Watkins challenges Obama, elected leaders to uphold 'ethical center'

From DisciplesWorld:

By Verity A. Jones, DisciplesWorld editor and publisher

WASHINGTON, D.C. (1/21/09) — Sharon E. Watkins, general minister and president of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), urged newly inaugurated President Barack Obama to “hold the ground” of his ethical center and the nation’s deepest values, in her sermon at the inaugural prayer service today.

President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, along with their spouses, listened from the front row of the National Cathedral where the service was held. After acknowledging the grandeur of the inaugural festivities, including “dancing ‘till dawn” at 10 inaugural balls the previous night, Watkins said, “Beyond this moment of high hopes, we need you to stay focused on our shared hopes, so that we can continue to hope, too.”

Watkins called Obama and all the Congressional and administration leaders present to lead the nation down paths that pursue justice and liberty for all, including America’s global neighbors.

At a time when national security is heightened and international threats loom large, Watkins said, “Someone has to stand watch and be ready to defend, and Mr. President — Tag! You’re it!”

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Upper Midwest changes ministry policy to include GLBT candidates

From DisciplesWorld:

By Rebecca Bowman Woods, DisciplesWorld news editor

DES MOINES (12/6/08) — Disciples in the denomination’s Upper Midwest region are no longer barred from becoming licensed or ordained ministers if they are not heterosexual.

The region assembly on Oct. 11 voted 163-80 in favor of the change. The previous policy dates back to 1979, when the regional assembly adopted a policy prohibiting gays and lesbians from becoming ministers.

The region’s commission on ministry began studying the issues of sexual orientation and ministry several years ago, according to Patricia Adams Oberbillig, a recently retired Disciples pastor who chairs the ordination unit of the commission on ministry.

They studied scripture and theological writings pertaining to homosexuality and ministry. At some point they discovered they were dealing with two separate issues — the other having to do with Disciples’ congregational polity and the role of local churches in endorsing and supporting ministerial candidates.

“Congregations ought to be able to choose who they want to send to the ministry commission to embark on that time of formation,” said Richard Guentert, regional minister.

In June of 2007, the commission on ministry created a task group to look at 1979 resolution again, Oberbillig said.

According to the recently-adopted resolution, the 1979 policy "supersedes the congregation’s right to determine the worthiness and giftedness of potential ministerial candidates.” The resolution affirms congregations' role in recommending candidates for ministry, Guentert said.

Guentert noted that regional leaders tried to conduct the process and the vote in a way that would respect differing opinions.

In September, they held a “day of discovery” and invited every congregation to learn about proposed change and engage in a listening process. About 40 people attended, Oberbillig said.

The assembly’s vote was preceded by 48 minutes of discussion led by a trained parliamentarian, and the actual vote was taken by paper ballot, Guentert said.

While ballots were being counted, Guentert offered a pastoral word and led the assembly in prayer. “We did everything we could so that either way the vote came out, we could preserve the unity of the body of Christ,” he said.

Dennis McKee, an ordained Disciples minister serving as the chaplain at a retirement community in Bloomington, Minn., favored the policy change. “It wasn’t an open and affirming vote, but at least it took down a road block,” said McKee.


He thought the vote sent another important message: “that there is room for us to be Disciples together even if we don’t agree.”

First president of Christian Church Foundation, James R. Reed, dies at 80

From Disciples News Service:

The Christian Church Foundation has announced the death of Rev. Dr. James R. Reed, president emeritus of the Christian Church Foundation. Reed died Monday evening, September 1, in an Indianapolis hospital, where he had been admitted earlier in the day. He was 80 years old.
Reed was the first president of the Christian Church Foundation and served as the dynamic force behind its ministry from 1964 until retiring in 1991. A visionary leader and passionate about the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in all of its manifestations, Reed was committed to excellence and integrity.

"[Reed] cared about people - traits that today remain key to the Foundation's DNA," said Gary Kidwell, current president of the Christian Church Foundation, in an e-mail sent to the Disciples community announcing Reed's death.

Services for Reed will be held September 5 at Downey Avenue Christian Church in Indianapolis. Memorials should be made payable to the Christian Church Foundation and noted for the James R. and Lucille B. Reed Fund.

A more extensive article was written by DisciplesWorld magazine and can be found here. Reed was the stepfather of Bob Brite, Interim Pastor of First Christian Church in Minneapolis, MN.

Work groups needed for Iowa flood recovery

From DisciplesWorld:

By Rebecca Bowman Woods, DisciplesWorld news and website editor

INDIANAPOLIS (8/11/08) — Three Disciples congregations have opened their doors as mission stations in Iowa, where summer flooding caused extensive damage in Cedar Rapids and other areas.

After the floodwaters receded, the churches — Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, First Christian Church in Coralville, and Marion Christian Church in Marion — worked with the Office of Disciples Volunteering to prepare their facilities, and their members, to host mission groups from outside the area. Now all they need are volunteers.

Carl Zerweck, who heads Disciples Volunteering, estimated the number of homes damaged by flooding in the Cedar Rapids area as “somewhere between 4,000 and 5,400.” Zerweck is concerned about the amount of “cutting and gutting” work to be done before cold weather arrives. “The situation is bad. There’s a lot of need and we really need people to consider going.”

Work groups are needed for several of the weeks from September through mid-November, according to Zerweck. Grants are available through Week of Compassion to help with trip costs.

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Disciples Musicians are denomination’s best-kept secret

From DisciplesWorld:

By Verity A. Jones, DisciplesWorld editor and publisher

TULSA, Okla. — (8/13/08) I don’t understand why the annual conference of the Association of Disciples Musicians (ADM) isn’t attended by hundreds if not thousands of people every year.

It must be the best -kept secret in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), otherwise more than this year’s 103 registrants would’ve been here.

This year’s event at First Christian Church in downtown Tulsa, July 19–24, featured fabulous performances, opportunities to rehearse with remarkable musicians of all kinds, and meaningful worship experiences to boot.

Not to mention the workshops exploring the many facets of Emerging Worship, including controversies that this and other changing worship styles pose to the world of American religious music today.

Oh, and there is the fellowship. This is a group of Disciples, professional and volunteer, who really like each other and enjoy getting together year after year. Some have been doing so for more than 20 years. Go figure.

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Residency program prepares seminary graduates for full-time ministry

From DisciplesWorld:

Blogmaster's Note: Shane Issac, the new minister at Plymouth Creek Christian Church in Plymouth, MN is interviewed for this article.

By Tanya J. Tyler, DisciplesWorld contributing writer


LEXINGTON, Ky. (7/22/08) — What is a young minister to do? Many times, newly graduated seminarians enter congregational ministry with little idea of what they’re getting into. No wonder they feel they’ve been thrown to the wolves.

“And sometimes they are thrown to some of our meanest wolves,” said Michael Mooty, senior minister at Central Christian Church in Lexington, Ky. “They end up in some of the most difficult and discouraging situations in ministry without any kind of real experience to help them give good pastoral leadership.”


To rectify this situation, Central and other congregations nationwide, both Disciples of Christ and other denominations, offer residency programs that help graduates make the transition from seminary student to full-time pastor.


Central received a $750,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment in December 2001 to establish a pastoral residency program through the endowment’s Transition into Ministry initiative. A core belief of the initiative is that practices of effective pastoral leadership can best be learned through intense involvement with a faithful congregation and an experienced pastoral leader.
“Their studies demonstrated that a lot of people went into ministry and then five years later were doing something else,” Mooty explained.

“Their question was, ‘Would a positive first experience in ministry, in which a person has the opportunity to work with and be mentored by an experienced pastor, be helpful?’”

Primarily targeting seminary graduates in their 20s, Central’s program offers a variety of ministerial opportunities.

“The residents get to do everything,” Mooty said. This includes preaching, assisting at funerals and weddings, teaching, and offering pastoral care. While some congregations use a rotation model, where the resident spends six months in a certain capacity, such as Christian education, Central’s program was designed to model actual ministry.

“The residents have to decide what the focus of their ministry’s going to be,” Mooty said. “We challenge them to find areas where they can give leadership in the congregation and the community. They can only discover their gifts themselves.”

Seven ministers have graduated from Central’s program so far. Heather McColl, a member of the first class in 2002, now serves as senior minister at Midway Christian Church in Midway, Ky.

It was difficult being in that first class, McColl acknowledged.

“We didn’t have any job descriptions and at first it was really frustrating, but Michael said, ‘You have to develop your ministry.’ As soon as he said it, it was a freeing experience,” McColl said. “I became more aware of my potential in the church.”

Erin Wathen, pastor of Foothills Christian Church in Glendale, Ariz., was in the second class. Initially, she saw herself serving as an associate pastor, but her experience at Central helped her realize she was capable of leading a congregation.

“After about a year in the program, I started to feel a lot more called to a senior pastor position and much more equipped for it,” she said. “I learned I had a lot of natural instinct for pastoral care and church life in general.”

Shane Isaac is the program’s most recent graduate. The experience was more than he anticipated.

“It was a phenomenal opportunity for me to begin getting my pastoral feet wet in a supportive and nurturing environment,” he said.

Isaac started seminary intending to become a Navy chaplain. After his second year, he felt his call to ministry was shifting. “I had to spend some serious time in prayer and discernment, saying, ‘Okay, Lord, if that’s not where I’m going, where am I going?’ It seemed congregational ministry was the right place.”

Like his colleagues, he found his call affirmed in the residency program. He has just begun serving Plymouth Creek Christian Church in Minnesota.

Mooty and his staff, which includes two former regional ministers of the Christian Church in Kentucky, made themselves available to the residents, who appreciated their support.
“You couldn’t ask for better mentors,” McColl said.

The church also benefited from the residency program.

“There was a time of transition where the congregation had to figure out, ‘Oh, these people have already graduated from seminary. These people are full-time staff with us. The depth of our relationships with them can be different,’” Mooty said.

“Now the congregation has learned to trust these people and have a high level of expectation of the kind of leadership they bring,” he said.

Pacific/Asian Disciples plan for ‘fruitful’ meeting in August

From DisciplesWorld:


By Ian Bowman-Henderson, DisciplesWorld contributing writer

INDIANAPOLIS (7/12/08) —The 2008 North American Pacific/Asian Disciples (NAPAD) Convocation is being held August 6-8 in Stony Port, N.Y. This year marks the group’s fifteenth biennial convocation.

“The purpose of the convocation,” says NAPAD Executive Pastor Geunhee Yu, “is number one, to gather together as Asian-Pacific Disciples, number two educating the community of Asian-Pacific Disciples, and the third purpose is getting to know each other and enhancing our heritage.”

Moderator Cindy Kim also believes that the convocation helps connect Asian and Pacific Island Disciples to the larger church.

The theme of this year’s convocation is “Bear Fruit,” a title drawn from Matthew 7:20: "Thus you will know them by their fruits."

“The first day emphasizes a personal perspective, bearing fruit individually,” says Yu. “The second day is a community perspective. As a community of faith we have to bear fruit; and the third day is an ecological perspective.”

The week’s message is of personal significance to Kim. “For me something important is that you leave convocation with a sense of stewardship, like ‘What can I do now?’” says Kim, “and with “Bear Fruit’ there is this responsibility to community, ecology…and your own life.”

Kim said she is excited to increase the level of ecological awareness of her fellow NAPAD members. “…for many Asian immigrants ecological awareness is not big, or is not even on their radar,” says Kim.

The convocation will feature three keynote speakers; Rita Nakashima Brock, one of NAPAD’s earliest supporters and a prominent feminist theologian; Chung Hyun Kyung, a leader in eco-feminist theologies working to promote interfaith dialogue between Christianity and traditional Eastern religions; and Cassandra Carmichael, director of the National Council of Churches’ eco-justice program. This is the first time that NAPAD has held a convocation with all female keynoters.

“Part of that is a response to the Asian community,” says Kim, “but this year we have these amazing women who are all forefront in what they do.”

NAPAD includes over 90 congregations representing many different cultures, which can sometimes pose a problem for convocation organizers. “The difficult part is language,” says Kim. “There are 13 different languages that NAPAD members speak.”

Kim does not feel that this hurts the convocation. “There is really a sense of community,” she says. “Many Asian people struggle with the same things.”

Each day of convocation will begin with a worship session and then move on through the keynote speakers, business sessions, and breakout sessions for additional education. Also scheduled are several after-sessions as well as a pre-convocation event for youth, which will be held at the YMCA in Flushing, N.Y. The final day of convocation will end with the installation of NAPAD’s new officers, who will be selected by the NAPAD’s executive committee.

The event, though geared towards members of NAPAD, is open to anyone who would like to attend. says Kim.

Blogmaster's Note: The Upper Midwest Region has one known Asian/Pacific Congregation; Korean Dordom Church in St. Louis Park, Minnesota led by Henkug Choi .

Hispanic Assembly stresses growth and discipleship

From DisciplesWorld:


By Ted Parks, DisciplesWorld contributing writer

HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, N.J. (7/17/08) — Gathering more than 250 Hispanic Disciples from across North America to Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., near Newark, between July 10 and 13, the fourteenth National Hispanic and Bilingual Assembly included workshops, presentations, and rousing worship experiences, with speakers emphasizing evangelism, faithfulness to the Christian message, and training in leadership.

Worship periods opened and closed the assembly, with Disciples’ General Minister and President Sharon Watkins and Huberto Pimentel, national pastor for Hispanic ministries, presiding at communion during the concluding service. The event also included a youth program with a mission trip to feed the New York City poor at the historic Park Avenue Christian Church.

Speaking in Thursday night's opening worship, Juan Dávila, pastor of Primera Iglesia Hispana in Rochester, N.Y., launched the conference theme, "Growth and Discipleship: Challenges of the 21st Century," taken from the book of Acts.

Today's church must love, serve, and educate, Dávila said. The Rochester minister warned Disciples not to see themselves as a "grupito" — a "little group." Rather, Jesus attracted "great multitudes" because he loved people and taught in a practical and captivating way.

Describing twenty-first-century society as highly productive, highly competitive, and consumerist, Dávila said that affirming "absolute truths" is important for growth and essential for educating believers.

In a message the first full day of the assembly, Xosé Escamilla, pastor of Casa de Oración Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in San Diego, emphasized the need to not only train church members biblically but develop their leadership skills. "Edification of the body of Christ includes explosive numerical growth through the faith confirmed in each believer through discipleship to be ministers to do the Work of the Lord," Escamilla said on a presentation slide.

Pastors should include "practical leadership" in their teaching, Escamilla believes. They should not be simply "leaders of followers" but empower others to lead, he said. "Teaching others to carry out the work means reaching more people in need," Escamilla added.

Preaching Friday night, national pastor Pimentel applied colorful metaphors to call the assembly to maintain the unity God bestows the church as a gift.

"We have to be both together and scrambled up," he said, comparing the church to a pupusa, a stuffed tortilla dish from El Salvador. Pimentel also likened the churches of the "Obra Hispana" — "Hispanic Work," a frequent term for U.S. and Canadian Spanish-speaking Disciples — to a fleet. Ships sailing together knew how to avoid crashing into each other and knew their mission and destination, he said.

The national pastor affirmed both the individual nature of congregations and their connection to the broader church.

"Each church has its distinctive particularity, its own personality, and its particular territory where God has planted it to testify of his love and of his grace," Pimentel said. "This local church does not minister in an isolated way in the body of Christ," he added. "This local church forms part of a region, it forms part of a Hispanic convention, it forms part of the Hispanic and Bilingual Fellowship, and it forms part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)."

Before his remarks, Pimentel showed video clips from pastors in border areas who were unable to attend the assembly because of problems with immigration. The national pastor put an empty chair in front of the room to symbolize the scores of people who continue to suffer in the absence of meaningful immigration reform.

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Denomination's realignment plan could combine DHM and HELM

From DisciplesWorld:


By Rebecca Bowman Woods, DisciplesWorld news editor

INDIANAPOLIS (7/11/08) — Denominational leaders are heeding the wider church’s call for "less structure, more mission," and are floating a draft of a realignment plan that would combine the programs of at least two of the church’s general ministries — Disciples Home Missions (DHM) and Higher Education and Leadership Ministries (HELM).

General Minister and President Sharon E. Watkins and a group called the Mission Alignment Coordination Council (MACC) have been working on a proposal to realign the church’s structures with its mission. They will finalize a proposal this year and present it to the 2009 General Assembly for approval.

After weeks of discussion and a three-day meeting last month in Indianapolis, the council is making its ideas public and asking for input from the rest of the church.

Among the changes put forth in the draft document is the creation of a new general ministry, to be called either Congregational and Leadership Ministries or the Center for Congregational Leadership. It would bring together many of the responsibilities, programs, and ministries of DHM and HELM.

The draft documents outline three options for how the general church might organize its work. One option places both New Church Ministries and Transformation Ministries as part of the new general ministry. Another moves the transformation initiative to Church Extension, which already oversees new church establishment.

Racial-ethnic ministries — the National Convocation, the Central Pastoral Office of Hispanic Ministries, and the National Association of Pacific/Asian Disciples would have a more prominent place at the table and would receive a larger share of denominational funding.

The MACC’s draft includes an “accreditation system” that would certify official ministries of the church, a move aimed at improving accountability and transparency within the church.

The future role of Disciples Benevolent Services (DBS), formerly the National Benevolent Association (NBA), has also been part of the council’s discussion. The once-formidable non-profit owned or operated more than 100 facilities for seniors, children, and developmentally disabled adults. It was greatly diminished by a bankruptcy filing in 2004. DBS is still a general ministry of the church but since 2007 it has focused on helping congregations start their own housing and care ministries. DBS would become self-supporting instead of receiving denominational funding, according to the council’s draft.

The MACC’s ideas are based on the principles for mission alignment set forth by the General Board in April. The General Board also identified three desired outcomes: getting clarity about its own responsibilities regarding the church’s mission, embracing the denomination’s growing diversity, and resourcing congregations for mission.

The council’s work is part of the larger process of guiding the church toward four priorities set forth in the 2020 Vision: leader development, establishing 1,000 new congregations and transforming 1,000 existing ones by the year 2020, and becoming a pro-reconciling, anti-racist denomination.

A letter from Watkins posted along with the MACC documents lays out how and when the council will finalize its proposal.

The conversation about how to make the general church more effective “is one the Church has been asking for,” Watkins writes. “The expected result is a general church organization that is more transparent to congregations in how mission is delivered. It anticipates better stewardship of mission funds as less is spent on organizational infrastructure and more on actual ministry. It imagines a church focused on mission.”

In addition to Watkins and Disciples Moderator Newell Williams, the council’s members are Bill Lee, Virginia pastor and former Disciples’ moderator; Carolyn Ho, former first vice-moderator; Mary Jacobs, former first vice-moderator; David Vargas, Global Ministries’ co-executive; Sotello Long, South Carolina’s regional minister; Cherilyn Williams, moderator for the Northwest region; Darryl Trimiew, chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion of Medgar Evers College at the City University of New York; Xose Escamilla, pastor of Casa de Oracion in San Diego; Kari Kempf, church administrator at the Church of the Foothills in Santa Ana, Calif., and Tim Lee, assistant professor of Church History at Brite Divinity School.

The MACC meets in September and again in November. The group will compile the comments and ideas received from the wider church and will refine its work before presenting a proposal to the General Board in 2009. The General Board will review the proposal and make recommendations before sending it on to the General Assembly.

One NC congregation’s end is another’s beginning

From Disciplesworld:

By Heidi Bright Parales, DisciplesWorld contributing writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (6/27/08) — The resurrection came alive this year for members of Eastfield Christian Church in Charlotte.

On the Sunday after the Disciples congregation closed its doors and sold its church building, members revived as Communion of Faith Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), meeting in an assisted living center less than four miles away.

Initially, the congregational rebirth wasn’t planned, but the transition occurred smoothly with leadership from pastor Dara Cobb.

Cobb arrived months earlier with her children, ages 4 and 7, to plant a church. While she started a spirituality group, Regional Minister John Richardson asked her to consider doing pulpit supply for a church that had been without a full-time minister for about two years.

She agreed, and began preaching at Eastfield. Cobb sensed the congregation's sadness and struggle with direction.

Within a few Sundays, she was asked to consider taking the pastorate. She turned it down, still feeling called to start a new church. Eventually, they asked her to serve part time.

Agreeing, she began praying and working with them concerning the church’s future, she said. “They loved the church deeply. It was a very difficult time struggling. We discerned that together, God was calling us to start a congregation.”

Bonnie Matthews, church elder chair, explained that the Eastfield congregation had been focused on survival. “We were struggling to pay the bills, so we were inwardly focused. We weren’t reaching out to the community. We knew the only thing we could do was sell that building to enable us to call Dara as a full-time pastor.”

Cobb and the congregation began preparing to close the church. “There’s no easily available blueprint for how to conduct a final service,” she said. “We put a lot of time and effort into planning it.”

During their last service in the building on May 25, participants shared their memories. Members of different ages read from scripture. “It was emotionally healing and (provided) some closure for a lot of people,” Cobb said.

A carpenter created a memory box for church members to fill with sacred items, said Cobb. The box will be taken to the Disciples of Christ Historical Society in Nashville, Tenn.

Eastfield’s building was sold to a Methodist congregation, and members left a special cross for them, said Matthews. “God is going to be with us wherever we worship. What a beautiful gift for us to give to the new church.”

The following Sunday, many Eastfield members met at The Haven Assisted Living Center, where Cobb now offers worship services as full-time pastor for Communion of Faith Christian Church. “Some people are still grieving, but there is more a feeling of joy and expectation about what the future will hold,” she said. “We get to continue to love and serve God.”

Cobb quickly initiated a summer of service, asking everyone to do some sort of ministry project. “We want to be a congregation that’s invested in our community, doing good work on behalf of God,” she said.

Matthews praised Cobb’s enthusiasm for mission. “A lot of us (also) have the passion to do outreach. I believe you have to reach out to the community in order to survive.”

During Matthews’ family reunion, children were challenged to bring peanut butter for a local food pantry. Another member plans to host birthday parties for children who otherwise couldn’t have one. One member is coordinating residents in a sister assisted-living facility to create receiving blankets for premature babies. Another project involves providing activities for children to give foster parents a break so families remain intact longer. A few larger projects are being considered.

Service within the congregation involves inviting The Haven residents, all of whom have Alzheimer’s Disease, to worship. While many have forgotten family and friends, during worship all of them start praying the Lord’s Prayer and sing some old hymns, said Cobb. “These are so deeply embedded in their hearts and souls. It’s a beautiful spiritual testament to their faith.”

Matthews said she finds joy in seeing residents — usually about a dozen — worshipping. During the service, members give each other hugs. One resident told Matthews it was such a treat to be hugged. “I’m happy we are in a place where we can bring some joy to somebody else,” she said.

Cobb finds her own children an asset to the congregation as well. “I thank God because they absolutely love the church,” she said.

The congregation’s resurrection has even brought new life into the church. During their third Sunday service, Cobb performed a baby dedication. “That was really life-giving,” she said. “That always gives people hope for the future.”

From DisciplesWorld Magazine

• Flooding in Indiana

• Intentional Interim Network for Disciples

• Two Former General Ministers share their views on Sense of the Assembly Resolutions

• Disciple Congregations Embrace Refugee Resettlement