| The miracle of connectional stewardship Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. 1 Peter 4:10 (NRSV) Connectional stewardship. I coined that phrase several years ago while working as a consultant for the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries. I was helping several of the boards units interpret and promote programs and initiatives that depended on church support through apportioned giving, special offerings, designated gifts through the Advance and foundation investments. I may not be the only would-be wordsmith to think of the term, but if anyone else has, they most likely were engaged in some interconnected, interdependent ministry of this denomination. One can see our connectionalism in the vast work and witness of our general boards and agencies. Out of their fall meetings these groups will bring plans, budgets and resolutions for approval to the 2004 General Conference, a quadrennial event where connectional stewardship really happens or at least, we try to ensure that it does. Bishop Felton Edwin May calls that event an indoor picnic because often its focus on arguably minor issues can seem like much ado about little or nothing, while life-and-death concerns that cry out for attention are neglected. Still, General Conference is where we care for the important affairs of this arm of the body of Christ. We flex the arms aging muscles and wince at the elbows tendonitis. Yet, gallantly, we stretch out its fingers trying to touch a hurting world and grasp a sense of our own purpose and future. Several thousand United Methodists from around the world will convene in Pittsburgh, Pa., next April. They will bring their diverse experiences and perspectives to the common table to create legislation and fund ministries that they hope will witness to Jesus gospel and Great Commission. Whatever the outcome, it will no doubt be one impressive picnic. This week another global, connectional body is meeting in our midst. The Council of Bishops is determining what it will say to the church next April and how its members should lead their people into a new quadrennium of challenge and promise. Among many concerns, the bishops are wrestling with the awful prevalence of children suffering amid poverty and violence. They also are leading the development of a holistic denominational strategy for addressing Africas pandemic of social and economic crises, most notably AIDS, poverty, illiteracy and civil strife. After the council adjourns, the Ebony Bishops, a group of African-American episcopal leaders, will convene a summit with church leaders from across the nation to discuss and plan steps for healing and reinvigorating the black church and its ministry in black communities. Ah, yes. Caring for and challenging the body of Christ: that is connectional stewardship. It is important to remember, however, that while denominational councils, caucuses, boards and commissions may offer the most visible evidence of the connection at work, it is at the conference and congregational level where the connection really lives, moves and has its being. Nearly three dozen Frederick District churches so far have expressed interest in conducting the Funding Future Ministry Capital Campaign, a conference initiative. The campaign will support expansion of camping and retreat centers and new church development, along with district and local church needs. More districts will follow next year. These visionary, faithful saints recognize the irrefutable evidence that new churches and faith communities and growing outdoor ministry centers are places where evangelism comes alive, as people encounter one another and come to know Christ in miraculous ways. Meanwhile, donors and volunteers are responding to appeals for help in the wake of Tropical Storm Isabel. And laity and clergy are signing up for the School of Evangelism, to be held Nov. 22 at Good Shepherd UMC in Waldorf. Last years school was a feast of jubilant worship and informative workshops that shared the diverse evangelism insights and experiences of growing churches. To see people participate in major district and conference events and initiatives is inspiring to me. While General Conference may be the ultimate United Methodist experience scheduled for 2004, what I look forward to are conference events, including Leadership Days and ROCK in January, FaithFest in February, the Igniting Ministry Second-Step training in March and the mass confirmation ceremony that will climax Annual Conference in May. Active, spirit-led congregations are like pearls, each beautiful in and of itself. But these events and the broader ministries and mission opportunities offered by the conference and the general church, and funded by apportioned giving and benevolences, are the strands that connect those pearls together. The result is a stunning necklace that gives its precious gems an enhanced, multiplied form and function. Thats the beauty of The United Methodist Church and the miracle of connectional stewardship. | 
Login/Register to leave comment