Hopeful Signs from a Departing District Superintendent

For my last post as a superintendent of the United Methodist Church in Northwest Iowa, I want share a story of hope. A while back I went to Sunday worship at the Rock Rapids United Methodist Church. As I was parking my car I noticed an older woman walking on the sidewalk in front of me. Just then a minivan parked next to me and a young woman got out and opened the sliding side door. Out jumped a little girl who was about 5 or 6 years old. She ran to the older woman calling out her name and greeting her with a big hug. I asked the young woman if that was the little girl’s grandmother and she said no, it was just a friend from the church. It was a simple but powerful example of a relationship that has the potential to change a child’s life forever.

It is in relationships such as this one that people can get a taste of the love of God in Jesus Christ. If we can earn people’s trust by showing that we care, then we will have the potential to cast a vision of God’s preferred future and help them get there.

I also recently learned of some hopeful demographic signs. The generation known as the Millennials has become the largest generation in American history, surpassing the Baby Boomers. While Millennials tend to be indifferent to the church, early indicators show that the following generation (born after 2000) is actually more receptive and interested in matters of faith and religion that their predecessors. Called by some as “Generation Z,” we have the potential to connect them with Jesus if we are willing to spend time with them, listen to them and learn their culture so that we can speak to them in a language that they can understand. That is what I saw in the relationship between that little girl and the older woman in Rock Rapids.

I am hopeful for the future because we can do that as a church. We can help each other to see Jesus and become more like him. I am also hopeful because of the people who will carry on after I am gone. Judi Calhoon and Ryan Christenson will continue to serve the churches of northwest Iowa and we have an Operational Team in place that will help to coordinate our collective ministries together. I am especially hopeful because of the relationship and friendship that I have developed with Ron Carlson who is coming to serve as the next District Superintendent for Northwest Iowa. I have found him to be a man of deep faith and a down to earth personality that will get things done in a compassionate way. And most of all, I am hopeful because of the people that I have come to know in the churches of northwest Iowa. Many of them are stepping up into leadership roles including answering a call to pastoral ministry.

A parting gift from
the Northwest District

I look forward to continuing our work together now in a different relationship as colleagues, friends and co-workers for God’s kingdom. There is hope because our relationship with Jesus can bring peace and joy to the relationships with the people around us. The younger generations are not interested in institutional maintenance, but they will come running to authentic relationships that are making a difference in the world. That is what Jesus can offer through us. Relationships are everything. May your relationship with Jesus give you hope and the power to transform the world around you.