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July/August 2005 |
Summary of the lay leader's address to annual conference in Bloomington
Truly a year of changes for Indiana's United Methodist
Ike Williams, South Indiana Conference Lay Leader, said, "New Beginnings... this has been truly a year of news beginning in many positions, including a new bishop."
New Beginnings is about change. And change is hard.
He showed members a steering wheel from a car. He said the steering wheel by itself is not very useful. A car without a steering wheel makes the car inoperable. All the parts of a car are needed or they would not be on the car.
This is true for the church as well. We are the parts, and we must work together.
In Romans 12, we read that Paul said we worship God through our bodies which we give to God. Worship does not end when we leave church. God's sanctuary is everywhere.
To the clergy, I say you can't do God's work alone. Like laity, you are skilled in many ways. To the laity I say, you can't do God's work alone. Like the clergy, you are skilled in many ways. We must work together.
In South Indiana, we have more than 600 clergy and more than 110,000 members.
In the early days of Indiana, many clergy were circuit riders. Laity would not see their pastors for weeks, so the laity needed to run the churches.
Clergy and laity must work together in equal partnership. We must all proclaim God's word as well. As laity, we outnumber the clergy and can be in far more places than the clergy. Therefore, we can spread God's word to more places.
John Wesley asked us all to do all we can do, not as clergy or laity, but together. We must be willing to use our God given skills. Our gifts come from God, and we can all use our skills in bringing people to church. Many don't see the relevance of the church today.
Paul took the message to people who believed in gods and were not interested in Paul's God, but he was persistent and didn't give up. He was beaten and run out of town, but he never gave up.
This might mean young people might not like our church. We may need to change and provide new services for today's young person. They may not pay attention to apportionments, but they are willing to give to missions or volunteer for a mission trip.
We must work together as partners. Laity, care for your clergy, even when they may not be the best of clergy. Clergy, care for your laity even when they aren't the perfect congregation. We all work together to bring the Gospel to all people.
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008