Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson: "Distance yourself from those who love dispute..?"

June 20, 2018

Spiritual Disciplines, Sermons, and Seersucker: Notes on Annual Conference

A handful of Glenn's lay delegates hard at work: Katrina Voegtlin, Carolyn Gilbert, Carole Adams, and Andrew Johnson

For a third year, it was my honor to represent Glenn as a lay member of the Annual Conference. From the first gathering at Opening Worship to communion at Closing Worship, from walking shoes every day to seersucker on Thursday, from handwritten seat labels to electronic voting devices, the three thousand North Georgia Methodists were connected and united in many ways as we took over the Classic Center in Athens, GA for nearly three days of reports and votes, prayers and praise, and songs and sermons.

A few months before conference, Glenn friends Donn Ann Weber and Robert Gilleo invited me to join the Planning and Logistics Team. Robert has previously managed much of this himself, but for 2018, he recruited a team that included Nate Abrams, whose wife Joya was ordained this year, and Glenn’s pastoral alumna, the Rev. Dr. Jessica Terrell, who now serves at Eatonton First UMC. We were ably assisted by Glenn members Carole Adams, Carolyn Gilbert, and Ken Weber. Our group did an incredible variety of things to facilitate the work of the conference, to support the other teams working at the conference, and to assist individuals and groups moving to and from the Grand Hall and Theater stages for reports, presentations, and worship. Even when seat cards stuck to the robes of the Bishop and Cabinet members, even when we were asked dozens of times if the unmovable lectern could be moved, even when the names and total numbers of those to be licensed, commissioned, and ordained kept changing, even when we were up late and then asked complicated questions at our 7:00 a.m. breakfast meeting, it was truly a joy to be among good people doing good work  and to be able to contribute to a successful annual conference.

The most meaningful time of conference for me came on Thursday morning when our outstanding bishop, Sue Haupert-Johnson, talked frankly and clearly about the work of the multinational Commission on the Way Forward and the called General Conference in 2019 that will take up matters relating to the way that human sexuality is dealt with in Methodism. Bishop Sue outlined the three models developed by the Commission and the intense meetings of the Council of Bishops as they considered these models. Two particular quotes from her presentation have stayed with me: "Distance yourself from those who love dispute" and “Do not rashly tear asunder.”

Those are good pieces of advice any time, especially in the months ahead, as these matters are discussed and debated with emotion, passion, and intensity. May we all pray with and for those who will attend the called General Conference and make crucial decisions for our denomination and its people.

Ginger Smith

http://www.glennumc.org/blog/2018/6/20/spiritual-disciplines-sermons-and-searsucker-notes-on-annual-conference

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MASTERS OF CONSCIENCE, FOURTH DIMENSION, AND 1 cORINthians 3:6-8

2

   

URBAN

DICTIONARY/orins/orins

1

   

orin

n. 1. a true pimp 
2. a person who is good at everything

you can never be a orin

by jay February 22, 2004

 188 78

orins

To flatten by the art of sitting. 

To make something flatter by sitting on it for a long period of time.

sean sat on brandon and orinsed his nose.

by Chris F. , Scott M. April 12, 2004

 7 9

  

URBAN DICTIONARY/political catalyse

Think of today's polarized political divide pretty much right down the middle 50/50. The debates are going no where because it's considered socially impolite to discuss politics/religion in a social setting; and most definitely not in a business/working environment. Now think of a chemistry experiment where you have two chemicals (Republicans and Democrats) mixed together but nothings happening. But if you mixed in a third chemical, a Progressive or a Liberal, all of a sudden you have a lively debate...?

As most people, even the Progressives and the Liberals, most definitely the Liberals, pick their battles, you may or may not get a debate started. The hardest part is getting the first two ingredients together in an environment willing for genuine discussions with genuine results.

All I hear is justifying, justifying, justifying.

Let me try using the three wise monkeys. They generally mean being of sound mind, body, and action. Set the example for others to follow. They can also mean looking the other way, refusing to acknowledge, feigning ignorance. In other words, what's the point of our first bunch of monkeys (those leaning left e.g. our Liberal Elite) taking a step in the right direction if that's as far as they are going to get with our second bunch of monkeys (those leaning right e.g. Religious Right and/or Neo-Conservative Business Interest) paying no attention to our first bunch of monkeys.

So... 

this calls for a third set of monkeys, an example of the uber significance of the number "3" in numerology, the "political catalyse": those people loaded with empathy, willing, as well as able (takes financial security), to be confrontational with humility and honesty at all times.

1. Calling out people's behavior anywhere, anytime, and letting them know it did not go unnoticed. 

2. Letting them know it was not acceptable. 

3. Not to be tolerated as long as we are able having anything to say or do about it.

John 5:30King James Version (KJV)30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

In other words,

 Anti-Christ is nothing more than W.W.J.D. today.

WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?

by Simply Jim March 18, 2014

 5 0