Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century to offer wide range of trainings during 2012

North Alabama Conference's Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century (SCB21) team historically has offered a training event in January each year. This year the SBC21 team announces they are taking a different approach to challenge and equip North Alabama’s African-American Churches. There will be a wide range of training offered throughout 2012 varying from one-day workshops to traveling to sites designated by the national SBC21. North Alabama SBC21 Convener Pastor Marcus J....

Pastors and congregations prepare for new appointments through First 90 Days trainings

In mid-June United Methodist clergy in North Alabama will begin their new appointments. For many of them this new appointment will be with a new congregation. In an effort to make clergy transitions more successful for both clergy and local congregations, the North Alabama Conference offers training and resources for clergy who are moving and the congregations who will receive them. This training is called The First 90 Days. It first began in the North Alabama Conference in 2006. On May 10,...

Cabinet explains clergy appointment process

This week the Appointive Cabinet of the North Alabama Conference is in session. The main focus of their meeting will be determining clergy appointments for North Alabama Conference congregations. However, the process of determining clergy appointments stretches beyond Cabinet Meetings. In the video below District Superintendent of the Northeast District Rev. Dale Cohen and Associate District Superintendent of the Northeast District Rev. Sherill Clontz, explain the multifaceted process of how...

Bishop invites United Methodists to April 6 Leadership Summit

On April 6, 2011, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. there will be a "Leadership Summit" sponsored by the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church. The summit will be webcast from Nashville and will feature feedback by email from viewers around the Connection. Bishop Will Willimon says, "This webcast is an initiative by the Council of Bishops to develop transformative leadership in our church. While a number of our Districts will be gathering to view this webcast, I would like...

General Board of Discipleship offers free online webinars to help local church leadership

NASHVILLE, Tenn.  – The General Board of Discipleship’s series of free online training sessions for local church leaders continues in February with a webinar about issues that face church council members. The live event, “Leading the Church Council: Administration IS Ministry,” will begin at 6:30 p.m. CST on Feb. 24, hosted by Betsey Heavner, GBOD’s Director of Congregational Renewal. “This webinar will address the challenge church leaders face when...

Gadsden First UMC's VERGE event helps congregation's leaders prepare to "keep up with God"

from the Mountain Lakes District News January 2011 reposted with permission If there is one thing you can say about the God we serve, it is that God is always on the move! If you want to keep up with God, you have to be willing to put on your track shoes! God is constantly moving, constantly changing, constantly doing new things. Our problem is that we like to stop and “sit a spell!” We are more comfortable with things as they are. We don’t like change very much, and resist...

Clergy and lay delegates to General and Jurisdictional Conference 2012 to be elected at Annual Conference 2011

The 2012 General Conference, the top policy-making body of the United Methodist Church and the only official “voice” for the denomination, will meet in Tampa on April 24-May 2, 2012. The 2012 General Conference will consist of nearly 1000 delegates from all over the world who will vote on petitions and resolutions and revise the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church. Each annual conference is allotted an equal number of lay and clergy delegates to General Conference...

Committee on Episcopacy seeks input for January meeting

Greetings from the North Alabama Conference Committee on Episcopacy. It is hard to believe we are in the seventh year of Bishop Willimon’s eight years with us. Even as we continue to serve faithfully with our Bishop’s strong leadership, in good Wesleyan fashion, we are planning ahead. We know we will be receiving a new bishop in 2012 and it is very important that we prayerfully access the needs of our conference as well as the opportunities for continued growth in disciple making...

GBHEM Announces Online Consortium with 13 UM Theological Schools

The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of The United Methodist Church is pleased to introduce an Online Continuing Education Consortium in collaboration with the 13 United Methodist Theological Schools. United Methodist theological schools are offering 11 online continuing education classes for clergy and laity beginning fall semester of 2010. The vision of the consortium is to provide theologically sound, financially affordable, and easily accessible continuing education programs...

Program helps ministers settle into new assignments

The following article is re-posted with permission of The Anniston Star. by Laura Tutor Special to The Anniston Star Jul 31, 2010 In his first month as senior pastor at Anniston's First United Methodist Church, the Rev. Bill Brown has learned a few things they don't cover in seminary. The second time around at a church is more intimidating than the first. The congregation might not recognize the unofficial "honeymoon" period that United Methodist churches observe during the...

Local Pastors attend summer courses at Emory Course of Study

From July 8 to August 6, 2010, several North Alabama Conference Local Pastors attended summer Course of Study classes at Emory University in Atlanta. The Course of Study School educates and trains local pastors in The United Methodist Church. To be admitted, students must be certified candidates for ordained ministry, have completed the requirements for license as a local pastor, have been tested in language skills proficiency through a process determined by the annual conference, and received...

North Alabama leaders learn to help church and family work together at Orange Conference

On April 28-30, 2010, children's coordinators, senior pastors and other church leaders from North Alabama joined others from across the country at The Orange Conference in Atlanta. The focus of the Conference was on how the church and family can work together. The Conference featured a variety of speakers including author Donald Miller; Rev Run of the rap group Run-D.M.C; author of Think Orange: Imagine the Impact When Church and Family Collid Reggie Joiner; lead pastor of National Community...

Video conversation helps churches better understand clergy benefits

The United Methodist Church has three mandatory benefits programs for its clergy in the United States – health insurance, pension and disability. One program which often causes confusion among local churches is clergy pension. So recently, Bishop Will Willimon and North Alabama Conference Treasurer Scott Selman sat down to discuss this topic. A video of this conversation is below. One thing that makes this an important issue for local churches today is that beginning in 2007 clergy...

The North Alabama Conference celebrates African Connection

The North Alabama Conference has a long history of love for and work in churches in Africa. Bishop Willimon says, “We have been part of one of the areas of fastest church growth in the world and Africa has been good to the United Methodists in Alabama.” The late Mildred Taylor, a missionary from North Alabama serving in Africa, helped lead Dr. Thomas Muhomba’s mother to Christ. Now Thomas has come to North Alabama from Zimbabwe to lead our Conference Ethnic and Multicultural...

North Alabama pastor finds calling in coaching

by Tim Ghianni, United Methodist General Board of Discipleship This article first appeared in Newscope, a weekly e-newsletter for United Methodist leaders, Vol. 38, Issue 4 / January 27, 2010. Morie Adams-Griffin, 34, finds much joy as pastor of Living Waters UMC in Belgrade, Montana. But he knew he needed the kind of help offered at the inaugural Path1 Coaching Forum. He not only attended that three days of training and fellowship, he became what New Church Strategist Gary Shockley calls...

Scholarship event planned for aspiring seminary students

Emory University's Candler School of Theology is helping make theological education affordable for the next generation of Christian leaders by hosting a special scholarship event Feb. 28-March 2, 2010. Leadership Candler will bring together a distinguished group of prospective Master of Divinity students from across the country and the world. The three-day event includes interviews with scholarship committees, visits to classes and conversations with Candler's faculty. Leadership Candler also...

Conference announces new provider of demographic information for local congregations

North Alabama Conference Director of Congregational Development Dr. Tommy Gray announces that MissionInsite is the new provider of demographic information for the North Alabama Conference. “We are moving from Percept to MissionInsite as our provider of demographic information,” Rev. Gray explains. “MissionInsite has more tools to help local congregations not only learn the demographics of their community, but to see and plan ministry opportunities within their...

A Celebration of Theological Pursuit

by Rev. Dr. Kip Laxson District Superintendent Southwest District The United Methodist Church places a high premium on educating the clergy.  John Wesley, the father of the Methodist movement, a graduate no less from Oxford University, clearly believed that appropriate theological training is a must for effective ministry.   Every candidate for ordained ministry in The United Methodist Church must have completed a Master of Divinity degree from an accredited seminary or...

New Class of Residents in Ministry gather for RIM Retreat

Last week 16 of our newest pastors gave up trips to the beach, family time and packing to come together at Camp Sumatanga for a 5 day Residents in Ministry or RIM retreat. They were led by various pastors in the North Alabama Conference in such subjects as Ministry by Strengths, Vision and Courage, Self-Care and Family Systems Theory.  However, the central feature of the retreat was forming Covenant Groups which will be the anchor for their budding ministries. "We can always read...

Trinity UMC, Tuscaloosa, highlights the role of women in ministry during Holy Week

In the biblical accounts of Jesus resurrection, each gospel writer mentions women being some of the first to witness and to spread the good news. This year, Trinity UMC in Tuscaloosa hosted their first-ever Lenten series highlighting/celebrating the role of women in ministry.  Rev. Wade Griffith explained, “We will only have women preachers speak as part of this worship series.” Those holy week preachers included Rev. Sherill Clontz, Senior Pastor of New Life UMC; ...