Young Clergy

Amendments at Annual Conference

2009-05-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

Friends,

To stay informed about the voting process and rationale for the proposed amendments to be voted on at this year's annual conference: visit the following North Alabama Conference website

http://www.northalabamaumc.org/page.asp?PKValue=1338

Also, to see a supposedly balanced take on the proposed amendments, please read the following document: http://woconsole.brickriver.com/files/oFiles_Library_XZXLCZ/09Amendments-Letter-For-Against_HPWKFI7M.pdf

Blessings!

Young Clergy Gathering with Bishop Willimon

2009-03-31T17:26:00.000-07:00

Today at 10:00 am, the young clergy (40 and younger) in the greater Birmingham area gathered with Bishop Willimon at Canterbury UMC to discuss two topics: issues facing young clergy in North Alabama as well as Bishop Willimon's goals for the next year, as covenanted with the Episcopasy Committee. There were around 18 young clergy present, two District Superintendents, Bishop Willimon and the Director of Connectional Ministries.

First, we discussed the balance of patience and determination needed in young clergy to both work for change, but also be patient for systems and structures to have the necessary time to change. This led us into a discussion on taking young clergy seriously. We realize that respect does not come naturally and that it has to be earned with actions; however, when an organization or conference asks for feedback from young clergy we simply do not want to be heard. We want to be in dialogue. We want to be part of the solution or told that what we are seeking is out of bounds.

Next, we spent some time critiquing the itinerant system -- saying that from our perspective "shuffling the deck" every four years has hurt churches and pastors...as well as the denomination. We affirmed the conference's move to take seriously the needs of the churches and the gifts of the pastor; however, we were concerned that clergy were not given enough time to build deep roots for ministry. It seems that as soon as a clergy person shows signs of effectiveness, that pastor is moved up the ladder on to the next "project."

We also asked the cabinet to consider the nature of the families of clergy today, such as dual-income families, childcare needs, school systems, etc. Our discussion circled around the Board of Ordained Ministry's questions on itinerancy in the ordination process and asked if it was possible to say yes, we affirm the itinerancy process, but "help our unbelief."

Next we had a lengthy discussion on what young people are passionate about. They like Jesus, but not the institution of the Church. They want to attach themselves to a movement, not to maintenance. We spent some time diagnosing this issue, but did not come to a real sense of how the conference and denomination as institution can reclaim the nature of a "movement" except through transparency and effective communication of where we spend our money for mission and outreach. We also suggested that we add a missional component to the conference's four priorities and suggested that a measurement of mission and outreach be added to our church evaulation process: the Dashboard. The apportionment system was also referenced in this conversation.

We tied this discussion about integrity with what financial gifts we are given by the congregations to the giving habits of young adults. Young adults, we felt, give to movements and not to institutions. Young adults give for an immediate result. Bishop Willimon asked us to be courageous in dealing with talking openly and honestly about money with our congregations, specifically to say that being released from the hoarding of "stuff" to find happiness might be just the salvation that people are looking for in today's climate.

We ended our time together dreaming of the creation of an intentional community in the urban area of Birmingham where young adults and perspective clergy could live, pray, and work alongside other co-journers and a part of the "life together" would be working with the impoverished as well as in area churches discerning the call to ministry.

Bishop Willimon's closing words were to commission us to do the work of changing the church instead of simply diagnosing the problem and expecting the conference staff to do the work. He seems to hope that small revolutions will be ignited by young clergy and the laity they lead -- revolutions or "movements" that grow and spread to other churches...throughout the conference.

Ministry Lessons from Jesus and Peter

2009-03-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

In seminary, I got the message that clergy were the bearers of orthodoxy. Whether that was the point of our curriculum, that is the message I got.

In my two rounds of paperwork for commissioning and ordination, I got the message that orthodoxy mattered. Sure, they wanted to know about effectiveness, but the major question remained: explain baptism to us. The United Methodist Church is so afraid of Southern Baptists sneaking into its ranks that it usually misses the more pertinent questions.

In the two local churches I have served, very few were hungry for orthodoxy. They appreciate it, particularly when it is delivered to them in practical ways. People seem to be hungry for orthropraxis: how do we live in this world now that we have encountered Father, Son and Spirit?

Churches that seem to grow are churches where leadership and preaching connect people to real ministry. Where people matter so much more than getting it right from the beginning. Growing churches are messy -- they allow people to train in leadership and ministry through trial and error.

But behind the scenes -- is always good orthodox thought and coaching. But that is not the end. It is not the goal. Strategic orthodox leadership produces orthopraxis over time in the community.

I hate to use this example because it reeks of paternalism, but I am reminded of my three-year-old daughter. She continually wants to do things herself. She wants to make her own sandwich and in the course of preparation gets peanut butter all over the kitchen counter. I am at her side coaching her through the process and I know if I stay involved and stay out of the process at the same time: she will one day master it.

I am reminded of Jesus and Peter after the resurrection: "Peter, do you love me?" Yes, Peter says. I know I messed up denying you and all of that. But I am back now. I love you.

"Tend my sheep." The pastor has been imaged as a shepherd ever since. I believe that Jesus is asking more of Peter than simply to be a chaplain in a local church. Look at Acts and see what "tending" Jesus' sheep really looks like. There is action, risk-taking, even martyrdom. Let's remember to look at the whole picture here. Peter's vocation is being God's companion in world transformation.

Too often, we limit our vocation by moving into preservation mode: we will sustain orthodoxy at all costs! We will save our form of worship! We will save our conference staff

We will save our denomination by recruiting young clergy.

At some point, it all has to go back to Jesus and Peter. Why are we here? Why are we pastors? To what vocation have we been called to?

Yes, let's make the process towards ordination easier and more faithful. Yes, let's move towards appointments that fit gifts and strengths and opportunities for leadership to be utilized within the local congregation. Yes, let's seek out help, coaching and collaboration and stop relying on the conference to provide everything to us.

But at some point we have to realize that Jesus has placed this vocation in our hands. It's not about who is respected or not. It's not about the hypocrisy of closed systems.

It's about leading movement in local churches and in the conference as a whole towards faithful living that is contagious. At some point, we have to realize that we have everything we need to practice ministry faithfully -- we just need a seismic shift in our understanding of our pastoral vocation.

At some point we need to stop waiting for permission and start tending sheep.

Online Developments with Young Clergy

2009-03-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

Jenny Smith details the initiatives underway with our movement with young clergy: Recent Initiatives.

Andrew Conrad details how you can stay connected in online media with other young clergy: Social Media Guide

Young Clergy Meet-Up

2009-03-14T09:12:00.001-07:00

Most of you know Jenny Smith who has been organizing the conversation in our denomination on young clergy issues and concerns. Below you will find links to her notes from a recent meet-up in Nash-vegas. She summarizes the movement:

Our bottom line goal is to find creative ways to support this currrent group of young clergy and those coming after us. There aren't a lot of us and we want to do everything we can to help more young adults answer their call into ministry. We love what we do and want to serve alongside each other.

Summary and Notes 1

Summary and Notes 2

Summary and Notes 3

From Talk to Action

2009-03-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

HT: Gavoweb / by Ben Simpson

An Open Letter to Young United Methodist Leaders

Get Some Guts

2008-10-27T10:32:00.000-07:00

I recently went to Ginghamsburg UMC as part of something called the Young Pastor's network. It was a pseudo gathering of "high capacity" pastors under 35 that were from the eastern half of the USA.

What does high capacity mean anyway? You can't use a single term that could describe me that would make me feel better than any of the other people in the world answering their calls. I'm flattered, really. But as Adam Hamilton reminded us, Christ might call me to low capacity, and while I doubt it, I'd be cool with that.

Mike Slaughter preached wonderfully about the work Christ is doing in Africa. He lovingly described the transition from where the church was to where the church must go. He laughed at himself for his mistakes and challenged us to get some guts. "That gal has guts" - you've heard that before, right? Daring, courageous, maybe even a little disrespectful of authority.

Get some guts. And by that I mean stop whining about being old. Moses was flipping ancient before he even STARTED the RIM program. Do something with where you are and ignore the naysayers. Sure, maybe you can't preach, but that isn't cause you are old.

Get some guts. And by that I mean stop whining about being young. You gotta grow up kid! But there is never a better time to start proving yourself than now. So what, the Church doesn't hear you... Jesus was under 35 and we still haven't gotten what he was spouting! Would Jesus have been more holy if he had lived to 55? Being old doesn't equate to better. But it often equates wisdom. You might have no experience but we have a solution for that: its called experience.

Get some guts. Love the other party. I'll put it this way... Does thinking of Jesus as a republican make you cringe? Or a democrat? Then your heart is hardened. What if Jesus were homosexual? Did you just flinch? Your heart is hardened.

You need a heart that can see Jesus in all his children.

I propose a plan: 1) quit hating. What if no one ever said anything negative about you. What if you never said anything negative about anyone ever? And I am not talking about the whole "its not gossip if its true" crap. Search your heart when you criticize. Is it because you hate that person? Are you just mad it wasn't your idea or because it threatens something you love? Stop hating...Look for how it benefits Jesus. Because if it benefits Jesus and his Kingdom, it benefits you (as an aside, just because you like it doesn't mean Jesus does).

If you quit hating, you will find not only do you stop talking bad about them, you start acting better towards them. The talking is only an important tmarker to push you towards action.

I'm not saying you quit criticizing or being honest. But don't take it so personally and you will move from seething wrath to brutal honesty. (sugar sweet is never good unless God made you so sweet you get swirl your finger around in your tea to make it better. Think encouragement and positivity)

2) Put yourself in their shoes. I have a much harder time feeling angry with someone when I know who they are. What their desires are. What their dreams are. What their frustrations are. What their hurts are. In effect, they become human.

Another phrase might be "What is good for the goose is good for the gander"- in other words, although I can't remember a single time I've heard that term in conversation, being good for your neighbors is good for you, and ultimately good for God. Rob Bell says the Good News of Jesus Christ should be good for the whole neighborhood.

Even Richard Dawkins, radical athiest that he is, should benefit from the Gospel.

3) Seek God in mystery and knowledge. If you celebrate God's creativity and power in your knowledge of the world and celebrate God's majesty in the size of the known cosmos, you will find a PERSON to share life with. Sure, you can enjoy a good movie without understanding plot dimensions or character development, but if you know your stuff, its like savoring a fine wine right? I differ with Chuck Colson on this point... In How Now Shall We Live? I remember him talking about how appreciating classical music takes work.

Hogwash. You naturally appreciate the beautiful and the deeper you go the more you might pull from it, but the tools are there.

You CAN find meaning in life without God - but that meaning can't love you back like our God can.

Flip side, never stop seeking knowledge of God. And I mean the mystery of God is never an excuse to not get closer to Jesus. So many in oue society think they know Jesus when they've never cracked a bible or spoken to a Christian. The quicker we address ignorance and replace it with knowledge the quicker the Kingdom of God will reign on earth.

To seek God is to admit you need God. To admit you need God is to accept futility without God. Futility without God equals repentence.

If you haven't figured it out yet, these three points are what Micah, the prophet, expected from Israel. Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you God.

How can you be just if you hate your neighbor?

How can you bring God's mercy to someone who you don't see as a human?

How can you walk with God (humbly!) if you don't look for Jesus in the questions and answers of life? Humility begins with admitting you can learn something new.

Or is your heart too hard? Get over yourself. Get some guts.

~Jack Hinnen

Best Practices in Attracting Young Clergy

2008-09-17T07:33:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to GBHEM's report on attracting young clergy: click here

Other ways to attract young clergy:

1. Loft apartments over parsonages
2. iPhone instead of a pager for pastoral care emergencies
3. Breaks at Annual Conference are filled with scenes from Friends, Scrubs, and the Office
4. Increase weekend/Sunday vacations to 4 so we can actually attend a friend's wedding
5. Continuing education training that includes a trip to Six Flags

But seriously, the call at the end of the report is to develop a new culture. I am finding out time and time again that we do not have a welcoming culture, but a culture that says it is your job to become one of us. Do the paperwork in a timely matter and that proves your worth. Do this and do that and that will show you care enough...

I think we're in enough of a crisis to abandon that model and just start caring for potential brothers and sisters in ministry. I mean, would we ever treat a congregant by saying: if you call me and ask me to visit you before surgery, that will show that you care enough for me to be your pastor.

Demographics of Young Clergy

2008-09-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

It would be interesting to look more fully into the demographics of young clergy. For instance, how many young women are entering into full time ordained ministry? Anyone know if the Weems study/book displays that information?

One group is seeking to support young women: The Young Clergy Women Project

Inquiring Minds Want To Know...

2008-08-19T22:34:00.000-07:00

WE WANT TO KNOW: Is it Disciplinary that the "candidate is in charge of his or her own process" or is that just the way the system works now?

Sidenote: Do we really have to say "Aye" when voting? And do we have to refer to people as "Question 20"? Should it take an Act of Congress to respond to the changing landscape of mission and ministry?

Naming the Elephants (UMCYoungClergy.com)

2008-08-19T22:25:00.000-07:00

A UMC Young Clergy document gleaning quotes about the young clergy perspective into ministry within the UMC:

Naming the Elephants

UMCYoungClergy.com

2008-08-19T06:12:00.000-07:00

UMCYoungClergy.com has posted videos on the issue of Young Clergy and our own Bishop Willimon is featured in the series. Please visit this site and watch all seven video clips!

Where Are We Going?

2008-08-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

There's been so much talk about Young Clergy since Lovett Weems brought the downturn to light. And it seems that many annual conferences are addresing the issue from the perspective of denominational survival:

without young clergy, our connection will have a clergy shortage in x years, thus we need to recruit and train more clergy.

We have thought about why this has happened:

1. Youth and young adult ministry has not been our focus. We have tended to focus upon older adult and adult ministry, as have other mainline denominations.

2. We have not been calling those youth and young adults who do display gifts and talents because we did not see those gifts and talents. They were too busy hanging out at some other church's youth ministry.

3. We have not adapted our connectional system and appointment system in order to make it more effective.

But have we really addressed what will happen if we do not recruit enough new clergy?

Are we so "clergy-focused" that we cannot see that the laity will have to take on more leadership in our denomination?

Is Taylor-Burton Edwards right in his assessment of Randy Maddox's work "The United Methodist Way"? See Edward's critique here (and for fun, here is Andrew Thompson's response here).

Must we return to a revival movement with empowered laity and supportive clergy? Or is survival mode good enough?

Where should we go? Or more importantly: where is God calling us? Are we too myopic in our approach to young clergy that we are blinded from seeing where God is calling us to move?

THOUGHTS???

More Andrew Thompson: Restoring Methodism

Young Christian Leaders: Nurturing or Recruiting

2008-08-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

Any effective conversation about young church leaders has to be about more than saving the traditional structure of the church. We might find a few people willing to do CPR on our church, but those few will only be those who are already deeply embedded in the church, and the parts of the church that will be able to survive in that kind of situation will be a far cry from the biblical model of Christian community. Rather than focusing on how the church looks, we need to focus on how the church is and what the church does.

We as a church have always been about the outwardly transformational work of the gospel, thus outreach and mission are a part of who we are. We are also, however, about the inwardly transformational work of Christ, which is something experienced only as we are drawn into Christian community. People will be drawn to outwardly transformational ministry, but they can also be drawn into the church by transparent ministry that is inwardly transformative.

Part of the absence of younger people in the church is an unavoidable demographic shift - people are getting married later, moving more, and having kids later, all of which decrease likelihood of church attendance. There is also financially little incentive for church to invest in young adults - they rarely have money to give, and even if they do they will probably move in a few years anyway. So those churches who do have young people around them would rather focus on other investments with a more predictable return on investment.

When it comes to young Christian leaders, both clergy and lay, our primary failure as a church lies more in nurturing than in recruiting.

Talking about recruitment is nice for young clergy and helps us feel a little more comfortable going into ordination interviews. But the fact is that young people who are engaged in the church, particularly young people who are unmarried without children, are hard to come by.

Getting more of them is not a matter of having better ads in the classifieds - it is a process of discipleship that cannot happen overnight. Even when someone is called with little previous experience within the church, that person must then rely even more heavily on the church to help them learn those things that they never learned. So in many ways to talk about recruitment is more trying to treat the symptom than solving the problem.

It is curious that we talk so much about young adults, yet fail to focus on where a vast percentage of young adults are. We have an undersupported model for reaching people in this age bracket in campus ministry. What percentage of people under 35 go to college these days?

And the reason we don't have a campus ministry at every college is . . . ?

It is confounding that we can talk about how important young leaders are and young ministers are and yet not make more efforts to be present when people are deciding their careers. Few individual churches are equipped to engage college students, yet campus ministries are doing so despite meager support from the broader church.

The North Alabama Conference last year budgeted $37,000 to support campus ministry programming. You can almost buy every college student in North Alabama a Coke for that. Almost. Yet campus ministry is a situation in which the actual members of the community have extremely limited ability to provide financial resources. Advertising and outreach are even more vital than in the typical community, given a 4 year (or 5, or 6) turnover in the population. We have systemically forced our campus ministers into being primarily fundraisers rather than actually initiating some of the varied programs that can and should exist to reach people on a college campus and nurture young Christian leaders.

Campus ministry is unique because it has the opportunity to allow young people to become leaders, try various ministries, to become in many ways a test lab for future leaders as they investigate their future careers to also investigate their future involvement in the church. That, however, takes resources that the students themselves don't have, and that we currently force our campus ministers to spend most of their time raising. People are nurtured into the faith, nurtured into deeper faith, and many are nurtured into accepting a calling into vocations of ministry. So that is one example, although definitely not the only one, of a type of ministry that is effective with young people but could do much more if given broader support.

There's also the issue of how we attract people to our church. We as a church do attract some people by what we do and our ability to transform the world. But to be willing to be a part themselves, people need to experience Christian community in order to buy into the church. The United Way is working to transform the world as well - what separates the church is that it is also working to transform its members into Christ's likeness through community. As the underlying argument of much of Willimon and Hauerwas's works argue, we as a church simply need to be truly ourselves in order to transform the world. We draw some people in by what we do, but we also draw many in by who we are, with transformation of both ourselves and the world. As people become part of us and we become part of them, God will call nurture Christian leaders. The sooner we as a church are faithful to our calling to engage people, the sooner they will hear that call.

Above all, to recruit young Christian leaders we need to carry out the work of transforming the church and the world. Our conference priorities are currently directed internally at transforming ourselves into a better church, assuming that in doing so we will then be able to transform the world. Perhaps we should look outward to how we should transform the world, assuming that in doing so we will be transformed into the church. Or perhaps we should look toward Christ for our transformation and all work as hard as we can with what God has given us where God has put us. Isn't that why we're in the resurrection business in the first place?

~ Peter von Herrmann

Four North Alabama Conference Clergy Selected For The Young Pastors’ Network

2008-08-07T18:56:00.000-07:00

Four North Alabama Conference clergy have been selected for the first rotation of the Young Pastors’ Network with Adam Hamilton of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection and Mike Slaughter of Ginghamsburg Church. Those clergy are Mary Bendall, associate pastor of Tuscaloosa First UMC; Wade Griffith, pastor of Trinity (Tuscaloosa) UMC; Jack Hinnen, associate pastor of Riverchase UMC; and Michael Holly, associate pastor of Canterbury UMC.

These candidates were all nominated by Bishop Will Willimon who says, “These are four of our most talented young pastoral leaders. I recommended them to Adam Hamilton and the people at Ginghamsburg Church because I was sure that the skills that they would learn there would be wonderfully utilized here in our Conference. This is a great boost to our Conference Priorities of ‘effective leadership and empowering a new generation of Christians.’”

The Young Pastors’ Network is designed specifically for high capacity clergy within the United Methodist Church who are under the age of 35. Network candidates must be nominated by their bishops based on each candidate’s potential and drive to serve as a future leader of a large membership church within the annual conference.

The 13-month program is designed to provide a large church “leadership development school” for young United Methodist clergy while also providing an ongoing online community featuring mentoring, networking, spiritual growth and peer sharing opportunities. Topics included are:

* Self-leadership that precedes strategic leadership
* Building & land issues
* Large church leadership essentials
* Missions & community transformation
* Leading the multiple staff church
* Evangelistic tactics
* Strategic planning
* Prophetic leadership
* Preaching & worship
* Maintaining healthy relationships
* Stewardship & capital campaigns

During the 13 months of the program, these young pastors will spend eight days together at five key events:

* Up close coaching event with Adam Hamilton and Mike Slaughter on the Ginghamsburg Church campus in Tipp City, Ohio, on Thursday, October 23, 2008
* Change the World conference on Friday & Saturday, October 24/25, 2008, also on the Ginghamsburg campus
* A second coaching event with Adam and Mike at Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, on Wednesday, September 30, 2009
* Leadership Institute on Thursday & Friday, October 1/2, 2009, also at Church of the Resurrection
* Two-day retreat for relaxation and renewal for both pastors and their spouses (dates & location TBA)

For more information on the Young Pastors’ Network visit http://youngpastorsnetwork.org/ypnabout

Why We Are Losing Ground With Young Adults

2008-07-31T09:08:00.000-07:00

Check out this new article by Marty Cauley from the SEJ/Lake Junaluska:

Why We Are Losing Ground...

Mentoring Through Transparency

2008-07-29T05:40:00.000-07:00

What young clergy need from older clergy/conference leadership/District Superintendents:

Be honest with us.

We are entirely new to this system and we do not usually speak the same language. Very few of us pour over Robert's Rules of Order at night. It seems like a waste of time anyway. We do not understand how you come to your decisions because you tell us very little about the past (which seems ironic in that we as a denomination seem to be looking continually back to 1968). You also tell us very little about the current situation and the political dynamics of the Conference.

The truth is, you may know very little about those dynamics because they are usually made upon assumptions of who is liberal and who is conservative (divisions that seem to be shedding off in younger generations where some are anti-death penalty and anti-abortion). You have distanced yourself from others in the conference to the point that there is no conversation -- just motions and through your vote. Please, be honest with us.

It seems that no one cares about whether the system works or not. You just want it to be swift. So who cares about explaining things to laity and young clergy so long as we finish in an hour or in two days. Please, help us understand what is going on so that we can be fully engaged in our mission and ministry with you.

So we are asking you to be honest with us. Slow down some and explain why you lead in the way you do. Show us the relevant past, explain how the decision may impact everyone in the conference. Wisdom is not passed on through information, but through experience. Please do not rob us from gaining wisdom and insight from you in order to stay politically leveraged for your own sake or for the sake of your shared cause. Be honest with us.

A friend of mine always says that without transparency, people make up their own minds as to what is happening. Please be honest with us. We really want to support you and be on your side. We really want to make a difference.

It's just that sometimes we just feel that we are more of a statistic and not a partner.

The In-Between

2008-07-27T14:32:00.000-07:00

In the Southeastern Jurisdiction, we seem to be constantly looking in the rear view mirror at the moment. GC 2008 and Jurisdictional Conference are behind us. Some conferences are putting together some really innovative programs, but there is not much to show as of yet.

So in this in-between time there has been little to write about. We'll shortly be re-establishing our Young Clergy posts as August hits and we hope to expand beyond North Alabama.

For the time being, please feel free to see Bishop Willimon's posting on his report to the SEJ about North Alabama.

They Like Clergy, But Not Our Collars

2008-06-05T11:39:00.001-07:00

Some young clergy from the North Alabama Conference have decided to try and gather together for community and conversation. Dale Cohen, author of the first post on this topic, has offered to host this conversation at his home on July 22nd. Our intentions are to discuss the book They Like Jesus But Not The Church by Dan Kimball. Everyone is welcome to come!!!

If you are from outside this conference or outside of Methodism, we invite you to participate in the postings that will result from this conversation. We will begin posting after the 22nd.

For those of you participating at Dale Cohen's home in Huntsville, he will be providing lunch, so we need to know how much to prepare. Please RSVP to Dale: dcohen@northalabamaumc.org. Please plan to attend this formational conversation. Directions are available upon request.

In the comment section below, you can engage in some early conversation about the book and its implications: how do young clergy learn to engage with the world?

Emergent Village comes to Birmingham, AL

2008-06-05T07:34:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Emergent Church Leaders Tour the Country in an RV with a Rollicking 21st Century Roadshow Revival of that Old Time Religion

Minneapolis, Minnesota, 15 May, 2008 — A biodiesel-fueled RV loaded with three of the most outspoken emergent church leaders and authors will crisscross the country this summer in “The Church Basement Roadshow: A Rollin’ Gospel Revival.” The tour featuring Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt and Mark Scandrette will hit thirty-two cities across the U.S., with a message that combines old time revival flair with a 21st century gospel. They’ll preach, sing and sell healing balm in church basements from San Diego to New York.

Jones, author of The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier; Pagitt, author of A Christianity Worth Believing; and Scandrette, author of S oul Graffiti: Making a Life in the Way of Jesus, are part of the emergent movement, a decade-old phenomenon of pastors, missionaries, artists, theologians, authors and “regular people” who are rethinking church and Christianity for a globalized world. Controversial for their “nothing is too sacred to be questioned” doctrine, Jones, Pagitt, and Scandrette have acquired many fans and critics based on their writings.

“This summer will be a defining time,” says Pagitt, “As we take our invitation of hope and good news to people around the country. We’re preaching a fresh way of life and faith – one that is in rhythm with the life of God.”

Taking a page out of the Billy Sunday playbook, the authors will spread the emergent message of a generous, hope-filled Christian faith in the style and cadence of the tent revival preachers of a hundred years ago. They plan to have fun with it, wearing frock suits and selling “healing balm,” but the goal is, as in the revivals of yore, to preach the good news.

“This will be unlike any book tour people have seen,” said Jones. “We’ll be barnstorming the country, shaking the rafters with our ancient-future message of hope.”
“People will laugh and sing,” Scandrette added, “But they’ll also be challenged to join the Jesus Revolution.”

The Church Basement Roadshow has already attracted the attention of major sponsors, including Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint, beliefnet.com, Compassion International, Restoring Eden/Creation Care Fund, International Bible Society, Zondervan/TNIV, Wesley Seminary, christianbook.com, Emergent Village, and BidForGreen.

Full information on the Church Basement Roadshow, including tour dates, can be found at www.churchbasementroadshow.com.

***The tour will hit Birmingham, AL, at Disciple's Fellowship on Lorna Road. Please visit www.churchbasementroadshow.com for more details.

Who's The Boss? (Love, Marriage and Ministry)

2008-05-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

Ministry and marriage (and parenthood) have long been difficult to balance. For a new generation of clergy, we want to have a discussion on the following questions:

a) What is the cost of being an effective leader on families and marriages? What are the pressures of being in ministry in demanding congregations?

b) Is this culture or is this the cost of being an effective leader? Can you be effective in ministry and your personal life at the same time?

From Events to Dialogue: Conversations for Young Clergy

2008-05-13T04:55:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of years the North Alabama Conference has hosted an event known as Breakaway—an event for young adults ages 18 to 35. As somewhat of an understatement, this event has not been successful.

This event was designed to find ways to dialogue with young adults about how the church could empower more young adults to assume leadership for the direction of the church. Trying to make this a first-class event, no expense was spared. Indeed, the evaluations confirmed that we did a great job with the event itself; however, nobody came. So…it’s time to try something else.

A few members of the design team have decided that we need to strategically narrow the focus for now and target young clergy to come together for dialogue—not about how to plan another event; rather, to actually begin a conversation about paving the way for young adults to assume greater leadership in the Church.

We thought it would be most helpful if those who were going to participate actually “set the agenda” by offering some talking points that will be the framework for our time together. I figure you’re tired of us old people setting the agenda and covering themes and concepts that miss the point; however, I’m also not interested in complaining about the past—the future is what is at stake. We hope to create an organic and emergent atmosphere for the Spirit to work in and among us.

This is open to any young clergy that would like to attend. As of right now, the definition of young clergy is "under 35 years of age." We will specifically target issues within the North Alabama Conference, but feel that this would be a wonderful dialogue for a number of voices.

We’ve tentatively scheduled the 22^nd of July from noon until four p.m. but we haven’t decided on a place yet. The location will be determined by who is able to participate. If the date we’ve selected doesn’t work for you or if the time is not conducive for productive conversation, please suggest another date and/or time. Everything is negotiable in this conversation!

~ Dale Cohen, Director of Connectional Ministries, North Alabama Conference

If you need to contact me for more information, you can reach me at dcohen@northalabamaumc.org and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Spotted Owls Sighted at General Conference

2008-05-06T05:20:00.000-07:00

Young clergy from the Texas Annual Conference sat in on GBHEM committee meetings at General Conference with hats decorated to look like owls.

The point was to say that young clergy are like spotted owls -- an endangered species.

They argued for: 1) streamlining and simplifying the candidacy process; 2) reducing pre-candidacy discernment from 2 years to 1 year; 3) eliminating commissioning (ordination and then second full connection membership); 4) reducing probationary time from 3 years to 2 years; 5) change "probationary" language to "residency."

Check out these websites: Texas Statement; Texas Spotted Owls

Update: From what I hear from North Alabama delegates, probationary time has been reduced from 3 years to 2. Any more updates from GC 2008???

Clergy Accountability

2008-05-05T06:46:00.000-07:00

Petitions on Clergy Accountability rejected at General Conference.

Were these ineffective petitions or is our denomination not ready to push towards effectiveness? Would accountability offer young clergy hope? Or would it seem like more hoops from a bureaucracy?

Courting the Young Ones

2008-05-05T06:42:00.000-07:00

Best Practices for attracting young clergy from GBHEM