My Tour Guide

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I've been extremely busy with being on staff for Confirmation and Spiritual Life Retreats, which I will explain in more detail in a future post.

I wanted to take some time to tell you about an amazing experience I had back in January of this year. I attended Passion 2011, which is a national conference for high school seniors and college students. This is a weekend filled with worship led by your favorite artists, and awesome speakers from all different paths of life. We also broke into small groups where we discussed the sermons we heard in the last session. Louie Giglio started these conferences and he talked about how we hide God too much, and don't let people see the man who made us who we are, who we are becoming, and what we will be. This really hit many of us. I know it hit me, because it made me realize that I sometimes put on two personalities: my church personality, and my school personality. I noticed that my only purpose should be to let God be seen through me any time and anywhere, so that I can lead others to him, and continue making disciples for Jesus Christ.

Then God presented my two friends and I with a test one night after worship. We were in Atlanta walking back to our hotel when we passed a homeless man. He came up to us and just said, "Man, y'all are really pumped up for God, aren't you?" We all affirmed that, and then we started talking with him while he claimed to be our "tour guide" on the way back to the hotel. As we walked, he started saying scripture verses and explaining his life and how he's just been fortunate enough to get a job. He explained to us the trials he has been through and showed us his bible, and told us that is what guides him through life. As we approached the hotel he told us that he was just offered a job, but he needed some money to get him by till he gets his first paycheck. As we all offered the few dollars we had, we parted ways with our guide. Then we realized he was our angel sent to show us what carrying God with you is all about. This was such an eye opening experience and I'll remember it forever. As he said he was our guide, he wasn't just a guide to that big city, he was a guide for our lives. He showed us how to be brave and put ourselves out there knowing that as long as we're spreading the good word, God will protect us, and watch over us no matter how difficult it may be to approach someone about our magnificent savior. I encourage you to go out into the world carrying one personality, it being one that's all about our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, and about spreading the word, so that we may be that tour guide for everyone around us. God bless!

Global Young People's Convocation and Legislative Assembly

Last year, during my term as Vice-President, I was elected to go to Berlin, Germany in July of 2010 to represent the southeastern U.S. at the Global Young People's Convocation and Legislative Assembly. This was a conference in Berlin where Christians came from all over the world to vote on legislation to be passed to General Conference in 2012. This legislation was not anything to take lightly. It mainly consisted of how United Methodists view same sex marriage and aborting among other issues as well. We also had worship everyday in many different languages which was incredible to experience. We heard speakers and Bishops from all over the world and even had worship in the Berlin Dome one day! Below is a chart I made containing each piece of legislation and the way we voted.

Legislation	Passed?	Recommended to General Conference?
2 - A Resolution Calling United Methodists to Create Programs and Mission Works on Climate Justice	Yes	Yes
5 - Affirmation of the Resolution against Extrajudicial Killing in the Philippines	Yes	Yes
6 - Bringing Justice to Gatumba Genocide	Yes	Yes
12 - The United Methodist Church and Same-Sex Marriages	No	No
13 - The Role of United Methodist Clergy in Performing and of the United Methodist Church in Hosting Same-Sex Marriages	No	No
14 - Resolution to the Global Young People’s Convocation and Legislative Assembly on the Role of United Methodist Clergy in Performing Same-sex Marriages	No	No
1 - Supporting Non-Political Alternatives to Abortion	Yes	Yes
15 - Mourn High Abortion Rates	No	No
21 - Statement on Lowering Abortion Rates	Yes	Yes
9 - Affirmation of General Conference 2008 Church and Society 2 Human Sexuality Resolution Majority Report	Yes	Yes
18 - Petition Against Homosexuality, Lesbianism and Alcoholism in United Methodist Churches	Ruled out of order.	No
4 - A Call for Education and Understanding	No	No
7 - Civility at General Conference	Yes	Refer to the committee on General Conference
8 - Getting All the Facts Before Making Decisions	No	No
17 - Supporting a Fully Global Church Leadership During the General	Yes	Yes
20- Consideration of the Schedules of Young People in Planning the Dates of Boards and Agencies	Yes	Yes
3 - DMYP Leadership Development Funding	Yes	Refer to General Board of Discipline
10 - DMYP Youth Membership	Yes	Yes
11 - DMYP Youth Membership	Yes	Referred to Division on Ministries with Young People (DMYP)
16 - Percentage on General Agencies and Boards	Yes	Referred to Division on Ministries with Young People (DMYP)
19 - Central Conference Youth and Young Adult Membership to the General Boards and Agencies of the UMC	Yes	Referred to Division on Ministries with Young People (DMYP)
22 - Resolution in Support of Major Changes in the Approach to Young Adult Missionary Programs of the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church	Yes	Referred to Division on Ministries with Young People (DMYP)

As I've said, everything that passed on this list will go to General Conference and as of this week I am officially up for election to go to General Conference. It would be such a cool experience to go and see some of the legislation from Germany at this conference. This truly shows the chain in which legislation is passed down and how long it takes for it to arrive in your conference or at your local church. It is a long process, but it ensures that it fits the United Methodist ideals as created by John Wesley.

If you're interested in seeing a video that gives you in-depth details on this conference go to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1z4zEEp0WQ

God bless,

Christian

How Does the United Methodist Church Work?

The United Methodist Church

I have found that many people think that each church itself is a standalone business. Well this is not so with United Methodist churches. The structure of the Methodist church has often been joked about but as many people say, "If you want something done, get the Methodists to do it." Not many people seem to think about it but the root of the word "Methodist" is Method, meaning we are very methodical in everything we do. This has remained true since the beginning of the Methodist church. One of the reasons the Methodist church accomplishes so much is due to a major emphasis on "connectionalism." I'm not trying to make an implication that the United Methodist denomination is any better than another, but this is one of the main concepts that this denomination focuses on.

Structure

The United Methodist Church has no single or central office. Nor does it have an archbishop or pope. The church has a General Conference, it's legislative branch; a council of bishops, like an executive branch; and a nine-member Judicial Council, acting as the judicial branch. The General Conference is the only body that can set official policy and speak for the denomination. It is a body of about 1,000 delegates that meets every four years. These delegates are elected by annual conferences. Half of the delegates are laity (congregational and conference representatives), and half are clergy (ordained pastors). At this conference, delegates discuss and vote on petitions and resolutions proposed by individuals, organizations, and annual conferences. The actions taken during this conference lead to revisions in the Book of Discipline, the denomination's book of law.

Annual Conferences

You may be wondering what an annual conference is. Every year each conference of United Methodist Churches meet to conduct the business for the conference. There are a few conferences in most states. All clergy members and an equal number of laity delegate this yearly conference. During sessions of annual conference members of the conference hear reports about past and ongoing work while making goals for the future, adopting programs and budgets, and ordaining new clergy. This is also where delegates are elected to General and Jurisdictional Conferences. The Bishop presides over these sessions. I know this is a lot of information to take in but I feel that it is vital for us to understand how our church works so that we can make a change for the better to how our denomination is managed. Let me know if you have any questions or seek further explanation.

God Bless,

Christian

Welcome!

My name is Christian Higgins and I am the President of Conference Youth for the North Georgia United Methodist Conference. The purpose of this blog is to inform you on what is going on with youth ministry in north GA. I will give frequent updates on conference wide interests while also focusing on the local church at times. As I progress through my term I see so many inspirational and amazing moments and I want to share all of them with you as you go through your spiritual journey. Now, I know you may be wondering what this job entails and how the conference youth ministry is run. It all starts with CCYM, the Conference Council on Youth Ministries. This is a council that meets every few months to plan and discuss conference events, distribute funds to churches in need locally and internationally through the Youth Service Fund, and mainly to make disciples for Jesus Christ! This council is mostly comprised of youth but also has adult representatives. As President, I lead each CCYM meeting and am the youth representative for many other councils in the North GA Conference such as the Disaster Response Committee, The Connectional Table, the Annual Conference 2011 Planning Committee, and the Conference Board of Laity. These are just a few of my responsibilities that I feel are most rewarding. I hope you find this blog useful and if you have any questions or comments, please comment below or email me at: christianhiggins_007@yahoo.com.

God Bless,

Christian