Chair
PO Box 6390
Norman, OK 73070
405.321.3484
Rev. Dr. Carol Cook-Moore
Vice-Chair
626 College Ave.
Alva OK 73717
580.327.2571
Rev.Brandon Blacksten
Secretary
PO Box 190
Tuttle,OK 73089
405.381.2458
Rev. Jim Shepherd
Elder, Deacon, & Candidacy Registrar
PO Box 523
Norman, OK 73070
405.321.0975
Rev.James Graham
Local Pastor Registrar
300 W Delaware
Tahlequah, OK 74464
918.456.6141
Rev. Dr. Kathy Brown
Psychological Testing
1105 NW 27TH St
Moore OK 73160
405.794.8393
Rev. Mike Chaffin
Conference Relations Committee, Chair
405.372.5854
Rev. Charles L. Nordean
Director of Ministerial Development
1501 NW 24th St
Oklahoma City, OK 73106
405.530.2007
The Oklahoma Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church
Board of Ministerial Leadership
June 23, 2016
Greetings to the Board of Ministerial Leadership 2016-2020:
Yes, you read that correctly. Linda Harker has informed me that General Conference has renamed the Board of Ordained Ministry to the Board of Ministerial Leadership. BOOM to BOML. I’ll let you make your own jokes.
The work of our interview teams lies at the heart of what we do as a board. In naming those teams, attention has to be given to continuity and diversity. Linda Harker, Carol Cook-Moore, Greg Tener, Chuck Nordean, and I collaborated on naming the teams, and we believe that we will have three strong teams. The teams are doctrine and polity, worship and proclamation, and call and disciplined life.
For those who are returning to the board, we heard the feedback from the spring experiment in which candidates for commissioned ministry each had 90 minute interviews with each of the three teams. The feedback from our candidates was overwhelmingly positive, and we will continue to use this format in our spring interviews of candidates for commissioned ministry. We are currently studying the possibility of using this format with our provisional members (those who have been commissioned) in years 1, 2, and 3. Years 1 and 2 present some unique challenges for this format, so members of the Executive Committee are creating and studying different scenarios. We are hopeful that we can implement the three-team interview process in this year’s fall interviews.
For those who are new to the board, fall interviews will be November 14-15. We will be providing orientation and training in the board meetings leading up to the interviews. I would give special encouragement to the lay members of our board. You have been chosen by our bishop to represent the lay perspective in matters pertaining to ministerial leadership. Your voice is both important and relevant, so speak up and speak out.
Grace and peace,
Jim Shepherd
Elder, Deacon, and Candidacy Registrar
1501 NW 24th St, Oklahoma City, OK 73106-3635