United Methodist Campus Ministry

I’m at the Kentucky Conference of United Methodist Church HQ for an all day meeting of Bishop’s Task Force on Campus Ministry.

We’re talking about Vision, Successes, Challenges, and Recommendations.

As United Methodists we live by the Book of Discipline, the governing document of the denomination.  There is a section (about 6 pages worth) on campus/collegiate/higher education ministry.  I’m not sure if I’m allowed to do this, but I’m posting a PDF of this section.  There is a lot there, so I doubt any/many of you will read this whole document, but if you get a chance to skim it – I would love to know your thoughts, impressions, and reactions.

Here it is - The Book of Discipline 2008 – Part V – Organization and Administration – Chapter Four – The Conferences – Section IX. The Annual Conference – Other Conference Agencies - ¶ 634. Conference Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry

Pretty darn excited about this week

I’m headed to Paris, KY tonight.  The kiddos and I are going down this afternoon and the plan is for them to hang with the Grandparents while I go visit The Rock and Aaron Mansfield tonight.  Then tomorrow (I’m really excited about this) DG and I are meeting with and interviewing some folks for the Praxis Podcast:

- Ryan Koch (at Third Street Stuff, favorite coffeeshop in Lex) – he’s the Executive Director of SeedLeaf – “The purpose of Seedleaf is to increase the amount, affordability, nutritional value, and sustainability of food available to people at risk of hunger in central Kentucky.”  And he’s part of the Communality community.

- Will & Lisa Samson – also part of Communality and both authors.  They co-wrote Justice in the Burbs (could be good book study in PRidge, NKU, or Asbury Church) and Will just came out with Enough: Contentment in an Age of Excess.

- Nancy & Matthew Sleeth – authors and Wilmorians.  Matthew wrote Serve God, Save the Planet and is a former ER chief of staff from New England.  They got all Jesusy, downsized to Wilmore, and are Green advocates for the Church.  Nancy has a new book coming out Go Green, Save Green.  I’m pretty excited that we get to have dinner at their house and see how they live green in Wilmore.

Later this week I’m looking forward to meeting with Devin Schenk and Chris Curran, both faculty at NKU and involved with living ecologically sound lives and environmental sustainability and preservation.  Likewise, I’m eager to meet Edward Goode, new pastor here in Cincy with Presbyterian Church of Wyoming (suburb of Cincy).  I’m headed downtown in few minutes (noon on Monday) to have lunch with a couple prophets….

Actually, this exciting week started yesterday.  I had the honor and privelege to speaking at Asbury Church in Northern Kentucky.  We talked about Matthew 13 and some of the seed parables there.  The mp3 will be up on here soon (I’ll post it on this blog and Facebook when it is).

Here are a few links, including the videos I used, from the sermonizing that may be helpful for those who heard/hear it:

Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living, by Rueben Job – book

1. Do No Harm
2. Do Good
3. Stay in Love with God

Swarm Theory, article in National Geographic by Peter Miller

“how swarm intelligence works: simple creatures following simple rules, each one acting on local information. No ant sees the big picture. No ant tells any other ant what to do. Some ant species may go about this with more sophistication than others. (Temnothorax albipennis, for example, can rate the quality of a potential nest site using multiple criteria.) But the bottom line, says Iain Couzin, a biologist at Oxford and Princeton Universities, is that no leadership is required. “Even complex behavior may be coordinated by relatively simple interactions,” he says.”

YouTube – 300,000 Starlings in motion

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIzlcH2q6Vo]

YouTube – Timelapse film of growing cress

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky1kBLwCBHg]

Scriptures:

Matthew 13:3-9

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Mark 4:26-29

John 12:20-26

and, for those who were there, don’t forget to plant those wildflowers!

Christmas reflections

I suppose with a title like that you’d assume this was some profound spiritual or theological pondering on the meaning of the incarnation and God’s missional call to incarnate in our contexts and locale.

Nope.

I can’t sleep.  It is 3:46 AM.  I think it is a combination of acid reflux and Christmas excitement.  And before you feel sorry for me, I have slept – from 8:00 – Midnight.  Lately, when I put the kids to bed I fall asleep too then get up at midnight (which is nice because I get to welcome Sarah home from work).  Usually I am up for an hour or 2 and then go back to sleep.  Not tonight.

This is all exacerbated by a general feeling of malaise.  Not sure I can pinpoint it… and I haven’t even been able to articulate it this much for months.  I think it is a combination of starting a new job/ministry venture (www.nkuwf.org), lack of exercise, and lack of personal spiritual discipline.  Let me be clear, the new gig is great.  It feels like a great fit for my call and gifting.  It really is nice being back in the United Methodist Church orbit again – something of a homecoming.

And at the same time, I’m basically starting from scratch at NKU.  It is a lot like church planting.  A lot.  This is good and exactly was I was hoping for and expecting…. but it is still hard and tiring.  It feels a lot like driving in a new city without a map.  If I’m honest, I’ve been in a funk about it the last couple months.  It is hard to know where to start, what works, what doesn’t work but we should do anyway, what patterns are we initiating that will form the DNA of this ministry, what bad habits are we starting (and how do we recognize them before they turn cancerous!), who do I spend most of my time with, etc….?  We’re truly starting with a blank slate – no structures, buildings, programs, and very few people.  Every student I’ve met with this past semester (and there were many) is interested in what we are doing, they would like to be involved, but it seems like life gets in the way more often than not.  I don’t think I’ve ever met a busier group of students!

I need to reflect more on all this…. I think I’ve even been afraid of reflecting or lamenting.  I think I’ve lived under the weight of (and myth of) if I’m starting something I need to be enthusiastic and positive at all times!  That is categorically dumb.  I need to fess up. Maybe, just maybe, that’s what the incarnation is about…

Timothy’s awake.  Gotta go.

The Bish

I met the new Bishop of The Kentucky Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church today at a clergy pow-wow. Lindsey Davis is his name.  Here are some notes from the gathering:

Pastoral Effectiveness evaluated by:
- number of professions of faith (making disciples)
- worship attendance increase

Expectations
- Godly character
- To be a spiritual leader
- Practice the disciplines of our faith
- pray
- scripture study for the feeding of your soul
- worship
- acts of mercy – daily contact with the poor, an advocate for the most     vulnerable among us (children, the addicted, the prisoner)
- Uphold and actively teach the doctrine and theology of the UMC
- Accept the authority of those who supervise your ministry
- Itineracy
- Be an evangelist (Luke 10.2)
- Work hard, take care of your health
- Take care of your family
- Don’t take yourself too seriously (take the work you are called to do seriously, but not yourself.  It’s not about you!  It’s about the Kingdom!)
- Use good pastoral judgement
- Finish the race

152,000 members of the UMC in Kentucky
300,000 people of Kentucky say they are a member or affiliated with the UMC

- We are a Sent Ministry (we need to learn to go and learn to let go)

3 areas of focus:
- Planting new churches (650 churches planted this quadrivium, 3 per year in KY)
- Leadership Development (of clergy and laity)
- Extraordinary Mission Outreach (local and global)

Primary task of a local church is to make disciples
Primary task of the conference is to develop leaders for the task

Only 6 elders under age 35 in KY conference
Inquire:

- What is the average retirement age of Pastors in the KY conference?
- What are the age ranges of Pastors in the KY conference?