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Lisa
Allen
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The morning began with a time of exuberant
praise, led by Dr. Lisa Allen of Central
UMC in Atlanta.
"Before
the week is out, we're going to be right
Pentecostal in here!" she exclaimed to
shouts and applause.
Embodiments
of prevenient grace
In his
Wednesday morning Bible teaching, Dr.
Stephen Gunter of Emory University, spoke
about the importance of being clear that
we are followers of Jesus Christ.
"[Often people] say, 'Well, I'm a
Methodist,' or 'I'm a Baptist.' [My
question is:] Are you a Christian? Are
you comfortable naming the name of Christ
in our world today?" he asked.
Our
ministries, too, must clearly point people
to Christ. "The church must... create and
to cultivate a culture in which lives can
be made healthy and whole again. And that
includes commitment to Christ and
transformation," he declared.
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Stephen
Gunter
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Continuing
his teaching on the Wesleyan understanding
of God's grace, Dr. Gunter focused on
Barnabas as an example of prevenient grace
working through an individual to awaken
people to the reality of God.
Noting
that the name "Barnabas" means "son of
encouragement," Dr. Gunter said,
"Barnabas' willingness to share his
resources with the poor [described in
Acts 4:37] was a way in which Barnabas
lived up to his name."
Giving
other examples of God working through
Barnabas -- in Acts 9:26-28, Acts
15:36-40, 2 Timothy 4:11, and Philemon
5:23 -- Dr. Gunter challenged his audience
to become "embodiments of prevenience in
our world."
"The
church needs more women and men like
Barnabas, an embodiment of prevenient
grace," he said. "Barnabas embodied this
pro-active grace of God, going out and
reaching out.... Prevenient grace is not
an abstraction. Prevenient grace is a
concrete embodiment of the activity of God
in the world."
Praying
for one another
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Delegates
in prayer
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During the Wednesday prayer time, prayer
leader Carolyn Moore thanked the Father
"for the work of Christ."
She then
prayed that God would give believers the
mind of Christ, "that we might be made
perfect in love in this life."
Ms.
Moore also asked the delegates to pray for
one another: "[Pray] for a spirit
of humility to surround and infuse
[our] meetings, our voting, our
conversations."
She then
prayed "for a spirit of evangelism to be
kindled in our churches, for a ministry to
be birthed among our people that pushes us
beyond our comfort zones, that propels us
out.... O, Lord, make it so in our
day."
Wednesday
business
Opening
the Wednesday morning business session
with prayer, youth delegate Joel Mooneyhan
prayed for reorientation and revival:
"Lord, let us progress and regress, closer
to Your will and farther from our own,
closer to Your Kingdom and farther from
ours.... Let us be extreme and passionate,
and let us take the world by storm to win
souls for You."
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George
Freeman
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One
of the first bits of business on Wednesday
was a greeting from the World Methodist
Council, presented by the Council's
executive director, Dr. George Freeman: "I
bring greetings in the name of Jesus
Christ, our Lord and Savior," he
said.
"Methodism
is alive and well and is growing across
the earth! The numbers of members in the
Wesleyan/Methodist tradition is
approaching 39 million believers around
the world. Those 39 million believers are
in churches in more than 132 countries in
the world," he noted.
A
report on Camp Glisson, the North Georgia
Conference's camp in Dahlonega, came from
Glisson director, Gary Greenwald. He
declared that Camp Glisson exists to
further the spread of the
gospel.
"The
primary task that we serve at Camp Glisson
is in calling people to walk the trail of
Christ and see signs along the way that
call them to faith in Christ," he said.
"Dozens and dozens of spiritual life
decisions are made in the course of a
year."
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Clay
Smith
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Late
Wednesday morning, Clay Smith of the
Hinton
Rural Life
Center,
continued his series on improving the
effectiveness of small-membership
church.
He spoke
about "the capacities for ministry that
are naturally part of a small membership
church." Those capacities include the
"family feeling" of smaller
churches.
"How
many people who live in your church
community need a place... where they can
belong, a place where they can be a part
of the family of God, a place where they
can be loved?" he asked. "Small membership
churches have that to offer."
The
challenge, he said, is to create an
environment that welcomes and assimilates
newcomers. "How do we become as good at
reaching out to the stranger... as we do
at including the folks who've been there a
long time?"
Laity
Luncheon
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Truett
Cathy
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At
the annual Laity Luncheon on Wednesday,
lay delegates were treated to an address
by Christian businessman Truett Cathy,
founder of Chick-fil-A.
Mr.
Cathy, known for basing his business on
biblical principles, is a member of the
First Baptist Church of Jonesboro,
Ga.
Audio of
his address, with an introduction by
Conference Lay Leader Joe Whittemore, is
here.
(This is a mp3 audio file. Download to a
PC by right clicking on the link and
choosing "Save Target As." Mac users:
click, hold, and choose "Download Link to
Disk." Depending on your connection speed,
the file may take several minutes to
download.)
Service
of
Remembrance
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Richard
Don Winn
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The
annual Remembrance Service, honoring
clergy and clergy spouses who died during
the preceding year, was held Wednesday
afternoon.
The Rev.
Richard Don Winn, pastor of Warren
Memorial UMC in Atlanta, preached a sermon
titled, "The Good Fight," based on 2
Timothy 4:5-8.
He
stressed the fact that Christians always
have hope, even in the face of
death.
"[Our
hope] is built on faith in our
resurrected Lord!" he declared. "The hymn
writer had it right when he said, 'My hope
is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood
and righteousness!'"
After
the sermon, Ed Tomlinson, executive
assistant to Bishop Davis, read the "roll
of the honored dead," as Amazing
Grace was played on
bagpipes.
Membership
report
During
the late afternoon business session,
conference treasurer Keith Cox had good
news regarding church growth in 2002:
"Membership [in North Georgia
Conference churches] increased 1.9
percent, year-over-year. Six-thousand, 140
members [were added] to the
conference, with worship attendance up by
an average of 624 and church school
attendance up by 6 percent."
At this
point, he was interrupted by Bishop Davis:
"We grew by 6,140 members [last
year]. That's more than any other
annual conference in the United States. We
ought to at least celebrate a bit!" he
said to applause.
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Bishop
Davis
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"We
ought not
be satisfied, [however]. I yearn
for the day when this annual conference is
growing by 10,000-plus [a
year].
"With
the folks moving into our area, the
strength of our churches, the quality of
our laity and our clergy; with a little
more -- as Bishop Edwards was taking about
last night -- with a little more urgency,
there's no telling what we could do for
the sake of God's Kingdom!"
Jerry
Varnado, pastor, Gateway Church in Athens,
rose to offer an additional observation:
"I... was glad to note we had 6,140 in net
[membership] gain, but I was just
as glad, and think we should mention, that
we had 8,290 received by
profession-of-faith or
restored!"
Treasurer
Cox also had good news regarding
apportionment revenues: "Our apportionment
payments -- $17,776,000 -- represent an
increase of over $1.1 million from the
prior year. That is particularly
significant given what all us know about
the economic circumstances, not only in
our conference but in the country," he
noted. "So that's another item to
celebrate!"
Racial
reconciliation
The
issue of racial reconciliation was at the
forefront late Wednesday afternoon, as
members of the Conference Racial
Reconciliation Task Force offered their
report.
"Our
task force recognizes that working
[against] the 'ism' of racism is
only a part of the broader work that needs
to be done to bring the Kingdom of God
more fully into existence within the North
Georgia United Methodist Church," said
task force member, Beth McDowell, a lay
delegate from Druid Hills UMC. "We ask for
your continued support and prayers as we
move forward with the work of
reconciliation that our Father God, our
Savior Jesus Christ have called us to
do."
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From
the play, 'The Other
Side'
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Following
the report, the Gainesville Theater
Alliance presented a play titled, "The
Other Side," based on the book of the same
name by Jacqueline Woodson. The drama
tells the story of children, white and
black, who ignore racial barriers and
befriend each other.
The
floor was then opened for a discussion of
reconciliation efforts within the North
Georgia Conference.
Fert
Richardson, pastor of Suwanee Parish UMC,
noted that involvement in the Walk to
Emmaus ministry has helped build bridges
of friendship between blacks and whites.
"Most of my people... have not spent a lot
time, other than [at] work, being
involved with other Christians [who
are not] African-Americans. And so we
have...[become involved] in the
Emmaus walk.... And it has meant a great
deal for our congregation," he
said.
"[B]eing
part of [the Walk to Emmaus] has
really helped to change our attitudes and
it's helped my congregation to gather
Christian friends of different
races."
Paul
Shirley, a lay member from the
Atlanta-Marietta District, recounted a
story of his long friendship with a man
named Fred, who happened to be black.
"When you care about people, I don't care
what color they are. And if they're
Christians -- which Fred is and I am --
and you make the effort to get together in
brotherhood in Jesus Christ, there's a lot
of mending [that happens]. There
are a lot of bridges
[built]."
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Harvey
Palmer
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Harvey
Palmer, superintendent of the
Rome-Carrollton District, talked about two
UM churches in Bowdon, Georgia -- one
black, the other white -- working together
in ministry.
"[T]he
United Methodist Church has a presence in
Bowdon, Georgia because we are recognized
as Christians -- not black Christians and
white Christians. We are Christians," he
said.
Shan
Yohan, a native of India and a lay
delegate from St. Timothy UMC in Stone
Mountain, urged delegates to broaden their
definition of racial reconciliation.
"Reconciliation is not just black and
white. It is Asian-American, Hispanic,
Native Americans, all people."
Missions
service
The
Wednesday evening missions service opened
with a rousing prayer by the Rev. Marvin
Moss of St. James UMC in Alpharetta.
"[Lord, i]t is our prayer that You
will be glorified, the body will be
edified, and the devil will be horrified!"
he prayed.
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Bishop
Minor
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The
preacher for the evening was Bishop
Ruediger Minor, bishop of the Eurasia
Conference and president of the UM Council
of Bishops. In observance of John Wesley's
300th birthday, Bishop Minor talked about
the famous Wesleyan phrase, "The world is
my parish."
"Re-reading
Wesley," he said, "[we discover
that] he is not [staking] a
claim but expressing an
obligation."
The
bishop read the quote in context, from a
June, 1739 entry in Wesley's Journal: "I
look upon all the world as my parish; thus
far I mean, that, in whatever part of it I
am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden
duty to declare unto all that are willing
to hear, the glad tidings of salvation.
This is the work which I know God has
called me to."
To say
that "the world is my parish "is not us
claiming the world as our own," Bishop
Minor noted. Rather, it is expressing our
understanding that God "has claimed us to
express good tidings, because God desires
for everyone to be saved."
Bishop
Minor's Scripture text for the evening was
1
Timothy
2:1-6.
He pointed out that the Apostle Paul's
declaration in verse four --
"'[God] desires everyone to be
saved" -- is like a "mission
statement."
"Who's
mission is it?" the bishop asked. "It's
God's mission!"
For the
Church, the first order of business in
carrying out that mission is to pray,
Bishop Minor said. He quoted Eugene
Peterson's paraphrase of 1 Timothy 2:1:
"The first thing I want you to do is pray,
and pray every way you know how for
everyone you know."
Bishop
Minor also focused on verse two: "...so
that we may lead a quiet and peaceable
life in all godliness and
dignity."
"[This
isn't about about just] our small
private life," the bishop said. "It's
[what God wants for] the general
state of the world.... This is God's order
in the disorder of the world. [This
is] God's will in salvation. This is
the way our Savior God wants us to
live.... [And] He wants not only
us, but everyone saved!"
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