News and Information

What Does Groundhog Day Have to do With Christianity?

by Vance Morton*   On Feb. 2, while many Americans “celebrate” Groundhog Day, most of them will most-likely being doing so without recognizing the (somewhat loose) connection that the holiday has with Christianity. What is this connection? Well I’m so glad you asked, otherwise the 45 minutes I spent Googling this up would have been wasted. In Luke 2:22-23, Joseph and Mary take Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord and also to give a purification...

Remember the Future: 30 Days of Preparation on the Key Issues Facing General Conference 2012

by Vance Morton*   As our Central Texas Conference lay and clergy delegates work to prepare their hearts, minds and souls to serve as our representatives to General Conference in a few short weeks (April 24 – May 4), the other 166,000**-or-so members of the conference are asked to support them with prayers that the delegation(s) can enter into a true spirit of Holy Conferencing when discussing and debating the issues at hand and are able to focus on our mission of making disciples...

Why Start New Churches?

by Rev. Gary Lindley*   Starting new churches embodies the Great Commission of Jesus to take his message to all people. New church starts serve as mission stations for the Kingdom of God. Established churches play a vital role in fulfilling this call, but new church starts reach new people in ways established churches may not.   Studies show that churches established at least 10 to 15 years earlier gain 80 to 90 percent of new members through transfers from other churches and...

A Prelude to Powerful Possibilities

Members of the Central Texas General Conference Delegation Join in Pre-General Conference News and Issues Briefing Event.   by Vance Morton*   For the better part of three days last week (a mere fraction of the time to be spent in April and May) the clergy and lay leaders of the Central Texas Conference General & Jurisdictional Conference Delegation (Dr. Mike McKee and Tom Harkrider) along with an increasingly humbled director of Communications (yours truly) immersed...

Celebrating Some Buildings for the Kingdom in Central Texas

by Rev. Dawne Phillips*   It was a bright and sunny day in many ways earlier this month as FUMC Grapevine dedicated the GO Center at its Heritage Campus. (Just check out that bright blue Texas winter sky in the ribbon cutting photo below left.) The GO Center is a collaborative effort between FUMC Grapevine, the Grapevine/Colleyville ISD and Tarrant Area Community of Churches with the goal of providing after-school tutoring and mentoring to students in the surrounding schools.   The...

Central Texas Conference Meets Its Connectional Mission Giving Goals With Extravagant Generosity (Again!)

In his most recent "This Focused Center" blog post, Bishop Lowry announced that the members of the Central Texas Conference have paid 100 percent of our Connectional Mission Giving commitment to the General Church. The churches of the CTC gave $10.6 million towards our Connectional Mission Giving (aka: apportionment) goal in 2011. This generous giving combined with the deep budget savings realized by the changes occurring via the Exodus Project allowed us to meet our 2011...

The Vienna Boys Choir Comes to Central Texas Feb. 5

The world-renowned Vienna Boys Choir is coming to the Central Texas Conference on Sunday, Feb. 5. The boys will perform at 3 p.m.  in the beautiful sanctuary of Austin Avenue United Methodist Church in Waco. Tickets are $35 for premium seating, $25 for adults and $10 for students and can be purchased at www.austinavenueumc.org, at the door, or in person during business hours at the church, which is located at 1300 Austin Avenue, Waco, Texas. And for those of you who still care about that...

Connectional Table Meets to Listen, Learn & Coordinate Information

by Vance Morton*   Members of the Central Texas Conference Connectional Table gathered for the first time as an official conference organization Tuesday evening, Jan. 10, to listen to and learn from each other as well as begin to coordinate information and serve as one of many informational feedback loops throughout the conference.   The Connectional Table is a collective that was brought to being via the Exodus Project and is a place designed to make sure that the ministries and...

Ezra Does It - Helping Make Church Check Out Easy as Pie

by Vance Morton* and United Methodist Communications   Many United Methodists know one of the church’s seven apportioned funds – the General Administration Fund – pays for the basic costs of General Conference as well as other administrative activities. What they probably don’t know is it also covers a new interactive database that will save annual conferences, like the Central Texas Conference, from some administrative headaches and make everyone’s job a...

Discovering an American Saint - Bishop Francis Asbury

by Vance Morton*   Recently, through a set of strange circumstances and occurrences (the type that have routinely set the course of my life), I have become enamored by the life, times and work of Bishop Francis Asbury. In my search for information about him I have stumbled across many good information resources. Chief among them is the latest work on Bishop Asbury – “American Saint: Francis Asbury and the Methodists” by John H. Wigger. According to Bishop Lowry, this is...

New Songs and Hymns for Renewal: A Competition

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Ths Spirit of Christmas is Alive and Well and Sweeping Across the U.S. in a Unique Way

The spirit of Christmas is sweeping across the country and it is a story worth telling. In the spirit of the season, “Secret Santas” have been going to K-Marts and some other discount outlets and paying off other people’s layaway bills for Christmas presents. While you could Google up “Layaway Santa” and get a hundred stories like the one below happening from sea to shining sea, this one from the Associated Press was the first and favorite one to come across the...

Korean-American Bishops Urge Peace and Harmony in Korea Following Death of Kim Jong Il

The United Methodist Church’s two Korean-American bishops urge prayers for peace and harmony for the Korean people in the wake of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Il’s death. “For the people who yearn for positive change in the Korean peninsula, this could be a time to be cautiously optimistic for better relations between South Korea and North Korea as well as between North Korea and the rest of the world,” New York Area Bishop Jeremiah J. Park wrote in a...

Christmas Ranks as Most Important American Holiday

UMCom Survey Shows Top Christmas Activities Center Around Connecting With One Another   Americans believe Christmas is the most important holiday, followed by Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Easter, according to a new holiday survey commissioned by United Methodist Communications. That’s not all the 2011 American Holiday Study reveals. The top Christmas activities revolve around meals, gifts, decorations and parties. Ninety-four percent of us will share a meal, 76 percent...

Human Relations Day is January 15

Human Relations Day is just around the corner. You can still order your free offering resources from United Methodist Communications for this Jan. 15 offering that supports ministries that advocate for those often on the margins of society. UMComms has also produced a series of videos to help you promote and generate interest in this Special Sunday offering. There are four videos available for your review and/or download below. “Hagar’s House,” “Center for Changing...

Thank You for Your Faithfulness

A Salute to the 134 Churches That Have Already Paid 100 Percent of Their Connectional Partnership Share   by Randy Wild* CONGRATULATIONS!!! With the excitement surrounding the implementation of the Exodus Project, we have seen within the Central Texas Conference a new hope, a new vision and a new enthusiasm. That excitement about ministry is contagious. It is with pleasure that I report that as of Dec. 8, we have already had 134 of our 305 conference churches remit 100 percent of...

United Methodists Rank Highest in 2011 Favorability Survey

A UMNS Report – by Joey Butler*   United Methodists rank highest in favorability among five different faith groups in a new survey conducted by the Southern Baptist Convention’s research arm.   The research shows United Methodists are held in more favorable regard by the U.S. public than Catholics, Southern Baptists, Mormons or Muslims, according to LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.   “(United) Methodists are well liked...

Dr. Michael McKee Unanimously Endorsed as the Central Texas Conference Candidate for the Episcopacy

After a process of discernment and prayer, the Central Texas Conference delegations to both the 2012 General and South Central Jurisdictional Conferences have unanimously and enthusiastically endorsed Dr. Michael McKee, senior pastor, First United Methodist Church of Hurst, as the conference’s candidate for the episcopacy. Dr. McKee, or "Mike" as he is known throughout the Central Texas Conference (CTC), has provided exceptional leadership at all levels of the connection. A...

Who is St. Nicholas and How Did He Become Santa Claus?

St. Nicholas Artist: Susan Seals All rights reserved Have you ever wondered or maybe your kids or children in your church have asked you where Santa Claus comes from and why his is sometimes called St. Nicholas? In his Dec. 9 This Focused Center blog post, Bishop Lowry touched on the St. Nick part, which caused us to dig a little deeper into the St. Nicholas/Santa Claus connection. Here's what we...

General Conference Rule Changes Proposed

The Rules Committee of the Commission on the General Conference has announced their recommendations for changes to the Plan of Organization and Rules of Order which provides the governance structure for the 2012 General Conference. The changes will be presented to delegates for consideration at the opening session. "Our goal was to create a hospitable environment and an efficient structure for all delegates," said Judi Kenaston, committee chair. "Some of the significant...