LAITY ADDRESS 2016 Arnold Rivera Conference Lay Leader June 7, 2016

LAITY ADDRESS 2016 Arnold Rivera Conference Lay Leader June 7, 2016 Good morning Bishop, and Northern Illinois. It is my honor and pleasure to be here today with you. In the letter of Paul to the Philippians, Chapter 4, verse 4, Paul writes, Rejoice in the Lord Always; And again I say, rejoice. I am indeed rejoicing today, and I give all the honor and glory to God. Over the last four years we ve celebrated the overall quadrennial theme, Who is my neighbor? and over the past two days we ve highlighted our Annual Conference theme of, Walk by Faith.. So in the time that I have, I would like to share some thoughts on what I believe we need to do as we continue to walk together on this journey, and how we have in part, laid the framework for this to happen through the work of the important laity - clergy partnership in this conference. The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 1, verses 16 to 18, in speaking of Jesus, it says: Now as He walked by the sea of Galilee He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets and followed him. That s it. He told them, Follow me and they did. But in our times, reaching others for Christ isn t that simple, at least not for us. In reaching these two brothers, Jesus first had to be out and about. He wasn t just sitting in the temple. Next, scripture tells us that he saw them. We have to actually really see people, not just look in their direction. Not just glance at them, but really see them in other words, understand them. Know what they re going through. Jesus also saw what they were doing they were fishing for they were fishermen. So he not only saw them, but he saw what they did, how they were living. This allowed him to reach them in the place where they were, and to speak to them in a way that they understood. So he had to strike up a conversation with them. Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. They understood that. He had reached them, and they followed him. So first he had to be out and walking, next he had to see them, then he had to interact with them and finally he had to relate to them. If we want to make disciples we need to talk to people. We need to get to know them. We need to be able to relate to them. Most of the time, people are not just walking in from the streets into our churches, as they sometimes did in the past. We need to go out and get them. From May 7 through 9, I was in Portland with the Association of Annual Conference Lay Leaders and one of our presenters highlighted the importance of building relationships in order to grow the church. I think we can all agree, in light of the scripture, that this is key. Our entire denomination is trying to find ways to reach new people for Christ, so the way it has to be done is by talking to people one on one. By getting to know their names. By building a relationship. One of the ways we re going to do this is by sharing our stories. Yesterday on the way back to the megacenter, by the elevators, I ran into a young lady and I asked her if she enjoyed the bible study, and she said she really enjoyed it. She said that one of the bible study leaders, was one of her professors at Garrett. By the time we got from the elevators to the megacenter, she had told me how she had come from Pakistan and how she was a student, and she had told me her whole story. And that made me think about what I was going to talk about here. 1

Can you explain why you follow Christ? Do you know what you believe? Are you ready to share that with someone who s willing to listen, in a split second and engage them? Because if you re not, you will lose them. We have to be ready in season and out of season, as the Apostle Paul said. And as I thought about what I wanted to talk about today, I realized that it does really all boil down to relationships. During the eight years that I have served as Conference Lay Leader, I have seen that one of the most important things in reaching people for Christ is relationships. Relationships are crucial. The relationship between clergy persons and their churches. The relationship between Lay Leaders with their local churches and with their District Lay Leaders. The relationships between District Lay Leaders and their District Superintendents, and between the District Superintendents and the churches in their districts. Of course I could go on and on, as I m sure all of you could also do when you stop to think about the importance of relationships in the life of the church. But God s word reminds us of the importance of forming relationships with those who do not have the most important relationship in the world - the relationship that each and every one of us must have with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. That s the most important relationship that we have, and that should be the foundation on which all of our other relationships should be based. That should be what propels us to walk outside the temple, outside our churches, as Jesus did. Walk amongst those on the outside as Jesus walked. See and relate to others as Jesus did, and reach others who long for the peace that surpasses all understanding, and that is only found in Jesus Christ. When you have a relationship with Jesus, you will do things that you would not have done if you did not have faith. You will indeed walk by faith, not by sight. When you walk by faith you will plant a church where there are no churches, as we ve seen in our Conference. When you walk by faith you will hold a Laity Convocation in the dead of winter, hope someone shows up, and have almost 300 people come and hear about the importance of inner strength for greater outreach, as we saw this year during Inside Out the Laity Convocation of February 6 at Sycamore UMC. When you walk by faith you will have Lay Academies to train and instruct laity in how to be lay servants, and will have a great turn out in the districts. When you walk by faith you will stand up against human trafficking as our United Methodist Women have done. When you walk by faith you will bring the Word to those in prison, and bring comfort and strength to those in the military and to First Responders, as our United Methodist Men have done. When you walk by faith, you will begin a youth ministry when there are no youth in your church, as I was hearing about last night at the dinner for the Hispanic-Latino Caucus/National Hispanic Plan. When you walk by faith you will provide free legal services to undocumented workers in a society where some people fear and even hate immigrants and those different from them, as we ve seen JFON do because you will remember that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not yet seen, as it says in Hebrews 11:1. Sisters and Brothers, when you walk by faith, you will walk in unity, as it says in Ephesians 4:1-3. You will indeed walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the 2

bond of peace. You will be at peace with your sisters and brothers in Christ, regardless of your differences, and you will build relationships with those who do not know Christ. We on the Board of Laity have tried to be faithful to our calling. Over the course of the last eight years, I have witnessed the commitment of the laity in our conference. The Conference Board of Laity has worked to fulfill our obligations as set forth in the Discipline. We have been committed to promoting and participating in Laity Sunday, which is usually held on the third Sunday in October. So many of our churches recognize and celebrate the leadership of the laity, and the importance of the partnership between clergy and laity in our ministry. I believe that every single church in our conference should participate in celebrating the laity. In doing so they will not only recognize the service of the laity, but will also have the opportunity to reach friends and family of those being recognized during the celebration. As a result, Laity Sunday celebrations are transformed also into another form of evangelization, and relationship building. Over the last eight years, I have had the privilege to deliver the message in numerous churches throughout the Northern Illinois Conference, and to participate in Sunday School in numerous churches, including as a teacher. During these times, I have also had the blessing of seeing so many of our laity in leadership positions in those churches, and to observe the passion and fervor they had for their lay ministries. Many of these persons were trained in our excellent Lay Academies throughout the six districts of our Conference, so I would like to recognize so many of our clergy who work in partnership with the laity every day. And those of you who are laity trained in our Lay Academies, you should approach your clergy person and offer to serve in some capacity in which you can use your gifts and your training. Don t be fearful walk by faith! As a Board of Laity, we also have the opportunity to participate in the District Leadership training events. Our members have led workshops to teach local church Lay Leaders and Lay Members to Annual Conference about their roles. To be an effective leader, it is so important to understand your role or position. When clergy and their Lay Leaders in the local churches understand their roles and work together effectively, the churches are healthier and stronger. It is in the local church where disciples are made, where people s lives are changed and transformed. If we are to grow as a church, it is going to be in the local church. I remember being the local lay leader back 13 years ago, before I was a District Lay Leader, and I worked hand in hand with the pastors. That relationship was so important to the life and health of the church. Because of that relationship, we were able to develop new leaders. One of the highlights of each year for the Board of Laity is the Laity Convocation, which is also planned and implemented by the Conference Board of Laity. Over the years, we have had many excellent presentations, with keynote speakers which included our own Bishop Dyck, Bishop Jung, Bishop Hopkins, Bishop May, Bishop Schnase, Larry Holland, Rev. Elaine Heath, and just this year we had Ray Buckley. This event has always been well received and well attended, not only by laity but also by clergy. We have also touched on so many topics during the workshops at Laity Convocation with various themes including the Four Areas of Focus, the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, United Methodist Communication, Vital Congregations, The Wesley Way, and this year: Inside Out Inner Strength for Greater Outreach! In addition, the workshops at the Laity Convocation have been led in partnership by laity and clergy. Over just the last four years we ve had workshops on Domestic Violence, Homelessness, Immigration, Urban Strategy, Cultural Competency, Leadership Development, Children s Ministry, Small Group Ministry, Hunger Relief, Disaster Relief, and Spiritual Formation. All of these workshops have 3

addressed the issues in which we as a church need to be involved, and all of these workshops focused on asking the question, Who Is My Neighbor? And why do we want to know, Who Is My Neighbor? To build relationships with them. Why do we want to build relationships with them? So that they can have a relationship with Jesus Christ because you see, it all comes back to Jesus, just like that beautiful old Hymn that most of us know, Living for Jesus. Although every year the evaluations for this event are very positive, the evaluations for this year s Laity Convocation were especially positive, thanks to the presentation focusing on the inside the spirit, and that s because we all hunger for the power of the Holy Spirit. We all hunger to be closer to Jesus. Finally, the Board of Laity has had the privilege of preparing and leading the Laity Session at Annual conference very year. Over the years this has been a time of learning, sharing, talking, fellowship and worship a time to bond. We have done skits and we have celebrated our Methodist heritage. We have talked about different ministries, about reaching millennials and youth, and this year, about addiction an issue that continues to plague all communities throughout Northern Illinois. We have welcomed new people to the Board of Laity, and we have watched others from the Board say their farewells. Our Board has tried to meet the needs of our laity and the Conference. The Board of Laity is comprised of the Conference Lay Leader, the District Lay Leaders, the Presidents of United Methodist Women and United Methodist Men, the Director of Lay Servant Ministries, at-large members from each district, a staff member who is also clergy and on the cabinet, and a clergy representative. Because of its make-up, The Board of Laity has had the pulse of the laity. These people and the groups they represent are true advocates for the Laity. And we are looking to expand with the addition of co-conference lay leaders, and more co-lay leaders in the districts. I believe this will allow the Board of Laity to plan and implement regional trainings and workshops in order to reach the people in the local churches and in the pews. This could also strengthen the working relationships between the District Lay Leaders with the District Superintendents, and help lift the burden that the District Superintendent carry. As we move forward, I believe this Board will continue to play a vital role in the life and future of this Conference. Speaking of the future, we are at a crossroads. I say this, though, as a good place to be because: 1. We just came back from General Conference; 2. We ll be starting a new quadrennium; 3. We have come to terms with a new budget; and 4. The Landscape Assessment was done. As to General Conference, we heard from our delegation last night. Even though we were left with critical unresolved issues, and even though many people were not happy, we are still the United Methodist Church and our denomination with the leadership of the Council of Bishops continues to examine how to move forward together as a church, despite differing points of view. As to this being a new quadrennium, this means that we have new leadership on many Boards and Committees. This is a time to look at some of the things that we do with fresh eyes. We can evaluate what we do well, and work to make it better, while at the same time seeing what we don t do so well, and either improve, or eliminate some of those roles. So I would like to thank those who have faithfully completed their service on boards and committees, and also those who have decided to step up and serve. 4

For those of you who are still considering whether you will step up, you should know that it is never too late; even though Document 100 - which lists all the current and new members on our boards and committees is completed and will be voted upon, you can still: contact the Nominations Committee after Annual Conference to see where help is still needed, or you can contact your District Superintendent to lend a hand in your district, or you can speak to your local pastor to see how you can serve in your local church. Nobody with a heart for service, and who answers the call for service, will be turned away! As to the budget, we have to come to terms with our budget and the reality that we are not in the same position financially as we once were. That means that staffing is not the same, and may continue to change - that office space may not be the same, and may continue to change. We cannot continue doing the same things we ve done in the past. So these things will continue to be evaluated, and will have to be addressed in light of our new reality. Finally, we have the Landscape Assessment, and I m not going to go into it much because we had that excellent presentation about it yesterday, but as most of you know, this tool was used because we as a church wanted to know where we stood as a Conference. Not so much to compare ourselves with others, but to figure out where we stood in order to decide how to move forward. We learned that morale in our Conference was an issue. That many people, both lay and clergy, were on the fence about many issues, but that they were willing to follow the leader, the bishop. After engaging in the Landscape questionnaire, we held the Purpose Summit and then the Listening Sessions, and now we have passed legislation to commence a task force to restructure the organization of our church. This will give us an opportunity to work together as we move forward. So, as a result of the timing, we are at a critical juncture in the life of our Conference. I have a unique perspective about this juncture as a result of being the Conference Lay Leader, and therefore serving on various committees and boards. It s given me an opportunity to see things from many different perspectives. I serve on the Annual Conference Committee and I see how the budget affects all of the work that we do, and how that plays a large role in our planning. As a member of the Program Council, I ve seen again the impact of the budget as we have had to cut programming over the last couple of years, including creative ministry grants that affect the local churches. As a member of the Nominations Committee, where we add and remove people from boards and committees, we re able to see how effective they are through our liaison reports. As a member of the Episcopacy Committee, which is like your Pastor/Parish Committee, we review data to complete the Episcopal evaluation. That data includes surveys and questionnaires which many of you have completed. As a member of the Association of Annual Conference Lay Leaders, where Conference Lay Leaders from the entire denomination get together, I m able to see how other Conferences are facing and addressing some of the same challenges that we re facing. What I see as a result of all of this is the opportunity for us, as a Conference, to move forward; we have so many gifted and talented people, both laity and clergy, who are ready to do what it takes to help our Conference move forward to move forward in faith and in unity. I believe we have to focus on our local churches. We have to equip our leaders and deploy them to the districts and the local churches. We have to do more trainings regionally or by the districts. We need to emphasize the need for the clergy person in each church to meet with their lay leaders and clearly define their roles and evaluate the relationship between the parties. We need the District Lay Leaders to get out into the districts and meet with the lay leaders to strengthen their relationships. We need our District 5

Superintendents to work more closely with the District Lay Leaders in order to empower the Lay Leaders, which will in turn reduce the burden on the District Superintendents. All of these things will help us build up the connection in our Conference. We as United Methodists are a connectional people, and the connection is not working as well as it could be, but we re starting to see that change. We had an excellent opportunity to think about and discuss ways to improve that yesterday during one of our sessions. We need to put a greater emphasis on the power of prayer. Isaiah 40:31 says, But they who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. For the past two years, we have had a prayer chain in our church. Every Wednesday from nine to ten at night, we all pray for one hour together but everyone in their own home. And I can tell you from personal experience, that there is nothing as powerful and as beautiful as a family and a church praying together. We need to be committed more faithfully to a life of prayer where we pray that God s will be done. We need to put less emphasis on what we want, and focus on trying to discern what is God s will for us. We need to wait upon the Lord. Henry T. Blackaby, in his book on Spiritual Leadership, says, and I quote, If Christians around the world were to suddenly renounce their personal agendas, their life goals and their aspirations, and begin responding in radical obedience to everything God showed them, the world would be turned upside down. How do we know? Because that s what first century Christians did, and the world is still talking about it! Last, we need to embrace our reality. We need to seize the moment to truly partner to carry out the Lord s plan. You see, God has a plan, and His plan will come to fruition, with us, or in spite of us. We see that throughout the bible. Brothers and Sisters, the mission field is wide open. More than ever before, so many people have left the church and not just the United Methodist Church. People are out there looking for something. Well we are the Easter people. We have the power of the Holy Spirit. We recently celebrated Easter, and 50 days later Pentecost. We are filled with the Holy Spirit. We should be excited about the Gospel. We need to share and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ resurrected, with passion, not only from our pulpits, but through our relationship - building as we go out to make Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Finally Brothers and Sisters, I have a confession to make. For the past eight years I have been your Conference Lay Leader, but I have had a Conference Co - Lay Leader, and that s my wife. I want to thank her because without her I would not have been able to do any of this. It was with fear and trepidation that I accepted this position eight years ago, but I accepted it anyway, because I knew that I would have to walk by faith. And I knew that I could walk by faith because of the relationship that I had, and have, with Jesus Christ. I am not the same person that I was eight years ago, but I know that God is not finished with me, and he s not finished with the Northern Illinois Conference. I have been truly blessed, and I want to thank all of you with whom I ve served and worked during this time. To each and every one of you, God put you in my path to help me along the way, to teach me something, to encourage me or correct me but always to be a blessing to me. Thank you, thank you. To God be the Glory! 6