Bishop McKee: Your Love For The Church Continues To Inspire Me

Bishop McKee at the North Central District Meeting at Grace Avenue UMC.

The NTC leader appreciates your questions at meetings and encourages you to keep asking them

Throughout the month of April, I had the privilege of meeting with clergy and laity from each of the four districts in the North Texas Conference. Following the latest General Conference postponement and the Global Methodist Church’s launch, I knew that visiting each of you in your own backyards was important. And now – six meetings and hundreds of miles later – I am so glad for our time together.

It was helpful to hear your questions firsthand and address so many of them when we met. Your questions so clearly reflected your passion and your love for the church – for its theology, its relevance in your lives, its impact in your communities and its prophetic voice in the world. Your questions stem from a desire to protect and care for the church that has formed our faith in Christ and continues to sustain us in our daily lives. I don’t take these questions or conversations lightly; your love for the church is too important and continues to inspire me and renew my faith.

I was moved by the powerful testimonies of clergy and lay leaders from each of your communities: Rev. Chad Johnson describing how The United Methodist Church has shown up ready to serve in the wake of the tornado that swept through Jack County; Rev. Dr. Ron Henderson boldly celebrating the diversity of perspectives and experiences that bring so much strength and vitality to our witness; Kim Brannon so powerfully describing our Wesleyan heritage and the challenge to be the church that invites all into relationship with Jesus Christ.

It also was so important to clarify what is and is not happening in our conference regarding churches separating from The United Methodist Church. Misinformation and bad assumptions can breed suspicion and anxiety in our churches, where the church should be one body. I hope you will continue to bring any questions or points of clarification you may have to your district superintendent or conference staff so that we can address them transparently. You can count on the North Texas Conference to continue providing timely, accurate information and correcting any misinformation along the way.

And finally, I am glad to be in community with you. I appreciate the distinct gifts you bring to our connection, and I know there is room in The United Methodist Church for all of us to continue worshiping, serving and being in fellowship together. Thank you for your continued faithfulness and service in your contexts all across North Texas and beyond. Let us continue to live out our mission and be the church that Christ has called us to be in our communities and around the world.

Published: Wednesday, May 4, 2022