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Bishop’s Day in the Districts
Response from Clergy and Laity
December 12, 2007
Clergy
What sounds good?
- Efficiency
- Clusters
- New Vision/Energy
- Cooperative ministries (Overwhelmingly #1, 2, 3, 4)
- Regions
- One voice
- Closer and better training
- Focus on the local church
- Stronger feeling of connection
- High percentage of vote at AC
- Great fellowship
- Horizontal accountability
- All size churches working together
- Use of laity and clergy as resources
- Possibility for diversity
- Campus ministries
- DS as resource not only administrative staff
- Better and longer appointments
- Process is not forced
- Evangelism
- Better technology/communication
- New church starts
- Like Ball State
- Need something new to motivate
- Merging of data bases
- Centralization
- Good to hear about goal setting
Clergy
What doesn’t sound good?
- Need more excitement from laity
- Clusters
- How will they work without clear geographic structure?
- How will (how can) clergy and churches be held accountable?
- Need to build trust
- Disaster if not done well
- Will any DS attend?
- Laity do not like to do things together
- Hand-slapping
- Lack of access to DS
- 1/3 voted against plan last AC
- Distance and travel
- Long distance appointments/spouse jobs
- More isolation
- Accountability
- Maybe it should be “How is it with your soul?”
- Who will monitor?
- Effect on clergy
- Need economic districts
- Will there be support for those on the edge of large districts
- What about persons with no e-mail
- Is too much being expected from this smaller structure (decentralization)
- Conflict with camping, graduations and AC dates
- Need intentional lay leadership development
- No mention about the poor
- Small churches fear loss of sanctuary and the merger word
- Where is the intentional language about closing churches?
- Young clergy need support
- Cost
- Same old stuff!
- Change is scary
- Don’t let this be a pipe dream
- Is this just downsizing?
- Don’t like voting without all the info
- Multiple DSs. Who is in charge? Who is the shepherd?
- Need business at AC, not just worship and celebration.
- What will happen to all the unusable buildings?
Laity
What sounds good?
- Efficiency
- Clusters (Overwhelming #1 & 2)
- Cooperative ministries
- Saving money
- Focus on the local church
- Time is right, fresh start, new energy
- Will get people involved
- Join resources
- Allows for new and growing ministries
- We need change in pension and insurance
- Campus ministry
- Cross the cultures of NIC and SIC
- It’s Ok if costs are cut and it brings churches together
- Better communication
- Better clergy pool
- Unity
- Emphasis on making disciples
- Developing lay leadership
- Focus seems to be on ministry not structure
- Both cluster and affinity groups
- DS will be more involved in the churches
- Video conferencing
- Change leads to excitement
- Easier on the Bishop
What doesn’t sound good?
- Distance
- Clusters
- If not done well
- Part-time pastors have time constraints
- How to hold accountable
- Small churches could get swallowed up
- Loss of DS closeness
- District changes
- Information age adaptation
- Elimination of jobs
- Change
- School consolidation didn’t work, why will this
- Fear of the unknown
- Will it really help make disciples and bring in young people?
- Sunday conference – pastor out of the pulpit again
- Too much “us and them” language
- There are too many committees with no purpose
- How do we unstick stuck churches?
- Relocation of clergy
- Where is the talk about making deeper disciples not just more?
- Need new life not just reorganization
- There is distrust of system
- Concern about role of DS
- People losing jobs
- Absorbing debt
- Where will the youth end up after all of this?
Clergy and Laity Questions and Concerns
- How will it all be funded, especially with 10 new church plants?
- Will only UMC churches be in clusters?
- Need dialog about clergy effectiveness
- How about money for new ministries in existing churches
- Can we discourage homogeneous clusters? Need more diversity
- Glocalization should be #1
- What about youth ministries already in place
- Will smaller churches be forced to merge?
- Will the conference structure really work for the local church? (Skeptical)
- What about youth ministry on the conference level. SIC is very good
- Clusters must be done well or…
- Accountability to what?
- Not everyone has a computer
- Need better pastors
- Need to make sure there is good follow through
- Is bigger better
- What about lone ranger pastors
- What is the conference really meant to be and do?
- Making disciples is just a code word for membership
- What do we do with ineffective churches and pastors?
- Must train leaders if clusters are to work
- How much indebtedness will NIC assume from SIC?
- How to hold churches and pastors accountable to attend clusters
- Will conference help with staff costs of new church starts?
- Spouses need a clusters as well or a rep at other clusters
General Comments
- Liked presentation
- Like tithing model
- Need to god back to basics
- Prayer meetings
- Bible Study
- The time has come!