Latest BSA Update

Below is the latest update on the Boy Scouts of America and The United Methodist Church.

Latest Update 10/6/2022

There is some confusion about the date for completing agreements between congregations and the Boy Scout Councils. The BSA and UMC have agreed that all present agreements that are presently in place have been extended to December 31, 2022. This includes charters, affiliation agreements and facilities use agreements.

United Methodist leaders and the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) have reached an agreement about new Affiliation and Facility Use Agreements between congregations, scouting units, and the BSA. 

Over the last year, leaders of The United Methodist Church engaged in the Boy Scouts of America reorganization because of sexual abuse in scouting programs over the last 80 years. United Methodist Leaders and the BSA each have worked toward ending sexual abuse and the number of cases have decreased dramatically in United Methodist scouting programs to the point that only 1% of all the claims involving UM scout troops occurred in the last 20 years. But one case is too many. The United Methodist Church does not tolerate child sexual abuse. We are all called to continue to work toward ending child sexual abuse.

As United Methodists, we have reached a settlement by working closely with representatives for the survivors. Our agreement which includes education about safety, review of current policies and a $30 million settlement was developed by listening to and conversations with survivors.

UM leaders also recognized that the chartering system needed to be updated. UM leaders and the BSA have agreed to a new Affiliation Agreement that replaces former charters with an Affiliation Agreement. This agreement may be found at the web link below. The agreement clarifies the role of the congregation and increased insurance for congregations. The following are key points about the agreement.

  1. Local churches, the Scout Units with which they are associated, and the corresponding BSA Local Councils have until October 31, 2022 December 31, 2022, to execute and implement their new Affiliation Agreement or Facilities Use Agreement. Scouting leaders from the congregation are to contact their BSA regional scouting representative to set a time to go over and sign the new agreement.

  2. All current charters and facility use agreements are to continue until BSA completes the new agreement with the congregation and its scouting unit.

  3. BSA has agreed that the insurance and indemnity provisions included in the new Affiliation Agreement – which BSA agrees will also be included in the approved Facilities Use Agreement – went into effect June 30, 2022.  

  4. Congregations may use the Facility Use Agreement with the Affiliation Agreement or as a stand-alone document if the church is only allowing BSA to use the facilities. The new insurance provisions will be included with the facilities use agreement as well.

  5. The new agreement is the standard agreement for all UM congregations and is not to be modified. If there are questions about modification, it should be sent to Steven Scheid sscheid@gcumm.org at the General Commission on United Methodist Men so that we may review and evaluate recommendations for future changes.

  6. The resources and information about the new affiliation agreement may be found here www.GCUMM.org/Scouting  or directly  www.methodistscouter.org/a-new-agreement/


Resources:

South Central Jurisdiction Committee on Episcopacy Recommends Episcopal Election and Coverage Plan

June 29, 2022 – The South Central Jurisdiction Committee on Episcopacy has decided, in consultation with the College of Bishops, to recommend that the Jurisdictional Conference elect three new bishops in November 2022.

With three elections, the SCJ would have a total of nine bishops available to be assigned to nine of the 10 current episcopal areas. The tenth episcopal area will be left open with episcopal coverage to be determined by the Council of Bishops upon recommendation from the SCJ College of Bishops immediately following the adjournment of Jurisdictional Conference. That area is anticipated to be the Northwest Texas/New Mexico area, which is currently covered by active SCJ bishops. The recommendation to provide coverage rather than assignment for the tenth episcopal area was due to missional reasons related to continuity of leadership.

Four SCJ bishops are retired or have requested retirement. Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe (Northwest Texas New Mexico) and Bishop J. Michael Lowry (Central Texas) retired earlier this year. Bishop Michael McKee (North Texas) and Bishop Scott J. Jones (Texas) will retire effective January 1, 2023.

Bishops are elders in full connection set apart for a ministry of servant leadership, general oversight and supervision. The SCJ has a process for the election of bishops. Questions related to the process can be directed to SCJ Executive Director Eddie Ervin or eerwin@scjumc.org.

Following the election of new bishops, the SCJ Committee on Episcopacy will recommend, and the Jurisdictional Conference will assign, all nine active bishops to episcopal areas, with terms beginning January 1, 2023. Coverage for the tenth area will be assigned by the SCJ College of Bishops immediately following the adjournment of Jurisdictional Conference. The South Central Jurisdictional Conference is scheduled for November 2-4 in Houston, Texas.

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Media Contact:

Eddie Erwin

Executive Director

eerwin@scjumc.org

Breakthrough 2022 Annual Conference Theme

We often think of the Israelites wandering in the desert without a purpose, left feeling like a forgotten people with the Lord nowhere nearby. They were lost and wondering, left in liminal space, wondering if the promised land would ever be something they would find. They broke free from a life of slavery only to feel lost in the unknown promises of freedom.

However, we know God was with them in the wilderness, even in the times of their rebellion and disbelief. They would get comfortable or impatient and turn from God. When we get comfortable, we lose some of what God has for us.

If we want to get where God is calling us, we must look for God’s provisions along the way. God provided the Israelites with food and water. God led amongst the chosen people through a cloud by day and fire by night. When God moved in the cloud, the Israelites moved. When it stayed still, they waited. Both actions followed where God was leading. There were no initiatives, objectives, or goals, just moving where God led. They found protection in the cloud and the fire. When they stumbled in their unbelief, it shifted their focus from what God was calling them to do. 

When unbelief begins to creep in, we find ourselves slipping into discouragement, fear, or hardships that make us feel separated and isolated from the Lord. Discouragement thrives on self-pity, and we often put a mask on to hide our deep dismay. Discouragement overwhelms you when you forget that you are not alone, and God is with you. Fear causes us to lose sight of God’s promise and provision. We miss seeing that God’s protection is all around us.

We repeatedly see that the Israelites quickly forgot how God provided for them and that God was present with them. Maxie Dunnam stated, “Most people prefer the hell of a predictable situation rather than risk the joy of an unpredictable one.” In your life, what situation are you choosing to stay in? Where do you need to break through and step out towards where God is leading? Where is God calling you to start something new?

But do not fear! All is not lost! In Exodus 33, after time and time again of the Israelites turning from God, Moses still interceded for his people not to be left and forgotten by the Lord. Moses pleaded with the Lord to not abandon them and for God to show favor and remember the covenant with them. Moses said in Exodus 33:15-17, ESV, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?’ And the Lord said to Moses, ‘This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.’” And he didn’t stop there. Moses also pleaded for himself. “Moses said, ‘Please show me your glory.’ And God replied, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord’. And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.’” Moses desired to feel more of the presence of God. He asked for God to reveal to him more of God’s glory.

In this moment, are you yearning for more of God’s glory? Are you interceding for your people in prayer? Are you asking to see more of the glory of God? Maybe that glimpse is all you need to break through into where God is leading you, your church, or your community. Are you asking for it? Don’t miss the ministry happening now, or that can begin while waiting in the wilderness.

 
 

Council of Bishop Press Release on Judicial Council's ruling on if a conference can vote out of the UMC

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church is expressing gratitude following the declaratory decision from the Judicial Council which stated that an annual conference may not vote to separate from the denomination.

The denomination’s top court agreed with the Council of Bishops that while an annual conference has the reserved right to vote on disaffiliation, the General Conference must first enact enabling legislation to establish the right to withdraw but has not done so for conferences in the United States.
 
“The General Conference is the only body that can regulate the process and set the conditions for an annual conference in the United States to leave the United Methodist connection,” the court said, adding that “there is no basis in Church law for any annual conference to adopt stopgap policies, pass resolutions, take a vote, or act unilaterally for the purpose of removing itself from The United Methodist Church.”
 
In response to this decision, Council of Bishops President Thomas J. Bickerton stated, “We are grateful for the ongoing work of the Judicial Council who continue to serve the church tirelessly with significant attention and care.  This decision has affirmed the connection “as the universal thread out of which the temporal and spiritual fabric of the Church is providentially woven,” and provided clarity and direction as we move forward through these unprecedented days of challenge and change.

 As a result of this decision, it is time now for us to move forward in the work of renewing our primary focus on the mission and ministry of our church.  The bishops of our church are deeply committed to expanding our witness in every local community and throughout the world as we seek to lead The United Methodist Church in the next expression of who God is calling us to be.  We must continue our work with a spirit of grace and reconciliation even in the midst of splintering and separation.
 
While we understand that some of our siblings will leave The United Methodist Church, our prayer is that we will continue to provide a spirit of welcome for everyone.  Let us work hard each day to have hearts, minds and spirits that extend the love of God even when we disagree.  As your bishops, we pledge that we will lead our beloved church in the days ahead with a Wesleyan spirit of God’s abundant grace, anchored in Scripture, centered on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, and leaning always on the continuing movement of the Holy Spirit in our midst.”
 
In its decision, the Judicial Council noted that “absent General Conference legislation, any vote and actions taken by an annual conference to separate are unconstitutional, null and void, and of no legal force or effect.”
 
Click here to read the full decision from the Judicial Council.

 

Have Student Loans? Learn Whether They Can Be Forgiven

For clergy members and other employees of not-for-profit organizations engaged in faith-based work, recent changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program might remind them of the Cinderella fairytale. But the opportunity only lasts “until the stroke of midnight,” or in this case until October 31st to take advantage of the limited-time waiver.

While initially clergy and others were excluded from the PSLF Program because “religious instruction, worship services, or any form of proselytizing” didn’t count toward the full-time work requirement, the U.S. Department of Education, which administers the program, reversed the exclusion effective July 1, 2021. The Department of Education then issued a limited waiver of the “sometimes-onerous provisions for PSLF qualification,” according to NerdWallet.com.

Wespath is hosting a no-cost PSLF Program webinar that will provide more insight into the program. The webinar will take place on May 9 at 2:00 p.m., Central time, and again on May 11 at 12:30 p.m., Central time. Registration is open for both the May 9 and May 11 sessions.

The webinars will be led by Scott Filter, a senior advisor in the Office of Students and Young Consumers at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He focuses on student debt and higher education policy.

To qualify for the PSLF Program, you need to:

  • Work full time for a qualifying employer (local churches, annual conferences and church-associated organizations can be qualifying employers)

  • Have Direct Loans, the term for the Department of Education’s federal student loans (or consolidate other federal student loans into a Direct Loan)

  • Make 10 years’ worth of payments, which comes to 120 qualifying monthly payments

Thanks to the limited waiver, payments made on federal loans under programs that previously did not qualify, such as the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) or Perkins loans; payments made under any repayment plan type; and payments that were late or for less than the amount due will retroactively count toward the PSLF Program, if you consolidate those other loans into Direct Loans by October 31. (To be eligible, you may need to set up a consolidated Direct Loan with income-driven repayments.) You must also submit a PSLF Form to FedLoan Servicing by that date.

For additional information, we encourage you to visit the following web pages:

2022 Annual Conference Information Sessions

This year we are doing something different in preparation for Annual Conference scheduled for June 16-17, 2021, in Lubbock, TX. Instead of hosting four district pre-conference meetings, we will host eleven Annual Conference Information Sessions around the Conference. Each district will hold multiple meetings open for pastors, lay members, and anyone from the local church. Please share these dates in your local church and plan to come to a meeting closest to you.

These information sessions will focus on new information for the upcoming transition for the NWTX Conference because of the divide in our denomination. Our goal of these information sessions is to share information to be presented and voted on at Annual Conference. Please save the date and plan to join us and in the meantime, visit the NWTX Transition Pathways website at www.nwtxconf.org/transition.

ABILENE DISTRICT

Saturday, May 21st

10am - 12pm - Vernon FUMC

3pm - 5pm - Haskell FUMC

Thursday, May 26th

6:30pm - Abilene St. Paul UMC

AMARILLO DISTRICT

Sunday, May 22nd

3pm - Borger FUMC

Monday, May 23rd

6:30pm - Polk Street UMC

Tuesday, May 24th

6:30pm - Dumas FUMC

BIG SPRING DISTRICT

Monday, May 16th

6:30pm - Lamesa FUMC

Wednesday, May 18th

6:30pm - Snyder FUMC

Thursday, May 19th

6:30pm - Midland St. Luke UMC

LUBBOCK DISTRICT

Tuesday, May 17th

6:30pm - Plainview FUMC

Monday, May 23rd

6:30pm - Lubbock FUMC

Commission on Archives and History is Offering Training for Conference Local Churches

The Commission on Archives and History of the North Texas Annual Conference announced a seven-week training on the nuts and bolts of the job of the local church historian. The FREE virtual training sessions occur weekly for one hour on Thursday mornings beginning April 14, 2022, through May 26, 2022. Each session will begin at 10:30 am, except the May 19th session which will begin at 11 am.

Registration is available here!

For more information, click on the links below!

2022 Local Church Historian Training Press Release

2022 Local Church Historian Training Proposed Schedule

We Love To Tell Our Story Presentation

Bishop Nunn Announces New Director of Transitional Ministries

Bishop Nunn is pleased to announce a new appointment and position to the NWTX Conference Service Center.  Rev. Jeff Fisher will be appointed as the new Director of Transitional Ministries effective April 18, 2022.  Rev. Fisher is currently serving FUMC Shallowater and FUMC Anton.  He served the NWTX Conference for several years as the Lubbock District Lay Leader and the Conference Lay Leader before answering God’s call of pastoral ministry.  He is also currently the Secretary for the Conference.

The role of the Director of Transitional Ministries will be to help local churches and pastors walk through the process of choosing to remain with The United Methodist Church or leave The United Methodist Church over the next few years.  He will be available to travel to your church and will work closely with the Conference staff and the NWTX cabinet.

We gladly welcome Rev. Fisher to the Conference Service Center and know that his gifts and graces will be a valuable asset as we transition through these next several months.