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September 2004 |
Coyners return to Indiana home
By Daniel R. Gangler
The Dakotas bishop won't need to dream about the moonlight on the Wabash nor long for his Indiana home when he and his wife move to Indianapolis as Hoosier United Methodists' first family.
The Rev. Michael J. Coyner, current United Methodist Bishop of North Dakota and South Dakota, will return to Indiana to begin his new episcopal assignment Sept. 1. He was assigned July 17 to the Indiana Area by the 328 delegates meeting in Davenport, Iowa for the North Central Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church.
Shortly after his assignment, Bishop Coyner, 54, a native of Anderson, Ind. said, "It's very special to come back to Indiana. We have so many family connections in Indiana. And The United Methodist Church is so strong in Indiana." He also said it's an honor for him to succeed Bishop Woodie W. White. Before becoming bishop in 1996, Coyner served a year as executive assistant to White, who retires Aug. 31.
Coyner was born Sept. 7, 1949. He is a 1971 graduate of Purdue University in West Lafayette with a bachelor of arts degree in history and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his master of divinity degree in 1974 from Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C. and a doctor of ministry degree in 1980 from Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, N.J.
He was ordained an Elder in the North Indiana Conference in 1975. He served Indiana congregations as pastor at Peoria and Peru (1974-1979), senior pastor of Evangel Heights UMC in South Bend (1979-1984) and senior pastor of Good Shepherd UMC in Fort Wayne (1984-1990), before serving as a district superintendent in Lafayette (1990-1995) and as executive assistant to White (1995-1996). He was elected to the episcopacy and consecrated a bishop in 1996.
Coyner has been married 34 years to his wife, Marsha Lynn (England). They have two grown children: Laura, an engineer with General Electric in Fort Wayne, and Steve, who is married and a pharmaceutical sales representative in Fishers. Ind.
Coyner has written several published articles and is the author of two books by Abingdon Press. Those books are Making a Good Move: Opening the Door to an Effective Pastorate (2000) and Prairie Wisdom: Reflections on Life in the Dakotas (2000).
Coyner will be welcomed as Bishop of the Indiana Area of The United Methodist Church during a special worship celebration on Sunday, Sept. 12 at 4 p.m. in the sanctuary of St. Luke's United Methodist Church, 100 W. 86th St. in Indianapolis. The celebration is open to the public.
In order for Hoosiers to become better acquainted with their new bishop, Together interviewed Coyner by e-mail and received these responses.
What do you perceive to be your strengths as you come to lead us in Indiana?
When the Jurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy finally knocked on our door at 6 a.m. after they had met all night (July 17 in Davenport), they told me they were assigning me to the Indiana Area, and they listed these strengths as reasons for my assignment: "knowledge of the Area, high level of respect and positive relationship in both conferences, an experienced bishop to deal with a complex Area and possible future merger, a visionary leader with a mission emphasis, high energy leadership, helpful with structural issues, and a leader in stewardship growth." Overall, I guess I would tend to agree with that description, or at least those are the things I try to emphasize.
How will your relations with your former colleague pastors change now that you're their bishop?
It is similar to the transition we made when I was appointed a district superintendent by Bishop Hodapp in 1990. I think that all clergy understand that being a superintendent or bishop does not mean that I am any different or special, but that I am "set aside" for a specific ministry. Friendships continue, but sometimes those must be set aside when dealing with supervision issues. Now, after being away for eight years, it will be even easier to keep those boundaries clear.
What are your priorities as you come into the Indiana Area?
My basic priorities have been consistent throughout my ministry, but they always must be adapted to each new context. So I will want to learn more about the current context in Indiana, and I know that I don't have all the answers. But my priorities have always been leading the church to grow:
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Together in caring and unity,
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In spiritual maturity,
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In outreach and mission to others, and finally - as a result,
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Numerically in terms of attendance, members, giving and new disciples.
This growth in "four dimensions" is based upon the story in Acts chapter two about the early Christian community and its life together. Those four dimensions of growth are my priorities because I believe they are the Biblical priorities for us as a church.
What can we expect your leadership style to be?
The Dakotas Conference surveyed and compiled their report about me for the Jurisdictional Conference, and they used phrases like "visionary leader" and "friendly" and "brings people together" and "works in partnership with laity and other clergy" and "creates enough chaos to encourage creativity." I believe that I am quite collegial, but I also know that there are times when the bishop has to "bish" - make hard decisions, deal with tough issues, but hopefully do that in a way which is tender with people.
What do you expect to do during your first 100 days in Indiana?
I will be getting reacquainted with Indiana. For the past eight years I have lived and served a long way from here, and I am not up to date on Indiana's issues and needs. So I will be having events in all 18 districts to meet the people, to listen and hear what is going on, and to get acquainted or reacquainted with lots of people.
In addition to those geographic meetings, I want to meet with people in what Lyle Schaller calls "Affinity Groups" that overlap in many ways - young clergy, United Methodist Women, United Methodist Men, pastors of large churches, pastors of multi-point charges, associate pastors, lay leaders, laity who should be recruited as new lay leaders, and young people who might consider ministry or lay leadership.
I also have a whole list of other persons I want to meet with - the governor, the heads of our United Methodist institutions, the staff in each conference, other denominational leaders, the lay leaders of each conference and media people. I love meeting people, so those first 100 days will be busy but also fun.
I learned in the Dakotas what it means to be a "student of the culture" - and I will bring that same sense of listening and learning to Indiana. Although I am familiar with the state and many of the people, all that really means is that I know names and faces and can find my way around the state. But I know that I need to know what things are like in Indiana in 2004.
What is your favorite Bible verse and hymn?
Among my favorite Bible verses are these: "If God is for us, who is against us?" (Romans 8:31), and "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God" (1 John 4:7). Among my favorite hymns are: "Be Thou My Vision," "The Gift of Love" and "Hymn of Promise"
What are your favorite pastimes?
Family is very important to Marsha and me, and many of our times away from "work" are for family events. We also like to bicycle, walk, read and see movies when time permits and there are movies worth seeing. We have been involved in the Dakotas Wellness Initiative which includes wearing pedometers to make sure we walk at least 10,000 steps per day, so we have increased our walking this past year and that has been fun. I also like to watch sports when I get a chance, and even to attend sporting events when it is possible.
What else would you like to share with your readers as you prepare to come to Indiana?
I am not coming back to Indiana to recreate the past, but to discover together where God is leading us in the future. Recently I sat on an airplane next to a business consultant who had worked with UPS. He told me this story: when UPS expanded into Europe, they soon learned that their brown uniforms were too reminiscent of the Nazi brown shirts of the 1930s. So UPS in Europe gave up its "brown" image in order to accomplish its mission of delivering packages.
In the church, we may have to give up some of our old images to focus upon our mission of delivering the package of the Gospel. Part of my role as bishop is to ask the question, "Are we accomplishing our mission? If not, what things are getting in our way?" I do not have the answer to that question - I really trust the local clergy and lay leadership to answer that in every community - but my role is to ask the right questions.
Tell us about your wife and children.
Marsha and I met at Purdue, and we were married at the end of our junior year. We have been married for 34 years now. She is my best friend, my partner, and my love. While I keep the content of issues confidential from her, she is the person who helps me process the emotional and personal impact of those problems I am confronting. She is a very good listener and has a keen intuition about people. She loves music, gardening, handbells, and her family.
Our daughter Laura is an engineer by training, and she has worked at General Electric since graduating from college. GE has moved her around from Fort Wayne to Roanoke, Va. to Atlanta and now back to Fort Wayne. Currently she is the chief information officer of the Motors Division of GE and does lots of work with computers, e-commerce and leads the IT team. She also is a volunteer CASA (court appointed special advocate) for children who are going through the court system.
Our son Steve is a pharmaceutical salesman with TAP and lives in Fishers with his wife Megan. They were married last October at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Indianapolis. Steve loves sports and was a real athlete in high school, and so was Megan, who ran track and cross country at Delta High School near Muncie. They met at Purdue where they both were in the School of Management. Megan is also in sales with Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and has been a delightful addition to our family circle.
The Indiana Area looks forward to welcoming Bishop and Mrs. Coyner and their family during a special welcoming worship service to be held at St. Luke's United Methodist Church, 100 W. 86th St., in Indianapolis on Sunday, Sept. 12 at 4 p.m.
Last updated on 08/20/2004