Grace to Goodland – 4 of 6

November 11, 2008

As I continue this back and forth engagement with my hopes and griefs, I turn today to name a grief of mine as we leave Olathe.  It is really tied to the blessing that Shelly and I have connected well with a group of younger united methodist clergy in the KC Metro area.  Across the denomination the number of younger clergy is very low, about 4.5% of all elders, yet in the KC Metro area there is a higher concentration of us.  Shelly and I have been able to share meals, travel to local clergy and church events, travel to the Holy Land, and really connect with our peers in ministry in this area.  Thus I am grieving that we will soon be further from them.

One of our friends offered a rebuttal that even though we will live across the state from each other, that doesn’t mean we cannot be connected.  Most of us subscribe to one another’s blogs.  Most of us are on Facebook and are friends with each other.  Technology today allows people to be connected in new ways, not possible before.  Plus we will still be able to reunite at annual meetings – either KS area professional seminar or annual conference! 

Finally, this new opportunity will allow Shelly and I to connect with and support the more scattered younger clergy in Kansas West.  We may have further to travel, but there is great potential to be bound together for life and ministry! 

Thanks to the many people who have supported, loved, challenged, and called us to greater depth in faith and greater heights in vision!

Posted in Church Leadership, Clergy Couples, Family, Kansas, Ministry, Theology, Young Clergy | 1 Comment »

Grace to Goodland – 3 of 6

November 10, 2008

I am excited to have the opportunity to lead the Goodland congregation into God’s vision for us. I enjoy thinking and visioning about what opportunities of discipleship and ministry are possible, and then to equip, encourage, and lead the congregation into that preferred future. The ministry of vitalizing local churches has at its heart going deeper and going out – going deeper in our relationship with God, and going out to engage the community and invite others into relationship with God and being disciples of Jesus Christ. From the learning I have gained at Grace and especially through the Lewis Fellows (via the Lewis Center for Church Leadership) I hope to help the congregation name and claim a vision for their lives and ministry to both make disciples and transform the world!

Posted in Church Leadership, Family, Kansas, Ministry, Theology | Leave a Comment »

Grace to Goodland – 2 of 6

November 7, 2008

One of the aspects of Grace that I am grieving and will miss in this transition is found in two parts:

  1. the powerful ministry of the Center of Grace, and
  2. the preaching and worship leading of Rev. Nanette Roberts (see her blog or via Grace website)!

The Center of Grace, where Shelly has been the director for these 2.5 years, is so cool! From 1959 until 1999 it was the facility for the congregation. When Grace moved to the Ridgeview campus, and when suitable buyers were not located, we discerned that God had something even great in play. It was then that it became the Center of Grace, offering mission and outreach opportunities to the Olathe (and southern Johnson County). This Center provides opportunities for service and justice like I have not encountered or witnessed elsewhere (except for the United Methodist Frankford Group Ministries in Northeast Philadelphia). Thank you to Grace and God for having vision of servant leadership and taking risks on this Big Harry Audacious Goal!

Check out this video (via Google) about the Center of Grace!


Nanette is blessed with a love and great passion for preaching. She loves being in the mix of worship and especially the preaching moment, pulling together different images, concepts, and Scripture texts that speak truth to God’s work and presence in our lives and world. I have cherished being able to learn more about preaching, how to connect with people, hand ow to communicate better. It has also been good for me to be pushed to preach without a manuscript. I am one of those learners that needs to witness and experience another person with skills that I want to emulate, and thus it has been great to be here and learn from Nanette. I will miss her creativity and spontaneity! Thank you Nanette!

Posted in Church Leadership, Family, Kansas, Ministry | Leave a Comment »

Grace to Goodland – Reflection 1 of 6

November 6, 2008

One of my excitements about our new placement at Goodland UMC is its context. The community and congregation are more intimate than Grace in Olathe.  I look forward to getting to know and growing in relationship with the people of Goodland.  Simply the fact that Goodland is a smaller rural community affords the opportunity to have closer relationships with the people.  Two summers ago I noted to Shelly that it would be cool some day to serve in a community where I would be able to know so many more of the people, something not as possible in Olathe (population about 120,000).  We will be able to connect with schools, local government, employers, and other churches in a way that is not easy to do in a larger metro area.

At Grace I was blessed to connect with many people, however, given that we have five worship services, with approximately 1,600 different people who worship with us at least twice a month, it is more difficult to develop that same intimacy.  Both contexts have their blessings, and I look forward to the connections at Goodland!

How do you find ministry and life being different in smaller communities as with larger communities?  Do you think people’s personalities are geared to certain sizes more than others?

Posted in Church Leadership, Family, Kansas, Ministry | Leave a Comment »

Shaylin for President!

November 4, 2008

How cute is this?  Today is probably the only day I could invite you to consider this graphic as you go to the polls.  Please exercise your opportunity to Vote! 

Posted in Family, Kansas, Ministry | Leave a Comment »

Grace to Goodland – Reflections on Our Transition

November 3, 2008

I have learned that part of my grief work happens as I name excitement and hopes as well as sadness and loss.  I was able to preach this past Sunday, All Saints Sunday (link to sermon), and voiced the change and transition for Shelly, Shaylin, and I from Grace to Goodland. 

In reflection I have decided to make six posts – three naming aspects of our new placement that excite me, and three naming the loss and grief of leaving Grace.  I hope that this will be a healthy means for me to celebrate the ways we have been blessed at Grace and to anticipate how I hope Goodland will also be a time of blessing. 

What do you do to make healthy transitions?  What ways of ending and beginning bring healing to your change?

Posted in Church Leadership, Family, Kansas, Ministry | Leave a Comment »

Kansas East Elisha Network (KEEN)

October 30, 2008

I joined a facebook group recently – KEEN (Kansas East Elisha Network).  The facilitator, Jan Todd, offered the following question.  My thoughts and reflections are below. 

Jan’s Question:
I did this excercise with my Pleasant Hill (I actually had them hold magic wands – Harry Potter’s made a whoosh sound – most loved that!) Anyway – if we want things to change – we need to know what is in your hearts and in your minds. What picture would you like to draw forth and into reality?

So the question is: If you had a magic wand that could guarentee sucess of what you asked for – what three things would you change about the Kansas East Conference? Furthermore – how do you think this task would be accomplished WITHOUT the magic wand?

Dustin’s Reflections:
I write knowing that I am moving to KS West, but still see myself as a Kansas clergy – East or West (maybe someday Kansas Conf.):

  1. Like Mitch and Stephanie – strategic appointments, but even more than that, I think strategic use of resources (training, $, facilities, etc.) to make manifest the kingdom in areas of focus.
  2. See ministry not as a bunch of individuals or even individual churches doing their own thing, but seeing us as really connected.  Thus we would need to find authentic healing, collective vision, and find ways to join in ministry for a broader scope of ministry.  This would mean giving up old standards of power and dividing lines.  It might mean changing the expression of our polity to redefine “local church”.  It would be similiar to what is happening with KCK churches – but for whole metro areas or regions, if not also the state.
  3. Finally, I see us focusing on going deeper in our spirituality, in our willingness to risk ourselves for participating in a just community, and maturing in our emotional being (see Friedman’s The Failure of Nerve).  This hard work is the most viable solution for long-term transformation of ourselves, the church, and the world. 

Let the Spirit (in the manner of a wand) whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! 

Your Turn! 
What are your thoughts on my three wishes?  What would you want to change?

Posted in Church Leadership, Kansas, Kansas East Conference, Ministry | Leave a Comment »

Shelly graduates from Drew

October 28, 2008

This past Friday, the 24th of October, Shelly was awarded the degree of Doctor of Ministry from Drew University in Madison, NJ.  We flew to New York City with family on Thursday so that we could attend the graduation and reception.  On Saturday we returned to Kansas. 

Shelly’s focus (the track she was in) was Worship, Spirituality, and Preaching.  She engaged the spiritual disciplines, especially how we might connect with God through the use of a labyrinth; one was erected at Grace as part of the project.  The thesis paper was called: “Walking the Labyrinth of Our Faith: From the Frontier to the Future.” 

Here are a few pictures of the graduation!

Posted in Church Leadership, Family, Kansas, Theology | 1 Comment »

Lewis Fellows in Kansas City

October 28, 2008

Last week I was with the Lewis Fellows for our October meeting here in Kansas City.  Our focus for this session was that of engaging context and the different ministries that are shaped by our context.  We visited five ministries sites in the metro area, talked with leaders in those places, and also learned tools to strengthen our spiritual health and church finances. 

On the 21st we visited The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection and spent time visiting with Adam Hamilton (after reading his book, Leading Beyond the Walls, in preparation).  We also shared time visiting Jacob’s Well and talking with Tim Keel (after reading his book, Intuitive Leadership, in preparation). 

On the 22nd we then visited Revolution Church, including their Neighbor to Neighbor program of developing community and sustaining new hope for the disenfranchised of that area.  We then visited Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church, talking about their current ministry and need for transformation within that community.  Finally, we visited the Center of Grace Mission and Outreach Center of Grace United Methodist Church!  It was really cool to share with my peers the ministry we are engaging via the Center! 

Check out my flickr photostream for pics. Here is one of them!

Posted in Church Leadership, Ministry, Theology, Young Clergy | Leave a Comment »

Grace’s New Website

October 23, 2008

It is here!  What do you think?

There are still more things that we hope will be included and available through the website, but they are not yet functional.  It has been a joy to work on this project!

Thanks for offering your reflections.  Thanks!

Posted in Church Leadership, Ministry | Leave a Comment »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.