This gathering of our leaders nearly, seventy in number, came together under the call for shaping ministry leadership, crafting a framework for ministry in a new age, and for beginning to frame and define the kind of facility needed in order to house the ministry and worship aspirations of the congregation. We were fortunate to have Pastor Jerome McNeil of Christian Chapel Temple of Faith CME Church of Dallas, along with one of the church’s prominent laymen and treasurer, Bro. Anthony McNeal as facilitators and Mrs. Sharon Adams of Milwaukee’s Leadership Resources, Ltd. as our consultant. 

     Great energy was created around this retreat and the fervor and enthusiasm for engaging the power of the Holy Spirit in our personal and corporate lives must now be marshaled and churned into positive results, which will reveal anew the power of God’s provision in our lives. There are some questions that must frame our further movement as a result of our retreat and they become church wide in their reach. Consider just these five listed below:

1.      What are our aspirations for growth in worship service, congregational fellowship, study and ministry?  What do we want to happen in our church?  What, through our “joyous spiritual abandon” are we willing to permit God to lead us in bringing about?

2.      What part must evangelism play in growing our congregation and our ministries to become more effective?  How should worship services be shared with those who do not have a church home?

3.      How shall we continue to model and be driven by servant leadership especially as it relates to leadership for ministries?

4.      In light of the renewed energy created for new ministry and “needs meeting ministries” how do we reconcile the current array of ministries with the new   directions that our ministries seem to be taking on?

5.      In light of what we now say we want to do and what we now say we want to    have happen, to what extent are each of us willing to allow our commitment    to stretch us beyond our comfort zone or ourselves?

What we have heard, engaged and now must do has tremendously challenged us all.  We know what God’s thrust is upon our lives and what our mission from God is.   While God can certainly be counted on to do God’s part, there is also a corresponding response that we have and must act out. We must hear in a new sense the call of God upon our lives and our presence as the body of Christ.  Churches that are growing in this “cyber age” have come to a clear understanding that church as we did it thirty years ago or even five years ago is no longer relevant for this age’s climate. Each age has its unique calling. Vision and ministry must be shaped to the calling of the age. Yet even though there is a new dimension to wrestle with there still remains one overarching consolation.  That consolation is that even though the age may change, the God we serve does not. So then perhaps Charles Wesley was right in his 18^th Century hymn which typifies our ultimate challenge.

“To serve the present age, my calling to fulfill,

O may it all my powers engage to do my Master’s will!”

We are indeed on the brink of God’s New Provision. Let us seize it and never be the same as a result of the newness found in serving a God who can meet and exceed anything that we could ever ask or imagine. In the suggestive words of Caleb in his bold assertion found in the 13^th chapter of Numbers “Let us go up at once and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.”

Pastor Alford

MY DESIRE

By:  Esther L. Stovall

What a wonderful experience.  When I first learned of the retreat my first impression was “boring” because I assumed that this would be the typical workshop where you would sit for hours listening to lectures.  How wrong I was. This retreat was not only informational but also entertaining.  Everyone in attendance had the opportunity to participate in a small focus group where we shared our thoughts on specific subjects.  I was really amazed that we, the people of Butler Street are on one accord regarding our vision for a new church.

What I remember most favorably are:  Passion, Servant Leader & Joyous Spiritual Abandon.

PASSION!  This expression really touched my heart and spirit because it was used in a statement informing us that whatever your ministry, there must be a passion for it.  This means that you should be dedicated and committed to your ministry and willing to give it your all.  This was also a confirmation for me because over the years I have relinquished my membership with some boards because I knew I wasn’t giving my all.  I encourage everyone to really examine your board or ministry and how it is benefiting by your association with it.  Since everybody is not suited for all ministries, we should only want to be a part of the ministry that creates passion in us.

SERVANT LEADER!    I learned that unlike “power leaders” servant leaders share the spotlight with others.  They implement a program, develop people for that ministry and then step back giving others the freedom to think, act and respond.  Servant leaders make Jesus the focal point  - not out to achieve accolades.   Power leaders are self-centered. 

JOYOUS SPIRITUAL ABANDON!  Before I heard this expression, we had an opportunity to write a prayer on posters located on the walls in the meeting room.  My prayer “to have a one on one worship with God without distractions.”   You can imagine how elated I was when this phrase was explained to us.

We have a vision – a new worship facility for Butler Street.  We have the resources – develop a close relationship with God through prayer and Bible study.  We need to learn how to remove pride, decline recognition, and accept cultural change.  We can build relationships by embracing others and accepting their thoughts as significant. 

In ending, I quote Pastor Alford,  . . .“If everybody in my church was just like me, OH LORD what kind of church would my church be?”

WHAT I SAW

By: Irvin L. Wright, III

I approached the Leadership Retreat with much intrepidation and apprehension. First, because I knew that the idea of a Servant Leader was a different concept of leadership than many of the leaders at Butler Street had.  This idea of approaching leadership as a servant leader was a change in concept and practice.  Instead of delegating authority, one is called to ask what more can I do?  The burden of ministry is shifted from the Pastor, Ministerial Team and others to me.  Everyone is called to ministry and there are no spectators.

Secondly, the question of commitment was weighing upon me as we neared the retreat.  I have often wondered why we have members committed fully to boards and the projects of their boards while others were part time participants and could never be fully counted on for anything.  Many times I would hear that the church should be doing thus and such, or they should not be doing that.  All were ideas and comments concerning the ministry of nouns in the third person and not having any impact on nouns in the first person. 

The word ministry means simply to serve.  In the Leadership retreat it was emphasized that all saints are ministers not just the ordained clergy.  The Apostle Paul stated that the job of leadership in the church is to equip all saints for ministry (Eph. 4:11-12).  The model for this type of service is Jesus, who came to serve rather than be served.  His service was culminated on the cross where He died for the sins of the world.

One’s commitment to ministry relates proportionately with one’s passion for a ministry.  If one does not place the glory of God first and have passion it is extremely difficult to make a commitment.  Most ministries are for the long haul and contiguous, not annual or monthly ventures or tasks. Being dedicated, determined and dependable can only happen when one cares passionately for the ministry or task at hand.  It is the only way to face rejection, scorn, and ridicule while ministering.  We only know of a couple of instances where Jesus was rejected, but I would venture to say that there were many other occurrences that were not recorded in the canonized scripture.  One thing is certain and Jesus informed His Disciples that the servant is not greater than the master and if the master was rejected you can be sure that the servant will encounter rejection as well.

The dynamic presentation of Dr. Jerome McNeil and the panel discussion with Dr. McNeil, Leo Pinkett, and Anthony McNeal presented the Servant Leader in a positive light and was well received by those attending.  Saturday’s breakout sessions affirmed that and the visions presented by attendees of the New Butler Street CME Church showed us on one accord.  The physical structure and the details outlined therein were ministry based and not function based.

A positive step was made and momentum was gathered.  Now, it is time to put servant leadership into practice as we invite the entire Butler Street Family into ministry to the building of God’s Kingdom and a new house of worship.  

LEADERSHIP RETREAT

FOR

BUTLER STREET CME CHURCH

By Attorney Dorothy M. James

How do we say thank you to Pastor Alford and to all persons who played a part in the success of the most inspiring and spirit filled leadership retreat we have ever attended.  The idea of a training retreat for officers and leaders originated in a Board of Christian Education meeting.  The members were brainstorming as to how leaders could be motivated and inspired to do more in the areas of ministries in and out of the church.  We acknowledged many of us had studied the Bible through Disciple classes and had even studied the MasterLife class.  We knew the theory, but were lacking in practice.  Pastor Alford promised he would plan such a training retreat early in the conference year.

In August, the first month of the conference year, Pastor Alford advised the church he had invited Dr. Jerome McNeil, Pastor and Mr. Anthony McNeal, Treasurer, of Christian Chapel CME Church, of Dallas, Texas to serve as facilitators and Mrs. Sharon Adams of Leadership Resources, Ltd., of Milwaukee, Wisconsin to serve as the Retreat Consultant.  The retreat was to take place on October 11-12 at the Costen Learning Center on the campus of ITC.  This retreat was operated in association with the Institute of Church Administration and Management (ICAM).  Jacqui L. Burton, Executive Director of ICAM and member of Butler Street brought greetings at the opening session on Friday night.  For the purpose of the retreat, this was a dynamic team Pastor Alford brought to us.

Pastor Alford gave the overview and purpose of the retreat and closed by giving us a charge to “Create a new song” using Ephesians 4:11-16 to teach us why we need a new song.  A panel discussion on Pastoral Dialogue was lead by Dr. Jerome McNeil, Anthony McNeal and Leo Pinkett.  Much of the discussion was centered around how Christian Chapel, under the pastoral leadership of Dr. McNeil, moved from a small church to a new location with a very large membership in a short period of time.  Butler Street listened with eagerness and open ears since we are praying and working to get from where we are to a new facility to accommodate our current worship and ministries and new ministries for the congregation and the community.  Dr. McNeil did not disappoint us.  He answered questions we had and those we had not even considered.  The treasurer, Anthony McNeal, affirmed what his pastor said and had personal testimonies, which stated nothing is impossible for God.  They expressed praise for us on how far we are along our faith journey and our willingness to learn more about how to get where we wish to go.  Mrs. Adams was the moderator and kept us on track.

Dr. McNeil gave a very inspiring and motivational presentation on being a servant leader.  The officers and leaders got the picture that to be an effective leader in the church, we must be faithful servants.  He stated Blacks have a hard time with the word “servant” because of our experience of being slaves or indentured servants.  Dr. McNeil stated power leaders have no place in the church.  Power leaders do not have God in their plan.  Power leaders depend upon themselves and not God.  They will sooner or later have power failure.  We were told about church in fighting and generational sins.  But the cycle of most if not all this hostility and fighting can be broken if we would treat those members with love and prayer.  The prayers should be individually and corporately.

The group broke into six small groups with a facilitator and recorder to discuss handout questions and come back to discussion.  Because of the enthusiastic discussion with Dr. McNeil and within the small groups, we did not make it back for discussion until Saturday morning.

One of the handouts was What a Healthy Church Looks Like.  The answer:

Clear cut vision, Passion for the lost, Shared Ministry, Empowered Leaders, Fervent Spirituality, Flexible and Functional Structure, Celebrative Worship, Connections in Small Groups, Seeker Friendly Evangelism, and Loving Relationships.

The Board of Trustees of Butler Street gave a report to the group on their work concerning the repair needs for the current facility and the progress on their efforts toward the partnership with the Edgewood Village Group.  They reported that within 45 to 60 days, the Board of Trustees would bring their recommendation to the church body.  The Board of Trustees’ report was very informative.

During one of Anthony McNeal’s testimonies, he said when you undertake a project such as building a new church you should include on your prayer list not only your pastor and members in general, but you should include your Board of Trustees, the contractors, the financial institutions---everyone who has anything to do with the success of the project.  In my group, I had to confess, I had not thought about including the third parties such as contractors.  They are now on my prayer list.

The last handout was Spirituality and Leadership Leading from Within.

Time to Wake Up:  A.  Complacent, B.  Negative, C.  Hostile, D.  Nobility

How do I Wake Up:  (Romans 12:1-8) A.  Change My Thinking.

1.      Ministry is not a task, program, or production

2.      It is an Act of worship by people who acknowledge that God’s Great mercy has redeemed them for the purpose of a relationship with HIM, for sacrifice, and for service to others.

B.  Change My Ways:  Servant hood (Mark 10:43-44)

(P.A.C.)  Power, Authority and Control.  This is what its all about.  It is about    servant hood.

One of the high points of the Saturday session happened in the small group discussions.  The question was asked what would our new church look like and what new ministries would we be engaged in.  We were to think big.  Think BIG is what the groups did.  We had a fantastic church.  Beyond the normal things, we had a swimming pool, bookstore, food court, baseball field, arts and drama room with retractable stage.  That is just a sample of the vision.  Dr. McNeil and Mr. McNeal stated they had discovered new ministries for Christian Chapel.

Footsteps of Jesus

My way or Jesus Way is the question that creates the Fork in the Road.  Leadership appears to be the art of getting others to want to do something you are convinced should be done.  Choices, internal motivation, and inner desire disappears if to want is removed.

All did not end with Saturday’s session.  Dr. McNeil was the preacher for Sunday Morning Worship.  He spoke from Habakkuk Chapter 2.  The focus on the entire weekend was, write your vision, make it plain, prayer as foundation, plan and wait for the blessings God has for us individually and as a church.  Our many thanks to Pastor Alford for the vision, prayer and planning to bring to us such a dynamic resourceful team in the persons of Dr. Jerome McNeil, Mr. Anthony McNeal and Mrs. Sharon Adams.  We could not stop there.  Pastor Alford called all leaders to the altar after the Morning Service and led in a commitment to fasting and prayer for one week.  God has great blessings on the way for Butler Street.

TO TELL THE TRUTH...

By Barbara Grier

When I was invited to attend the Leadership Retreat at the Interdenominational Theological Center, I was not excited at all.  I thought to myself, what a waste of time for almost an entire weekend.  A weekend that I could use to clean my house and take care of some of the things I had neglected due to extenuating circumstances at my job.  Well, needless to say, I now regret that I could not have spent more time with our retreat consultant, Mrs. Sharon Adams and facilitators, Dr. Jerome McNeil and Mr. Anthony McNeal.  They were simply superb!  One had to be in their presence to fully understand the impact they had on most, if not all, who attended the retreat.  I sensed the movement of God through them as was evidenced by their tone, mood and interaction with us.  They continually praised God and gave Him the glory.  They are very humble people and truly believe in operating in God’s will and His way.  I felt much was discussed, yet much more needed to be discussed.

As we divided into smaller groups, I felt the excitement and willingness to bond closer to each other, as we grew closer to God.  Dr. McNeil stated that we all have a ministry and “it is not a task, program or production.  It is an act of worship by people who acknowledge that God’s mercy has redeemed them for the purpose of a relationship with Him, for sacrifice, and for service to others.”

As leaders, we must operate openly, honestly and truthfully with each other and our church family.  Proverbs 24:26 states, “An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.”  The truth is like sweetness to the soul.  We were taught that we must always operate under the auspices of God Almighty.  Our minds, heart and spirits must remain focused on Him.  OUR ACTIONS SHOULD SPEAK LOUDER THAN WHAT OUR WORDS SAY.  Pray, praise and glorify God always.  Follow the words of Psalm 86:11 saying, Teach me your way, O LORD and I will walk in your truth.

If I learned nothing else from the retreat, I learned (1) To always be honest and (2) To always give God the praise!

FROM THE INSIDE OUT

By Rhonda Y.K. Dunn

A new song was created within my spirit as I gathered power from the Leadership Retreat.  The tools that were given during that weekend have invigorated me and shed new light on how I approach my role as a leader. Written all around the room on posted pages were the words Pray, Prepare, Implement, and Praise, and these were resounding themes that rang forth as we went through the sessions.  For me the presentation on Servant Leadership was one of the most important sessions given.  It reminded me as a leader that I was placed in my position not on my own accord and that I am in my position to serve.  As a servant leader you forget about your own wants and wishes and become lost in empowering those around you.  You allow Jesus Christ to become the main attraction and focal point of all of your activities.  No longer taking credit for any success of activities but always giving God the honor and praise in all you do.

Not only did I feel renewed by Mrs. Sharon Adams, Consultant and Dr. Jerome McNeil and Anthony McNeal facilitators, but I was also excited by many of the other leaders.  Everyone had a willing spirit and an open mind that helped me to further open my mind.  Knowing that all the persons there wanted to make our church better, helped me to shrug off my weariness from the week and allow new ideas to invade my spirit.  I was excited to hear all of us desiring to see our church grow from the inside out.   As I go back into my ministries within the church it is my prayer that I can pass along this same spirit so that we will all feel the power of God working in and through us to build our church from the inside out.

WHAT A HEALTHY CHURCH LOOKS LIKE:

·        Clear cut vision

·        Passion for the lost

·        Shared Ministry

·        Empowered leaders

·        Fervent spirituality

·        Flexible and functional structure

·        Celebrative worship

·        Connections in small groups

·        Loving relationships

CREATING A NEW SONG

The gifts He gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.  We must no longer be children, tossed to and from and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.  But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

¾Ephesians 4:11-16

OUR TIME TOGETHER

By Anita W. Wright

The culmination of our Leadership Retreat was a 5:00 P.M. Prayer Service on Sunday, October 20, 2002.  The week of fasting, but not our praying had come to an end and we looked forward to this day with great enthusiasm, to devour food items we had given up during the week.   We at Butler Street are not Sunday afternoon churchgoers.  Also by 5:00 P.M., there would have been ample time to eat twice.  It is my choice to take an afternoon nap and it was cut short having to return to church for the service.  When I was awakened, it was raining.  By the time I was prepared to leave home, there was a down pour of raining.  Well, we could not wait until the rain subsided, as this would have probably made us too late for the service since it was for only an hour, time was of the essence. 

This was not turning out to be a good afternoon for me, but how could I possibly miss an opportunity of being in a one-hour prayer service.  The service was so spirit filled with prayers, Scriptures and songs that I was so thankful God had allowed me to be in service and in His presence one more time. Approximately 26 persons of the 54 attending the Retreat were present and God indeed honored His word, though the numbers were not what we would have liked, God was there because we gathered in His Name. 

In a world where we are so concerned with numbers, majorities, pluralities; is there enough attendance warranting my doing this, we serve a God who is concerned with the Lost Coin, the Lost Sheep and the Prodigal Son.  Many of us did not show up but God did and He showed out.

COURAGE

By Janett Murray

I found the Butler Street Leadership Retreat very thought provoking, enlightening, challenging, and encouraging.  I believe that effective leadership is key to the success of any endeavor.  Although some leadership traits seem to come naturally, all leaders need to be trained in order to be proficient and that training must be ongoing.  Many of the issues raised and discussed during the retreat served as reinforcement for me of information and insights I have received in the past, both in the church and in my profession.  I was particularly benefited by the in depth discussion on servant leaders.  Sometimes we need to be reminded of the characteristics of a true leader.  Leadership requires among other attributes, commitment, courage, and even sacrifice.  The retreat prompted me to do some soul searching, and brought me to the realization that there are areas in which I personally need to improve in terms of being a leader.  The small group discussions during the retreat were a great way to share information.  The presentations made from each group allowed everyone to receive the benefit of various viewpoints and ideas.  I also recognized during the group reports that we have so many resources available in terms of people, if we would just do a better job of engaging them.  It is exciting just to think of the types of ministries we will have in our new place of worship.  If we all work together, with God as our primary leader, we can truly dream BIG and realize those dreams.  The information shared during the retreat by Mrs. Sharon Adams, Dr. Jerome McNeil, Mr. Anthony McNeal, and others was invaluable.  I left the retreat with a sense of excitement, anticipation, renewed commitment, and yes, even passion.  Pastor Alford is a visionary and an outstanding leader.  His foresight in planning the retreat provided for us an increased awareness of what God has really called us to be as leaders.  No doubt we can have that “Joyous Spiritual Abandon” for ministry.  Working together we will make it happen and make it happen in a BIG way.  I left feeling as Isaiah must have felt when he said, “HERE AM I LORD, SEND ME”.

A small church in the hills of Tennessee struck oil on its parking lot.  It was a gusher and money was coming in so fast the finance committee didn’t know what to do with it.  The committee called a special congregational meeting of the forty members of the church and asked what to do with all the money.  Deacon Brown said, “I move that we divide all the money among our forty members, and I further move that we don’t take in any new members.”

A church had a great Sunday service.  The next Sunday one of the deacons prayed “Lord, the last morning service was so great.  It was wonderful, just unbelievable.  Lord, You should have been there.”

 A country preacher was preaching very pointedly to his congregation one Sunday night.  He said, “Now let the church walk.”  Deacon Jones said, “Amen, let it walk.”  The preacher then said, “Let the church run.”  Deacon Jones said, “Amen, pastor, let it run.”  “Let the church fly,” said the preacher.  “Amen, brother, let it fly,” said Deacon Jones.  “Now it’s going to take money to let it fly, brother.”  “Let it walk,” said Deacon Jones.  “Let it walk.”

A visitor to a drought-stricken area was engaged in conversation at the local store about the no-rain situation.  “You think the drought is bad here,” the merchant observed.  “But down south of here a ways, they haven’t had any for so long that the Baptists are sprinkling, the Methodists are using a damp cloth, and the Presbyterians are issuing rain checks!”