The Ohio Conference Leadership Team met on Tuesday, Nov. 17. As a conference we are about three quarters of the way through our calendar year, and Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) begins to appear closer on the horizon. In the months since the last ACA, LT has attempted to work faithfully to lead and to listen to Ohio Conference. At the Nov. 17 meeting it seemed clear that our efforts, however faithful, however time-consuming or however biblical, are falling short, and Ohio Conference continues to fracture. We are continually confronted with the realities of lack of trust, lack of covenantal relationships and a willingness to point the finger at the other. We are all complicit in this.

We as Leadership Team and all of us as Ohio Conference can become discouraged and angry at what we see happening, or we can simply come to the realization that all of this is out of our control and we cannot see it from God’s perspective. It has never been in our control, and we can be thankful for that. However, this doesn’t mean that we sit back and do nothing. With this in mind Leadership Team will continue to lead towards covenantal relationships as described in 1 Corinthians 13. (Remember, that passage was written to a church, not a couple on their wedding day). We will continue to lead towards biblical wholeness. The tangible way we hope to do this is to pray more. Leadership Team is going to continue to focus on praying together as a team and as a conference. One way you can join us in prayer is by joining our “GoToMeeting Prayer Session” on Dec. 17 at 12 noon. Watch for upcoming details on how you can join this prayer time. We are also planning another pastors’ meeting on Jan.13 in Bellville.

We all feel the pain of loss, the anger of disagreements and the grieving of separation. We know we have an adversary that seeks to separates us from God and from each other. Let’s all choose to take advantage of this crisis to draw closer to God and to each other.

Dean Beck, Moderator
Thomas Dunn, Assistant Moderator
Naomi Engle, Credentialing Ministry Chair
Keith Hostetler, Stewardship Ministry Chair
Mel Hathaway, Gifts Discernment Ministry Chair (currently on sabbatical)