(unedited notes)
Keynote on leadership
Bishop Huie
Methodism began as a movement. What does it mean to become a movement again?
What does it take to be a leader in this movement?
1. Capacity- gift, skill set, equipping
2. Desire- clear about purpose, know and love the Holy
3. Courage- risk taking, facing conflict.
Bishop Whitaker
We need to:
Cultivate a Wesleyan theological vision
Create and transform congregations with an intentional, holistic way of making disciples: 1. invite, 2. initiate, 3. make disciples, 4. engage with the world
Care for the world. Churches need to fall in love with their community all over again.
Jay Williams
Living, Listening,and Leading from The Way
(at one point, I heard him say “we are called to be an ecstatic people,” but I thought he said “a static people.” That difference will preach!)
Romans 12:6-8
2 Chronicles 7:11-22
Nehemiah 2:17-18
Leadership is a gift. It can be nurtured and developed, but it is first and foremost a gift of the Spirit, an anointing. Do not force (or continue to drag out) people in leadership who are not anointed with the gift!
Three theses:
Death is not always a bad thing. It is sometimes necessary to let deadly practices die. Sometimes the difficult decisions are not difficult, just painful.
Our primary task is to be Christian, not United Methodist. Why, then, do some of us love the UMC more than JC?
To lead, one must follow. Follow The Way–the Christian Way. Learn, be humble. Practice mentoring/apprenticeships.
Moltmann says our hope does not spring from feelings of youth, but from a willingness to say yes again and again despite the pain.
Workshop: The Prophetic Role of the Pastor
to preach prophetically, use as resources:
humor, authority, elders, roots, questions, scripture, flexibility (address in the moment), prayer (coming from a grounded place, not from anger or reactivity)
We Your People, Ours the Journey 