Local church connection and district:
Woodlake UMC; Three Notch’d District
(I work for the Conference Office — this is the church myself and my family attend)
Guiding scripture leading into General Conference:
1 Corinthians 12:31 — “Strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.”
Favorite paragraph of the Book of Discipline (we all have one, right?):
Paragraph 120, but specifically the second sentence: “Local churches and extension ministries of the Church provide the most significant arenas through which disciple-making occurs.” A close runner-up is Paragraph 132, “The Journey of a Connectional People”.
A brief statement on your call to serve as a delegate:
In 2006, while attending Exploration (an event for UMC young adults discerning a call to ministry), I heard the voice of God speak to my soul a simple sentence: “I’m calling you to this church, I’m not calling you to keep it the same.” I’ve availed myself to the work of a General Conference delegate in the hopes that this can be a step toward the Spirit-driven transformation the church and world so desperately need.
Specific prayer request(s) for the work ahead:
That the voice of God would be clear; that the posture of the work and the workers would be one of grace; that at the end we would believe that surely the presence of God has been in this place and amongst these people.