Comments on: Report of the The Nashville Episcopal Area Strategy Mapping Team https://bishopbillmcalilly.com/2014/01/14/report-of-the-the-nashville-area-strategy-mapping-team/ Official blog site of Nashville Episcopal Area UMC Bishop Bill McAlilly Mon, 20 Jan 2014 05:50:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Steve Tippens https://bishopbillmcalilly.com/2014/01/14/report-of-the-the-nashville-area-strategy-mapping-team/#comment-1979 Mon, 20 Jan 2014 05:50:59 +0000 http://bishopbillmcalilly.com/?p=947#comment-1979 In reply to wmvaughan.

Bill, I’m a lay person at Blakemore UMC, deeply concerned about the future of my local church and the church at large, United Methodist and beyond. My questions come out of my own searching. They seem to lead to even more questions and ever expanding possibilities. The questions engage my mind and won’t let go. I’m hopeful they will also engage others and open us to new ways of thinking that can bring new life to the church. I’d like to know you. Can you tell me about yourself? If not here, my email is [email protected]. Blessings brother.
Steve

]]> By: wtmcalilly https://bishopbillmcalilly.com/2014/01/14/report-of-the-the-nashville-area-strategy-mapping-team/#comment-1977 Mon, 20 Jan 2014 03:59:30 +0000 http://bishopbillmcalilly.com/?p=947#comment-1977 In reply to Rev. Dr. Charles A. Becher.

Thanks. We continue to meet as an area cabinet and extended cabinet. Our Clergy Spiritual Life retreat will be held jointly in March. The Boards of Ministry are looking at ways of cooperating. We are seeking alignment where possible.

Thanks for your observation.

]]> By: wmvaughan https://bishopbillmcalilly.com/2014/01/14/report-of-the-the-nashville-area-strategy-mapping-team/#comment-1975 Mon, 20 Jan 2014 02:11:11 +0000 http://bishopbillmcalilly.com/?p=947#comment-1975 In reply to Steve Tippens.

Steve I do not know you but you have captured my attention! I must confess that you have caused me to rethink the church’s mission and to realize that it’s more than just being in love with Jesus and calling on people to listen to the “Holy Spirit”. Thanks for your profound insight.
Bill Vaughan

]]> By: Rev. Dr. Charles A. Becher https://bishopbillmcalilly.com/2014/01/14/report-of-the-the-nashville-area-strategy-mapping-team/#comment-1971 Sun, 19 Jan 2014 18:43:42 +0000 http://bishopbillmcalilly.com/?p=947#comment-1971 What seems like a century ago, I was a member of the New England Southern Conference. We joined with the New England Conference. One of the motivations was that we were sharing camping and camp programs, youth work, education personnel and minister training. In other words we were already working together. I have yet to see much cooperation between Memphis and Tennessee Conferences. I hope we not only talk but we also act on our call to a broader ministry. I believe you are moving in the right direction and in the right way, Bishop. I thank God for your leadership.

]]> By: Steve Tippens https://bishopbillmcalilly.com/2014/01/14/report-of-the-the-nashville-area-strategy-mapping-team/#comment-1968 Sun, 19 Jan 2014 02:23:32 +0000 http://bishopbillmcalilly.com/?p=947#comment-1968 In reply to wtmcalilly.

Thanks, for your response, my brother. For me, the questions are much more than rhetoric. I hope for answers from the ship’s crew – those charged with leadership of our church, any one or more of them. I believe the efficacy of the whole operation depends on their ability to provide practical answers that make sense to practical people, something more than seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which I fear becomes easy-speak in ecclesiastical circles, a foreign language for many, including some of those who speak it. I do believe we have answers before us, but we have a strong tendency to filter them through agenda-clouded glasses.

Thank you for your strong effort to lead us through troubled waters and reset our compass.

]]> By: wtmcalilly https://bishopbillmcalilly.com/2014/01/14/report-of-the-the-nashville-area-strategy-mapping-team/#comment-1967 Sun, 19 Jan 2014 00:04:33 +0000 http://bishopbillmcalilly.com/?p=947#comment-1967 In reply to Steve Tippens.

Steve,
Thanks for your thoughts.

Great questions.

]]> By: Steve Tippens https://bishopbillmcalilly.com/2014/01/14/report-of-the-the-nashville-area-strategy-mapping-team/#comment-1964 Sat, 18 Jan 2014 03:14:15 +0000 http://bishopbillmcalilly.com/?p=947#comment-1964 I’d suggest that “urgency” is an critically important word here. Not the kind that says “we can’t wait, this is too important for slow-walking.” Rather the kind that says “we must, no ifs, ands, or buts – we must.” In the minds of many, the image of the church is “casual” at best, something along the lines of snail’s pace. Who would want to be part of such a thing? Perhaps those content with a status quo that serves their interests, or those weary and rest-ready. The first step in turning the ocean liner is transformation of the crew – in their thinking, their sense of accountability, their willingness to risk all for the larger purpose. Apparently, the leading of the Holy Spirit gains a “yes” from some, a “no” from others. Discernment is tricky business except in a selfless environment. By what process do we set aside personal agendas in favor of the greater good? Does that have something to do with being in love with Jesus? Would a greater vision for God’s preferred future have something to do with “Thy Kingdom come on Earth?” What must happen to cause us to commit to its achievement within the life of our species? How does the church fit into all of this?

]]> By: wmvaughan https://bishopbillmcalilly.com/2014/01/14/report-of-the-the-nashville-area-strategy-mapping-team/#comment-1958 Fri, 17 Jan 2014 04:54:03 +0000 http://bishopbillmcalilly.com/?p=947#comment-1958 In reply to wtmcalilly.

Bishop thanks for your reply to Randy Neal. Hopefully more of us will be more in love with JESUS! Frequently people ask me what I would do different if I could redo my 71 years of ministry. My reply ” It would be more about JESUS.
Blessings,
Bill Vaughan

]]> By: wtmcalilly https://bishopbillmcalilly.com/2014/01/14/report-of-the-the-nashville-area-strategy-mapping-team/#comment-1951 Thu, 16 Jan 2014 04:41:21 +0000 http://bishopbillmcalilly.com/?p=947#comment-1951 In reply to Randy Neal.

Thanks for your comment, Randy.

In many ways you are absolutely right. Anyone could have, in a room alone, written this statement. As Bishop, I could have said, “this is our mission, vision, and value statement.” If I had, no one would have been on board and no one would have been willing to buy into the deep change required of us all.

I remember something Gil Rendle said last summer. “We don’t have much time so go slow.”

We are turning an ocean liner not a jet ski. I pray that we will not see this as just a pretty statement but rather a playbook that guides our priorities and ultimately our future.

Frankly, we already know more than we are willing to do. And in a perfect world, we would not need a statement. The Bible already has given us a playbook. Some of us have not been in love with Jesus enough to run all the plays.

Hopefully, the work we are doing will allow us to catch a greater vision for God’s preferred future.

Peace,
Bill

]]> By: Randy Neal https://bishopbillmcalilly.com/2014/01/14/report-of-the-the-nashville-area-strategy-mapping-team/#comment-1949 Wed, 15 Jan 2014 12:25:21 +0000 http://bishopbillmcalilly.com/?p=947#comment-1949 Looks good. Sounds good. But it took a “team” to come up with this? And several months? It appears to me to be another predictable “Church” answer. I know of no one that could possibly disagree with any word of it.

“We will change whatever we need to within our structure and ourselves, holding nothing sacred but the mission”

I so long to see this. But although mankind has been to the moon, can birth a baby in nine
months, and lives a life of “I want it all and I want it now,” I somehow am not sure many of our leaders have the “want to” or feels any urgency to make changes. We plan and act as if we had all the time in the world.

Maybe we can begin after AC next summer. (Sorry for the rant.) I’m not angry–just tired.

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