UMNS photos by Mike DuBose.

A UMNS Report
By Vicki Brown*

United Methodist bishops will be allowed to grant authority to deacons to administer Holy Communion and baptism in certain circumstances under legislation approved this spring by General Conference.

The authority can be granted to a deacon within his or her primary appointment in the absence of an elder. The change takes effect in January 2009.

"This legislation is an effort to extend the mission and ministry of the church in extraordinary circumstances when an elder is not present," said the Rev. Mary Ann Moman, a staff executive with the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

"The legislation is a reminder of the importance of the sacramental ministry in the church and the world. It is fair to ask why elders aren't present in the places where the sacraments are needed."

The board presented the petition through its Study of Ministry Commission, which also asked to continue a denomination-wide conversation regarding ordination and sacramental authority for four more years. Delegates voted to create a new commission to continue that conversation and also approved the legislation allowing sacramental authority.

The legislation was approved by 67 percent of the delegates voting. General Conference, the top legislative body of The United Methodist Church, met April 23-May 2 in Fort Worth, Texas.

The petition amends the Book of Discipline to add: "For the sake of extending the mission and ministry of the church, a pastor-in-charge or district superintendent may request that the bishop grant local sacramental authority to the deacon to administer the sacraments in the absence of an elder, within a deacon's primary appointment." (Paragraph 328.)

Moman said agency staff will work with the Council of Bishops as the church's dpiscopal leaders address the issues of implementation, including exactly what situations would apply.

The board plans to distribute information to deacons, chairs of orders, and annual conference Boards of Ordained Ministry about the change.

The Rev. Sharon Rubey, director of candidacy and conference relations, said the legislation gives the authority to "extend the means of grace for the missional needs of the church, and not a means of convenience."

The Rev. Anita Wood, the board's director of professional ministry development, said the heart of the ministry of the deacon remains the call to connect the needs of the world to the ministries of the church.

"Deacons are called to the responsibility to serve in specialized ways that bridge ministries of the congregation with the needs of the community. Sometimes that may call for sacramental authority, and many times, not," Wood said.

Wood said it will be important to articulate the connection between the ministries of the deacon and offering the means of grace through sacramental authority and will require much discussion and discernment. "Informal conversations have already begun," she said.

*Brown is associate editor and writer, Office of Interpretation, United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

Bishop Wills' Life Journal Entry for May 13, 2008 -- "Loved By God And Loved By The Larger Community"

S: I Thessalonians 2:13 (The Message)
And now we look back on all this and thank God, an artesian well of thanks! When you got the Message of God we preached, you didn’t pass it off as just one more human opinion, but you took it to heart as God’s true word to you, which it is, God himself at work in you believers!
O: Maturity in the Christian life involves the steady conviction that God loves me, that my future is with God. At the same time there must be the steady conviction that other believers love me, hope for me, delight in me. Otherwise, I can never live freely and openly in a Christian community.

A: Sometimes, I think our small churches often feel inferior, rejected, and abandoned. It is easy to look to the large numbers in large churches and their many ministries and forget the importance of our small membership churches.

Our small membership churches need to know they are loved and we have hope for them in these days. Many of these faithful small membership churches are following Christ the very best they can. They care about children and young people. They want to help when there is trouble any place in the world. Their offerings seem small, but in God’s eyes they are among the largest.

Paul’s word to the Thessalonians is not only are they accepted and loved by God because of their obedience, they are also accepted and loved by the larger Christian community, starting with Paul himself.

I believe this teaching is for all of us to love and appreciate our smaller churches who are seeking to be faithful in these difficult days in our society. I know this teaching to me this morning is important and I pray to always honor people who love God and share the gospel no matter how big or small they are.

P: Father, thank you for this teaching this morning. It is easy to see only the big things our large churches are doing in ministry and miss the important Kingdom work of our smaller churches. I am deeply grateful for each of our churches and deeply grateful for those who are the pastors and lay leaders of all our churches. Love, Dick

Y: I will be affirming of each of our churches and their people and pastors who seek to be faithful to the gospel in these difficult days.

Bishop Wills' Life Journal Entry for May 4, 2008 -- "Making Room In The Center Of My Life"

S: Matthew 21: 42-43 (The Message)
The stone the masons threw out is now the cornerstone. This is God’s work; we rub our eyes, we can hardly believe it! This is the way it is with you. God’s kingdom will be taken back from you and handed over to a people who will live out a kingdom of life.

O: Jesus is talking to the religious leaders. They have been living a life where everything is in the hands and nothing is in the heart. This is a story of many today.

A: I and others live in a time when out standard of living is so high, our ability to possess is so well developed, and out claims to ownership are so conspicuous, and yet so many feel burdened with anxiety, guilt, emptiness, and boredom.

In a strange way I and others can end up living in the church playing the role of the wicked tenants in the vineyard. But despite our sin, God is still here in love and forgiveness, exercising his gracious rule over our lives.

For me the warning is this: If I refuse to acknowledge the ownership of God and my position as a steward of life, there will be no meaning or beauty or fullness in anything I do.

This morning I get the point: God wants me (and each of us) to enjoy all that he has given us. But I (we) can’t do it unless I (we) enjoy God at the center. Every joy radiates from that central joy, just as the rays of life-giving light radiate from sun.

P: Father this morning I give to you everything I have and all that I am. I simply ask for you to be the center of my life so my life can be filled with joy. May I always point to you as the source of everything gift in my life. Help me never take credit for anything I might do which is good. Love, Dick

Y: I give to God and center place in my life.

Bishop Ward: Wait, watch receive God’s spirit

By Woody Woodrick*

Bishop Hope Morgan Ward preaches during the morning worship service on May 2, the final day of the 10-day United Methodist General Conference. A UMNS photo by Paul Jeffrey

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS)—As the 2008 General Conference closes, delegates and other participants need to wait and watch so they can receive the ascended spirit of God.

Bishop Hope Morgan Ward of the Mississippi Episcopal Area delivered that message in her sermon on May 2, the final day of the gathering at the Fort Worth Convention Center.

“God bless you as you go,” she said. “How glorious it is to be a witness to the way God will be in the world beyond this place.”

Ward urged the delegates as they return to their homes to focus less on the decisions made and more on the things they learned. “We learned much about God,” she said.

“Christ reigns in every place. Christ reigns over all that we are and over everything that we do. In this General Conference-ending day, we know that Christ is with us.”

Joining Ward in the worship service were the Festival Choir from Christ United Methodist Church from Sugar Land, Texas, including soloist Barbara Johnson Tucker; the St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Choir of Dallas; and jazz pianist Eugene Lowry of Texas.

Ward based her sermon on Acts 1:6-11, where the disciples gathered with the risen Christ. However, He told them to wait for the time when God restores His kingdom – that it was not for them to know the time of His coming. Christ then ascended into heaven.

Ward acknowledged that many people, especially those at a meeting such as General Conference, have a difficult time waiting and not knowing. “This was an invitation to wait, to remember there are things we are not to know,” she said. “It was an invitation to receive the spirit, to be a witness.”

Tongues from across The United Methodist Church give the invocation during the May 2 morning worship at the 2008 United Methodist General Conference.

Ward shared the story of how United Methodists affected by Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi and Louisiana were asked to bring shards of broken items to be part of a cross or handed out to delegates to the General Conference. A woman came to Heritage United Methodist Church in D’Iberville, Miss., with a bent spoon. She said she had held onto it for more than two years, not knowing why.

“Since the storm I have kept this bent spoon,” the woman had said. “For some reason, I have not been able to throw this spoon away. Until now. I’m ready to let it go; let it go to someone at the General Conference.”

“God is powerfully with us. Christ ascends. The Spirit comes,” Ward said. “So, this day, let go. Wait. Watch. Receive.”

*Woodrick is editor of the Mississippi Advocate.

Church adopts proposed creed as litany

Darlene Marquez-Caramanzana and Norma P. Dollaga participate in an August 2007 workshop in Manila, Philippines, on the Social Creed. A UMNS file photo by Kathy L. Gilbert.

By Kathy L. Gilbert*

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS) — A proposed new Social Creed for The United Methodist Church became a “companion litany” instead after action by the denomination’s lawmaking body on April 30.

A task force under the leadership of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society worked on the “poetic” 2008 Social Creed that was proposed to the denomination’s General Conference meeting in Fort Worth through May 2.

Even though it will not replace the United Methodist Social Creed, the Rev. Neal Christie, staff on the board and a member of the task force, said it is “a gift to the church and reinforces and reframes the creed.”

“The proposed Social Creed was a beautiful, elegant expression about hope, and I will be excited to teach it as a litany,” he said.

The proposed creed went on a worldwide tour during 2007 and 2008 and reflected hours of careful crafting by United Methodists in the United States, Norway, Africa and the Philippines.

The task force wanted to present a social creed that would be easier to use than the 1972 creed. The original creed was written in 1908 as a denominational statement decrying child labor and supporting the economic rights of workers, better workplace conditions, better wages and worker safety.

The 2004 United Methodist General Conference designated 2005-2008 as a time of celebration, education and study of the Social Creed and Social Principles leading up to the 100th anniversary of the 1908 Social Creed.

As part of that celebration, the Board of Church and Society took on the task of writing a contemporary, timeless version to offer for future generations.

The Book of Discipline, the denomination's book of law, recommends the Social Creed be emphasized regularly in every congregation and used frequently in Sunday worship.

*Gilbert is a news writer for United Methodist News Service.

Sight, sounds, movements create worship experience
By Yvette-Moore*

Marcia McFee, co-director of music and worship, leads singing during morning worship on April 27 at the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. A UMNS photo by Paul Jeffrey

FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS) —What we do in worship matters. That's a guiding principle shaping the sights, sounds, feel and movement experienced in the physically engaging worship services of the 2008 United Methodist General Conference.

"Worship helps form us. The question is what are we being formed into?" said Marcia McFee, co-director of music and worship at the quadrennial event. "It's not enough to sing the word. It's not enough to talk the word. Something happens when we act."

She believes getting physical in worship can help the church act like the body of Christ that it is. Worshippers at General Conference are clapping, singing, offering liturgies in American Sign Language, moving with songs of faith from around the world and turning en masse to face one another across the communion table in the center of the arena to enter what McFee calls "the physicality of spirituality."

"Our physical bodies have something to do with our discipleship," she said. "When we do something as simple as turning to the center to face each other around the communion table and see each other as the body of Christ across the table – especially in a place where there can be so many divisions – there's no way we can then turn away from one another."

Collaborative work
From the start, the music and worship of this General Conference has been the collaborative work of McFee and Mark Miller. The two learned they'd both applied to direct music and worship at General Conference while crossing paths at Drew Theological School where McFee teaches and Miller is director of music and instructor of church music. Their joint response was, "Let's have lunch," according to McFee.

Mark Miller, co-director of music and worship, leads singing during worship at General Conference. A UMNS photo by Paul Jeffrey.

"We talked because this is a huge job -- together, we could do something special," she said. "One of the wonderful things about the collaboration is I've gotten to focus on worship design, pulling together ritual and the dramatics, and writing liturgy."

McFee and Miller put out a call for artists of all kinds for General Conference worship. They reviewed each video, CD and script submission, considering how each artist's offering could fit with the General Conference's theme, "A Future with Hope."

For example, the Strangely Warmed Players' "Crossing to the Other Side" comedy skit, featuring a captain who for safety reasons refused to undock his ship, challenged the church to risk being in mission on the day General Conference participants were called to remember their baptisms.

"I'm not a big fan of worship as a showcase," McFee said. "Artists are there to proclaim the word. In all of the services, we worked hard to integrate the theme and speak to the word proclaimed."

Dramatic, full-bodied worship is a hallmark of McFee's work around the church. The author, preacher and worship designer has developed worship for church events, such as the quadrennial United Methodist Women's Assembly, and regularly led retreats and seminars on worship.

"I started out as a dancer -- and dance is a part of my life that I love -- but it's not about watching people dance," McFee said. "Worship is about asking people to enter into the physicality of spirituality. If worship never moves us to sync up with each other, we're less likely to feel that we are the body of Christ."

*Moore is an executive secretary of communication for the Women's Division, United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

Proposed new hymnal will go to 2012 assembly

The Rev. Thomas A. (Andy) Langford III of North Carolina presents a petition to develop a hymnal for The United Methodist Church. The petition was approved by delegates to the 2008 United General Conference. A UMNS photo by John C. Goodwin..

By the Rev. Kathy Noble*

United Methodist congregations in the United States could have a new United Methodist Hymnal within five years.

Delegates to the 2008 General Conference set part of the agenda for the 2012 assembly late in the evening of April 28 as they approved creation of a hymnal revision committee. The committee will bring a proposed hymnal to the next session of the denomination's top legislative body. Delegates from around the world also approved a four-year study of issues around developing an Africana hymnal with findings to be reported to the 2012 session.

Authorization of a committee to develop the new hymnal came 20 years after adoption of the first official United Methodist Hymnal. The final vote of 450-336 to create the committee came after debate in which younger delegates both supported and spoke against a new book of hymns and other worship resources. While the hymnal to be developed during the next four years is primarily for U.S. congregations, the work is to be a "prologue" to future work in other regions of the worldwide United Methodist Church.

The benefits of a new hymnal will include the incorporation of "new expressions of worship ... to engage all persons, including new, younger and diverse people," according to the petition to create the committee.

Shannon Meister, a delegate from Missouri, countered that a "new book isn't going to make more young people come to our church. Relationships will." Stating that young people prefer to sing from words on a screen rather than in print, she added that a book that is supposed to contain new music would be "outdated" when it was produced.

Supporting creation of the hymnal revision committee, Matt Kuzma, another young adult and reserve delegate from Northern Illinois, agreed that "new technology is very important in music ministry, but nothing (about a new hymnal) precludes the church from using new technology."

Music study

A four-year joint music study by the United Methodist Board of Discipleship and the United Methodist Publishing House led to the request to create the hymnal revision committee.

"United Methodists teach our faith as we sing our hymns," said the Rev. Karen Greenwaldt, chief executive of the discipleship agency and a General Conference delegate. She added that while a new hymn book will be brought for adoption to the 2012 General Conference, "the hymnal revision committee will bring additional plans for ways the new hymnal can be delivered through electronic and visual means."

If a future General Conference approves developing it, an Africana hymnal would incorporate music and liturgy from African as well as Caribbean, African-American and other traditions with African roots.

Neil Alexander, top executive for the Publishing House, said the study "is a way to solicit and learn from the opinions of a cross-section of persons whose life experiences and ministries we want to serve faithfully now and in the future."

*Noble is editor of Interpreter magazine and Interpreter OnLine, publications of United Methodist Communications, serving on the newsroom team during General Conference 2008. Jeanette Pinkston, director of media relations for the United Methodist Board of Discipleship, contributed to this report.

Upper Room Ministries offers hope and prayers in multiple languages; targets persons suffering with serious diseases

FORT WORTH, Texas, April 28, 2008 /GBOD/ --As delegates and visitors to the United Methodist General Conference arrived at the Fort Worth Convention Center on the first-ever World Malaria Day, April 25, volunteers passed out a small, but powerful book of prayers published by Upper Room Ministries, a ministry of the Board of Discipleship, and written by real people suffering with serious diseases.

Prayers for Encouragement: Hope for Persons Living with HIV and AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis and Other Serious Diseases is available in French, Spanish, Korean, Portuguese, Kiswahili, Xhosa and English.

According to the Rev. Karen Greenwaldt, top executive for the Board of Discipleship, “the motivation, compassion and perseverance to care for those infected and affected by serious diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria must come from prayer as we look, ultimately, to God for a solution.”

At an April 25 press conference announcing a $5 million grant from the United Nations Foundation with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bishop Thomas Bickerton, said that the grant funds would support a fundraising and educational campaign to help end deaths of children from malaria, with an ultimate goal of raising $100 million over the next several years for programs in Africa to fight malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and to support the Global Fund.”

Responding to a question about the inclusion of faith and spiritual formation resources like Prayers for Encouragement in the up scaling of Nothing But Nets, Bickerton said “we ought to have a posture of expectation that really can result in something as simple as issuing a challenge to this General Conference and to the people of the United Methodist Church to get involved and find their expression in the midst of the global health campaign.

Don’t wait for someone to ask you to get involved and that may lead to spiritual formation resources-- books that are published from those who have the gifts of doing that,” Bickerton said.

Don Messer, author of Breaking the Conspiracy of Silence-Christian Churches and the Global AIDS Crisis and executive director of the Center for the Church and Global AIDS, believes that Prayers for Encouragement is an example of this “posture of expectation” and is helping to lead the way forward in this effort by this year adding Spanish and Korean to editions developed last year.

The Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive for United Methodist Communications, says that upscaled efforts with Nothing But Nets will include an integrated program in Côte d’Ivorie that involves faith and spiritual formation information being shared with coordination of bed nets distribution through United Methodist Clinics at health systems that are in place, and in coordination with the Board of Global Ministries Health and Welfare Ministries staff.

“What we are hopeful of seeing is that we are so inclusive that those people who for reasons of prejudice or lack of information are excluded (particularly) because of the stigma of HIV/AIDS that the information that we provide is informing and changing attitudes to allow for the whole community to be served and to be included in the work of health and ministry in the church.

After discovering battered copies of the Upper Room Daily Devotional Guide in the waiting room of Maua Methodist Hospital in Kenya, Messer was led by God to contact Upper Room Ministries about publishing a special collection of prayers for persons suffering with HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

Realizing that people had repeatedly read the 10-year old devotional guides while seeking biblical counsel and strong spiritual advice inspired Messer to suggest to the Upper Room that a book like that would be helpful for all 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS.

“Where there is human suffering and crisis, Upper Room Ministries wants to provide openings to God’s healing and reconciling grace. When Dr. Messer contacted us, we knew this was consistent with who God has called us to be.

“The HIV/AIDS pandemic is bigger than our human capacity. We must make the very best use of medical research, medicine, social work and education… they all play a part in solving the crisis,” said the Rev. Stephen Bryant, world editor of the Upper Room.

Though many health and service organizations offer information and support regarding prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, resources from a Christian spirituality perspective are scarce.

“There are many different avenues of faith formation that will be a part of this program,” said Hollon.

“And there are indigenous religions on site that when they hear who we represent, who we call Lord move in our direction and say, ‘this is what we’ve been talking about all the time but we’ve been using a different name,’” said Bishop Felton May, interim top executive for the General Board of Global Ministries.

“I find that more often than not, we feel that we have to place in their hands exactly the way we do it…rather than discovering what is there indigenously and taking advantage of that.”

“I think you’re going to see a lot of planned events and a structure that will evolve but I would just also issue the challenge that one should feel it in your heart to help us develop the resources to meet the need,” Bickerton said.

What is unique to Prayers for Encouragement is that a number of meditations are written by persons who are HIV+…persons seeking God’s healing presence while living with stigma, discrimination, and rejection by family and friends.

Prayers for Encouragement editions in Japanese, Thai, Khmer, Setswana, Sotho, IsiZulu, and other languages are planned. The Spanish edition has been printed at several points in Latin America, while the Korean translation is printed in Singapore. African language editions have been printed in South Africa.

The United Methodist Global AIDS Fund has contributed over $30,000 to the total project and made possible all the funds to print Spanish and Korean language editions.

For more information contact, Dale Rust Waymack, Dale Rust Waymack, Upper Room Ministries’ Africa region coordinator for the US at 877-899-2780; ext. 7236 or dwaymack@gbod.org.

United Methodists in West Tennessee, Western Kentucky and Africa mourn loss of beloved pastor

By Cathy Farmer

Heartfelt prayers have been offered in church services and by thousands of people across the Memphis Conference and the continent of Africa for Dr. Mickey Carpenter, Superintendent of the Paris District, his wife, Marsha Dorgan, and their two daughters, Megan and Michelle.

Dr. Carpenter, 60, lost his life in an accidental drowning while fishing on Bush Lake in Carroll County, Tennessee on Friday, April 18.

Volunteers from more than six rescue squads as far away as Chattanooga, TN joined in the week-long search that resulted in the discovery of his body on Saturday, April 26. During the search, local churches and the Memphis Conference cabinet provided food and drinks for the search teams.

Marsha, though grieving and greatly missing her husband and the father of her children, has expressed great thankfulness to everyone who has been gracious and showed such love and concern for her and her family.

Bishop Dick Wills, in statements to the media, said that though the death of Dr. Carpenter is a great tragedy, some good may yet come of it through memorials in his name to the Dream Farm Project at Africa University. The Dream Farm, a project originated by Marsha Dorgan, an agriculturalist, will serve as a model of sustainable agriculture for the impoverished small holder farmers of Zimbabwe. At the Farm, they will learn methods they can easily use and replicate.

Before flying back from General Conference at Fort Worth, Texas to be with Marsha and the girls, Bishop Wills reported Dr. Carpenter’s disappearance to his colleagues on the Council of Bishops. The entire Council offered prayers for the Carpenter family. The bishops from Africa shared the sad news about the Carpenters with the United Methodists in their Episcopal areas. Many of Marsha’s friends in Zimbabwe have called her home in Paris, Tenn. to express their grief for her husband’s death and to pray with her.

Dr. Carpenter was a cherished father and husband, beloved pastor and friend, and a caring district superintendent.

Bishop Wills said, “Mickey was first and foremost a loving husband, father and grandfather. He loved the pastors with whom he worked. He was one of the most conscientious superintendents every to occupy that office.

“Mickey was fishing the day he died to catch fish for a fish fry for the cabinet in May,” Wills continued. “I’ll never forget the twinkle in his eye when he would tell us he was going to do ‘lake ministry.’”

Memorials to the Africa University Dream Farm may be sent to: James Finger, Memphis Conference Treasurer, 24 Corporate Blvd., Jackson, TN 38305-2315.

Bishop Wills' Life Journal Entry for April 23, 2008 -- Our Assignments

S: Matthew 10: 5-6 (The Message)
Don’t begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don’t try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick………Vs 10 You don’t need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment…..

O: Many people want the renewal and growth of our church. The renewal of the church will begin when each of us goes out to be with lost people.

A: Most of the time the people in the church feel if only we had the right minister. Or the Pastors feel if only they had the right church. If both groups get their way then things will be better and our churches can grow. There is some truth in that way of thinking.

As I read the words of Jesus this morning I am aware a lot of people, including me, think if we only get the right match with the church and pastor then things will go well. This is a partial truth. When the right pastor is matched with the right church, then the church and pastor can enjoy this time of renewal and growth.

While what I have written above is true, Jesus says clearly each of us has a part to play. Jesus tells me to go to the lost and confused people in my own neighborhood. He also tells them to bring health to the sick.

This morning I am struck by these words so clearly spoken by Jesus. I know of a church in which a group of its members are doing exactly that. They go in teams in the neighborhoods around them. They pray before they go up to the door. If someone is home they ask if there is anything they can pray for that person and family. If the person says, “yes”, then they pray for that family and bring back to the church the prayer needs of that person and family. People in the church actually pray for these confused and lost people.

What they are finding is if the people have a church home, they thank God and do not go back. They are finding as they pray for people, new persons are beginning to show up each week at church. Their church has begun to grow!

What is happening this church has touched me deeply and I have asked to go with a team one Saturday morning. This morning Jesus affirms what each of us can do and should do if we are followers of Jesus.

P: Father, thank you for today. Thank you for the inspiration a group of people are making in one of our churches. So many thought this church would die, yet by your Holy Spirit, new people are beginning to come to this church because these people have taken your Son seriously. Thank you for the gift they have brought to me. May I have the courage to join with those who seek the lost, confused, and often sick people of this world. Love, Dick

Y I give up any feelings that the Lord will not honor our obedience and especially my obedience :in following Jesus

Discipleship Resources is new distributor for OSL Publications

NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 11, 2008 /GBOD/ --Discipleship Resources, a ministry of the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship, is the new distributor for OSL Publications, the publishing unit of the Order of Saint Luke.

An affiliate of GBOD, OSL primarily offers resources related to worship and the sacraments of the church.

“We are grateful that OSL has entrusted GBOD -- through Discipleship Resources -- with distributing their valuable content and materials that support and strengthen local churches,” said the Rev. Karen Greenwaldt, top executive for GBOD.

In an agreement forged a few weeks ago, Discipleship Resources will begin distributing OSL resources immediately.

W. Brent Sturm, OSL’s chancellor general, says that "OSL Publications has been able to do what few presses can: keep important theological texts in print that don't sell huge numbers of copies.

Now, with the strength of Discipleship Resources' marketing and distribution network, more people will have access to those titles.”

This is a wonderful example of cooperative ministry, proving that one plus one can equal much more than two!" said Sturm.

OSL, which began in 1947, will continue editorial oversight and development of books in the areas of worship, liturgy, spiritual formation and prayer.

“I am delighted to see Discipleship Resources welcome OSL Publications in this new relationship. It has been a valued partner of GBOD for many years in developing worship resources our congregations can use and deepening the understanding of what we do in worship and why. I look forward to a fruitful partnership in the years ahead,” says Taylor Burton-Edwards, Director of Worship for the agency.

Burton-Edwards pointed out that two of OSL’s newest titles include study guides for “This Holy Mystery” and “By Water and the Spirit” that can help children and younger youth experience and understand United Methodist theology and practice of the sacraments.

Customers may order OSL Publications through Discipleship Resources’ customer service line (1-800-972-0433) and through www.upperroom.org/bookstore.

“Although the close relationship between the sacramental and liturgical life of the church and Christian discipleship has always been visible in the work of GBOD and the publications of Discipleship Resources, this new working relationship increases the visibility of that connection and emphasizes its importance,” said the Rev. E. Byron Anderson, Styberg Associate Professor of Worship at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.

OSL titles will be included in Discipleship Resources’ catalogs and other marketing and promotions materials.

Bishop Wills' Life Journal entry for April 12, 2008, "Bitter or Better"

S: 2 Corinthians 12:7-8 (The Message)
Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I would not get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations.

O: Paul was afraid of getting too big a head as he went around preaching. So, his limitation was a thorn in the flesh to remind him all of his gifts are from God. In fact Paul was able to view his limitation as a gift rather than a curse.

A: I often meet people with limitations in the church. And, as with most painful things in life, the limitation makes you better or bitter.

I am touched when a person who has limitations becomes better rather than bitter.

As a child I had polio in my lower left leg and foot. But for many years I did with my crippled foot what most other people with two good feet could do. But then there came a time when my left foot became less and less useable. All this time I served the Lord with all my ability. God did not heal my foot because, like Paul, it has become a gift to keep me in touch with my limitations.

I get tired easily. I no longer can run. (I used to run 2-5 miles every day.) I can no longer play racquet ball. But rather than sink to depression, I have chosen to thank God for all those years I WAS able to play racquet ball, run every day, and do a host of other things I can no longer do.

God could have healed my foot. But what I found is that God’s grace is sufficient. I live with great gratitude for the times I was able to all those things I love so much to do.

P: Father thank you for today and thank you for the gift of my physical limitations. Your grace is sufficient always. Love, Dick

Y: I yield any bitterness in my heart for my physical limitations.

A Commentary by Dean McIntyre: Thinking about a new hymnal

NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 11, 2008 /GBOD/ --What might a new United Methodist hymnal for the USA look like? What will it contain? Will we sing or speak the psalms? What worship services will be included? Will we call God mother or father -- or both? Will “Onward Christian Soldiers” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” remain? Will it be another print book for the pew racks or will it be on a disc for projecting on screens? Or will we decide which songs and hymns we need for a particular Sunday and download them from a website? Will we have hymns and songs in many languages? Will a new hymnal include more contemporary praise and worship songs and choruses? How about some rap, responsories, revival songs, or reciting tones? Will it have more newly composed hymns in traditional style? Will we lose or gain Wesley hymns? Will the texts of Wesley be simplified and set to contemporary music? Will it have melody only, four-part harmony, or keyboard accompaniment with guitar chords? Will we project words only or words and music? Will old favorite hymns be dropped to make room for the new songs and choruses?

In 2007 the General Board of Discipleship (GBOD) and the UM Publishing House (UMPH) completed a four-year study of the music and worship needs of the UMC, primarily those associated with congregational song. (See the complete study report at www.gbod.org/worship/musicstudy.)

GBOD has recently completed a series of research surveys related to music and worship practices and our hymnal. (Results are available at www.gbod.org/hymnal.)

These studies and research surveys are valuable in finding out what the people, pastors, and musicians think about these and other issues related to worship, congregational singing, and our hymnal. They help agencies and editorial committees understand what are the practices, trends, desires and needs in the local congregation. They help agencies and publishers remain responsive to the present, anticipatory of the future, and faithful to the past as they plan new worship and music resources.

The studies and research, however, are only a part of the complete picture. There are numerous other considerations in planning a new hymnal and other resources. A survey is completed by one individual, but a hymnal is for millions of individuals and thousands of diverse communities. The church includes people of all ages and races, both genders, urban/rural, large and small congregations, and cultural backgrounds. What are the UMC’s membership demographics today and what are they projected to be over the next generation? What is the current state of technology and how does that compare with the technological capacity in the local church? What price will ensure affordability for customers, as well as ensure the publisher’s ability to recoup the hymnal’s research, editorial, and production costs and fund future publishing efforts?

The recent surveys, then, are an important tool in planning for the next hymnal, but understanding what worshipers, pastors, and musicians are thinking reveals only part of the picture. With that in mind, here are just a few of the statistics and findings from recent surveys.
.The top three favorites in the current UM hymnal are “Amazing Grace,” “Here I Am, Lord,” and “How Great Thou Art.”
.The top three favorite hymns from The Faith We Sing are “The Summons,” “I’ll Fly Away,” and “As the Deer.”
.The top favorite of under-30 UMs is “Be Thou My Vision.”
.The #1 requested hymn to include in a new hymnal: “Eternal Father, Strong to Save.”
.Top three requests to include not now in the UM hymnal or The Faith We Sing: “Love Lifted Me,” “Open the Eyes of My Heart,” and “God Bless America.”
.Most frequently sung non-Christmas hymns over the past three years: “Amazing Grace,” “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” and “Blessed Assurance.”
.Most frequent songs from The Faith We Sing: “Shine, Jesus, Shine”; “Sanctuary”; and “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love.”
.10% of pastors, worship planners, and chief musicians expressed interest in multiple languages in the Psalter.
.36% prefer the Psalter as it is now presented. 27% prefer not to include the chanting. 38% would like to have Psalms set as hymns and songs.
.75% would like to have Healing Services in the hymnal.
.The least-used worship service in the hymnal is Word and Table IV, unused by 34%.
.43% want more praise choruses in the hymnal; 34% do not.
.70% sing the melodies of our hymns; 61% will sing harmony when it is provided.
.70% are comfortable using male-only language for God. 25% are comfortable using female language for God. 42% are comfortable using male or female language for God.
.28% prefer to sing lyrics on a screen. 70% prefer to use a hymnal or songbook.
.65% prefer Wesley texts with their traditional tunes. 33% prefer contemporary tunes.

(NOTE: The GBOD and UMPH boards of directors have proposed to the 2008 General Conference that it is now time to begin production of a new United Methodist hymnal for the USA. They have also proposed a four-year study into the need for and possible publication of an official UM hymnal for African American and Africana congregations. Both hymnal petitions are available on the GBOD website at http://www.gbod.org/worship/musicstudy/part4.asp.)

The research and reports of the joint GBOD-UMPH General Conference Music Study and GBOD’s additional new hymnal research are available on the GBOD worship website:

2004-2007 General Conference Music Study, www.gbod.org/worship/musicstudy
2007-2008 New Hymnal Surveys, www.gbod.org/hymnal