Great Plains Annual Conference 2014 Daily of the United Methodist Church for Friday, 13 June 2014 Each day there will be a special edition of "GPconnect." Below you can find information on what attendees can expect during AC 2014, along with announcements and featured stories.
It's not easy, but it's worth it
Friday opens with songs of praise
Faithfulness requires community, abiding and pruning
Institutions share progress
Pension and benefit report passes by two votes
Rev. Jorge Acevedo headlines Hispanic Ministry lunch
Task force to study resolution eliminating three districts
It's not easy, but it's worth it
By the Rev. Stephanie Ahlschwede, Lincoln South Gate UMC .
The Rev. George Acevedo greeted those being ordained and commissioned and invited those in attendance to listen in on his sermon. Citing his decision to return to intentional daily bible reading in 2001, he lifted up six texts from the Apostle Paul which describe the work of the pastor, and then concluded with two suggestions for a way forward.
After a caution to listeners to not become depressed, Acevedo began with an acknowledgement of the pressure of pastoral ministry, referencing 2 Corinthians 11, where after a list of burdens, Paul ends, by adding to the list, the pressure of caring for the church and the community it serves. He then moved to Galatians 4:19, and spoke of the heartbreak of living in the space between a desire for spiritual growth, and the reality of seeing spiritual immaturity among those about, and for whom, pastors care. This was followed by an acknowledgement of the pressures on clergy families, as referenced in 1 Tim 3-5.
Additional concerns lifted up by Paul include the task of protecting unity (1 Cor 1:10), the temptation of comparisons to others (2 Cor 11:5) and the anguish of feeling betrayed and abandoned, as described in Tim 4:9-11.
After this list of formidable challenges, Acevedo moved to two powerful suggestions. Reminding those to be ordained of Paul's return, time and again, to his Damascus road story. Acevedo urged those present to never forget their call, asking, "what brings you" and then ended with a call to remember the significance of the work ahead.
Acevedo presented a video from a recent baptism at his church. He used the story of a young woman named Venesia to illustrate the power of faith in each person’s life, and concluded by affirming that it is the good work and privilege of being a pastor to the people that makes the work worth it.
Those commissioned as provisional elders include: Lora Lee Andrews, Emily Elizabeth Spearman Cannon, Andrew Michael Frazier, Benjamin Christopher Hanne, Changsu Kim, Hyeayoun Kim, Joohyang Kim, Teresa Lynn Lucas, Joseph McColligan, Jose Manuel Miranda, Charles Augustine Rivera and Kimberly Anne Shank.
Those commissioned as deacon include: Katherine Elizabeth Ebling and Melanie Nord Martin.
Those recognized from another denomination include: Jaiseong Pi and Sergio Tristan.
Those ordained as deacons include: Susan Barham and Barbra J. Lenz.
Those ordained as elders include: Amanda Lee Bennett Baker, Brenda Jo (Fasse) Davids, Natalie Kay Faust, Claire Elizabeth Gadberry, Alan W. Gager, Trudy Hanke, Andrew Barnes Yantis Hargrove, Ezekiel Kimutai Koech, Linda Kusse-Wolfe, Patrick McLaughlin, Wendy Mohler-Seib, Nicole Jean Schwartz and Blair Elizabeth Thompson.
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Friday opens with songs of praise
Dr. Michael Tully, director of music at Trinity UMC in Lincoln, Neb., opened several days of the Great Plains Annual Conference Session with music performed Tully and the Trinity UMC's worship band.
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Faithfulness requires community, abiding and pruning
By the Rev. Bill Fitzgerrel, retired clergy from the Kansas City area.
"It's my juice every Friday night." That’s the reaction of one of the many who are engaged in ministry at a dynamic Friday night service at Grace United Methodist Church in southwest Florida. The Rev. Jorge Acevedo has been pastor there for 18 years saw the Lord grow the church from an early attendance of 400 to a multi-campus complex with 2,600 in attendance. He credits prayer for building this congregation that exhibits "Healthy" Inviting "Abundant." His special prayer was: "Lord, send us the people no one else wants."
On Friday morning, Pastor Acevedo gave a special preaching-teaching session to the Great Plains Conference to lead the conference into fruitfulness. He told of snatching an apple from a display of fruit when he was a child — only to discover it was artificial fruit. "A lot of churches have artificial fruit," he said. Teaching from the Upper Room Discourse in John 13-16, he gave the conference one transferrable truth: "Faithfulness precedes fruitfulness." He gave the conference three necessities for faithfulness.
First, "Faithfulness requires community." The sayings of Jesus in John 15 about the vine use the plural. As a southerner, he explained, "It's not 'you,s'll.; We need rich, deep community relationships. The greatest problem for pastors is loneliness. He disclosed that he involves himself in small groups, covenant groups, a 12-step program and sees a spiritual coach weekly - all to stay connected.
Second, "Faithfulness requires abiding" He told how Dale Junior (Earnhart) ran out of gas half a lap before the end of a race. We can also run out of gas. We keep our tanks full by regular devotions. He listed four reasons why he does devotions: they help him listen to God; they dethrone self; he experiences insight at 5 a.m., that will be for someone he sees at 2 p.m.; and a devotion "creates space for innovation."
Third, "Faithfulness requires pruning." God prunes through discipline that cuts away things which keep one from faithfulness. He told of how God spoke to him recently not to worship anything including the "spiritual" things like a church, a worship leader, a book, but God. God also prunes through deliverance. To explain deliverance, he described how vine dressers would lift up the low-hanging fruit that had slumped into the dirt and clean it and prop it up. He then told of his own recent experience on Sabbatical. After 18 years of ministry, he needed to be picked up out of the dirt, cleaned off and propped up. With help from his counselor he experienced God's heartbeat of love, much as the Apostle John leaned on Jesus' breast and heard "Abba" ("Daddy God") love.
Pastor Acevedo asked each one of his listeners how were they doing in developing faithfulness through community, abiding and God’s pruning. For faithfulness precedes fruitfulness.
Photo: The Rev. Jorge Acevedo leads the morning worship on Friday, June 13,
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Institutions share progress
The plenary meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Friday focused on new changes and the important connections between Mission Agencies and the churches and communities they serve.
Read about that progress at Saint Paul School of Theology, Kansas Wesleyan University, EmberHope, Justice for Our Neighbors and Wesley House.
Institutions share progress
The plenary meeting at 9:30 a.m., on Friday focused on new changes and the important connections between Mission Agencies and the churches and communities they serve.
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Larry Ruth, the representative speaking on behalf of Nebraska Wesleyan University, said that while traditional students and bachelor degrees are still the backbone of the university, changes are taking place. One of these changes includes a larger presence in Omaha, Neb., and the addition of the Rev. Charlotte Abram and Dr. Dan Flanagan to the board of trustees.
“That connection (between Nebraska Wesleyan and the United Methodist Church) is alive and well,” Ruth said.
Saint Paul School of Theology
“Change is extremely difficult,” said David Sisney, the vice president of advancement at Saint Paul School of Theology. “If an organization isn’t willing to change, innovate and improve, it will die.”
Last year, Saint Paul moved its campus to the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kan. where they developed a new, streamlined curriculum; re-vamped their marketing and communication efforts and worked to improve real-world experiences to prepare their students to live into their mission after graduation.
“We’ve been working on these changes for 18-plus months,” Sisney said. “The easy thing would be for us to close our doors. But they chose the more difficult path of innovative change.” Sisney added that support from The United Methodist Church and the Great Plains Conference comes in the form of prayer, monetary donations and positive language.
Kansas Wesleyan University
Matt Thompson, the president of Kansas Wesleyan University (KWU), said the university’s job is to enable their students to become who they were called to be by creating future lay and clerical leaders for the church.
KWU has added new classes and majors in environmental sustainability and community resilience, sports ministry and worship arts ministry that will create strong, welcoming communities for changing church demographics.
Thompson added that KWU has a new Center for Global Service Learning. This center helps students and other youth and adult ministries by giving them the opportunity for practical, hands-on experiences in mission work, either domestically or internationally.
EmberHope
According to Shelley Duncan, the CEO of EmberHope, the organization lost a large chunk of government funding last year.
“Personally, if it weren’t for my faith I don’t know if I could’ve kept going,” Duncan said. But now, she said she feels renewed, refreshed and excited about EmberHope’s future.
To make up for the monetary loss, EmberHope has begun making connections with other non-profits in the different areas they serve. That way, the organization can keep helping at-risk children. Some of these new ministries include school-based; therapeutic services; a movement against sex trafficking and helping victims who have been a part of it; and opening a new office in San Antonio, Tex., to provide services to the 50,000 undocumented children making their way across the border.
Justice For Our Neighbors
Emiliano Lerda also spoke about the connections Justice for our Neighbors has made throughout Nebraska. In addition to their partnerships in Central Nebraska, a recent grant has created the opportunity to develop relationships with churches in Crete and South Sioux City, Neb. as well. “They are crucial to what we do,” Lerda said.
JFON provides free legal services to those working their way through the immigration system. “Let me remind you that immigration law is also known by some of the brightest legal scholars to be the most complicated legal law,” Lerda said.
Wesley House
For Ellie Foster, pastor of Wesley House in Pittsburg, Kan., the changes they are facing come in growing numbers of the individuals and families who need their services.
Wesley House provides food to families in the summer, when school meals are no longer available to children, and they provide vouchers for new shoes and jeans so kids can pick their own clothing.
According to Foster, historical documents say Wesley house was once overwhelmed when they served 18 families in one month. “Today, if we help 18 families in a day, that is a very quiet day,” Foster said.
Many of these organizations support their communities and The United Methodist Church, but they need support as well to keep their ministries going. Several are Mission Agency Support organizations that receive funding through the one percent conference asking attached to the 10 percent apportionment request.
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Pension and benefit report passes by two votes
By the Rev. Nancy R. Pauls , p astor of congregational care and prayer at the Church of the Resurrection , Leawood, Kan.
In a heartwarming moment at the Great Plains Annual Conference Session, Mary Lou Reece introduced her mother, Mary Nell Reece, who has been the lay member to annual conference from Scandia UMC, in Scandia, Kan., for many years. Mrs. Reece is also serving as the patient mother-in-law of Bishop Jones.
The Rev. Jason Kennedy, pastor at Horizons UMC, in Lincoln, Neb., and graduate of Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Co., introduced Dr. Tom Wolfe, president and CEO of Iliff. Dr. Wolf said that while challenges are great and anxieties can run high, we are no different from any other generation that serves the church. Iliff has a strong and growing student body and is an intellectually alive and spiritually deep theological seminary that embodies the essence of the church. Iliff is currently undergoing renovations to upgrade the facility and is creating creative partnerships and new ministries that can live fully into the ever-increasing diversity of the world.
Kelly Williams, Pensions and Benefits Team chair, gave the pension report. This summary of what appears in the Annual Conference journal every year, was distributed for adoption by the conference. The movement to suspend the rules passed.,The only change from the work completed at Uniting Conference last August was the 2 percent increase in the past service rate. The motion to amend the clergy portion of the health insurance premium to no more than 3.5 percent of their salary initially failed. When a counted vote was taken, the motion passed by 444 in favor and 442 opposed.
Williams noted that the 2015 comprehensive benefit funding plan is 124 percent funded, and the conference also has ample reserves to protect clergies’ pension plans due to instability in the stock market. In the discussion on clergy health insurance, it was noted that all of the churches in the Great Plains Conference share the responsibility for providing clergy health insurance, and they also are called to pray for one another as these difficult decisions are made.
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Rev. Jorge Acevedo headlines Hispanic Ministry lunch
Serenading by Hector and Sherri Sanchez blessed everyone approaching Saint Paul UMC in Lincoln, Neb., to attend the Great Plains Hispanic Ministrylunch on Friday, June 12. Colombian harpist William Sanchez further blessed attendees as they gathered and proceeded through the buffet of pulled pork, potato salad and fresh fruit. Cesar Garcia Rodriguez and Miriam Peralta de Garcia welcomed everyone, alternating between Spanish and English. Among the nearly 200 attendees were the Micah Corps interns, CCYM members and other youth, Congregational Excellence staff and Bishop Scott and Mary Lou Jones. A video highlighted each of the dozens of Hispanic congregations and outreach ministries across the conference and the pastors, evangelists and other people serving within them.
Read more about the lunch on the Great Plains Conference website.
Rev. Jorge Acevedo headlines Hispanic Ministry lunch
Serenading by Hector and Sherri Sanchez blessed everyone approaching Saint Paul UMC in Lincoln, Neb., to attend the Great Plains Hispanic Ministry lunch on Friday, June 12. Colombian harpist William Sanchez further blessed attendees as they gathered and proceeded through the buffet of pulled pork, potato salad and fresh fruit. Cesar Garcia Rodriguez and Miriam Peralta de Garcia welcomed everyone, alternating between Spanish and English. Among the nearly 200 attendees were the Micah Corps interns, CCYM members and other youth, Congregational Excellence staff and Bishop Scott and Mary Lou Jones. A video highlighted each of the dozens of Hispanic congregations and outreach ministries across the conference and the pastors, evangelists and other people serving within them.
Corey Daniel Godbey, Hispanic ministry coordinator for the Great Plains Conference, invited everyone to either commit or recommit to a partnership with Hispanic ministry. Godbey noted that 180 Great Plains United Methodist churches are located in communities with more than 2,000 Hispanics, yet all churches are encouraged to “cultivate partnerships with the ministry founded in vital, fresh prayer in order to open doors, shorten paths, and accelerate processes for Hispanic Ministry.”
Partners are asked to pray regularly for ministry leaders, give their time, talent and treasure to the development of the ministry, attend a regional Partners for Hispanic Ministry prayer breakfast this fall, and invite at least one other church to join them in this partnership journey. After the lunch Godbey reported that about 35 churches committed today to being Partners, so they are on their way to reaching their goal of 100 Partners. If you are interested in being a Partner, contact Godbey at cgodbey@greatplainsumc.org for information.
When the Rev. Jorge Acevedo stood up to speak, he took a moment to explain that his parents chose to pronounce his name as “George” when they moved from Puerto Rico to “the Deep South.” Acevedo was not raised in the church but came to Jesus when he was 18 and started reading the Bible seriously at 19. “I read that Jesus called his disciples to ‘follow me and I will teach you to fish for people,’” said Acevedo who had a problem with this since he despised fishing. His family had moved to Orlando when he was a teenager, and his uncle took him fishing. They left at 5 a.m. to sit in the center of a lake in the hot sun, wrangled with baits and hooks, and at the end of the long day they had no fish. So when Acevedo read that Jesus wanted him to go fishing, he was torn between his love of Jesus and his hatred for fishing.
Acevedo’s understanding changed one day when someone explained the activity is called “fishing” instead of “catching” because the joy comes from the process, not necessarily from the result. Real fishermen love the environment and experience of fishing. Acevedo then noted the difference between fishing as a hobby and fishing as a profession, and referenced the reality TV show, “The Deadliest Catch,” where fishing is a matter of life and death.
“For some churches, fishing for people is what they do when there is nothing else going on, and it’s just a hobby,” said Acevedo. “Fishing with Jesus should be a matter of life and death for the church.” Acevedo then stressed, “If you don’t join Jesus in fishing, you’re not following Jesus.”
Everyone laughed when Acevedo said, “If all God wanted to do was get you to heaven, once you were saved he would kill you.” He went on to say, “God saves you so you can save others.”
As the lead pastor at Grace UMC, a multi-site congregation located in Southwest Florida, Acevedo shared his secret to growing a faithful and fruitful church: “When Jesus shows up, a crowd will show up.” Once a church is dedicated to having Jesus show up, they must practice what Acevedo calls the four Ws as they go fishing for people. Based on Mark 2:1-6, which is the story of the paralytic in Capernaum whose friends dug through a roof to reach Jesus, we should follow the example of the friends, by going wherever necessary to reach the needy and get them to Jesus. Wherever is the first W.
Secondly we should be open to whoever will come, and we do that by making them feel welcome. Acevedo’s churches have need-based ministries that are fruitful because, “People are open to God when they are hurting.” Acevedo cited examples of people who never would darken the doors of a church but are willing to participate in ministries where they feel wanted. Acevedo recommended looking at the ratio of ministries serving insiders versus those serving outsiders, suggesting that the church budget is a good indicator. How many ministries serve people in need? Those are people who need Jesus.
The third W is to do whatever it takes. Acevedo referred back to the story from Mark 2. “Four men destroyed a stranger’s roof because they were desperate to get their friend in front of Jesus. And this was in a time before homeowner’s insurance existed!” Acevedo said congregations need to ask themselves what they are willing to do to get people in front of Jesus. At his church when they changed the music to appeal to a younger demographic, some people left to go to a different church. “I was OK with that,” said Acevedo, “Because we are fishing for people.” He feels the average age of 45 is still too old for their community. “We’re too white and too old,” Acevedo said, but they are working on it.
When fishing with Jesus, in addition to going wherever, being open to whoever will come, and doing whatever it takes, churches must do it all without compromise. In the story, Jesus did heal the paralytic who then walked away, but that is not the miracle. Jesus first and foremost saved the man by forgiving his sins. We must share the radical message of God’s love without compromise, which is the fourth W. Acevedo closed by affirming that the people in the room had enough leadership to take Kansas and Nebraska by storm, and underscored the gravity of the need. “People are literally dying to hear the God of the universe loves them.”
Photo: Hector Sanchez is a local pastor appointed to Nueva Vida (New Life), Evangel UMC, in Holton, Kan. Juan Espinoza is a local pastor serving at Centro de Alabanza y Adoración in Gering, near Scottsbluff, Neb. Sylvia Romero is a local pastor with Grace UMC in Olathe, Kan. César Garcia Rodriguez is a local pastor at Resonate in Papillon, Neb., and Miriam Peralta de Garcia is a Certified Lay Minster serving Grace UMC in Omaha, Neb.
Photo: Hector Sanchez is a local pastor appointed to Nueva Vida (New Life), Evangel UMC, in Holton, Kan. Juan Espinoza is a local pastor serving at Centro de Alabanza y Adoración in Gering, near Scottsbluff, Neb. Sylvia Romero is a local pastor with Grace UMC in Olathe, Kan. César Garcia Rodriguez is a local pastor at Resonate in Papillon, Neb., and Miriam Peralta de Garcia is a Certified Lay Minster serving Grace UMC in Omaha, Neb.
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Task force to study resolution eliminating three districts
By Kathy Lefler, director of communications, East Heights UMC, Wichita, Kan.
A resolution seeking to reduce the number of districts in the Great Plains Conference from 17 to 14 and reallocate the funds saved by this reduction to campus ministries was the focus of a lively debate before the motion was amended and referred to a task force for study.
The Rev. Andy Hargrove of Berryton UMC, in Berryton, Kan., and the Rev. Austin Rivera of First UMC in Emporia, Kan., presented the resolution, which was not an original agenda item for this year's Annual Conference Session. The two Kansas pastors first presented the idea on Thursday and formally brought it before the conference this afternoon. Rivera said this action would streamline the conference and have a huge, positive impact on campus ministries. He said he and Hargrove wanted to see this action taken before Bishop Scott Jones' term as bishop ends because Jones is knowledgeable about the districts and it would be better for him to organize the redistricting, instead of his successor.
During discussion, a motion was made to refer the matter to a task force for further study by the Rev. David Livingston of St. Paul's UMC in Lenexa, Kan. Issues of concern raised by Livingston and others included impact on rural areas, if funds would go primarily to large universities, the role and standing of campus ministry in our conference and also how this has worked in other states that have taken this action.
Those who spoke to the need to pass the resolution today said by deferring, a year would be lost and the change needs to happen now. College students also spoke to the need for the passage of the resolution as it was presented. A young woman who will attend seminary in the fall said she would not have discerned her call to ministry had it not been for campus ministry. "It resurrected my dormant faith," she said.
An amended resolution that would have a Connection Council task force study the matter and the number of districts and bring it before the 2015 Great Plains Annual Conference Session overwhelmingly passed.
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Editorial Policy: The content, news, events and announcement information distributed in GPconnect is not sponsored or endorsed by the Great Plains Methodist Conference unless specifically stated.
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Want to submit a letter to the editor? Email Kathryn Witte at kwitte@greatplainsumc.org.
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