Imagine a strong, growing and healthy connectional church. A church that is about mission, ministry and the work of our redeemer’s Kingdom. The African Methodist Episcopal Church can be that church. But in order for it to be that church, we must make the local church our priority. I am very concerned that for far too long, we have spent too much time too much money and too much focus on the connectional church, while our local churches are struggling and hurting. We have connectional meeting after connectional meeting and do not address what is happening in our local churches. The strength of African Methodism is not top down, it is bottom up. The strength of our connection will only be as strong as our local churches. If our local churches are struggling, our connection will struggle. If our local churches aren’t growing, our connection will not grow. We will not resolve the issues facing the connectional church unless we face and address the issues facing our local churches.

As we prepare to begin a new quadrennial, I call upon us to make the local church our number one priority. To dedicate the next quadrennial to strengthening, growing and making healthy our local churches. At our connectional, Episcopal and conference meetings let’s focus on the local church. There are a host of things we must and can do to strengthen, grow and make our local churches healthy. Immediately we must:

1. Recommit ourselves to saving souls and making disciples the priority of the church. We must be committed to bringing people to Christ and moving them from members of the church to “Disciples for Christ.”
    
2. Better train and prepare ministries so they will be ready for service and leadership in the local church.
    
3. Allow the Holy Spirit to provide creativity and direction in worship, administration and innovation and not be bound by the “AME way” and tradition.
    
4. Lift up and emphasize the importance of worship, the Word and prayer to all of our congregants and churches. We are to be passionate about worship, live by God’s word and consistently talk with God in prayer.
    
5. It is imperative that we make new member classes and orientation more effective. Training for local church instructors should be provided by Conference Board of Christian Education.
    
6. Episcopal, Annual Conference, and Presiding Elder District meetings should provide workshops, training and opportunities for ministers, local church offices and members on leadership, mission, administration, ministry, stewardship, finance, music, ect………
    
7. Annual Conference Committee on Missions, Circuits and Stations will make to Annual Conference recommendations on churches to be closed and opportunities for churches to be planted.
    
8. The General Board Shall consider and act on recommendations to reduce the number of meetings and other activities that drain or require funds from local church.
    
9. Use our own pastors who have demonstrated records of growing churches, effective administration and making disciples to assist pastors, conduct workshops and other assistance.
    
10. Weed Out ineffective, unproductive and irresponsible pastors who demonstrate a consistent record of harming and undermining churches.
     
11. Ministry geared to young adult’s ages 18 to 39, involving them in the total life of the church.
     

These are only a few of the ways in which we can strengthen, grow and make our local churches healthy. I will be more specific and elaborate on others in the weeks ahead.

Imagine, the African Methodist Episcopal Church financially strong, with a connectional budget that reflects its mission, supports its ministries and provides for personnel and operations, without burdening local churches. It can be done if we act now to do those things which are prudent, business oriented and reflect good stewardship. I believe a bishop has a responsibility to lead in making sure that the church is financially strong and practices good stewardship, it is also being faithful. In addition I believe the AME church, like the rest of the world must recognize economic realities and make decisions which enhance our financial strength.

1. The General Conference must approve the appointment of a Development Officer or Company whose responsibility it will be to write proposals for grants from philanthropist, foundations or government to support the work of the church. We have talked about a development officer and other sources of income for years, and I submitted legislation in 2008 to approve the position, but the church has not acted. The AME church is one of the few denominations which puts all the weight of its budget on the local churches. There are millions of dollars through foundations and grants to support the ministries and educational institutions of our church.
    
2. Each Year our department of Annuity Investments and Insurance gives some company almost seventy million ($70 million dollars) to manage and invest. In return we receive several hundred thousand dollars in “in kind services.” I believe we can do better. We should negotiate with several companies for the best deal for the AME Church. That deal should include that company agreeing as part of the contract donating at least one million ($1 million) dollars a year, to underwrite the cost of the General Conference. This will be at least four million dollars ($4 million) dollars reduced from the connectional budget and off the local churches.
    
3. The General Conference and the Council of Bishops should take action to consolidate some of our connectional meetings to reduce the amount we spend on travel and lodging. We spend almost as much or more on travel and lodging a year as our General Budget. For example we have spent in Columbia, South Carolina (General Board and Bishop Council), Orlando, Florida (YPD and WMS Quadrennial) and in Detroit (Lay Biennial) in three months, almost if not more than our General Budget for this year. Why couldn’t the General Board and Bishops Council meeting be held at the same time as the Quadrennial or why can’t the Church Growth Conference and the WMS Executive Board meetings, both be held in January at the same time and the same place. There are facilities large enough to accomodate. It’s a matter of planning. It is not good planning or stewardship, and ignores economic realities not to act on it. It will save our local churches and members money on travel.
    
4. Presently both the WMS and the Connectional Lay Organization are funded in the general Budget for over half a million dollars. The WMS has approximately one hundred thousand (100,000) members and the connectional and the Connectional Lay Organization has approximately fifty thousand (50,000) members. We should consider a membership fee of ten dollars ($10) to be a member of the Connectional WMS or the Connectional Lay Organization. The WMS would receive one million dollars ($1million) annually and the Lay Organization five hundred thousand ($500,000) annually. More than what they receive in the General Budget and enable them to do more to support their work. In addition it would lower the amount of the General Budget and the amount on our local churches.
    
5. We must teach and urge our members to be generous in their giving. Today there is an attitude of giving as little as we can. This is not biblically sound and is not good stewardship. Giving is one of the great teachings of Jesus and of our faith. This must be taught and demonstrated at the top of our denominational leadership down to the local church.
    
6. We hear often today that we must find “additional or alternate sources” of income and this is true. However, we must begin to preach, teach, and call upon our congregants to so what the Lord requires each of us to do, and that is to tithe. To give 10% of what the Lord has enabled us to receive. The tithe is the minimum the offering is anything above the tithe. In 1996 I sponsored legislation which was approved, that says “tithing is the official stewardship emphasis of the AME Church.” While we should seek alternate sources of income probably less than 30% of our congregants are tithers. Alternate sources of income do not relieve us of the Bibilical mandate to tithe. Imagine how much stronger our local churches would be and how much more we would be able to do if more of our congregants were tithers. Tithing must be a connectional priority.
    
7. We must not only preach, teach, and call upon our congregants to tithe, we must also preach, teach and call upon our congregants to be good stewards of the “90%” that the Lord entrust to us. We must have programs in our churches to teach our congregants to handle money “God’s Way.” Too many of our congregants are in debt. The Word of God talks about money more than it does anything else, because God knows that money more than anything else will come between Him and us.
    

Imagine, the African Methodist Episcopal Church being the prophetic voice for social justice that empowers our people and is the instrument for change in our nation and the world. While we gather in our meetings and deal with our “AME business”, there are forces at work that seek to deal with our nation’s debt at the expense of the poor and the middle class, who seek to undo the historic healthcare legislation signed by President Obama, harm seniors by undermining Medicare and Social Security, while protecting corporate loopholes and cutting taxes for the wealthiest in the country. We cannot become so focused on what is happening in our small AME world, that we become silent and removed from what is happening in the larger world that we are called to seek, save and win for Christ.

We must become more vocal, engaged and organized to address issues of social and economic justice, especially in this highly technological age. It is imperative that we not allow the only voices to be heard be those of the Tea Party and so called “Evangelical Christians”, and to undermine and disrespect the president of the United States, who happens to be African American. I have a record of being not only an advocate but getting things done in New Jersey. As a bishop in the mold of Henry McNeal Turner I will be a prophetic voice, speaking for those who have no one to speak for them and fighting for those who have no one to fight for them. There are several things I believe we must do.

1. I commend Bishop Carolyn Guidry and Sis. Jackie DuPont Walker, our Director of Social Action for the leadership they have given over the last two quadrennials, seeing that the position of the AME Church is known in important places.
    
2. I believe the AME Church must take advantage of the “social media” to both inform and organize AME’s across the nation and the world for action. The Tea Party and “Evangelical Christians” have gained much influence because they have used the social media to inform and organize their supporters across the country.
    
3. We must see that every AME Church has a website, email or some social media so that positions, decisions and actions of the AME Church can be communicated to pastors who in turn will communicate them to congregations.
    
4. Every bishop should act to see that every AME Church in the Episcopal District has a website or other means of social media. In addition every Annual Conference following the close of the 2012 General Conference shall hold a workshop on social media so that pastors and churches can learn benefit of social media in every area of church life.
    
5. Through social media our congregants can be called to act on issues, contact their federal and state officials and seek to influence them.
    
6. Use social media to begin now to register, inform and motivate African Americans to participate and vote in the 2012 election. This will be a very closely contested election and every vote is important. There is already an effort underway to undermine the president and depress the minority vote. It is imperative that we begin now to prepare or next year’s election and we must be organized to be effective.
    
7. I ask our Council of Bishops to seek a meeting of black religious leadership during the upcoming Congressional Black Caucus Weekend to see consensus on jobs, dealing with the national debt, defending healthcare legislation and voter registration campaign. To also hold press conference and use social media to communicate to black churches and community across the nation it will send a powerful message across the nation.