In a Connectional Church, I Say Farewell—Not Goodbye

As many of you know, I will enter the “retired relationship” on July 1. After forty-five years of ordained ministry—including twenty years serving in general agencies of the church and nearly fifteen years in my stewardship role at Discipleship Ministries—I find myself filled with gratitude.

I cannot imagine a better way to have invested my life. I mean that with my whole heart.

My ministry began in local churches in the Greater New Jersey Conference, where I spent twenty years serving congregations and another five years on the conference program staff. For the past two decades, my joy has been to be in ministry with you—local church and annual conference leaders, lay and clergy, across our United Methodist connection.

And what a journey it has been.

We have gathered in workshops and webinars, shared conversations at display tables in annual conference sessions, and connected in online learning communities. I have had the privilege of worshiping in some of your churches. Along the way, this work has taken me to every state in the U.S. and to places I never imagined I would go—the Philippines, across Africa, Europe, Russia, Korea, China, Brazil, and the Middle East.

Everywhere I have gone, I have experienced the same quiet truth: Christ is already there. Again and again, I have felt that gentle nudge—to reach out, to listen, and to recognize sisters and brothers in faith.

Here’s what we’ve shared, what I’ve learned, and what I hope for you.

First, thank you. Truly. Your faithfulness has made this ministry possible. Through apportionments—whether you call them mission shares, ministry shares, or simply your church’s tithe—you have supported a connection that extends far beyond any one congregation. You have made it possible for people like me—and so many others—to serve. That kind of generosity is not always celebrated as it should be, but it has mattered deeply.

These have not been easy years for the church. And yet, you have remained. You have adapted. You have continued to serve, to give, and to lead.

If I could leave you with one encouragement, it would be this:

Tell the stories.

Tell the stories of lives changed, of hope restored, of people who have encountered grace through the ministries of your church. Talk less about budgets and more about generosity. Celebrate the joy of giving, even when you are not asking for a gift. And do not let a scarcity mindset take hold, where leaders become afraid to dream about what God might yet do through them and the church.

Our God is a God of abundance.

In the years of my pastoral ministry, I think I was often overly focused on growing the church numerically. But at this point in my life, I find myself drawn in a different direction. Where are lives being changed? Where is grace being experienced? Where is transformation taking root?

That feels like the better measure.

As for what comes next, I am not quite ready to finish. I hope to continue writing and contributing in ways that support the church I love. And in August, my wife and I will move to be closer to our children and to welcome our first grandchild this October. That, too, feels like a gift of grace.

A new Director of Stewardship and Generosity will soon be named, and you will receive an introduction in the months ahead. I am confident that you will offer that person the same support, encouragement, and partnership you have so generously extended to me.

One of the things I have come to cherish most about our connectional church is this: we rarely know when our paths will cross again. Because of that, “goodbye” feels too final. Bon voyage feels a bit too distant.

So I will simply say, “farewell.”

May you continue to lead with courage and generosity.

May you tell the stories that matter.

May you trust in God’s abundance, even when the path is uncertain.

And may you know that your work—your faithful, daily work—makes a difference far beyond what you can see.

You will be in my prayers. I hope I will be in yours.

Gratefully,
Ken