I told you last week that I was travelling to Lake Junaluska, NC for the yearly meeting of the Western North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. That's an official sounding mouthful.

A couple of conference highlights:

• Good Shepherd's own Rich Tuttle was "commissioned" as a probationary elder in the Methodist Church. Don't worry . . . in this case, probation is a good thing. It simply means that he is on the way to ordination and tenure as a pastor in our denomination.
• Good Shepherd is currently the third largest church in the WNCC in terms of average Sunday attendance. In 2007, only Christ UMC in Hickory (2098 average attendance) and Matthews UMC in Matthews (1697) were larger than Good Shepherd (1475).

But the most interesting moment came when Rev. Hubert Clinard won the Harry Denman Award For Excellence in Evangelism. The Conference gives that award each year to a pastor who has done innovative work in sharing faith and growing churches.

Yet Hubert Clinard is 83. Turns out he has taken over 50 mission trips to Costa Rica alone in the course of his ministry. I cannot think of a more deserving winner. You can read more about it on page 3 of this Conference Update.

It got me thinking . . . do I have enough zeal for God still to be doing His work at that age? Or will I be winding down, figuring that the work of the gospel is for only for the young?

Thanks Hubert. I want to be like you when I grow up.

Today I'll be travelling to Lake Junaluska North Carolina for the Western North Carolina Annual Conference. It's a yearly (think that's why they call it "Annual Conference"?) gathering of about 2500 preachers and church members from across the western part of our state. Equal parts revival, business meeting, and family reunion, the annual meeting is a primary connecting point for United Methodists in our area.

While many preachers dread going because a) there are many long sessions and b) the auditorium at Junaluska is not air conditioned, I actually love going. I think it's the family reunion element that keeps me coming back. Well, that and the fact that attendance is mandatory.

But all of that gets me thinking about why I like being a Methodist so much.

After all, the denomination as a whole is in decline, my theology and the theology of Good Shepherd is somewhere to the right of the hierarchy, and sometimes people tell us that our church doesn't seem like a Methodist church. In spite of all that, I love the denomination and am proud to be a United Methodist. Here's why:

• Methodists take I Timothy 2:4-5 seriously: "this is good and pleases God our Savior who wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth." We believe God genuinely wants all people to know him, that he has given us free will, and celebrates when we come home.
• Methodists have a marvelous doctrine called prevenient grace: the notion that God is at work in your life when you are not aware of it. It's the move of God that you see in the rear view mirror. If not for that prevenient grace, I wouldn't know him.
• Methodists have long had a good mix of personal faith and social outreach.
• Historically, Methodists were known for their rowdy worship, their passion for sharing their faith with those who had not yet accepted Christ, their love for small groups, and their commitment to help the poor. Hmmm, when we get it right, that sounds like Good Shepherd. Maybe we're more Methodist than all those sedate churches out there!

I'll be back on Saturday so I can preach on Sunday. And I'm sure I'll return with even more appreciation for being part of the "people called Methodist."