My 5 Minute Speech
Hi, I’m Pastor Richard Hill, and I come from a church named Hope.
That fact is very significant for me because I believe that is the most important gift God has given me as I think about serving as bishop of the MNYS. When people have asked me “Why would you want to be bishop of Metro New York?” the best answer I can come up with is because I have hope for the future of our synod.
To me, it’s not a matter of “wanting” the job of bishop. Instead I ask “What would I have to give to this synod if I were bishop here?”
First, let me tell you who I am, and then I’d like to share with you what I think I would have to offer if I were bishop of this great synod.
I am a native Long Islander, born and raised in Nassau County, educated on Staten Island and Manhattan before going to seminary in Minnesota, and I’ve serve the last 25 years in Suffolk County.
In my 35 years as a pastor I’ve served only two churches, both of them named “Hope,” one a mission church in Massachusetts and the other in Selden, 60 miles east of the city.
While serving here in Long Island, I’ve seen God grow our church from about 300 members to slightly more than 1,600. We’ve been through 8 or 9 building projects and 4 major funds drives, and I’ve learned a lot about how to lead a church.
But more importantly, I’ve been privileged to welcome literally thousands of people into God’s church, but I’m still amazed at everything God has done and is doing among His people.
I care about our synod, and I’ve been actively involved in serving the synod for many years, both before and after the formation of the ELCA. I’ve served on the Synod Council and the Region 7 Coordinating Committee. I’m serving my fourth term as Dean of the Peconic Conference (a total of 10 years so far) and I am the chairperson of the Synod’s Mission Planning Team. I helped create our Synod’s Commission for Evangelical Outreach, and I serve as the chair of the CEO and as one of three coordinators.
My Doctor of Ministry degree at Andover Newton focused on leadership in the church. Over the years I’ve taken many Continuing Ed courses and I’ve read extensively about leadership.
What kind of leader am I?
1. I believe that a bishop must be first and foremost a “servant” of the people of God. I realize that the office of bishop is respected and honored by many, especially in the church, but the real power a bishop has is the power to serve God’s people. That’s how Jesus understood leadership. You recall that Jesus said: “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant,” and then went on to say, “the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
2. I believe that a bishop must be a “Team-player,” one who coaches others, but also shares in the work of ministry as well. The bishop stands alongside the synod staff, pastors, leaders, and all the baptized members of the synod and leads the church by using his gifts to equip, encourage and support God’s people in being the church. As bishop, I would continue to offer the kind of leadership that builds up the church and empowers God’s people.
3. I believe that the qualities and characteristics of a bishop that we identified during our synod audit process go far beyond what any single individual could provide. What we really need is a bishop who is able to bring together a diverse and talented team of people who share a common love for Jesus Christ and a common commitment to fulfilling God’s mission in the world. They need not agree on everything. What matters most is that they are willing serve God faithfully together.
4. And there are at least five things a bishop must be willing to do:
· First, a bishop must take time to really LISTEN to the insights, the feelings, the anxieties, and the hopes of others. The people of Metro New York are our greatest asset, God’s Spirit will work through them if we are willing to pay attention to what they have to say.
· Second, a bishop must spend time OBSERVING firsthand the needs and opportunities for ministry that really exist among God’s people. We all can learn from each other, and we can all become servants of one another. The bishop is the one who creates the opportunity for us to work collaboratively.
· Third, a bishop must SPEAK the truth of God (both Law and Gospel). The bishop must challenge destructive false beliefs and attitudes among God’s people but also encourage them to move beyond their comfort zones by taking risks and by making bold efforts on behalf of the gospel.
· Fourth, a bishop must also PRAY both in public services and in private settings for the diverse ministries God gives to us. God’s Spirit uses such actions to build up the church so that God’s Kingdom may come on earth as it is in heaven.
· But most importantly, a bishop must always bring HOPE to God’s people, as Peter wrote: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for by his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” A bishop gives living hope to all who believe.
· The next bishop to serve this synod will have to be a navigator, someone who can steer a course through some very perilous and challenging waters. Our synod faces a serious crisis right now, and in the years ahead we will need to draw together all of the tremendous resources God has placed at our disposal.
· This is not a time for Christian to be pitted against Christian because of differences dividing us.
· This is not a time to adopt a “survival of the fittest,” mentality that sacrifices weaker congregations for the sake of stronger ones.
· This is not a time to retreat from the challenges of living in a growing multi-ethnic, multi-national, multi-cultural society. Rather, we must embrace them.
· This is not a time to focus resources on urban communities at the expense of rural ones.
· This is not a time to water down the message of God’s New Creation breaking in upon us so we can accommodate the fashions of politically correct elitists.
· This is the time for all of God’s people to come together around a single mission—to disciple all nations, by baptizing, teaching, and welcoming them into the kingdom of God.
· And this is the time to challenge every member of God’s Lutheran community to take up Christ’s cross and put ourselves on the line because we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord over all.
· It‘s an awesome task, but it’s also an exciting moment for us. No bishop can do it alone. That’s why God gave us each other--rich and poor; black, white, Asian, Latino; urban, rural, and suburban; straight and gay; Met fans and Yankees fans. We’re all in this together!
Showing posts with label Metro NY Synod. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Metro NY Synod. Show all posts
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
BISHOP BOUMAN ACCEPTS NEW CALL
BISHOP BOUMAN TO LEAD ELCA EVANGELICAL OUTREACH AND CONGREGATIONAL MISSION
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was elected Nov. 11 by the ELCA Church Council to a four-year appointment as executive director of ELCA Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission (EOCM) beginning Jan. 1, 2008. The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between churchwide assemblies. The council met here Nov. 9-11. Assemblies are held every other year; the next is Aug. 17-23, 2009, in Minneapolis.
"Saying good-bye is so incredibly difficult. I have shared so much of my life with the wonderful lives of the people of this synod and this metropolis. We went through Ground Zero together. We buried our dead and re-imagined the church in the wake of that tragedy," Bouman said. "We have planted so many new ministries among people who are 'the road not taken' by traditional Lutheranism."
"In some ways mission and ministry in the Metropolitan New York Synod has been 'going to school' on what mission and ministry are going to be like all across our country in the coming decades," Bouman said. "I've learned some things, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with the wider church," he said. "We have a lot to learn from each other, and it will be my joy to advocate and agitate for the missional heart of this church as the director of EOCM. I look forward to getting on the road with my many new colleagues who will share with me the ministries to which God has called them," Bouman said.
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, announced the council's unanimous election of Bouman here Nov. 13. "Bishop Bouman has exemplified in his parish and synodical ministries leadership that is Christ centered, Spirit gifted, biblically engaged, theologically formed and contextually shaped," Hanson said in a prepared statement. "He has a passion to proclaim Christ, make disciples and build up the church for the sake of the world." "Bishop Bouman developed a Diakonia program with over 800 graduates, some of whom are serving as pastors," Hanson said.
"Under his leadership over 35 new ministries have been initiated. Worship occurs in over 25 languages in the synod," he said. Hanson recalled that Bouman saw the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod through the challenges of dealing with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
He listed other "hallmarks" of Bouman's leadership as bishop: "accompanying those who live in poverty, working together for a more just society, extending hospitality to the immigrant, striving to become a multicultural, diverse church while building upon our strong global and ecumenical partnerships."
Bouman will succeed the Rev. Richard A. Magnus, who will retire Dec. 31. EOCM is a program unit of the ELCA. Its 149-member staff facilitates "the efforts of congregations, synods, and related institutions and agencies in reaching out in witness to the gospel to people in all contexts and cultures" across the United States and Caribbean. It works to develop new congregations and ministries, and to renew and equip existing ELCA ministries in evangelical outreach.
Born April 14, 1947, in Melrose Park, Ill., Bouman is a graduate of Concordia Senior College, Fort Wayne, Ind., and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He earned a master of sacred theology degree and a doctorate in ministry from New York Theological Seminary, New York. General Theological Seminary, New York, awarded him an honorary doctor of divinity degree in 2001.
Ordained in 1973 by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Bouman served as pastor of Christ and St. Jacobus Lutheran Church, Woodside, Queens, N.Y., and Atonement Lutheran Church, Jackson Heights, Queens, N.Y. His pastoral call was transferred to the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) in 1977, and he served as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Bogota, N.J., from 1982 to 1992. The AELC, American Lutheran Church and Lutheran Church in America formed the ELCA in 1988. In 1992 Bouman became an assistant to the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Metropolitan New York Synod and in 1996 was elected to succeed the Rev. James E. Sudbrock as bishop. The synod elected Bouman to a second six-year term as bishop in 2002.
Bouman is author of several articles, curricula, devotionals and books, including "From the Parish for the Life of the World," published in 2000 by Augsburg Fortress, and "Grace All Around Us," published in 2007 by Augsburg Books. Augsburg Fortress is the publishing ministry of the ELCA. Bouman and his wife Janet are the parents of three adult children.
VISION OF HOPE
“Preparing for a new bishop”
On Monday, November 11, I received the announcement from Synod headquarters that our bishop, Stephen Bouman, accepted the call to serve as executive director of ELCA Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission Unit in Chicago beginning January 1, 2008.
I was not “shocked” by the news, but it has had an effect on my thinking ever since, especially as I reflect on my role in providing leadership for our synod’s Commission for Evangelical Outreach. Over the past five years I have been actively engaged in the task of helping our bishop to make the Metropolitan New York Synod a “Great Commission Synod,” and I have been encouraged by the support given by our bishop to the ambitious agenda we were undertaking. We are seeking to bring about nothing less than a total transformation of our synod, the second oldest synod in what is now the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
We’ve worked hard to change from a synod that has was declining in numbers and spirit into an innovative, forward-looking, missionally-oriented, ground-breaking leader in the overall ministry of the ELCA. Now we face an uncertain future once more.
For Lutherans in the United States, the office of bishop is not a very powerful one. One person recently opined that the main power that a bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has is to approve letters of call issued by congregations seeking a new pastor.
I don’t know if that is really true, but I do believe that a bishop has enormous power that can be exercised in a very significant way if the bishop has the courage to use it. That power is in the area of providing leadership in setting the course for a synod. The bishop can influence many by making a case for moving in a particular direction because there are many who seek that kind of leadership. James MacGregor Burns in his book called Leadership described that sort of power as “transformational power.” Translated into our setting, that kind of power is able to set the course for the entire synod and summon our greatest and most passionate efforts to see the vision become a reality.
While our bishop has been criticized by some for taking politically-charged stands on issues such as the ordination of gay clergy and immigration, I believe he has done a good job at supporting and encouraging all our clergy and laity to focus on the true center of the church’s mission in the world. He has lifted up the challenge to reclaim the Great Commission as the main agenda for our efforts as a synod, and many of us have stepped forward to meet it.
I hope and I pray that the new bishop we elect next February will be more than just a “maintenance bishop” elected to take over as Captain of the “M.N.Y.S. Titanic.” Our synod may at times have looked a lot like a sinking ship, but I believe that God still has plans for us in Metro New York. I am convinced that our efforts can make an enormous difference not just for the Lutheran churches in Metro New York but throughout the United States. Under Bishop Bouman’s leadership in his new post, we will have a strong ally in our work of making the Great Commission a reality. May God bless him and us through him.
With Love,
Pastor Hill
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was elected Nov. 11 by the ELCA Church Council to a four-year appointment as executive director of ELCA Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission (EOCM) beginning Jan. 1, 2008. The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between churchwide assemblies. The council met here Nov. 9-11. Assemblies are held every other year; the next is Aug. 17-23, 2009, in Minneapolis.
"Saying good-bye is so incredibly difficult. I have shared so much of my life with the wonderful lives of the people of this synod and this metropolis. We went through Ground Zero together. We buried our dead and re-imagined the church in the wake of that tragedy," Bouman said. "We have planted so many new ministries among people who are 'the road not taken' by traditional Lutheranism."
"In some ways mission and ministry in the Metropolitan New York Synod has been 'going to school' on what mission and ministry are going to be like all across our country in the coming decades," Bouman said. "I've learned some things, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with the wider church," he said. "We have a lot to learn from each other, and it will be my joy to advocate and agitate for the missional heart of this church as the director of EOCM. I look forward to getting on the road with my many new colleagues who will share with me the ministries to which God has called them," Bouman said.
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, announced the council's unanimous election of Bouman here Nov. 13. "Bishop Bouman has exemplified in his parish and synodical ministries leadership that is Christ centered, Spirit gifted, biblically engaged, theologically formed and contextually shaped," Hanson said in a prepared statement. "He has a passion to proclaim Christ, make disciples and build up the church for the sake of the world." "Bishop Bouman developed a Diakonia program with over 800 graduates, some of whom are serving as pastors," Hanson said.
"Under his leadership over 35 new ministries have been initiated. Worship occurs in over 25 languages in the synod," he said. Hanson recalled that Bouman saw the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod through the challenges of dealing with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
He listed other "hallmarks" of Bouman's leadership as bishop: "accompanying those who live in poverty, working together for a more just society, extending hospitality to the immigrant, striving to become a multicultural, diverse church while building upon our strong global and ecumenical partnerships."
Bouman will succeed the Rev. Richard A. Magnus, who will retire Dec. 31. EOCM is a program unit of the ELCA. Its 149-member staff facilitates "the efforts of congregations, synods, and related institutions and agencies in reaching out in witness to the gospel to people in all contexts and cultures" across the United States and Caribbean. It works to develop new congregations and ministries, and to renew and equip existing ELCA ministries in evangelical outreach.
Born April 14, 1947, in Melrose Park, Ill., Bouman is a graduate of Concordia Senior College, Fort Wayne, Ind., and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He earned a master of sacred theology degree and a doctorate in ministry from New York Theological Seminary, New York. General Theological Seminary, New York, awarded him an honorary doctor of divinity degree in 2001.
Ordained in 1973 by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Bouman served as pastor of Christ and St. Jacobus Lutheran Church, Woodside, Queens, N.Y., and Atonement Lutheran Church, Jackson Heights, Queens, N.Y. His pastoral call was transferred to the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) in 1977, and he served as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Bogota, N.J., from 1982 to 1992. The AELC, American Lutheran Church and Lutheran Church in America formed the ELCA in 1988. In 1992 Bouman became an assistant to the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Metropolitan New York Synod and in 1996 was elected to succeed the Rev. James E. Sudbrock as bishop. The synod elected Bouman to a second six-year term as bishop in 2002.
Bouman is author of several articles, curricula, devotionals and books, including "From the Parish for the Life of the World," published in 2000 by Augsburg Fortress, and "Grace All Around Us," published in 2007 by Augsburg Books. Augsburg Fortress is the publishing ministry of the ELCA. Bouman and his wife Janet are the parents of three adult children.
VISION OF HOPE
“Preparing for a new bishop”
On Monday, November 11, I received the announcement from Synod headquarters that our bishop, Stephen Bouman, accepted the call to serve as executive director of ELCA Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission Unit in Chicago beginning January 1, 2008.
I was not “shocked” by the news, but it has had an effect on my thinking ever since, especially as I reflect on my role in providing leadership for our synod’s Commission for Evangelical Outreach. Over the past five years I have been actively engaged in the task of helping our bishop to make the Metropolitan New York Synod a “Great Commission Synod,” and I have been encouraged by the support given by our bishop to the ambitious agenda we were undertaking. We are seeking to bring about nothing less than a total transformation of our synod, the second oldest synod in what is now the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
We’ve worked hard to change from a synod that has was declining in numbers and spirit into an innovative, forward-looking, missionally-oriented, ground-breaking leader in the overall ministry of the ELCA. Now we face an uncertain future once more.
For Lutherans in the United States, the office of bishop is not a very powerful one. One person recently opined that the main power that a bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has is to approve letters of call issued by congregations seeking a new pastor.
I don’t know if that is really true, but I do believe that a bishop has enormous power that can be exercised in a very significant way if the bishop has the courage to use it. That power is in the area of providing leadership in setting the course for a synod. The bishop can influence many by making a case for moving in a particular direction because there are many who seek that kind of leadership. James MacGregor Burns in his book called Leadership described that sort of power as “transformational power.” Translated into our setting, that kind of power is able to set the course for the entire synod and summon our greatest and most passionate efforts to see the vision become a reality.
While our bishop has been criticized by some for taking politically-charged stands on issues such as the ordination of gay clergy and immigration, I believe he has done a good job at supporting and encouraging all our clergy and laity to focus on the true center of the church’s mission in the world. He has lifted up the challenge to reclaim the Great Commission as the main agenda for our efforts as a synod, and many of us have stepped forward to meet it.
I hope and I pray that the new bishop we elect next February will be more than just a “maintenance bishop” elected to take over as Captain of the “M.N.Y.S. Titanic.” Our synod may at times have looked a lot like a sinking ship, but I believe that God still has plans for us in Metro New York. I am convinced that our efforts can make an enormous difference not just for the Lutheran churches in Metro New York but throughout the United States. Under Bishop Bouman’s leadership in his new post, we will have a strong ally in our work of making the Great Commission a reality. May God bless him and us through him.
With Love,
Pastor Hill
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)