April 1, 2011 Elevation continued from page 1A


Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary. He’s been at La Croix UMC in Cape Girardeau the past four years, and was previ- ously involved in a new church start in Minneapolis, and was on staff at First UMC in downtown Oklahoma, working with college age and young adult ministries. Although going from being


executive pastor at one of the larg- est churches in the Conference to being a pastor without a congrega- tion may sound pretty tough, it’s exactly where Taylor wants to be. “It’s always been part of my


heart to start new churches,” he said. “I want to see more and more of it done, and starting new things is one of my unique gifts.” Taylor’s target area is the part


of the city around the intersection of Highway 30 and Highway 141, around Fenton, but at this point it’s flexible. His office is usually McDonald’s (traditional) or Star Bucks (contemporary). The demographic picture is


By Andrew J. Schleicher Directors of the United


Methodist General Board of Discipleship engaged their duty of oversight March 16-19 with sing- ing, celebrating and envisioning a better future. Members of GBOD wrapped


their sessions of reports, legisla- tion and brainstorming with time for worship, utilizing the new Worship & Song, a songbook pub- lished by Abingdon Press. Both the familiar and the new songs helped provide a worshipful feel to the times of business and holy conversation. The board had much to rejoice


about last week as they reflected on new programs. “Given all the turmoil across


this world, GBOD continues to equip local church leaders for their task of making disciples who live and move in ministry that seeks to transform the world,” said Karen Greenwaldt, general secretary of GBOD. “Engaging in conversation with board members from around the world is excit- ing, and the decisions they make continue to weave patterns of response and support for vibrant and effective ministry.” One place of effective minis-


try may be seen in GBOD’s New Church Starts initiative (Path 1). More than 340 congregations have been planted since 2008, a 33 percent growth over the 2004-


very different than that of the new church Wellspring in Ferguson. Population density is half of what it is in the Ferguson area, but there are still 130,000 people liv- ing within a five-mile radius of Highway 30 and 141. The area is 91.2 percent white, with the rest of the population nearly evenly split between black, Asian and Hispanic. The actual area that Elevation


serves is undefined, though, and that’s intentional. “Daniel’s appointment goes


beyond geography,” said Gateway Central District Superintendent Kurt Schuermann. “He’s gifted at reaching young people, something that established churches often find challenging. And he comes to us from La Croix, which attracts a young congregation from a far- reaching geographic area.” Right now Taylor’s looking for


people to be part of his launch team, and he hopes to have that team together within three


2007 period. New Church Starts (Path 1), the program leading this effort, has assessed 1,218 prospec- tive planters and equipped 618 through national training events. Upper Room Ministries report-


ed that book sales were up in 2010, helped in part by author Missy Buchanan’s appearance on ABC- TV’s “Good Morning America.” The Upper Room also rejoiced in the creation of new language edi- tions (Ilokano in the Philippines and French in Cote d’Ivoire) of its daily devotional. Furthermore, the Upper Room celebrated new Emmaus/Chrysalis communities in Malaysia and the Caribbean. Last year was a good beginning


for new fundraising efforts. The Upper Room’s 75th anniversary campaign resulted in a 60 percent increase in individual contribu- tions and more than 3,500 first- time donors. The board plans to continue efforts to support new programs of leadership develop- ment and church planting. Directors celebrated how GBOD


is expanding e-learning programs. The Upper Room launched suc- cessful online Advent and Lent studies. GBOD’s Leadership Ministries developed three webi- nars for local church leadership training, beginning with training for the staff-parish relations com- mittee, the administrative council and the finance team. “The joyful embracing of


months. That will be followed by monthly preview worship services beginning in the summer, and monthly community outreach events. “I don’t want to sit around.


We’re going to commit to tasks, set dates and move as quickly as we can,” Taylor said. “I want to take advantage of the energy people have to get something started, rather than sit around the pastor’s house for a year talking about ideas.” Taylor is hoping to get some


help from other United Methodist Churches, anything from equip- ment to professional expertise. Elevation already has a website, and makes it easy to make a finan- cial contribution. The website also gives a thorough introduction to the church, complete with vision and mission statements. The church’s mission is “Painting such a beautiful picture of Jesus that it takes people to a higher place.” Taylor has only been in place


technology by this body is key,” said Gail Grossman of the Pacific- Northwest Conference. She encouraged the board to do more to target local church leaders and members directly. Additional leadership webi-


nars are planned for trustees, for the nominations committee, and around topics such as Easter, pas- toral changes and summertime discipleship. Interested persons may visit http://gbod.org/commit- tee_resources to view or register for a session. The Africana Hymnal Study


Committee also found ways to use technology to carry out its work on a limited budget. Members of the committee met regularly via video conference calls and used an online survey as one method of data gathering. The extensive data generated


by the committee’s various sur- veys showed that the black church in the United States is a singing church. Seventy percent of those surveyed use 4-6 songs in every worship service, with another 15 percent singing seven or more songs. Nearly all black congrega- tions (95 percent) have a choir, with 78 percent of those having multiple choirs even though most are small congregations. There is a diversity of styles in


black church singing. Sixty-one percent of survey respondents said their worship is blended as


Rev. Daniel Taylor Photo by Rachel Beise.


a few weeks, but is finding that this area around Fenton has been reinventing itself in the past few years following the closure of the Chrysler plant. Many young people who work downtown have been locating to this area, as a less expensive, and more convenient, alternative to suburban living in West County.


opposed to being traditional or contemporary Nevertheless, the committee


was concerned that traditional forms of black song such as the long meter and ring shouts were used infrequently. Therefore, the committee proposed that a new Africana worship resource have both old and new music forms. GBOD staff member and com-


mittee member Safiyah Fosua says, “We want to teach the pastor and the worship planner how to blend music from past and the present as music emerges in ways that have theological integrity and that validates all the generations that worship in the church.” The study committee and


GBOD recommends to the 2012 General Conference that a new worship resource be developed for the black community, but that it not be a printed hymnal. Rather, the committee is calling for a CD/ DVD resource with materials also available online. About half of black congregations and choirs learn music by ear, and the sur- veys found that there is no single printed song collection in regular use by black congregations. A CD/ DVD resource will be easier for this community to integrate, sug- gests the committee, particularly for congregations that may not have the musicians necessary for accompaniment. In other business, directors of


“This area seems ripe for a new


church that can reach young fami- lies,” Taylor said. This new church start is


being funded by the Missouri Conference Congregational Developement Team. For more on Elevation UMC, visit the Web site at www.elevationstlouis.com


GBOD reports on progress, prepares for General Conference


GBOD considered the possibility of reducing their board size and increasing the expectations on individual board members. This conversation follows from the denomination-wide conversation guided by the Call to Action study Directors of GBOD took no


final action on the size of its board of directors. Rather GBOD chair, Bishop Charlene Kammerer issued a call for prayer and discernment to continue until the directors gather again in July. “I see this board genuinely


struggling with core values,” said Kammerer. “The board has a desire to set a better future for itself and the whole United Methodist Church.” Other recommendations to


the 2012 General Conference include changing “Lay Speaking Ministry” to “Lay Servant Ministry.” This change, supported by the Association of Conference Directors of Lay Speaking Ministries, is intended to reflect how this ministry is more than speaking. The board hopes that the name change will encour- age people to pursue lay servant ministry even though they are not called to preach. Directors of GBOD will gather


again in July to finish its legisla- tive discussion and make any necessary recommendations for the 2012 General Conference of The United Methodist Church.


Local Church News


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