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Opinions and Insights Reaching Out and Reaching Up This has been an extraordinary


week in the life and ministry of the Missouri Conference. We’ve explored and experimented with two new large initiatives, and both are bearing fruit beyond what we could have imagined. Through Serve 2011 we


invited congregations and United Methodists across Missouri to offer themselves in service to the people of their communities for one special weekend. Thousands of people young and old put on their gloves or tied on their aprons and loaded their ladders and picked up their paintbrushes to head out into their neighbor- hoods for projects that ranged from renovating houses, clean- ing public parks, restocking food pantries, serving the homeless, teaching children, painting class- rooms, visiting the homebound, writing notes to newcomers, and performing hundreds of other forms of personal and community service. More than 260 churches formally registered through the Office of Creative Ministries, but many more collaborated with other congregations in their areas in ways that has made it difficult to track. Max Marble, Director of Mission, Service, and Justice Ministries, estimates that more than 400 congregations partici- pated during this past weekend, and many others participated on other weekends of their choos- ing last spring. Audrey Phelps, Director of Volunteers in Mission, has received more detailed reports from a sampling of 34 churches who participated, and in those few churches alone more than 2,600 United Methodists volunteered, and they were joined by 400 other non-member volunteers. Very cool.


I spent my Serve 2011 workday


at Kingdom House in St. Louis working alongside members from Beloved Community United Methodist Church and The Gathering. Esther and our sons worked on projects in Columbia. As I’ve mingled with dozens of clergy and laity since last week- end, I’ve continually heard posi-


Lay Leader Column By Brian hammons


Jesus


for a Fruitful Lay Ministry: Jesus, Mission, Pastor,


tive reflections on the weekend. Serve 2011 represents only a small fraction of the many ministries our congregations offer in their communities throughout the year, and I give God thanks for the hard work and deep commitment of so many United Methodists who keep us outward-focused in our serving Christ. Thank you to everyone who worked and prayed to make Serve 2011 successful for those we seek to serve as well as for those who offered themselves to serve. And earlier this week, nearly


250 clergy from the Missouri Conference gathered for 48 hours of worship, learning, play, community, and prayer at CONVERGE. CONVERGE rep- resents a new approach toward fostering a sense of common com- munity and mission among our pastors. Hosted by First UMC, Sedalia, and involving a series of excellent speakers, worship lead- ers, musicians, and workshop leaders, the gathering offered time apart for pastors to cultivate their connection to God, remember their call, and rededicate them- selves to their mission. The Spirit was alive, the energy was high, the singing was joyous, and the laughter was delightful! Our special thanks to Jim Downing for his excellent leadership, to First UMC for their extraordinary hospitality, and to Karen Hayden for her coordination and planning through the Office of Pastoral Excellence. CONVERGE gave pastors a time to breathe in the Spirit afresh and to renew their sense of community in Christ. These two new ministries,


Serve 2011, and CONVERGE, were planned separately, and the dates were arrived at by their varying leaders to maximize par- ticipation. When we realized that both were happening during the same week, we pondered whether to change the schedule. As it has turned out, I think the two events have complemented each other very well. Jesus ministry is marked by


periods of active engagement fol- lowed by time apart for prayer. His teachings are full of action words: “Go….Teach….Heal… Baptize…Take up….Arise….. Give…Tell…Serve…” But his practice of ministry also include rich times of personal prayer, extended rest, time away, dinner with friends, long walks, fish- ing days, stopovers at wells, and time in the Temple. He sent out his disciples to serve and teach, and he called them together for common meals and community prayers. He taught them to reach out to others in need, and also to reach up to God with humility. Reaching out and reaching


up. How has Serve 2011 helped you reach out to your neighbor or CONVERGE helped you reach up to God this week? How have you seen God at work in these ministries?


Yours in Christ,


Field, Connect, Read, Simple, Discipline, Fruit, Spirit Jesus is first. He is “the way,


and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through [him] (John 14:6). For “he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; . . . he is the head of the body, the church; . . . for in him all the full- ness of God was pleased to dwell . . .” (Colossians 1:15,18,19). And we could cite many,


many more passages of scripture, including John 3:16, that tell how Jesus Christ is at the center of our faith in God. So “Jesus” is the first, and most


important, word to remember as we do anything in the church – including growing a fruitful lay ministry. My last article introduced


Ten Words to remember, which I think help summarize many concepts and suggestions for lay leaders who seek success – fruit- fulness – in their ministry of leadership in the church. All ten words will stimulate a focus and certain practices that have proven helpful for successful Christian leaders, both lay and clergy, in all


Ten Words to Remember


sizes of congregations. But the foundation of all is


Jesus Christ. That should be obvious, but too often we forget. We get busy doing and organiz- ing, leading and putting out fires. When we remember that it’s not about us and we re-focus upon Jesus, there’s a certain peace, energy, even power, that drives us. We are called to be, then to make, disciples of Jesus Christ – the main thing. Focused upon him. Learning about him. Walking with him. Knowing him. As Paul said, everything else is loss compared with knowing Christ (see Phil. 3:7-11). That’s why the first expectation of a leader is to be Christ-centered, focused upon Jesus. So a growing personal faith,


commitment, and witness for Jesus Christ is the first thing nec- essary for a fruitful lay ministry. Jesus – name above all names, word above all words, the way, the truth, and the life, who makes all things new. Let’s remember that – first, and


always. Thanks again for your leader-


ship!


Brian Hammons, Lay Leader Mo. Conference of the UMC


September 30, 2011


THE MISSOURI


Robert Schnase Bishop, Missouri Area


Robert Schnase, Bishop Mo. Conference of the UMC


Vision: Growing, fruitful, vibrant congregations changing lives through Jesus Christ.


Sherry Habben


Director of Connectional Ministries


Contact information 3601 Amron Court Columbia, Missouri 65202 E-mail for news submission: fk oenig@moumethodist.org Toll Free: (877) 736-1806 Columbia: (573) 441-1770


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Fred Koenig, Editor Lorraine Sanders, Circulation


Circulation e-mail: lsanders@ moumethodist.org Next Deadline: Sept. 30 Next Issue: Oct. 14


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