LEESBURG — Nearly 30 Florida Conference pastors and leaders
representing the varied ministry areas of the conference met Nov. 4 at
the Life Enrichment Center here for the first meeting of an initiative
spearheaded by the Conference Council on Ministries (CCOM) called the
Common Table.
Guided by Harold Wright, CCOM director of the Desert Southwest
Conference, the group began the process of leading the conference in
developing a common vision and initiatives all conference churches can
support to fulfill the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ.
"We’re not here to define the mission — that’s already
been done, Jesus did it. The mission is to make disciples of Jesus
Christ," said the Rev. Jim Harnish, senior pastor of Hyde Park
United Methodist Church in Tampa and chairman of the CCOM. "We’re
here to discuss how we, as leaders of the conference, can more
effectively empower and energize the churches of the conference to
fulfill that mission…to search what it means for all of our
resources to be aligned toward meeting the mission and vision of the
conference."
After nearly four hours of prayer and reflection and discussion
about the meeting’s purpose, the Common Table’s goal, and people’s
concerns and expectations, group members decided they needed to meet
again to determine the next steps. They also agreed to suggest the
names of people they feel could provide input and leadership.
The idea for the Common Table came from discussion at the CCOM
budget meeting last January. Ministry team chairs said there needed to
be a way for conference leaders to decide together how conference
resources could more effectively be used to fulfill the conference’s
mission and vision.
Members attending the Common Table meeting expressed concern over
the group’s lack of age and ethnic diversity. No Asian or Hispanic
members were present or young adults under age 30. Harnish reiterated
that the meeting was only the beginning.
"If leadership is not on board, it’s not going to move, so
the start was with the leadership of the conference. The process is to…reach
out more effectively to our constituents, to listen to our
customer," he said.
Harnish said Wright was called in to help because "we don’t
know how to do this." Wright has worked with 10 other annual
conferences that have gone through a similar process, helping them
articulate a common vision and develop a plan of "how the whole
and parts work together," Wright said.
"Our goal is to empower everyone to use their gifts and
resources toward a common vision," Wright said. "Our task is
not to decide the vision, but articulate and facilitate the
process."
He said one function of the Common Table is encouraging ongoing
dialogue within the conference. When the Common Table group meets
again, members will determine the steps involved in the process, which
will include sessions to gain feedback from United Methodists of all
ages and ethnic groups. Shared goals will be developed using that
feedback. Wright says those goals will be communicated to local
churches so members have an opportunity to comment. The Common Table
will then work to empower and equip churches to meet the goals.
Those steps, plus "appropriate organizational change and
strategic thinking yields focused, energized mission and ministry with
unified leadership and an abundance of resources," Wright said.
Bishop Cornelius L. Henderson was unable to attend the meeting, but
offered his input in a letter he wrote to the group that was read by
Thom Shafer, Jacksonville District superintendent.
"All we do at the Common Table should be Christ-centered,
Bible-based and people serving," Henderson said.
He also recommended that "special goals be set. "These
goals should be as such that we have to reach higher and higher,"
he said. "Yet, the goals should be reachable and
attainable."
When asked what they hoped the Common Table would accomplish,
several group members expressed an urgency to develop the common goals
and begin working toward them. Others said they hoped it would
reinforce the importance of the connection and Wesley’s emphasis on
works of mercy and piety.
The Rev. Jacques Pierre, pastor of Lakeland’s Highlands United
Methodist Church, said his hope was that the Common Table could be
broadened "to represent the constituency of the United Methodist
Church so everyone feels that ownership…so that whatever comes out
of it is not what the conference is offering, but what we have
done."
"We have the good idea, but we are so embedded in the old
paradigm that it’s hard to become that new butterfly," he said.
Lynette Fields, a staff member at St. Luke’s United Methodist
Church in Orlando and vice chairwoman of the CCOM, said she hopes the
Common Table will produce a clear focus for the conference "so
that people know what they’re a part of and can move forward."
"The urgency is to share the good news of Christ with the
whole world. It’s not to fix the church," she said.