
The Annual Conference as the Basic Unit of the Church
The Constitution of the United Methodist Church identifies the annual conference as “the basic body in the Church.” The annual conference admits persons into ordained…
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The Constitution of the United Methodist Church identifies the annual conference as “the basic body in the Church.” The annual conference admits persons into ordained…
Bill Wilson, director of the Center for Healthy Churches, says that while memories of the past are vital, they must be balanced with a creative…
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., explains that God’s leaders always live in the tension between memory of the past and hope for the future. Effective leaders draw…
Roger Ross, author of the book Meet the Goodpeople, looks to the Wesleyan Revival for examples of effective ways of sharing faith. He says seven…
We were in a rut! I think we knew we were in a survival mode, and something needed to change. Our language reflected too much…
Leaders create holding environments for innovation in part by helping the community interpret its legacy, present situation, and future. This centers on asking questions to…
A few years ago, my mom passed away after having lived a good life. Dad asked us to help him sort through my mother’s possessions.…
Martin E. Marty once observed that between the time of Luther and Calvin and our own time, John Wesley symbolized the genius of adaptation to…
Congregations, particularly mainline and established congregations, commonly tell either safe or weak stories about themselves. In an earlier era, when identity and purpose were clearer…
In The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership, University of Southern California president Steven Sample makes the case that all leaders should discern the creation story for their…
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