May 2020
TIMELY LEADERSHIP
By Superintendent Michael Traylor
Give us help from trouble, For the help of man is useless. Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies.”
Psalms 60:11-12 NKJV
In the midst of crisis, the Psalmist asks for help from God almighty, and then proclaims that through God, we will do valiantly. Valiant is word that is not commonly used but describes action with boldness, courage, and determination. In the midst of crisis, great leaders understand that they must act decisively, empowered by the presence of God’s Spirit, for the sake of those they lead and for the sake of fulfilling the mission of God. During the COVID-19 season, our churches and pastors have been tested and pressured in ways that could not have been imagined even one year ago. Yet, our churches have not died, withered, or even retreated in the face of obstacles. Pastors and church leaders, led by the presence and the power of God’s Spirit, have declared that through God our church will do valiantly.

In this time of uncertainly, I believe God is calling us to valiant leadership. Valiant leadership is not simply being more assertive or more strategic. It is a radical surrender to the Spirit of God to accomplish that which God has called us to. It is boldly standing on the promises of God, following the ways of Jesus, and watching God’s Spirit lead us to “ greater things than we can ask or imagine”. Specifically, I believe there are three characteristics of valiant leadership that is needed today:

Valiant Leaders are CONFIDENT: Confident comes from the Latin root words that literally means “Trusting with or trusting in”. Confidence is often mistaken for arrogance. Arrogant leaders point to themselves, their abilities, their activities as the reason for success. They are very prideful, and eventually, the charade is destroyed by the Holy Spirit, who opposes the proud. Healthy confident leaders, on the other hand, are humble but have a powerful faith (assurance and complete trust in the person and promises of God). They can move in confidence because of the source of their confidence is God almighty. They are not trying to get you to trust them because of their giftedness but because of their faith expressed through a loving dependence of the Creator of the universe. When you speak, do your listeners sense your deep faith in God?

Valiant Leaders are COMPASSIONATE: Compassion means to “suffer with”. Jesus saw crowds around him and described them as “helpless and harassed”. His ability and desire to act on behalf of the crowd was based upon his love-shaped-empathy that allowed him to feel their pain. In describing leadership, The Rev. John Perkins said, “Leadership begins with identifying with the pain of those you are trying to lead”. In developing empathy, we are able to act decisively as we experience and share the pain and wounds of those around us. Scripture tells us that in Christ, we no longer view one another as the world instructs us, but through the eyes of Jesus. When you lead, are you sharing the burdens of those you led, or do you end up adding to theirs?

Valiant leaders are CLEAR: Clarity is the ability to explain a plan or process for those who desire direction. When there is a crisis, every action and inaction is framed against the crisis. Depending on the context, the local civic leaders may be pushing to “re-open” churches (quotation marks because we were never closed) but depending on the degree of illness in their community and the vulnerability of your church to COVID-19, the church leadership may wish to continue to worship remotely. Whatever decisions that are made, need to be expressed clearly and explained with purpose. Clarity comes with a deep connection to God. Jesus, in the midst of his greatest conflicts, spent enormous amounts of time in prayer in order to speak clearly. Are your members hearing a clear message of the mission? What is your prayer life like?

Timely leadership in the midst of crisis is confident, compassionate, and clear. Throughout The River Conference, we are proclaiming:

Through God, we will do valiantly!!!
TRC's Annual Conference Session of Leadership Summit 2020
will take place via Zoom on 
Friday, June 26, 2020
9 AM (Pacific) / 10 AM (Mountain) / 11 AM (Central) 

Elders and lay delegate(s) will receive an invite to the Zoom meeting soon.

We are planning Fall 2020 gatherings in each District to complete our Leadership Summit agenda. 

DISTRICT / DATE
  • Colorado/New Mexico / September 19
  • Spokane / October 3
  • Boise / October 17
  • Texas (North & South) / October 24
  • Arizona / November 7

We encourage churches to invite their Staff, Board and other leaders to your District's gathering. Mark you calendars and plan on attending.
International Child Care Ministries
Click here for an update from Alma Thompson, Director of ICCM.
TRC signed up to take advantage of Amazon.com's "give back" campaign. Amazon Smile is a program where you can designate a charity to receive a percentage of any purchase made on Amazon.com.

If you buy things off Amazon, please consider designating TRC as your charity. How to get started:
www.smile.amazon.com - find The River Conference of the Free Methodist Church, Lakewood, CO on the charity list, select it. Now every time you order something from Amazon, you must enter through the smile.amazon.com website, you'll see what charity you're supporting in red letters. Then start shopping. Amazon will automatically deposit donations into our checking account.

If you buy things off Amazon, please consider designating TRC as your charity.
Around the Conference
TRC COVID-19 State Resources
Below are the websites for all the states in The River Conference that have current information on COVID-19. Stay informed. These websites have the most current information for each state. Simply click on the state and it will take you to the corresponding website.
TRC DISTRICT LEADERS

ARIZONA
Ben Forsberg (Phoenix, Citizen's Church) ben@citizensofphoenix.org

BOISE
Ryan Stoops (Caldwell, Deer Flat Church) ryanstoops@deerflat.org

COLORADO/NEW MEXICO
Mark Douglas (Pueblo, Light & Life) pastor@pueblolightandlife.com

NORTH TEXAS
Ali Mitachi (Abilene, Portland Avenue) mitachilw@yahoo.com

SOUTH TEXAS
James Ford (Corpus Christi CPP) jesusandjames@yahoo.com

SPOKANE
James Leman (Spokane, First) james.leman@ffmwired.com
Upcoming Committee Meetings
Tuesday, June 2
MAC Video Conference

Thursday, June 4
MEG Video Conference

Thursday, June 11
Property Team Video Conference

Thursday, June 18
Board of Video Conference

Tuesday, June 23
District Leaders Video Conference
Find out what is happening around the Free Methodist Church. Click below to view the respective newsletters
The River Conference | theriverconference.org