Online Archives

BY JOHN COLEMAN
Special to the UMConnection

When he became the Baltimore-Washington Conference?s Director of Congregational Development in July, the Rev. Rodney T. Smothers picked up almost seamlessly where his predecessor, the Rev. Edwin C. DeLong, left off. Among other duties, that meant conferring with local church leaders about their ministry plans and challenges, and resourcing the Academy for Initiative Leaders and other mentoring and training activities.

But the future beckons as the Discipleship Adventure initiative takes shape, and Smothers, who previously chaired the Board of Congregational Life (BCL), is looking at ways to broaden the impact and effectiveness of his office, as part of the conference Discipleship development team.

'This is a time for revolution, when we help people move from leading by permission to leading for transformation, so that they do things in a completely different way,' said Smothers, a Washington, D.C., native, who grew up attending A. P. Shaw UMC. 'The Discipleship Adventure will literally transform a new generation of believers to do ministry with innovation, new insights and an instinct for recognizing and pursuing opportunities in their midst.'

Developing more multi-site and multicultural ministries are two examples of where Smothers sees churches moving in the future. Formerly the senior pastor of multicultural First UMC in Hyattsville, he taught strategies for developing such ministries in a recent session of the Academy.

'The people we?re going to grow with are not already in our churches,' he told attendees, urging them to develop ministries in unlikely places and to seek and welcome diversity in their congregations. 'Our goal is to get everyone into the kingdom.'

Likewise, Smothers expects the Academy, clergy incubator groups, coaching and other BCL training and mentoring opportunities to expand in 2006 beyond the current list of Initiative and Equitable Compensation churches and to benefit more congregations.

Smothers himself has taught and mentored pastors, drawing upon years of experience in developing and redeveloping congregations. He successfully planted two new churches that continue to grow, Covenant Point UMC in Waldorf and Hoosier Memorial UMC in Atlanta, Ga. The latter endeavor was his first full-time appointment after completing seminary in 1982.

After a stint as Director of Evangelism and Revitalization for the General Board of Discipleship in 1986-1988, Smothers returned to Atlanta where he revitalized and expanded two declining congregations in that area. Meanwhile, he taught church administration, Christian education and worship as an adjunct professor at Gammon Theological Seminary. He returned home to the Baltimore-Washington Conference in 2000.

'God has blessed my ministry exceptionally with great mentors who touched my life and encouraged me; so that is part of my DNA,' said Smothers. 'I just want to pass that gift on to others. Developing leaders: that?s my passion.'