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IN RETROSPECT New Times Call For New Thinking By James F. Jennings
Conference Council on Ministries Director
As we peer into the Advent season and think of the
unfolding life that God has given us in Christ, we become aware of the responsibilities we
have to keep with him whose blessings gently fall upon our lives.
One of the Conference Council on Ministries’ (CCOM) responsibilities is oversight of the agenda for the 1999 Annual Conference Event. We already know many things which must appear on the agenda, but there is room for creativity in how things get played out.
Last year’s CCOM dialogue with Bishop Sharon A. Brown Christopher, CCOM Chair Bill Walker, author and church consultant Tom Bandy, and the Rev. Bill Barnes of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Orlando about issues facing our conference was an attempt at engaging attendees in a vital way. The overall evaluation of this piece suggested that we need future endeavors of this nature.
At our recent CCOM executive meeting, Walker asked, “Why don’t we ask the clergy what they would like to have us dialogue around next year.” Thus, we are asking for input. Recommendations or suggestions can be sent to the conference office via e-mail, snail mail, fax mail, whichever is convenient. Someone once said, “If better is possible, being good in not enough.” We are seeking to make excellence the mark for every Annual Conference Event.
Let’s debunk the myth of conventional wisdom that tell us to, “Stay the course;” “Don’t mess with success.” Today, at the eve of the 21st Century, conventional wisdom can’t help us keep pace with rapid changes, and outmoded ideas can actually lead us to obsolescence and failure. We have to turn the old rules inside out, upside down and backward not only to succeed, but to survive!
As we move into the Advent season with an eye on 1999, we look beyond our present circumstance to the God who comes in Christ. The God “from whom we come, unto whom we return, and in whom we live and move and have our being” has met us in Christ and continues to meet us in mercy, judgment and love. If we have been wallowing in the apparent chaos of our days, Advent lifts us up and points us to God’s promises in Christ Jesus. Let us hear from you.
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