Upper New York: Spring 2015

SPRING 2015

A publication of the Upper New York Conference of The United Methodist Church

ADVOCATEUpper New York

SPRING 2015

A publication of the Upper New York Conference of The United Methodist Church

ADVOCATEUpper New York

Vitality, Revitalizationand New Beginnings

2 UNY ADVOCATE SPRING 2015

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8PLOWING THROUGH

The Auburn UMC enters the final phase of the three-phase Hand to Plow process. UNY’s Kathleen

Rubino has the story.

12A ‘SIMPLE’ PLAN

No free time? The Ogdensburg UMC uses Sunday mornings to better engage the congregation.

14VITAL CONVERSATION

Three Conference clergy meet up on social media to discuss “What makes a vital congregation?” We

have their conversation.

18KINGDOM KIDS

When the Lyons UMC took advantage of its proximity to the local elementary school, a thriving

afterschool program was born.

20HONING PREACHINGThe preaching academy is a

“powerful opportunity to hone the craft of preaching,” according to

one recent participant.

22IN MINISTRY

We engage in conversation with the Rev. Carlos M. Rosa-Laguer about his unique and challenging ministry context in the heart of

Rochester.

24SMALL GROUP LOVEThe Rev. Dan Finch shares his

passion for small group ministry.

What is a vital congregation? It is a congregation that seeks to develop disciples of Jesus Christ for the transforma-tion of the world. They are Spirit-filled, forward-leaning communities of believers that join God in the work that God is already doing, such as building relation-ships with and helping to meet the needs of the

General Hospital of Biank-ouma, Côte d’Ivoire. Pic-tured here, Mathias Goué, a nurse, describes prepara-tions to handle any possible Ebola outbreak near the border with Guinea. The isolation tent, provided by UNICEF, is on the

grounds of a former tuberculosis ward.

UMNS photo by Mike DuBose

FROM the PUBLISHER

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Upper New York Conference324 University Ave., 3rd Floor

Syracuse, NY 13210(855) 424-7878 www.unyumc.org

The Upper New York United Methodist Advocate is a publication of the Upper New York Conference of The United Methodist Church, whose mission is to be God’s love with all our neighbors in all places. Materials in the Advocate may not

be reproduced unless the item is accompanied by a copyright notation. Periodicals postage paid at Utica, New York 13504; USPS 14025. Subscriptions: $15 per year

paid in advance to 324 University Ave., 3rd floor, Syracuse, NY 13210; or call (855) 424-7878; or visit www.unyumc.org. Postmaster: send address changes to Upper New York United Methodist Advocate, 324 University Ave., 3rd floor, Syracuse, NY 13210. We reserve the right to edit or decline any items submitted for publication.

Graphic DesignerCHRISTIAN VISCHICommunications Associate

(315) 424-7878 [email protected]

Writer/EditorKATHLEEN RUBINO

Conference Writer/Editor(315) 424-7878 x319

[email protected]

Social Media/WebASHLEY RIDDELL

Multimedia/Web Coordinator(315) 424-7878 x320

[email protected]

Weekly DigestKAREN CAMPOLIETO

Administrative Assistant to the Director(315) 424-7878 x304

[email protected]

Upper New York AreaBISHOP MARK J. WEBB

Resident Bishop(315) 422-5027

[email protected]

Editor/PublisherSTEPHEN J. HUSTEDTUNY Director of Communications

(315) 424-7878 [email protected]

ADVOCATESpring 2015 Vol. 7, Issue 2

Upper New YorkRevitalizing the Advocate

Even if you didn’t see the announce-ment that change was coming to the Advocate, you have probably no-

ticed something is different. This is the first issue of the new ministry magazine format, and the accompanying theme of vitality seems appropriate.

Vitality and revitalization are not al-ways easy to explain in the context of ministry. They are often treated as one of those “you know it when you see it” things. However, that does not help a con-gregation that is called to be more vital know how to get started.

The hope is that this issue of the Advocate will go deeper and really explore what it means to be vital in a ministry con-text. Throughout this issue you’ll find stories of where revital-ization has happened, information and explanations on how to become more vital, simple tips, and useful ideas around vitality.

As individuals and groups share what they know about vi-tality and where fruitful ministry is happening, it will make all those who partake in the knowledge stronger and lead to greater vitality across the entire Upper New York Confer-ence.

With that in mind, remember to be intentional about shar-ing the Advocate. Do not simply set copies out; hand them out to leaders who might benefit from the information or visitors who want to come to understand what it means to be United Methodist in Upper New York.

There is no better way for us to make or grow disciples than to share our story. Be sure to share this one.

Stephen J. Hustedt, Editor/Publisher

On the coverLanden Chambers at Kingdom Kids,

Photo by Kathleen Rubino

Kingdom Kids, p. 18-19

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www.unyumc.orgwww.facebook.com/uppernewyork

www.twitter.com/uppernewyork


CONTRIBUTORSREV. JEFFREY E. LONG

Rev. Long is the pastor at the Farmington United Methodist Church. He has previously served United Methodist churches in Wisconsin, and Wolcott, North Wolcott, and Amherst. He and his wife, Beth (also pictured), a third grade teacher, reside in Farmington, located approximately 22 miles southeast of Rochester. The couple has two adult sons, Bryan and Brent, and daughters-in-law Molly and Amy. His hobbies include Mac computers and gadgets, fantasy football, Syracuse Orange basketball, and following the Boston Red Sox and the Buffalo Bills.

REV. DANIEL FINCH

Rev. Finch is the senior pastor at the Livonia United Methodist Church and the coordinating pastor at the Allens Hill UMC in Bloomfield. He has previ-ously served at churches in Canadice, West Henrietta, Rochester and Bergen. Rev. Finch serves as a member of the Fire Police for the Livonia Fire Depart-ment. He and his wife, Karen, reside in Livonia, located approximately 26 miles south of Rochester. His hobbies include watching Manchester United, the New York Yankees, the Buffalo Bills, and the Syracuse Orange.

REV. COREY TARRETO TURNPENNY

Rev. Turnpenny is the pastor at the Whitney Point United Methodist Church, located approximately 18 miles north of Binghamton. She previously served as a pastoral assistant for Outreach and Membership Development at the Williamsville UMC. She and her husband, Benjamin (also pictured), a teach-ing faculty lecturer in general chemistry at Binghamton University, reside in Binghamton. The couple has one dog, Louie.

REV. JOHN A. MARTIN

Rev. Martin is the pastor at the Adirondack Community Church in Lake Plac-id. He has previously served at churches in Oxford and McDonough. He and his wife, Crystal, reside in Lake Placid, located in the northeast corner of the Adirondack Park. Rev. Martin is a member of the Young Pastors Network, a partnership between the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection and the Ginghamsburg Church that is designed specifically for high capacity clergy within The United Methodist Church who are under the age of 35. This month’s piece by him is the second in a series of six.

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Leadership is critical in the life of the Church. God calls leaders,

God provides the necessary gifts to leaders, and God uses leaders to move the Body of Christ toward the hope, pur-pose and reality God has for the Church and for the world.

Upper New York is blessed to have commit-ted, passionate and gifted leaders, both clergy and lay. Through the leadership of these women, men, young adults, youth and children, the mission of “making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world” is being accomplished in local congregations and faith communities.

As the mission is accomplished at the local level, the task of the Con-ference is to come alongside and assist in that work of purpose. The Conference does this by creating a culture of clarity regarding our mis-sion and clear focus concerning the most effective way to assist leaders and congregations.

Through various conversations with leaders of the Upper New York Conference – including the Confer-ence Leadership Team, administra-tive team leaders, staff, Cabinet and others – we are convinced that our focused task, our primary task, our only task, must be about increasing leadership capacity. If we increase leadership capacity, we deploy both clergy and lay leaders to lead in local settings, developing effective and vital discipleship systems, resulting in the maturing of existing disciples of Jesus Christ and the emergence of new disciples of Jesus Christ, increasing the vitality and fruitfulness of local congregations and faith communities, and leading to the transformation of

the world through the power of God. In a shorter version, we believe our task is the following:

Grow Leaders ➡ To Build Healthy Congregations ➡ That Increase Disciples of Jesus ➡ Who Transform the World

How do we go about the task of increasing leadership capacity? We

believe it starts with understanding the core competencies necessary to lead in our context, within the 21st century. A great team of people have begun to explore what those compe-tencies may be for clergy leaders and we are working in cooperation with the Board of Laity to develop the competencies for laity.

Currently, we have identified 16 core competencies necessary for clergy leaders in Upper New York. While these are not exhaustive, we believe they offer a holistic approach to increasing the capacity of our leaders. Of these 16 core competen-cies, eight are adaptive and eight are technical. They are as follows:

Adaptive Competencies 1. Learning Agility – Leadership

is having the willingness and ability to adapt and learn so that they are able to provide the best leadership. Learn-ing is done with self-ownership, not being sent to attend.

2. Self-Awareness – Know-ing what is happening within us and how that impacts, or is impacted by what is happening around us. Lead-ers have a high level of self-awareness and respond and lead in light of their

awareness.3. Comfort with Ambiguity

– We live in an increasingly com-plex and less predictable world that thrives on uncertainty. Leadership needs to be able to continue to lead even when all the steps and out-comes are not clear.

4. Strategic Thinking – Leader-

ship is the process by which a con-gregation keeps a focus on the vision and goals. This means also helping the congregation to be intentional, or strategic, about how it functions.

5. Complex Problem-Solving – Most of the problems we face have multiple layers and components. A transformative leadership process is able to navigate the challenges and problems while engaging all the fac-tors and inputs.

6. Lead Change – Leadership must understand what it takes to walk with a congregation through change. Significant to leading change is an increased awareness of the leader to the emotional content of change. This awareness includes the leader’s emotions as well as the emo-tions of those they are leading.

7. Collaboration – The days of the sole heroic leader are gone. Leadership is done more through teams and networks than the effort and energy of one person. Function-ing in a way that fosters a culture and practice of collaboration is an essen-tial role of leadership.

8. Systems Thinking – Congre-gations are the nexus point for sev-eral systems. The coming together of

“ ... our focused task, our primary task, our only task, must be about

increasing leadership capacity.”

“The moment a leader steps away from their core competencies, their effectiveness as a leader diminishes. Worse, the effectiveness of every other leader in the organization suffers, too.”

– Andy Stanley, author of Next Generation Leader

FOLLOW BISHOP WEBB ON TWITTER @BishopMarkWebb

these systems defines and propagates the way the congregation exists and handles anxieties and opportunities. Leadership must know how to navigate and impact these systems positively.

Technical Competencies1. Spiritual Life of the Leader – A leader must tend to their soul

and life. This includes a vital and vibrant devotional life encompassing engagement with the Scriptures, time for prayer and additional spiritual disciplines. Further, the spiritual life of a leader must include a balance of physical, emotional, and mental health.

2. Methodist/Wesleyan Ethos – We are called to participate in the Christian movement as United Methodists. Therefore, our theol-ogy and praxis must be rooted and consistent with the tenants of the Wesleyan understanding.

3. Vision and Alignment – The ability to discern God’s vision with a congregation and align the resources of the congregation around that vision are essential functions of leadership. Additionally, a leader must champion that vision by articulating it clearly, consistently and with great regularity.

4. Ministry Plan – Leadership is able to guide and direct the pro-cess of the creating, implementation, and evaluation of a clearly defined ministry plan. This plan includes the stewardship and financial needs of the congregation, reaching out to the neighbors of the congrega-tion, developing other leaders, and the growth of individuals and min-istries. A key component to an effective and sustainable ministry plan is the ability to develop, resource, and empower teams for ministry.

5. Faith Sharing/Evangelism – The leader needs to set the example and equip others in the practice of sharing the story of Christ with the world.

6. Intentional Discipleship System – Leadership helps foster a clear path for individuals to deepen their faith in God through Jesus Christ. The discipleship system includes a plan to identify, develop, and deploy new leaders while continuing to develop the leaders already in place.

7. From Inward to Outward – Leadership has the capacity to lead a congregation from being inward-focused to fully engaging the community around the congregation.

8. Passionate, Relevant Worship – It is the leader’s responsi-bility to lead the congregation in providing worship experiences that connect with those already participating as well as draws new people into participation. Regardless of style, worship services must support a passionate relationship with Jesus Christ and translate that passion to people in a way that is relatable to their day-to-day life. This is best accomplished when a team approach is utilized.

We are testing these competencies with various, diverse groups of individuals; we may have some of them right, others may need to be modified. Our hope is that once we have identified the core compe-tencies necessary to increase leadership capacity, we will then discover and implement various systems by which these competencies can be lived out fully within every clergy leader of Upper New York. We will do the same regarding laity.

I invite you to share your thoughts about these competencies. What are we missing? What will increase your leadership capacity? Send your thoughts to [email protected].

God has called us to a shared journey of mission and ministry in the name of Jesus Christ. May we be exactly who God has called us to be for this time and for this place!

CORE COMPETENCIES FOR CLERGY LEADERS

Adaptive Competencies

Learning Agility

Self-Awareness

Comfort with Ambiguity

Strategic Thinking

Complex Problem-Solving

Lead Change

Collaboration

Systems Thinking

Technical Competencies

Spiritual Life of the Leader

Methodist/Wesleyan Ethos

Vision and Alignment

Ministry Plan

Faith Sharing/Evangelism

Intentional Discipleship System

From Inward to Outward

Passionate, Relevant Worship


‘‘Everyone is revitalized and excited when you walk in.” That’s Patricia Pierleoni’s take on the impact

the Hand to Plow process has made at the Auburn United Methodist Church, where she is a lay leader. She said has seen “so many changes” in her church since they started with Hand to Plow.

Hand to Plow is a three-phase process that assists churches in the revitalization of their congregations. The Auburn UMC started this process two and a half years

ago, and has seen many signs of revital-ization.

Phase one engages together laity and clergy from multiple churches in peer learning groups, called covenant groups. The Rev. Richelle Goff, pastor at the Auburn UMC,

said the groups gather, reading from books that include topics such as mission and outreach, leadership, and wor-ship. She said the readings also focus on helping churches define their vision and mission.

For the Auburn UMC, Rev. Goff said its mission is similar to that of all United Methodist churches: “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” However, Auburn UMC has defined its unique vi-sion as “building a relationship with Christ and all people.”

When the meeting is over, those in attendance bring the ideas discussed back to their respective churches.

If the church decides to move along with the process, then phase two begins, which involves consultation with the Rev. Dr. Aaron Bouwens, Conference Director of Vital Congregations, who visits the church for a weekend-long evaluation. Rev. Goff said discussion and observations take place during this time. Rev. Bouwens looks for ways the church can improve. At the end of phase two, the church is given a Consultation Report with recommended “revitalization prescriptions,” which the church can vote to adopt or decline.

If the church accepts the prescriptions, it moves to the final step: phase three. The Auburn UMC is currently on that last step of the process, where it implements the prescriptions from phase two. The church had five pre-scriptions and has already completed some of them. The Auburn UMC is currently working on two – one is to assemble one church board, and the other is to switch its fiscal year from July to June. Rev. Goff said they are look-ing at new ways to incorporate financial health – how they

By Kathleen Rubino, Writer/Editor [email protected]

Plowing through:Auburn UMC is first church to enter phase three of Hand to Plow

The vision of the Auburn UMC is building a relation-ship with Christ and all people. One way in which the church has been working to build relationships within its community was its inaugural “Blessing of the Animals” service, co-hosted by the Finger Lakes SPCA of Central New York, held in October 2014 at Hoope’s Park in Auburn. Photos courtesy the Auburn UMC

Building relationships in the community

view stewardship and generosity. Rev. Goff said she has noticed signs of revitalization in

her church, which are backed by “strong, hard facts” in the Auburn UMC’s Annual Church Report published on Feb. 12. The church had a net growth of 144 people (228 new members, 84 deaths, and some transfers). And since the start of 2015, it has gained 25 members. Rev. Goff said this increase is the result of the church’s current clear dis-cipleship pathway, a clear understanding of how to engage new people to join the church.

unyumc.org 9

According to the report, the church continues to be financially secure, with more contributions received than money spent each year. This allowed the Auburn UMC to increase its outreach, both locally and internationally, in 2014, including sponsored mission trips to Haiti, Ni-caragua, Bolivia, Panama, and Uganda.

“We are cultivating a stronger presence in the community,” Rev. Goff said. “Our community out-reach has become more focused so people can rally behind it. Our Prayer Ministry is strong, where it wasn’t as strong in the past, because they have developed a more clear mission.”

Rev. Goff also notes the church has seen an increase in baptisms and Sunday school enrollment, with their Christian Education Ministry thriv-ing for all age groups. Every Sunday school room at the Auburn UMC is in use on Sunday mornings, and more than 450 young people are blessed in its weekday disciple groups.

Rev. Goff believes a spiritually grounded congregation is crucial to a vital congregation. “It is the number one thing necessary,” she said. “It allows members of the congregation to grow in their faith, and it all stems out of that.”

Pierleoni said there have been some notable physical changes to the church, including removal of pews to make room for wheelchairs, the formation of a welcoming committee, the creation of a car parking ser-vice for the elderly who attend the church, installation of railings to avoid safety issues, and introduction of an interpreter for the deaf and hard of hearing at their services.

She said the Hand to Plow process can be difficult because churches have to take a step back, evaluate their current state, identify where the church is going, and discern a path.

“It’s an amazing process, but it is a process, so it doesn’t end,” Pierleoni said. “We stay cognizant of the steps that got us here. We continually look at what we’re doing, our vision. I look at it like a circle.”

Rev. Goff said she would highly recommend Hand to Plow to other churches. “At least try phase one,” she said. “Some churches are not ready for the process, but some are very ready. It all depends on the laity and the support of the pastor.”

According to Goodreads.com:If your church vanished, would

your community weep? Would anyone notice? Would anyone care?

“I will never forget the com-ment of one fourth-grade teacher as she stood there, amazed at the work being done on her class-room by complete strangers: ‘If this is Christianity, then I’m interested,’ she said.”

– Forward by Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson

Learn from churches that have made serving their communities a priority – with dramatic results. Your church can be a firm pillar in your community because of the unwavering truth and love of its members.

Use case studies from churches that have mastered community service, and apply the action steps to: Attract new believers and reach hurt and skeptical people through service; use the re-sources your church already has to im-pact those in need; learn how churches

have made community service a part of their DNA; help your members deepen their spiritual commitment through service; and discover practical ways to change your community – starting now.

From the minister to the mechanic and the teen to the tenured, your church will expand God’s kingdom when it extends his love to the people in your community.

The Externally Focused Churchby Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson

FOR FURTHERREADING

Pages: 222 • Publisher: Group Publishing, June 9, 2004

You can get it through: • Cokesbury: www.tinyurl.com/CKSBYExternallyFocused • Christian Books: www.tinyurl.com/CBDExternallyFocused • Amazon: www.tinyurl.com/AMAZExternallyFocused


PROVIDING MINISTRY TO THE PEOPLE OF AFRICA

A frica 360 is the Upper New York Conference’s holistic campaign to provide ministry to the people of Africa. The Conference has pledged to raise $1 million for Imagine No Malaria, saving 100,000 lives. Many of the lives saved will be children who will one day have the op-portunity to become students Africa University due to a second pledge the Conference has made: to raise $1 million for Africa University Scholarships. Those students will then be able to return to their communities and make them better for the next generation of children.

For more information, visit our website at www.unyumc.org/mission/africa-360

unyumc.org 11

I’m a big fan of lists; I love reading those articles – often shared on

Facebook – that include lists. It’s partly because the information in a list is so easily accessible and partly because there’s a sense of anticipa-tion that grows as you read your way through the list. Today, thanks in large part to the Rev. Adam Hamil-ton of the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kan., I bring you a list of the five things that should be done by the pastor, and if aren’t done well will be a detriment to your church’s vitality.

This list should help clergy be clear about their priorities – what they spend their time doing – and help laity figure out how to best sup-port their pastor as he or she refines these priorities.

1. Family firstThe first and most important

thing that any pastor can and should spend his or her time doing is being a spouse, parent, child, and overall good member of his or her family. I am the only person who can be a husband to my wife and a father to my children. This is true for every pastor and needs to be continually lifted up as the top priority.

2. Mission and visionBoth the Rev. Mike Slaughter,

pastor at the Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Tipp City, Ohio, and Rev. Hamilton were in agree-ment, that while our mission is to be about the work of making dis-ciples (Matthew 28:19), the vision of a church comes primarily from the

Young Pastors Network for all:

Five things ... every pastor should do

By the Rev. John [email protected]

Part two of a six-part series

pastor. Each and every pastor should not only be helping a congregation identify and understand their mission and vision, but should continually be casting that vision so it can be more powerfully embodied by the people.

3. Preach excellentlyOne of the most visible tasks of

the pastor is preaching the Word. It is the part of our job that people most often equate with clergy and with which they most readily inter-act. It is also the singular place that a pastor has the most potential to inspire or to harm. Therefore, your sermons need to be excellent. They need to reflect your best work and should be a high priority on a weekly basis. Notice I did not say your sermons should be long, or short, or funny, or sad, but simply that they should be excellent. Whatever excellence is for you, that’s what you should be pouring into your weekly sermons.

4. Raise moneyThis was the priority that was

most controversial among the Young Pastors’ Network. Many of us had been taught that pastors should not talk about money, know about money, or dare think that somehow we could/should have an impact over a church’s finances. Rev. Hamilton basically told us to forget all that. He said each of us should be tithing – if not tithing, then be honest about our efforts to work toward tithing – and should be functioning as the primary fundraisers within our respective congregations. This was a paradigm shift for many of us. I will say that after having taken a more active role in my own congregation’s steward-ship campaign this past year, we were able to realize a 100 percent increase in the number of people pledging and roughly a 50 percent increase in the total amount pledged.

Rev. Martin

5. Represent ChristLike it or not, clergy are held to a

different standard than pretty much everyone else. While some clergy resent this double standard and strive to show their congregations and the surrounding community just how hu-man they really are, there is truth and value to the way people see clergy. Society and the church view pastors as representatives of Christ – in a more tangible and true way than they see themselves as such. Like it or not, this is reality. For that reason, it is the responsibility of the pastor to do this well. That means living with such integrity that who you are in the pul-pit is the same as who you are when on vacation out of town – this is achieved by elevating who you are as a person, not by diminishing who you are in the pulpit. In reality, all follow-ers of Jesus are on a journey toward being more like Christ, but as clergy we have the incredible responsibility and privilege of people more actively looking to us for such a living witness.

Remember, these “Five Things” come out of my experience in the Young Pastors’ Network this past year, led by Rev. Hamilton and Rev. Slaughter. The list is Rev. Hamilton’s, and the explanations are based on my own ministry experience and my notes from his teaching. You may no-tice that not included are many com-mon pastoral duties such as pastoral care/visitation, bulletin preparation, attending meetings, or leading small groups. The exclusion of activities does not mean they shouldn’t be done, rather it means that those ac-tivities not listed can be cared for as well as, if not better than the pastor, by other people within the church.

Remember to use your partners in ministry so that your ministry has the greatest impact.

The Rev. John Martin is pastor at the Adirondack Community Church in Lake Placid. This article is part one of a six-part series.


In our fast-paced, busy lives, you may be asking: How can our con-

gregation be better engaged, when our only free time is Sunday morning?

The answer, at least for one North Country congregation, is in the ques-tion.

The Ogdensburg United Meth-odist Church spent significant time in prayer trying to discern the best solution to that problem.

“We understood that to do a small group study alone would leave many of the congregation out,” said the Rev. Dr. David C. Piatt, pastor at the church. So, “we began to think out of the box. One key member of the team suggested that for a six-week only engagement, we lengthen the Sunday service by 15 minutes, and redesign the service.”

The service redesign started with a conversation and hashing out a new schedule. The first 30 minutes or so still included “what we normally do in worship,” Rev. Piatt said, such as sing-ing, prayer, the sermon, and offering. But the rest of the service was a time of “response to the Word,” he said, a time to discuss the topic of the day.

Three facilitators were chosen and they were given a brief guide to help them start and keep the conversation going. The church members were free to choose which of the three groups they wanted to join for the small group discussion. To close, the discussion time ended with the bene-diction and a blessing for going forth.

Very few chose not to participate in the process, which will be a reality for some congregations, but the many who did participate have told Rev. Piatt they really enjoyed the engage-ment during the last part of the service, he said.

“And as a result, the design team decided that we would, for now, continue that pattern for worship, except that now we limit the service to the standard hour,” Rev. Piatt said. “It is our hope that this gather-ing into groups will develop into a desire to gather in groups outside

of church. The service has morphed a bit throughout the process of this experiment, and we continue to fine-tune and flex as we use this pattern to continue connecting people with

God and with each other.”Although not every member

of the congregation joined in the process, communication is key for maximum results.

Following the creation of the plan for the service redesign, the Simple Church Engagement Team – which drafted the plan – sent a letter out-lining the new format to the entire church body. In that letter, team members Don Dodds, Shirley Pitcher, Dick and Millie Dil-lenbeck, and Shirley Martin outlined Ogdensburg UMC’s “next faithful steps in the Hand to Plow process.”

(Hand to Plow is a process being employed by the Up-per New York Conference that comes alongside local congregations to help them increase their effectiveness and vitality, thereby help-ing them make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Read about Au-burn UMC’s progress in phase one of the Hand to Plow process on pages 8-9.)

In 2014, the Og-densburg UMC voted to go forward with the Hand to Plow pro-cess. A step in that process is a study of the book Simple Church, which is a case study of

Congregational engagement issues? Use this ‘Simple’ plan

small- and medium-sized churches, some that are successful and some that are not. In it, the authors outline a simple structure for streamlining churches and letting loose the bag-

gage that slows churches down.“Its main point is that simple

churches seem to be more successful than complex churches,” the team’s letter notes.

Ogdensburg UMC’s first step to-ward “simplicity” was stepping “out-side the box for six church services,” when it began the small-group study on Sundays. Simple Church can be read in about six hours, so members broke the reading into six segments.

“It is easy reading,” the let-ter notes, and al-

though

“ ... simple churches seem to be more successful than complex churches.”

unyumc.org 13

the book is not scriptural, it de-scribes the “process of running a suc-cessful organization (like the church).” So that no one was left out, copies of Simple Church were available for free if returned in similar condition at the end of the six-week period; church members could also purchase it to keep at a discounted price in either a hard copy or e-reader version.

Between the ideas in Simple Church and the ideas generated during the conversation each Sunday, the Simple Church Engagement Team said it trusts that God will bless the con-gregation’s endeavors “in making our church’s ministry more vibrant.

Who knows what path that will be? We need every church member and attendee to join us with your prayers and presence as we embark on this project,” the letter concluded.

How did the Ogdensburg UMC make the discussion work? If you want to adopt its approach to your small group discussion, the Simple Church Engagement Team recom-mends establishing a set time for conversation, so all will have a chance to share ideas and discussion can stay on topic.

The team also shares the follow-ing guidelines to facilitating a “Simple Church” discussion group:

• Introduce the discussion of the day

• Encourage everyone to take notes

• Allow the group to generate their own questions

• Don’t try to answer questions, but ask the group, “What do you think?”

• Encourage everyone in the group to offer input

• If you notice someone not engag-ing in the discussion, ask, “Name, what do you think about this?”

This article was written by Christian Vischi from materials submitted by the Ogdensburg United Methodist Church.

About a year ago I agreed to be the very first coach in the

newly created Hand to Plow process in Upper New York. I was given the assignment to work with the Rev. Richelle Goff and the Auburn United Methodist Church for 18 months as they implemented the five prescrip-tions given to them during their consultation weekend.

Why did I agree to be a coach? Well, Bishop Mark J. Webb asked me. And the Rev. Dr. Aaron Bouw-ens asked me. And, at 58 years of age, it dawned on me that I was no longer young and up-and-coming, and that maybe at this stage I had a little wisdom and experience from my background in church planting and revitalization to share with someone else. So, I said yes.

It was a very good decision.My role with the members of the

Auburn UMC has been to help keep them on track with the schedule, provide feedback and information whenever needed, and be a sound-ing board for the senior pastor. I have traveled to Auburn about once a month, taught a leadership class session, been present at vision set-ting and strategic planning sessions, and met with Rev. Goff on a regular basis.

By the Rev. Jeff [email protected]

This whole ex-perience has been a real joy for me. It has been awesome seeing the significant progress Auburn is making. And Rev. Goff is an outstand-ing leader! I’ve grown by watching her in action. I trust that I’ve been help-ful to the Auburn UMC as a coach, and I know this has been invigorating for me.

As my responsibilities with the Auburn UMC are now winding down, I’ve agreed to coach a second church, the Lyons UMC; I am just beginning this assignment. The Lyons UMC reminds me a lot of a church I pastored 25 years ago that under-went a significant revitalization.

And now, I am getting a coach.Currently, the congregation I

serve, the Farmington UMC, is in preparation for our own consultation weekend in April. We signed up for Hand to Plow and are well along in the preparation stages. Soon we will be assessed and receive our prescrip-tions, and I will have someone as-signed to be my coach for 18 months through the process.

I’m thrilled Farmington is partici-

pating in Hand to Plow and is seeking to move from a good church to a great church. We’re calling it “Raise the Bar.” We are eager to get some objective eyes in here to evaluate what we’re doing and help set the stage for our next chapter in minis-try.

Coaching is important. I’m con-vinced every pastor, especially me, has blind spots, non-helpful rou-tines, tasks we avoid, and a need for accountability. I’m eager to get my coach and to take the next step in the leadership of this congregation.

Who knows what God will do!Editor’s note: To learn more about

coaching or to explore how to get your own coach, contact the Rev. Dr. Aaron Bouwens at AaronBouwens@ unyumc.org.

From clipboard to sound board:Hand to Plow coaches fulfill many roles helping churches implement prescriptions for success


Starting a conversation ...

On a Monday night in early March, we hosted a three-way dialogue using social media to

discuss what makes (or breaks) a vital congrega-tion within the context of worship. Participants in the dialogue included:

Rev. Colleen Preuninger (left), United Methodist Ecu-menical Chaplain at Hendricks Chapel, Syracuse University. SU has a 2014-2015 academic year student enrollment of 21,492.

Rev. Steven Taylor (right), pastor at the Panama UMC, located approxi-mately 14 miles west of James-town. The village population is approximately 479.

Rev. Heather Williams (left), pastor at the Saratoga Springs UMC, located approximately 31 miles north of Albany. Saratoga Springs has a city population of approximately 26,586.

What makes a vital congregation?

What is one aspect of your worship that you would consider vital to the health and well-being

of your ministry?

Rev. Preuninger In my campus min-istry at Hendricks Chapel worship is the engine that drives the health and well-being of my entire ministry. Even though we have intentionally created multiple entry points for students to connect to our chaplaincy, our worshipping life frames everything we do on campus. By framing our wor-ship life – and larger community life – around a specific book of the Bible or biblical theme each semester, it allows us to reinforce the importance of context and scope in biblical inter-

pretation as well as narrow our focus on the movement of the Spirit in the specific passage before us each week. This allows rich and life-giving exe-getical work while constantly empha-sizing the importance of reading the Bible in context. In my short time at Syracuse University, I have seen many of our students grow in their level of engagement with scripture and their ability to apply scripture to the inter-sections of faith and life. I believe our approach to the biblical text in our weekly worship spaces, paired with our commitment to celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion every week, is the life-blood of our ministry.

So, I guess, in short … scholarly and contextual exegeses and weekly celebration of the sacrament of Holy

Communion. That’s two, but they are inextricably linked.

Rev. Taylor For us, and for me as a preacher, preaching is a vital aspect of worship. Similar to Colleen, part of that is exegesis, but it goes beyond that to transformational truth about the message and mission of the cross of Christ. Preaching is not the only thing in worship, of course, but for the Church, the process of preaching, which includes the context in which it is preached is essential to glorifying God and edifying the Church.

Rev. Williams I would I would af-firm the preaching moment as being a vital source of pastoral care and pro-phetic inspiration. I find that it is my

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way to connect the spiritual struggles we all face with the lectionary text of each Sunday. I love how the liv-ing Word speaks into our current struggles and it is exciting to share that good news – God with us – in the midst of the community I serve. I find this sacred point of connection one that can transform the commu-nity of faith.

Colleen, has it been the tradition to serve communion every week or did you initiate that?

Rev. Preuninger I initiated it in my first semester at SU. When I came we were struggling to find a center that held us together as a worship-ping community. Because we were in a time of transition I felt like the best way to center us on Christ as a com-munity was to offer the sacrament weekly. And it has been incredibly life-giving, especially in the theologi-cally diverse group of students we have in our context.

Rev. Williams I could imagine. That sounds life-giving and community transforming. Colleen, I can imagine the creative ways you would bring this sacrament to life.

Rev. Taylor I would expect noth-ing less from two preachers that I KNOW can preach. If I was to reflect on some other aspect of worship that was vital in my context, it would be music. Music connects to the spirit, and I believe connects our spirit to the Holy Spirit, in ways that tran-scend what we can comprehend. Mu-sic of all types, from contemporary to traditional, has a way of moving us deeper into worship and opens us to the presence of God. That, then, in worship opens us to hearing and responding to the preached word, through communion and invitation.

Rev. Williams Music is indeed an important aspect in worship, espe-cially when it is done well.

Rev. Preuninger Yes, I will agree on the importance of music done well. It is my experience that being intention-al about clear and honest communica-tion with the music team is essential to the success of worship.

Rev. Williams I also find it impor-tant for me to craft all the words in

worship to bring to life in creative ways the scripture text of the preach-ing moment.

Rev. Taylor Yes, Heather, I agree. From the opening words of greeting, right through to the sending out into the world with mission and purpose, we should be intentionally pointing people to the Word.

Similar to pruning a branch for the vitality of a plant, what is one aspect of worship that you have

you experienced that needs to be pruned? And by extension, what is it that other churches should look

to prune?

Rev. Taylor The Church is in transition! As pastors and ministry leaders, this transition is increas-ing in speed and we’re not always sure just where it’s headed. For the Church to stay on course with its mission to make disciples for Christ, there are many things we need to “prune.” In my experience, and as exhibited in scripture, whatever is done apart without a heart-focus on God should be pruned. For example, if we do something in worship like light candles or sing a particular song just because we have always done it, but it has lost meaning in its repeti-tion, then we should ask ourselves if it needs pruning. As we do that, we discover, or re-discover, meaning and purpose in why we do certain things we do to glorify God.

Rev. Williams Announcements. If they are in the printed bulletin and in the PowerPoint, I do not see the need to announce things week after week. What is difficult is to take things out of worship that people find “sacred.” There are deeply rooted connections that church folks have to some elements. I find that when I engage them on a one-to-one con-versation and explain the theological meaning behind my elimination of let’s say the Gloria Patri, I can find support for the change.

Furthermore if you take things out for a season, Lent for example, then people begin to get used to the tran-sition or pruning in small bites.

Rev. Preuninger I’ve been the

chaplain at SU [Syracuse University] and SUNY ESF [State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry] since July 1, 2013. Over these three semesters I’ve felt called to do a lot of “prun-ing” of our worship liturgy to best fit our campus context. What we’re using currently is a very simple order of worship: gathering, community greeting, centering silence and prayer, scripture reading, sermon, offer-ing, communion, and two hymns. I don’t think this format would work for every worship context, but it seems to be working for us. Above all else, it allows us to be attentive to the presence of God in our midst by focusing on the scripture passage and theme for the day without a lot of extra “stuff.” I have also found an urgent need to be attentive to my language in worship. We are inten-tional about offering intentionally ex-pansive language for God and people, but also are trying to limit the use of undefined “churchy” words without explanation [such as benediction, offertory, and anthem]. The purpose of our attention to language is to make the worship space as acces-sible to all as possible, regardless of their background or familiarity with Christianity.

Rev. Taylor I agree that being intentional to keep it simple while also keeping deep meaning in what we do and how we do it is important. Because we are groups of people gathered to grow in Christ while en-couraging new believers to come and grow, we must be keenly aware that what we say and do matters. Making the journey accessible while allowing God to work is pastorally challenging, but I’ve seen it be a beautiful thing.

Rev. Williams Colleen has a point for us all. Have you ever been in a worship service where the preacher used inside jokes – that only the congregation knew – throughout the sermon and you were the only one not laughing? I too am guilty of using that “churchy” language that most of my visitors would not recognize. So the balance is to maintain some tradi-tion in my current context and be aware of the words we choose in the direction of worship.

Rev. Taylor We should continue to


be distinctive, but always be willing to let people look over our shoulders and join in until they, too, can do the same.

Rev. Preuninger Yes, Heather. I found that many of my students had no idea what I was talking about when I used “church” language, be-cause many of them don’t come from church backgrounds. As leaders can’t be perfect with our language, but I have just felt uniquely called and chal-lenged in this context to be attentive to ALL my language, including what I write in the bulletin.

For example, I just brought my ministry intern to a pulpit supply gig this past Sunday, and after the service – when we processed to the back – he leaned over and said, “Colleen, what’s a benediction?” It’s something I took for granted that he knew. He’s a new Christian who did not grow up in the church, why did I assume he knew? That was silly of me. I agree with Steve, we never know where our visitors are coming from. I would also add that it’s not always visitors that are confused by our language.

Rev. Williams I think a lot of the visitors I have don’t come from church backgrounds. It is important to help everyone feel that worship is God’s safe space of welcome.

Have you ever faced pushback when trying to implement change in worship, and if so, how did you

move forward?

Rev. Williams Wearing my robe was a negotiable discussion. I was willing to wear it for what I called high Holy days: baptism, Communion, Easter, etc. Singing “Onward Chris-tian Soldiers” and patriotic hymns took some intentional deeper con-versation. I have tried adding non-tra-ditional elements to the service and needed to remind folks that worship is the time for everyone to connect with God at some moment – not all of us at every moment. Those pieces that don’t speak to you may speak to someone else. It can be difficult getting folks to move from their own needs of being the center of wor-ship to seeing God as the center of worship, and praying that others find their way to connect.

Rev. Preuninger One of the many lovely things about working in a col-lege setting is that it is an environ-ment where change is expected and welcomed. The one area I have to be continually attentive is the ways I craft worship and communicate change with our musicians, in our context that is our choir director and the university organist. Their voices and support are essential to our success in the midst of all changes. Collaboration, intentional communi-cation, and teamwork are essential!

Rev. Taylor All great points. I’ve found that I can sometimes get away with changing stuff for the sake of changing it, without having the con-versation, but need to be intentional. At times, there is pushback, and a little conversation allows the change to stick. Other times, I have to be willing to listen carefully to the rea-sons why someone is concerned and then make some decisions. Being a change agent, I thrive on moving for-ward, but some don’t see it that way. In the end, conversation and “trying things out” usually paves the way for new ideas to take root.

I also think bringing other people on board and going slowly makes our job easier.

Rev. Preuninger I think both Heather and Steve make a great point about the need for the appointed clergy to be intentional about the way that we communicate change to our leadership and congregation. I es-pecially like the bit about being open to respond to concerns by compro-mising. It’s so hard to do.

Rev. Williams I affirm the need for collaboration and community sup-port.

Rev. Taylor Compromising is hard because we want our way to be our way.

Rev. Preuninger Yes, it’s hard to compromise. It’s hard for me to com-promise, but it’s essential.

Rev. Williams There are elements I can negotiate on and others that re-quire deep heartfelt conversation as I explain why I cannot meet the desire.

Rev. Preuninger Yeah, me too …

and I think it’s OK that there are some things that are negotiable, and some that are not.

Rev. Taylor It’s important for ministry leaders to know what those immovables are and decide if we’re willing to expend capital to lead change. Or, if we feel strongly, that the Holy Spirit is leading us to lead that change.

What would you consider is a best practice within the scope of

worship that equips and empowers the people within

your ministry context to “make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world?”

Rev. Preuninger That one is hard. I’m not sure I can name a “best practice” other than what I’ve stated above. Every context is different. I hope everything about our worship environment equips and empowers our students to make disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. My hope in “pruning back” our liturgy and by committing to the transformative practice of celebrating the sacrament of Holy Communion weekly is that my students will be centered in the peace of God, see the face of Jesus in each other, critically engage with sacred text, and be fed at the Lord’s Table. I hope these things will empower them to be brave and courageous in their witness for Jesus Christ in the world. My hope is that seeing and experiencing Jesus in word and act each week, they will be compelled to do Christ’s work of reconciliation and love the rest of the week.

Every semester I see this growth in students, especially the ones who faithfully attend worship. I can see the work of God’s grace transform-ing their minds and lives. I can see Jesus in their actions and words – and I think they can see it too. And it’s making a difference in their lives, and in the life of our campus. They are world changers – and it is all because of Christ.

Rev. Taylor Theologically, the re-sponse to the Word is the moment when people move from hearers to doers. I use the last part of my mes-

unyumc.org 17

sage – the conclusion – to ramp up people’s awareness of what God is calling us to do. If we have a response that includes Communion, baptism, or some other form of “coming for-ward,” we can begin the doing right in worship. I sometimes use a physi-cal object or task that people do or bring forward in worship to symbol-ize that. Also, our announcements are at the end of worship, and they are usually focused on what we can DO in response to the worship we’ve experienced and in which we’ve participated. Ultimately, it’s the work of the Holy Spirit that prepares us to engage in disciple-making.

Rev. Williams I would reiterate my first answer and add that during each worship service there is an element of personal commitment to take the living Word forward in life-giving ways. There are creative ways to engage the worshipper to live out the transformation that God empowers within us. This transformation is a call to our own discipleship and the need to lead others to life abundant in Jesus’ name.

Rev. Taylor I’ve been in worship experiences that did not specifically call people to some response, and I’m probably guilty of it as well, and we are left having maybe encountered God but are not sure what to do about that. It’s not all about the pas-tor and worship leaders, but we have to be willing to invite people to GO and DO.

Rev. Williams Worship is that vital point of connection between all the “regulars” and those who walk through the door for the first time. I need to create a community of open-ness that receives the visitor and em-braces new ways of being connected.

I think our closing song, prayer, and closing blessing can creatively foster that commitment to go and share the good news that they have just encountered. Sometimes it is Communion, the sermon, a physi-cal act, or a moment of silence that embodies the challenge to live out the good news. The limitation I find is my lack of creativity in weaving this together.

Rev. Preuninger Yes, Heather! Yes!

And I like how Steve framed the movement from “hearers” to “do-ers”. In our worship spaces, that’s characterized by a shift from “hear-ing” – centering prayer, scripture, and sermon – in the first half of the service to responding – offering and Communion – in the second half of the service. Also, something we’ve started doing is including a bulletin insert with specific ways students can respond to God and “offer” something – other than or addition to – money. They include things like committing to an upcoming service opportunity, a commitment to attend Bible study, participate in worship the next week, sign up to share their tes-timony, create artwork for the com-munion table, etc. This gives them a concrete way to respond to God in a specific way in the following week.

When a student is willing, I will create a space for them in worship to share their story of faith, their testimony. It doesn’t happen all that often that students are willing, but when they do it’s really powerful. For

example, we have one of our seniors sharing his story on Palm Sunday.

Rev. Taylor Worship is a mystery and should have aspects of mystery in it. I agree with Jorge Acevedo who writes in Vital: Churches Changing Communities and the World that wor-ship needs to be contextual, relevant, excellent, and transcendent. We don’t get it right all the time, for sure, but if worship IS those things, then it will surely be pointing our hearts and minds to worship the Triune God, and be building a community of faith that goes out to share that faith and make disciples where we are. People’s needs get met and they meet Jesus – all because we chose to worship well.

Rev. Taylor I’m not sure any of us can take much credit for what God is doing in our contexts.

Rev. Preuninger Very true. God is good.

Rev. Williams Amen!

Would you like to facilitate a similar style of conversation for your small group or ministry?

We have created “Facilitating a conversation on social media for a written dialogue.” That is a long name, but the document, in essence, is a blueprint for hosting a conversation on a social media platform.

The document helps identify ways to stimulate the conversation, keep the dialogue on topic, and provide transitions from one person to the next. Although the example provided is for a conversation on Facebook, the key points could translate well into other social media that allow multiple partici-pants in a message system.

You can download the document at: www.tinyurl.com/FCSCForm.


The staff of Kingdom Kids gathers in a circle for prayer, led by the

Rev. Ellen Knight, before the children arrive. Then they leave to retrieve the youth awaiting them across the street at Lyons Elementary School. With a flurry of backpacks and win-ter coats, the children arrive, ready first for their snack, and then, more importantly, eager to learn about religion.

Kingdom Kids – a Friday after-school program that educates chil-dren on Christianity – came into creation in 2009, when Rev. Knight, pastor at the Lyons United Methodist Church, suggested the church take advantage of the school’s proximity to do some ministry.

“All I did was cast the vision because once I talked to some of the people here, they just totally got on board,” she said. “And everything

since then has all been a team ef-fort.”

Kingdom Kids has even had a positive effect on the church’s Sunday school, which is usually attended by five to eight children, half

of which can be attrib-uted to the program. The ultimate goal of the Kingdom Kids is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ.”

“What does it mean to the vital-ity of (our) congre-gation? That’s the

question,” Rev. Knight said. “That’s what we’re

looking at now … We are seeking ways to deepen our

connectivity with these families to try to bring the adults into church. We do not have the parents of the children in general. So we are looking

By Kathleen Rubino [email protected]

Kingdom KidsWhat it is, what it does, and what it means to the vitality of one church

Photos by Kathleen Rubino

unyumc.org 19

at ways we can use that connection to revitalize the church.”

Richard Kenville, a lay leader at the Lyons UMC, isn’t very involved with the afterschool program, but he sees the value in it.

“Kingdom Kids is one of the most important parts of the church with ministry right now,” Kenville said. “I’m trying to get the parents more involved.”

Kingdom Kids has about eight volunteer staff members, who attend meetings, plan the curriculum, and assist with the program. Program vol-unteer Sharon Tiballi said she enjoys watching the kids learn.

“They’ve learned a lot. Most don’t come to church and didn’t know a whole lot,” she said. “But I learn more than they do. It’s very fulfilling.”

Kingdom Kids averages between 25 to 30 children each week. Of these children, the majority are un-churched. Rev. Knight said the church grew concerned about where children in the area received their religious education, as the church’s Sunday school was almost nonexistent. Most children were not being educated.

“We just felt we could get them

here at an early age, getting them thinking about Jesus and singing about Jesus – you know, just getting to know who He is,” she said.

Rev. Knight recalled one girl who aged out of the program – the pro-gram only includes children through sixth grade – who can still recite the Seven Fruits of the Spirit and under-stand their meaning.

Kingdom Kids works in sessions six to eight weeks long. Each session revolves around a theme. This ses-sion’s theme is “The Lord’s Prayer.” In the past, they’ve taught “The Seven Fruits of the Spirit,” “Heroes of the Bible,” and “The Christmas story.”

Each Friday starts the same. The children are fed a healthy snack be-fore they go up to the sanctuary for music, where they sing praise songs. Some gather in front of the group and sign to the music.

“I like the songs,” said Landen Chambers, a first grader in Kingdom Kids. “I don’t like singing. I just like the songs. All of them.”

Then the three groups – the Apostles, Disciples, and Shepherds, divided by age – go to their respec-tive activities: story, crafts, or games.

The children rotate to each, having a chance to experience all three.

“I like the activities we do and the teacher,” said third grader Kaylea Wagner while glancing over at Tiballi. “Kingdom Kids teaches you anything about God that you need to know.”

In addition to the Friday program, Kingdom Kids hosts a Christmas pageant.

“The pageant is a huge undertak-ing, but the kids love it,” Tiballi said. “One parent came up to me and said, ‘This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life.’”

Katie Garner signed up her chil-dren, William, Raymond, and Gillian, for Kingdom Kids because “it sound-ed like a nice program.”

“When I was their age, I went to church group and I liked it,” Garner said. “They’ve learned quite a bit, not just about church, but skills with peers and mingling.”

After two hours of learning and fun, the children rush back into the sanctuary. It’s time for some more song and some announcements. Downstairs, their parents wait for them, ready to hear what their chil-dren learned today.


Illuminate Preaching Academyhelps pastors engage congregations By Kathleen Rubino, Writer/Editor

[email protected]

‘‘Preaching is bringing forward the word of God,” said the Rev. Carolyn Stow, pastor at the Clymer and

North Clymer United Methodist churches. “What kind of community would we be without that?”

Pastors deliver the word of God, reaching out to their congregations, through preaching. To continue to engage the congregation, change is sometimes necessary. Enter the Illuminate Preaching Academy, Upper New York Area Resident Bishop Mark J. Webb’s initiative to help preach-ers perfect their preaching to create vital congregations. The academy, which launched in October 2014 at the Bishop’s Retreat, is only a third of the way through the experience.

“The academy is a powerful opportunity to hone the craft of preaching,” Rev. Stow said. “It’s all about how preachers can improve the worship experience. I am grateful for this experience.”

According to the Rev. Andrew Sperry, associate pastor at the Saratoga Springs UMC, the academy is personal-ized to individuals. Each preacher partners with a mentor, a seasoned preacher. The pair meets both in out and out the academy. They review each other’s sermons, which are posted online so they can take notes and discuss what they noticed later on. Rev. Sperry said the academy has helped him develop a critical ear, receive critical feedback, and gain a better understanding of preaching.

“Preaching is the prime way to engage with the con-gregation and the community,” Rev. Sperry said. “It pro-motes integrity to say what you and your church believe and to have impact. The academy is not about creating a mold. It’s about enhancing an individual’s skills to be the best preacher you can be and developing those skills further.”

The academy meets once a month for a two-day retreat at the Casowasco Camp & Retreat Center in Moravia – a 30-hour meeting from start to end. There are usually four to five morning sessions with speakers. Rev. Sperry said upcoming meetings will include sessions where preachers will preach their sermons to each other and then reflect on the sermons.

“It’s not a traditional classroom setting, (so that) helps form a great conversation between colleagues,” Rev. Stow said. “Preaching partners provide a great opportunity to pair with a gifted person.”

The Rev. Steven Taylor, pastor at the Panama UMC, is her preaching partner. He encourages Rev. Stow to try new preaching styles in her church, which she has begun experimenting with. One Sunday, Rev. Stow switched preaching styles with another pastor. Connie Rice, a congregant at the North Clymer UMC and a member of its Worship Team, said she enjoyed it so much that she wrote feedback for Rev. Stow, which Rev. Stow has

encouraged her congregation to do.“I thought it was so profound and enlightened,” Rice

said. “I liked the flow of it, the movement. There was a good connection from one part to the next, and the ser-mon lingered with me all week. Sometimes you forget the sermon, but I thought it was powerful, and it resonated with me personally.”

What Rev. Stow currently implements are experiments to see what does and doesn’t work for her church, rather than sustainable changes.

“It’s also a good learning experience for the older congregation, so they can learn change is okay,” Rev. Stow said. “New things can be exciting.”

Rice said Rev. Stow’s preaching has increased engage-ment among the congregants.

“I sense the congregation coming forward to assist her,” Rice said. “The congregation loves the pastor and continues to support her. I find her sermons meaningful. Do I find them more meaningful now? In some ways, yeah. I commend her for strengthening her faith.”

The academy also emphasizes the creation of preaching groups – Rev. Sperry’s is in a group of five people, includ-ing members of the congregation and lay leaders. “I was looking for people who would be honest with me,” he said.

Rev. Sperry meets with his group once a month. He asks them to come up with questions, evaluate his de-livery, and critique his preaching. The group looks at his content overall to make sure it matches the scripture. In addition, he asks them to look at the relevance of his ser-mon, to make sure that “it’s not just something that will impact people on Sunday, but into Monday.”

“A big part of preaching a sermon is to call people to action,” Rev. Sperry said.

At the end of the curriculum, those involved hear from a worship expert who tells them how to move forward with changes learned from the academy, and Rev. Stow is eager to hear from hers.

unyumc.org 21

ministrymatters.com

Community of resources for church leaders.

gracenet.info

For resources from Martha Grace Reese, including the “Unbinding”

series.

sermonspice.com

A great source of videos for use in sermons and other messages.

careynieuwhof.com

For commentary and conversation about the life, faith, and the church.

umvitalcongregations.org

Denominational resource for the support of developing

Vital Congregations.

churchleadership.com

Website for the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at

Wesley Seminary.

churchleaders.com

Insights from leaders from around the Church.

theworkofthepeople.com

Video liturgy for use in study groups and worship.

mikeslaughter.com/blog

Thoughts and insights from the Rev. Mike Slaughter, lead pastor at the

Ginghamsburg UMC in Ohio.


Every ministry context has unique challenges and barriers to be-

ing vital, so when a church is finding success, it is usually worth a look at what they are doing. The Rev. Carlos M. Rosa-Laguer and the Emmanuel United Methodist Church in Rochester are finding great suc-cess in a very chal-lenging environment, so Upper New York Communications ap-proached Rev. Rosa-Laguer with some questions about his ministry context.

How is ministry in your context unique?

Our context is unique in the sense that we are a transitional ministry. The Emmanuel United Method-ist Church in Rochester belongs to, serves to, and is nourished by a community with the highest index of poverty in the United States among comparably sized cities in metro areas, preceded only by Detroit. All that we originate, is led, planted, and cultivated in our poor, for the poor, and made by the poor. This is what makes the Emmanuel UMC unique.

What are some of the successes you have had?

Some of our successes have been to see drug addicts being delivered and healed, single mothers achieve their dreams, and to see restored marriages and families reconciled. That is Em- manuel UMC’s goal: “God with us.” For the past 15 years, without realizing it,

I was using and applying something similar to the Theory of Systems. Success in my ministry is the oppor-tunity to proclaim the message of grace and restoration, salvation and forgiveness of God in Jesus Christ. As a by-product, we have been wit-nesses of the power of God as we awake His image in the recipients of the message. It is a success to see them join our community of faith and together walk the journey of faith as we seek sanctification in Jesus Christ. Through this journey we can testify that together we have discovered and grown in our capacities and abilities, gifts and talents, ministries and voca-tions to serve God, our families, and the communities in which we live.

Where have you seen God in your ministry – both successes

and failures?As a transitional ministry, the

application and definitions of the con-cepts of success and failure find no place in the mentality or vocabulary of those with whom we do ministry. A failure, or various failures, does not make us a failed ministry, and neither has occasional success transformed us into a traditionally successful ministry. In one of my conversations with (former New York West Area Resident) Bish-op Violet Fisher she used a profound metaphor: “Each tree gives its fruit in its season. The pears come before the apples. When the apple tree sees the pear tree blossomed and full of fruit, the apple tree is not filled with envy. To the con-

Q&A sessionwith the Rev. Carlos M. Rosa-Laguer

Rev. Rosa-Laguer

trary, the apple tree gets filled with joy and conviction because its season is soon to arrive. Therefore, as you see others flourish, you should get filled of faith and determination to do good with what you have been entrusted. Your time to give fruit has been guaranteed.” At Emmanuel, we believe that the Word of God always produces great fruit, whether we see it in our own days or in eternity.

How were you able to turn potential weakness in doing ministry in your context into

a strength?Not long ago I was reading the

diaries of John Wesley, and as a re-sult, I was able to reaffirm one of my convictions on why I am a Methodist: we speak as Wesleyans, we do theol-ogy as Wesleyans, and yet we are not doing Church as Wesleyans. To turn potential weaknesses into strengths, we need to return to a Christ-centered message so all that we do is done to achieve our objective and goal: to reconcile each human be-ing with God without inhibiting his/her liberty. It is the only way by which any weakness can turn into an opportunity in order for the power of Christ to rest upon us (2 Corin-thians 4:10). Emmanuel must remain focused in the source of power of the resurrection (John 15; Romans 8). That is the reason why we emphasize

unyumc.org 23

the spiritual disciplines and the means of grace.

What have you learned from both your successes and failures?

During these past 16 years I have learned to rest solely in God’s grace; His transforming power has led me to the process of sanctification. I can say that God in His mystery has formed in me the capacity to see myself and to feel sustained by His grace. The most powerful thing is that while I learn to rely in His grace, my mes-sage has become a living testimony and an open letter to the hearer. I’ve learned to see that God is working in me, that He has not finished work-ing in me, and that, regardless of my shortcomings and my ups and downs, revivals and spiritual deserts, God loves me and has poured His love in my heart so I can continue to learn

to love Him the way He loves me and to model such love boldly.

How can what you have learned be applied more generally

throughout our Conference?I’ve learned that in an ever-chang-

ing world where everything seems to be relative, there are pillars and one truth that cannot change: the unconditional love of God and His invitation to intimacy in Jesus Christ. The intimacy of the God who reveals himself in Jesus Christ is truth and is indispensable to those who hunger and thirst for Him. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit must be evident to proclaim the message that we can be a community of faith that shares God’s revelation in Jesus Christ. The most powerful message is our own lifestyle and not necessarily church programs. A religious hierarchy does

not enlarge the vitality of the Emman-uel UMC, since we consider religious hierarchy as a lethal poison that our fallen nature has baptized as accept-able in Christianity. Our strength is supported by the inclusiveness and equality in opportunities and in the justice, diversity and plurality applied intentionally through the life of our ministry and not as isolated concepts only to be used selectively and ideal-istically.

What is the most important thing for people to take away

from your thoughts?At Emmanuel we say that we are

slaves of Jesus Christ. Despite the pe-jorative connotation of that concept, it seems to me it is a concept we have forgotten. We are beings with limited freedom who have chosen to serve God in Jesus Christ.

TOP1. The Temptation to

Accrue Power2. The Temptation to Exercise

Financial Influence3. The Temptation to

Gather Information4. The Temptation to Maintain

the Status Quo5. The Temptation to

Become an Insider

10 temptations that keep churches from growing

10

From “10 Temptations of Church: Why Churches Decline and What To Do About It” by John Flowers and Karen Vannoy (Abingdon Press, 2012)

6. The Temptation to Push Ministry on Clergy & Paid Staff

7. The Temptation to Become Child-Focused

8. The Temptation to Limit Church Size

9. The Temptation to Avoid the Hard Work of Assimilation

10. The Temptation to Play it Safe


People love small groups

‘It’s a God thing’ By the Rev. Dan Finch

[email protected]

My wife, Karen, and I have been doing Small Group Leaders’ Training workshops throughout New York

state for the past seven years. We became convinced about 15 years ago that small groups were an essential part of any Christian church and essential for making disciples of Jesus Christ. While doing these workshops, we’ve heard from many others that feel the same way:

“(The) Asbury First (United Methodist Church) was built on small groups,” said a self-proclaimed “old-timer” at the largest member church in the Upper New York Conference.

“We used to think our church was a small group until we found out what real small groups could be,” claimed a pastor at a small, rural United Methodist Church.

“I’ve found that Christians who are involved in a small group continue to grow spiritually. The ones who don’t belong to a small group will stagnate,” said another pas-tor.

The quotes could go on and on, but we need only look to Jesus himself to see why small groups are important.

Jesus took 12 people and poured His life into them. He taught them (discipleship). They ate, talked, and argued together (fellowship). They did ministry together. They worshipped together. And the disciples were sent out to preach the Good News (evangelism).

Many Christians see those five aspects – discipleship, fellowship, ministry, worship, and evangelism – as the essential components of Christian life. I believe that a healthy small group will experience all five together.

When we are training, we teach that small groups go beyond Bible studies in depth, intensity, and growth. In contrast to most Bible studies, small groups require abso-lute confidentiality so trust can be built in a safe environ-ment.

Further, small group leaders are trained to expect and welcome disagreement and even conflict in their small group. In most Bible studies, and even in whole churches, disagreement or conflict is avoided at all costs.

Some have said that “intimacy is only at-tainable on the other end of the tunnel of conflict.” In other words, if you aren’t will-ing to stay with me while we disagree, then we will always only have a surface relation-ship, and I will have to hide who I really am and what I really think from you. That is not who we are called to be as Christians.

When I first became a pastor, I was

Above are two of the small groups that the Rev. Dan Finch started at the Livonia and the Allens Hill UMCs. The group at left recently “morphed into a new group,” he said, and the one at right calls itself “Working Moms.” Both are “a lot of fun and do incredible ministries,” Rev. Finch said. Submitted photos

invited to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, and I soon discovered the people there usually didn’t attend church. I invited them, and they all said things like, “I tried church but it didn’t change me. AA changed me, and it saved my life.”

At least in that church, at that time, it seemed more people’s lives were changed around the AA tables in the basement of the church than in the sanctuary above. I decided to figure out how to make the church as good at changing lives as AA, and I realized John Wesley had already been there more than 200 years ago with his class meetings.

After several years of training, Karen and I started a series of small groups in our church, and now we have 14 active small groups at the Livonia UMC. Eventually, we took our workshops on the road with the hope that small groups would be part of the transformation of The UMC and of the world.

In our experience, we’ve seen that there are a few challenges to bringing small groups to The United Meth-odist Church. If a church has only offered Bible studies before, then the members will think they already know what small groups are and may resist taking any training in small groups. Moreover, in many churches, the 20 per-cent of the congregation who does most of the work are already so busy they can’t imagine finding time to do one more thing.

It may sound radical, but we suggest those that are too busy consider resigning from several of their obliga-tions to experience the joy of a healthy small group for a change. We ask them, “Wouldn’t you like to be part of a small group where you could talk about what was actu-ally happening in your life?” A little light seems to go on in their tired eyes when they think about this, and they usually ask, “Is there such a place?”

We also teach our small group leaders that small groups aren’t only about getting your church people into

unyumc.org 25

groups. First and foremost, they are about getting people outside the church, including your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers, into a small group. And we teach our leaders how to do that in ways that work. Invitation is rarely as hard as we make it.

Non-denominational churches caught a vision for small groups at least 20 years ago in this country, and were blessed by them. The denomi-

national churches are way behind, which is a shame because Methodism was born on small groups.

Unfortunately, we lost the small group mentality in the 20th century with the rise of “the great man syn-drome” that valued great preaching over small groups. But Methodists are learning about small groups again – and being blessed in the process.

In spite of potential barriers, small groups have amazing potential for life

changing ministry. We have found that most people

absolutely love their small group. It’s a God thing.

[Editor’s note: If you would like to learn more about small groups or setup training for your church contact the Rev. Dan Finch at dan [email protected].]

The Rev. Dan Finch is pastor at the Livonia UMC and the Allens Hill UMC in Bloomfield.

From the publisher:Death is good for us.As a result of the near-death expe-

riences of many congregations today, denominational leaders are looking for ways to “revitalize” churches. The act of revitalization often starts with the assumption that what was once vital can be vital again, if church leaders simply do the same better. So congregations increase programs, budgets, and formulas. They look back in time, trying to recapture a period when the church’s role in society was vital. A church, seeking revital-ization, typically does more of the same, but faster.

However, the central story of our faith is the story of both death and resurrection. Followers of Christ like to live out the resurrection part of our faith, but they often aren’t very comfortable dealing with what must come before resurrec-tion: death. The Church must be willing to live out its entire story, from beginning to end.

The Church needs to trust that God will bring to life what God wants to. This book suggests shifting away from the language of revitalization toward the story of death and res-urrection. Escobedo-Frank focuses on 10 specific “re-“ words to outline a strategy for dying and resurrecting again – for restarting the Church: Recognize, Realize, Restore, Review, Reform, Resensitize, Release, Reinvigorate, Reemphasize, and Rebirth.

ReStart your churchby Dottie Escobedo-Frank

FOR FURTHER READING

Pages: 130 • Publisher: Abingdon Press, Oct. 1, 2012You can get it through: • Cokesbury: www.tinyurl.com/CKSBYRestartYourChurch • Christian Books: www.tinyurl.com/CBDRestartYourChurch • Amazon: www.tinyurl.com/AMAZRestartYourChurch

Pages: 112 • Publisher: B&H Publishing Group, May 1, 2014Get it from the author at: www.thomrainer.com/autopsy

Autopsy of a deceased churchby Thom S. Rainer

From the author: I was their church consultant

in 2003. The church’s peak at-tendance was 750 in 1975. By the

time I got there the attendance had fallen to an average of 83. The

large sanctuary seemed to swallow the relatively small crowd on Sunday

morning. The reality was that most of the members did not want me there.

They were not about to pay a consultant to tell them what was wrong with their church. Only when a benevolent member offered to foot my entire bill did the congregation grudgingly agree to retain me.

I worked with the church for three weeks. The problems were obvious; the solutions were difficult.

On my last day, the benefactor asked, “How long can our church survive?” I paused for a moment, and then offered the bad news. “I believe the church will close its doors in five years.”

I was wrong, this church lasted 10 years.My friend from the church called to tell me the news. I

took no pleasure in discovering that not only was my diag-nosis correct, I had mostly gotten right all the signs of the impending death of the church. Together my friend and I reviewed the past 10 years. I think we were able to piece together a fairly accurate autopsy and this book includes several of the things I learned.

Listen to the author’s podcast: www.tinyurl.com/AofDCPodcast


Revitalization began with Prayer on the 9’s at Whitney Point UMCBy Pastor Corey Turnpenny

[email protected]

When I arrived at the Whitney Point United Methodist Church in July 2013, the congregation and its leaders had a

very clear sense that something big needed to be done to reverse the slow decline they’d experienced for several years. They real-istically looked at themselves and realized that in 10 years there might not be anyone left to keep things going. They recognized the problem and knew something must be done, but they didn’t know what to do. So we began by signing up for Hand to Plow.

Through our work and research with Hand to Plow, we decided the first and most important step would be to get everyone pray-ing. We committed with one another to “Pray on the 9’s.” At 9 a.m., 9 p.m., basically any time we saw a nine on the clock, we’d pray for our church.

We restarted Sunday School, and through simplifying our pro-gram, we got more volunteer teachers. We invited another local United Methodist Church to join us for Youth Group. We cleaned up our bulletin, made sure there was good signage to show our visitors where things are, and moved to sharing our joys and con-cerns on paper rather than verbally during worship.

As we continued studying, I began preaching sermon series because they’ve proven to be more engaging. We began recording the sermons and posting them online. I had asked our congrega-tion to move out of their comfort zone in different ways, so I, too, moved out of a comfort zone and stepped out of the pulpit – I still preach from a manuscript, but now I’m down on the same level as the congregation. We’ve started incorporating some current wor-ship music during our pre-service praise singing.

Our Hand to Plow team meets regularly and shares informa-tion during worship at least once each month. We set up a Hand to Plow Information Center where anyone can borrow a book or read an article. We saw a great need to improve our communi-cation, so we now send “Weekly Update” emails through a free service called MailChimp (www.mailchimp.com). Our leader-ship team spent a day together and developed some best practices for leaders in our church.

We also developed a vision statement and have given it to the congregation to pray over. Several new small groups have formed, many of which meet outside the church, in homes or local restau-rants.

I think the best thing we’ve done together to increase our vitality has been our church-wide Lenten book study. We have been studying Unbinding Your Heart by Martha Grace Reese. Five different groups have been meeting each week to discuss our understanding of evangelism and how we can do it effectively in our own lives. Each Sunday, I preach on that week’s theme from the book.

We’ve also been “sharing our stories” during worship. Every week during Lent we’ve watched a video of one of our fellow members talking about what their faith means to them.

Prayer has been crucial, and sharing our personal stories about how God has changed our lives has reinvigorated our church. We

know we’ve just begun this journey of revitaliza-tion, but already we’re seeing fruit: attendance and engagement are both up. We will continue to focus on being more welcoming and holding our relationship and faithfulness to God as our top priority.

Pictured below are a few of the exciting min-istries that we have undertaken at the Whitney Point UMC over the past two years:

unyumc.org 27

STUDY RESULTSIn a 2014 study by the Barna Group, millennials were asked to select the word that describes their “ideal”

church. Below are a few findings from that report. You can read the full report at www.tinyurl.com/ MakingSpaceForMillennials.

The Barna Group (www.barna.org) is a research and resource company located in Ventura, Calif. Started in 1984, the firm is widely considered to be a leading research organization focused on the intersection of faith and culture.

Community 78% (favored over privacy 22%) Sanctuary 77% (auditorium 23%)

Classic 67% (trendy 33%) Quiet 65% (loud 35%)

Casual 64% (dignified 36%)Modern 60% (traditional 40%)

78% 22% 77% 23%

67% 33% 65% 35%

64% 36% 60% 40%


By Maya Smith

Now that spring is here, it is time to sign up for the biggest event

of the year, UP!Word ’15! From April 24-26, the Holiday Inn in Liverpool is the place to get to know God among youth who share a passion for Christ!

Registration can be found on the Upper New York Conference web-site under Conference Council on Youth Ministries at www.unyumc.org/ministries/ccym. We hope to see you there as we celebrate God and His word alongside other youth from across Upper New York. Keep in mind this year’s theme, “Searching … God,” and as you prepare for this amazing experience, remember that as we are all searching, God is search-ing for us, too.

At UP!Word there are going to be some amazing workshops as well as special appearances by Upper New York Area Resident Bishop Mark J. Webb, Christian comedian Dan Viola, famous musician Wayne Kerr, and the Casowasco band “Inside Out!” There is a lot to look forward to at this event, so be sure to register before it’s too late. You wouldn’t want to miss out on the Bishop’s workshop as well as the many fun new late night options that will be available this year!

Another thing to get excited about this spring is the Annual Conference session, which will be held May 27-30 at the OnCenter in Syracuse. Attend-ing this event helps give the youth in this Conference a voice among the adults and shows our leadership and passion for Christ. If you are interested in attending this year’s Annual Conference session, talk to your district CYM leader; for more information, go to the Conference session webpage at www.unyumc.org/events/annual-conference. Registration for the session opened on March 4.

To keep up to date on all of the

With spring comes opportunityevents and opportunities available this year, be sure to like our Face-book page (www.facebook.com/UNYYouth) and follow our other social media sites, such as our Twitter (https://twitter.com/UNYYouth) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/UNYYouth) accounts. You can also check out CCYM’s page on

the Conference website at www.unyumc.org/ministries/CCYM, and don’t forget to hashtag your posts with #UNYYouth!

We hope to see you soon as we gather and worship together this spring!

Maya Smith is on the PowerPoint and Publicity Team.

unyumc.org 29

Becoming Tabasco Habanero Christians at the 2015 Confirmation Retreat By Kathleen Rubino, Writer/Editor

[email protected]

Upper New York Area Resident Bishop Mark J. Webb greeted the youth at the 2015 Upper New York

Conference Confirmation Retreat via webcam from Penn-sylvania. He started with a question – “Have you ever had a job as a baby sitter?” – and a story. Bishop Webb once baby-sat a little girl who asked to say a prayer before bed. Not knowing what prayer the girl said, he began reciting his own, only to be met with protests from the girl, “that’s not the right one.” When he asked her which prayer she would like to hear, she responded, “I don’t know; it’s my mom’s prayer. I just listen to the words.”

Bishop Webb said that is how his faith once was; it was not his own, but instead his parent’s or his grandparent’s or others’ in his church, until confirmation.

“Confirmation is now a time for you to individually respond to that amazing gift from God, to then become a part of a community, the body of Christ that helps us to live our faith,” Bishop Webb said.

This year marked the first Conference-wide retreat that took place simultaneously at three locations – the Casowasco, Asbury, and Sky Lake Camp & Retreat Cen-ters – that were connected through video cameras, com-puters, and a technology called Zoom. About 190 youth attended the retreat. This leadership development event was a partnership between Camp & Retreat Ministries, local pastors, Order of Deacons and the Episcopal Office.

“It’s pretty awesome that we’re doing it altogether simultaneously,” said Demetrio Beach, Camp & Retreat Ministries, Director of Program and Outreach. “We’re literally together in different locations, which really means a lot, I think, for the Church to see how we can come together. And to actually see all the youth being engaged and learning from one another and meeting new people has been very enriching for me.”

Alex Lyons, an eighth grader, was excited about the new tech-nology that allowed the different retreat locations to interact.

“I think it’s cool that you can see them and how they react,” he said.

Bishop Webb’s address also referenced the second letter of Paul to Timothy, where Paul told Timothy: “To be who God has called you to be, you need to have a faith that has grown.”

And then Bishop Webb

grabbed everyone’s attention with the mention of the Scoville scale and Tabasco sauce, explaining ketchup is zero Scoville heat units (SHU), green jalapeno sauce is 600 SHU, pepper sauce is 5,000 SHU, and habanero sauce is 9,000 SHU.

“As Christians, we are called to be salt to season the world or the community around us,” Bishop Webb said. “I think God’s also calling us to be Tabasco Habanero-type Christians that we are on fire; that our faith is growing.”

Bishop Webb emphasized to the youths that God gives them gifts to serve others.

“I want you to know that I celebrate the commitment you make first to God and then to the Church,” Bishop Webb said. “You are the Church of Jesus Christ. God is using you, and God will continue to use you in amazing ways.”

Each site had one district superintendent present to speak about their Christian journeys and to lead the Reaffirmation of Baptism and Holy Communion after the Bishop’s remarks. At Casowasco Camp & Retreat Cen-ter, Finger Lakes District Superintendent the Rev. Jeff McDowell asked the youth some questions, playing off Bishop Webb’s remarks.

“Is this real for you or are you just going through the motions?” Rev. McDowell asked. “Do you want to be ketchup or hot sauce?”

During the Reaffirmation of Baptism, Rev. McDowell told the youth that Confirmation is about making the vows of baptism their own and that they must follow Jesus, trusting He will guide them every day.

“That is the Christian faith,” Rev. McDowell said. “It is a walk, and it is a journey.”

Photo by Kathleen Rubino


From the publisher:The institutional church change

we long for is already happening.Crunching more data may be

helpful but will not revolutionize, let alone save, a declining Church. We need creative thinking done by people who are not afraid to face the institu-tional Church.

Indeed, the change we long for is already happening. It is happening on the margins in ministries to the least, the last, and the lost. Written by two creative pastors with different but successful ministries, this breath-taking book will show you how the Church can live out its mission and ignite a movement. If we pay attention, we can let this Jesus Insur-gency create new life.

From a customer review on Amazon:Authenticity, credibility, and the voice of experience –

this is what leapt from each page as I read these words of wisdom from the trenches. You will not find theoretical platitudes or simplistic solutions here. This book is real, and just what the Church needs in this day of turn-key programs and canned responses that never really work ...

The grit of the Houston streets resonates as always through Rudy’s words, while Dottie’s flowing prose lays bare the heart of one who has wrestled with a stagnant congrega-tion emerging from routines of maintenance and self-pres-ervation to actually be an incarnation of Christ, much to the chagrin of the city of Phoenix and those who preferred the status quo and who were more than happy to help the poor and hurting, only “not in my back yard.”

With reminders that the call of Christ is a summons to come and die, a call to self-denial and sacrifice, the authors challenge the Church to embrace death that she might find resurrection. They push us to the edges ... and it is time for the church to ... remember that we serve the illegitimate son of peasants who was born in a barn, who grew up to have no place to lay his head, and who died a criminal’s death.

The Jesus insurgencyby Rudy Rasmus and Dottie Escobedo-Frank

FOR FURTHER READING

Pages: 130 • Publisher: Abingdon Press, Feb. 1, 2012You can get it through: • Cokesbury: www.tinyurl.com/CKSBYJesusInsurgency • Christian Books: www.tinyurl.com/CBDJesusInsurgency • Amazon: www.tinyurl.com/AMAZJesusInsurgency

Pages: 98 • Publisher: Fun & Done Press, Aug. 1, 2013Get it from the author at: www.startwithwhy.com

Start with whyby Simon Sinek

From the introduction: This book is about a naturally

occurring pattern, a way of think-ing, acting, and communicating

that gives some leaders the ability to inspire those around them. Al-

though these “natural-born leaders” may have come into the world with a

predisposition to inspire, the ability is not reserved for them exclusively. We

can all learn this pattern. With a little discipline, any leader or organization can inspire others, both inside and outside their organization, to help advance their ideas and their vision. We can all learn to lead.

The goal of this book is not simply to try to fix the things that aren’t working. Rather, I wrote this book as a guide to focus on and amplify the things that do work. I do not aim to upset the solutions offered by others. Most of the answers we get, when based on sound evidence, are perfectly valid. However, if we’re starting with the wrong questions, if we don’t understand the cause, then even the right answers will always steer us wrong … eventually. The truth, you see, is always revealed … eventually.

The stories that follow are of those individuals and organizations that naturally embody this pattern. They are the ones that start with Why.

[You can download a free PDF of the first chapter of Simon Sinek’s book Start with why at the website listed below. The book is also available as an audio book in both the Audible and iTunes formats; see the website for info.]

Watch a Ted Talk with Simon Sinek about why good

leaders make you feel safe:

www.tinyurl.com/SSTedTalk

unyumc.org 31

From the publisher:Declining memberships. Pastoral

scandals. A fear of secularism and the New Atheism. Christians are wor-ried about the church’s future. Despite such despair, Jason Vickers believes the church also sits upon the cusp of renew-al. Some emerging voices promise to lead the church out of decay but focus only upon its structure, while others encourage the Spirit’s work to the exclusion of all else. Minding the Good Ground organizes the multitude of voices and proposes a new way forward – rooting these renewal movements in a robust historical theology. Moving beyond quick-fix solutions, this new theological vision grounds re-newal in the good and life-giving work of the Holy Spirit.

From peer reviewers:“We need balance between Spirit and structure whereas

there is now a tendency to exalt the charismatic, the spon-taneous, and condemn the ecclesial structures. As Vickers says, it is the Spirit that has inspired and guided the struc-tures in the first place. I highly recommend this book.”

– Ben Witherington, III, Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary

“This is the best book on renewal I have read. Minding the Good Ground cuts through the pious clap trap and romantic hocus pocus and provides precisely the kind of sharp, sub-stantial theological analysis we need. Vickers represents the work of a new generation who are coming on board to carry the torch of renewal into the future.”

– William J. Abraham, Outler Professor of Wesley Studies, Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University

“Vickers is one of the brightest, most helpful young theologians working in our church today. And, he is surely right – renewal is primarily God’s self-assigned task, not ours. This wonderful book calls us to renewed theological accountability.”

– Will Willimon, Bishop, North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church and Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry, Duke Divinity School

Minding the good groundby Jason E. Vickers

Pages: 151 • Publisher: Baylor University Press, Aug. 1, 2011Get it from the publisher at: www.tinyurl.com/BPMindingGround

Soul keepingby John Ortberg

From the publisher: The soul is not “a theological

and abstract subject.” The soul is the coolest, eeriest, most myste-

rious, evocative, crucial, sacred, eternal, life-directing, fragile, inde-

structible, controversial, expensive dimension of your existence. Jesus

said it’s worth more than the world.You’d be an idiot not to prize it

above all else. Shouldn’t you get pretty clear on exactly what it is? Shouldn’t you know what it runs on? Wouldn’t it be worth knowing how to care for it? Two things are for sure. One is: you have a soul. The other is: if you don’t look after this one you won’t be issued a replace-ment.

In an age of materialism and consumerism that tries to buy its way to happiness, we’ve focused on the temporal concerns of the world – and not without consequence

Bestselling author John Ortberg presents another classic that will help you discover your soul – the most important connection to God there is – and find your way out of the spiritual shallow-lands to true divine depth. With char-acteristic insight and an accessible story-filled approach, Ortberg brings practicality and relevance to one of Christi-anity’s most mysterious and neglected topics.

[You can read for free, or download, the first chapter of John Ortberg’s book Soul Keeping at the author’s website: www.johnortberg.com/books/soul-keeping.]

Pages: 208 • Publisher: Zondervan, April 22, 2014You can get it through: • Barnes & Noble: www.tinyurl.com/BNSoulKeeping • Christian Books: www.tinyurl.com/CBDSoulKeeping • Amazon: www.tinyurl.com/AMAZSoulKeeping

Watch author John Ortberg discuss

Soul keeping: Caring for the most

important part of you:

www.tinyurl.com/JOrtSoul


In the next issue . . .

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