Order of Elders suggests points to consider in elections




Elected lay members of the Southwest Texas Annual Conference session should by now have received information about endorsed candidates for next year’s General Conference.
Those voter guides were mailed in early March to laypeople who will be representing their congregations at the June 6-9 annual conference session in Corpus Christi.
A key task during that gathering will be electing clergy and laity delegates to the 2008 General Conference and 2008 South Central Jurisdictional Conference.
Clergy members of the conference in full connection pick the clergy delegates. Elected lay members select the laity delegates.
The Board of Laity provides the voter guide to help lay members of the conference know about individuals who want to be considered for election and have been endorsed by their congregations.
While the Board of Laity has been compiling its voter guide, the Order of Elders Advisory Committee has been circulating a “Suggested List of Characteristics for Delegates to General and Jurisdictional Conferences” to clergy members. That list was based on input from delegates to past General and jurisdictional conferences.
Conference Lay Leader Jay Brim was impressed by the list. He plans to distribute it to laypeople casting votes in June.
I thought Witness readers might want to see the suggested guidance as well:

1. Pray for discernment in deciding for whom to vote to represent our conference.
2. Have each of them demon-strated that they have the gifts and graces needed to be an effective delegate at General Conference?
> Have each of them been around long enough to understand the strengths of our conference and the challenges facing our conference?
> Does each of them have the respect and trust of other members of the annual conference?
3. Does the delegation as a whole represent the theological, ethnic and gender diversity of our confer-ence?
> Is each of them able to work cooperatively with others, even those with whom they disagree?
> Is each of them committed to working toward “win-win” resolutions of conflict?
4. Does each of them have the physical, emotional and spiritual stamina to serve?
> The General Conference requires involvement from early morning until late in the evening for two weeks.
> Is each of them able to think clearly and deal with others patiently after several nights of less than normal sleep?
5. Is each one willing to commit the time and energy needed to prepare for each of the Pre-General Conference meetings?
> Is each one willing to do the large amount of reading of pre-conference material as well as doing additional research on some issues as needed?
> Is each one willing and able to participate in the monthly delegation meetings in the year prior to General Conference?
6. Regarding jurdisdictional con-ference and delegates:
> Will each participate cooperatively with others in the delegation in the interviewing of candidates for bishop from other conferences?
> In addition to the qualities listed above, is each willing to support and assist in fundraising that might be necessary to take care of the travel and lodging expenses of any candidate or candidates for bishop our delegation recommends to the jurisdiction from our annual conference?
In June lay members of the conference may vote for any person who has been a member of a Southwest Texas Conference congregation for at least two years and an active United Methodist for at least four years.
Conference lay members are expected to elect six delegates to the April 23 to May 2 General Conference in Fort Worth, six more delegates to the July 16-19 jurisdictional conference in Dallas and four reserve (alternate) delegates.