I have difficulty asking for help. I am one of those people who keep a stiff upper lip and plug along regardless of the heaviness of the load. My philosophy is: “I’ll figure things out one way or another. Thank you, but don’t mind me — I’m okay!”

Yet, the most important lesson I have learned over the past several weeks is that I don’t have to go it alone. I cannot do everything and, what’s more, I don’t have to. There are so many colleagues, coworkers, and friends to call on for help, guidance, and encouragement. For instance, despite wanting to, it is impossible for me to preside over all the upcoming charge conference clusters. But we have a team of willing elders who have stepped up to assist with this task. They are a true blessing.

We often think of connectionalism as the way we administratively organize our churches, but it is a lot more. Connectionalism is the way we live our lives in relationship with one another. It is a bond of mutual encouragement and support. There is no room for “lone rangers” in our system. What affects one of us affects us all. Some churches might be doing well. Others are struggling in some way. Yet no church is an island.

Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, “all [people] are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.” That is the way God created us to be. We are stronger together than we could ever be apart. We are one in Jesus Christ.

I still have much to learn as a district superintendent, and I will need your help in the days and months ahead. I am grateful for each one of you and pray for you and the work you are called to do daily. Please pray for me! I encourage us to rely on one another. Let’s be guided by the words of the Apostle Paul to “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ” [Galatians 6:2].

Alan Felton
Interim District Superintendent, Capital

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I snapped this picture at North Topsail on a Good Friday over a decade ago. I was standing on the shoreline with my camera draped around my neck near the end of the day. And then he appeared—a man running in the opposite direction I was walking. In the sky above, there was the form of a cross, likely etched from the contrails of military aircraft from nearby Camp Lejeune.

Reflecting on this image some days later I could hear the words from the Epistle to the Hebrews Chapter 12: “run with perseverance the race marked out for us fixing our eyes on Jesus.”

I’m drawn to the “ for us” language and the fixing of “our” eyes. It brings to mind all those with whom I have journeyed in “the race” and still do. Some are no longer with us, having finished their course, and some are still running partners. And as I near the end of my leg of this race, I give thanks for each of you and the privilege of serving with you over the course of this summer.

As Alan and I prepare to exchange the baton of leadership, I pause to give thanks for Chris Brady, his faithful leadership, and friendship. As he runs his race, we pray for his perseverance. As Alan moves into the calling of superintendent and pastor, the prayer is the same – for perseverance. John Wesley reminds us all that our perseverance rests in much more than gritting our teeth and pushing through. He notes that Jesus is “The author and finisher of our faith – Who begins it in us, carries it on, and perfects it.”

So, with Christ before us…..we press on…….

With JOY!
Jon (the Methodist)

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Brad Brisco offers the following call for the Church of Jesus Christ to embrace a new overstory, which is actually two millennia old. In essence, he is pointing us toward following Jesus. Here is the FREE resource that I hope you will utilize and share in your circles of influence

Jesus’ call to discipleship was an invitation to choose a direction—“follow me”—and not a command to adopt a doctrinal manifesto or align with a set of religious rites. ~ Reggie McNeal

I believe that the key to the health, the maintenance, the extension, and the renewal of the Church is not more evangelism, but more discipleship. ~ Alan Hirsch

Mission is more than and different from recruitment to our brand of religion; it is alerting people to the universal reign of God through Christ. ~ David Bosch

Despite what people think, within the Christian family and outside it, the point of Christianity isn’t “to go to heaven when you die.”
~ N. T. Wright

“In his 2024 book, Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering, Malcolm Gladwell introduces the concept of the “Overstory” to explore how dominant cultural narratives influence societal behaviors and the spread of ideas. Sometimes, creating a new overstory is necessary to challenge deeply ingrained assumptions and shift collective perception. When a long-standing narrative no longer serves or reflects the current reality, introducing a fresh, compelling overstory can help people reframe what they’ve taken for granted, opening the door to transformation and progress.

We need a new overstory when it comes to the way we understand evangelism and discipleship. In most church settings, people think of evangelism as something you do with lost people, while discipleship is for those who have already decided to follow Jesus. This binary approach has led to a fragmented understanding of spiritual formation and mission. A new overstory—one that sees discipleship as beginning before conversion and continuing as a lifelong journey—can help reframe how we walk with people toward Jesus and beyond, integrating discipleship and evangelism into a single, holistic movement of spiritual companionship.”

Still In ONE Peace,

Jon (the Methodist)

Photo Credit: Jon Strother

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I know a pastor who often intones a prayer just before he launches into a sermon that borrows language from a favorite old hymn:

Have Thine own way, Lord. Have Thine own way.
Thou Art the Potter. I am the clay.

My colleague is obviously familiar with both the hymn and the words from Jeremiah. My family (on my mom’s side) carries at least a measure of the potter’s DNA in our family tree. My cousin, Charles, once apprenticed with the renowned NC potter, Burlon Craig, whose pieces have been displayed on occasion in the Smithsonian Institution. He continued to practice his art after his mentor’s death, and in the last couple of years seems to have finally let his kiln go cold. Through Charles, our family has clay in our veins.

Back in the fall of 2014, I traveled over to the house of another potter, Dan Finch, just outside Bailey, N.C. I had visited with Dan a number of times before, purchasing gifts for others, watching him shape the clay, and listening to him wax philosophic. In short, Dan was a good conversationalist, skilled with clay in his hands, and possessed of the gift of gab. My visit was connected to a mission. I was there to commission a piece of art –  actually two pieces. I came to ask Dan to create a chalice and paten for a very special day – 12/13/14 – the day Cathy and I were to be married. As was usually the case, Dan said, “You got time to sit for a while? If you do, I’ll throw yours while you’re here.” Dan actually made 4 or 5 sets that afternoon, promising that after they were fired, I could pick my favorite. When I returned and made my selection, he threw in a second set for free, a BOGO pottery extravaganza!

Jeremiah’s word to his people is applicable to us, in our current state, as well. Pottery doesn’t shape itself. A potter still has the opportunity to re-shape whatever rests in his or her hands. In short, to start over if it seems best. Perhaps we find ourselves in such a time at present. Jeremiah’s word may seem harsh at first hearing, but this word from God reminded a covenant people that God still had a deep love for them – that God was willing to wrestle with a people he loved in ways that Re-shaped them for His purposes, to serve the world.

In the epilogue of her wonderful book on Galatians, God Unbound, Elaine Heath offers us these words:

“And what about the wave of change that is upon the church, the new ministries that look different from the church we grew up with? These are from God not the devil. Beloved church, can we agree to let God have our anxiety? God knows how hard it is for us to let go. We simply have to be willing to be made willing. Just a tiny degree of openness allows God to work with us—like dandelion seeds. They blow on the wind, fall into every crack in the asphalt—and before you know it a parking lot is in full bloom. Church, do you realize we are on the cusp of a new Great Awakening? And it looks like a spiritual dandelion explosion as far as the eye can see. God’s new thing is networked, exponential, Spirit-breathed, decentralized, a vast planting of small communities of faith that birth small communities of faith that continue to multiply. It is very much the work of laypeople, and it is emerging as a natural progression out of the church that used to be.”

Still In ONE Peace,
Jon (the Methodist)

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“I believe in the healing presence of the Holy Spirit, and I hope you share this with me. I am now recovering at home from the mastectomy and have applied for medical leave and while we are waiting that determination, I am taking time to heal,” said Rev. Brady.

“I’ve joined a club that is so exclusive it’s almost unbelievable. Only 1% or 2800 men a year are diagnosed with breast cancer, and globally, a mere 20,000 men contract this type of cancer. It’s rare, but it is a stark reality, and I’m navigating it with the support of my community.”

June is Men’s Health Awareness Month, and June 9-15 is Men’s Health Awareness Week. On Fridays throughout June, people are encouraged to wear blue to raise awareness of the importance of men taking care of their physical and mental health. Learn more about Wear BLUE Day.

Annual Conference attendees wore blue on Friday, June 13, in recognition of men’s health and support of Rev. Brady. 

As Rev. Brady takes time to heal, Rev. Jon Strother will serve as the interim District Superintendent through September. 

“I’m deeply grateful to my Cabinet colleagues, Conference Staff, and Bishop Shelton, who have willingly taken on additional responsibilities for work that was still in progress in anticipation of AC and this appointment season, as I took time to be with my family just before the surgery. I am so grateful for Rev. Jon Strother, who will serve as interim Capital DS through September, as I await my pathology results. Your support and prayers mean much to me.”
We continue to pray for Rev. Brady and his family. If you would like to share prayers and encouragement with Rev. Brady, you may email him at cbrady@nccumc.org. For district-related questions and communications, please continue to use capitalds@nccumc.org email address.

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Soon, faith communities across our connection will embark on a significant journey that will shape our future. We are about to welcome new pastors or reaffirm our current pastor’s return. This is not just a routine event but a profound opportunity to extend hospitality and share God’s love.

Hospitality is a central theme and thread throughout the biblical narrative. My favorite biblical character, Peter, accepts the hospitality of Simon the Tanner in Joppa (Acts 9:43 and 10:6), and Peter extends hospitality to Cornelius’ messengers even though Peter is already a guest in someone else’s home. The Gospel writer, Luke, draws our attention to the custom of hospitality throughout his writings. The word hospitality in the bible comes from two Greek words. The first word means “love”, the second means “strangers.” It is a word that means “love of strangers.” Hospitality is, in essence, love in action. Hospitality is the flesh and muscle on the bones of love.

Welcoming new pastors (and their families) or reaffirming returning pastors occurs most effectively when we move to a posture of embrace. Christian hospitality is how God re-creates us through Holy Spirit-inspired acts in the places and with people we are gifted by God’s grace.

Let’s celebrate and make the day special as we welcome new pastors and their families, or reaffirm those who faithfully serve among us and will remain.

Here are 50 ways to welcome a new pastor. They are helpful and imaginative, and I pray you will find them useful.

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Jesus knew the cost of following him. Discipleship is a way of life that requires his followers to live in a new reality. Yet, too often, we spend our time looking back instead of facing forward for the adventure ahead that frames the walk of following in the footsteps of Jesus.

How easy it becomes for the local body of believers, the church, to seek to save its life. Cherished memories of ‘holy moments’ like baptisms, weddings, and communion, and ‘glimpses of grace’ such as acts of kindness and moments of forgiveness, that should be the foundation for empowering a church’s current and future ministry can quickly become overwhelming shackles, if we hold on to nostalgia and practices which hinder a congregation from living into God’s preferred future, damping down and stifling creativity and sense of adventure.

As we prepare to move into a new appointment season, my daily prayer for myself, the clergy, and lay leaders of the Capital District is that we all embrace holy imagination as our default mindset (have the same mind of Christ—Philippians 2) and wed it to a posture of hope-inspired risk-taking. This spiritual empowerment can only come through a renewing of the mind by a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit.

To be clear, every church has a new start in the season after Easter. The body of Christ should always imagine its way forward with confidence that when aligned with God’s call, there is no such thing as failure. This reassurance should be our guiding light, reminding us that we are conduits of grace and the hope that the world desperately needs to see and touch.

To all Lay Leaders, Sunday School and small Group Leaders, Pastors, S/PPRC, Finance, and Trustee Team Leaders: Let’s keep these questions in mind as we move forward, and feel free to circle back to them whenever you need.

1. What is the mission of this congregation in its current contextual reality? Are we living into who we say we are?
2. How is the current reality of your context (Neighborhood, community, ministry) helping to shape your mission values? In other words, if you have visitors who never come back, maybe a value you need to reflect on as a community of faith is your hospitality factor.
3. What is our identity in your community? What are you known for? How have you corroborated what you perceive as your identity in the community with what your neighbors outside your walls say?
4. Who are the stakeholders in your community, and do they know you, and do you know them? What neighborhood block captain, community organizer, small business association chair, or rotary club president have you invited to coffee to listen and hear their perspective of your community and where the church fits in or doesn’t?

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.

DS Chris Brady

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