August 2026
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” ~ Proverbs 29:18
I never had Dr. Lovett Weems for a teacher but he was the president of Saint Paul School of Theology when I started there as a student in 2002.
Dr. Weems taught leadership, and since I specialized in town and country ministries, all the leadership classes I took were taught by Dr. Marvin Anderson. Later – after I’d taken all the specialization classes I needed – Dr. Shannon Jung was brought in to teach the specialization’s leadership classes.
I mention Dr. Weems because the passage of scripture I heard him reference more often than not was Proverbs 29:18 (KJV): “Where there is no vision, the people perish …”
This time of year, I think about that passage often because I know church conferences are right around the corner. Over the years – as I have learned about the importance of sticking to processes – I have realized how absolutely vital it is to pursue the vision God has in store for the churches.
Here’s an example. A while back I was talking with some folks about concerns they had with something, and as I listened to the conversation, I kept asking, “OK. So, what is the process for addressing this?”
I felt like the question fell on deaf ears. I’m thinking it fell on deaf ears because I didn’t explain the difference between process and content, and there is a HUGE difference between processing something and getting stuck focusing on the content of something. In my experiences, process pursues the vision, and content creates anxiety because it gets stuck on this detail or that problem without actually even getting to the bigger vision.
Maybe an example would help. Let’s say I was packing a box I wanted to ship to one of my children and what I was sending was fragile. If that was the case, I’d make sure that the fragile items were carefully wrapped in bubble wrap, and securely packed in the box with popcorn, making sure the box, itself, was reinforced in some way, so I was providing the maximum protection for the fragile items. Had I not followed that process, I might have packed the fragile items in the box and not paid attention to one of those details and ended up having the items get crushed in the shipping process.
The same applies with how we interact in our relationships; that’s why God gives us a vision to follow. The vision might be one of kindness and empathy, compassion, and grace and when that is carried out, others feel the warmth of that vision. When the vision is ignored, emotions flare and feelings get hurt.
I have found that practicing vision and following processes as best I can – since sometimes the processes have to be discovered – often avoids problems. When I follow processes and vision on a personal level, I will eat right, exercise like I should, get the rest I need, and keep a level mind. When I don’t, I end up like Scratch the Squirrel constantly chasing a nut in the Ice Age movies or the Minions in the Despicable Me movies.
The same is true for the church, and as Methodists we are blessed with all kinds of processes. All we have to do is see what they are and do them in pursuit of the vision God has for our churches.
Just some food for thought, so we will keep on pedaling like God needs us to.
Shalom, Pastor Mark
DATES TO REMEMBER
Aug 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26 31 — Ladies Exercise Group at 9:30
Aug 5, 12, 19, 26 10:30 Oakview Bible Study
4:00 Bible Study of John in the library at FUMC
Aug 10-14 Pastor Mark gone to a professional meeting
Aug 17 Charge Conference following 9:30 Worship Service
Aug 24 Administrative Board Meeting at 5:15
AUGUST BIRTHDAYS
Aug 5 Troy Morris Aug 22 Kennedi Fields
Aug 6 Shanna Albright Aug 22 Tyler Harris
Aug 9 Landon Clemensen Aug 25 Jamie Reagan
Aug 10 Jarrett Marvel Aug 26 Nancy Dungan
Aug 12 Ernie Casey Aug 27 Raven Warren
Aug 17 Nick Siebuhr Aug 31 Vicki Ulepich
Aug 20 Mark Musser
CHARGE CONFERENCE CALLED ON AUGUST 16TH HERE AT THE FUMC
Southeast Kansas District Superintendent, Rev. Dr. Alice Purbis, will be attending worship in Frontenac on Sunday, August 16. Following worship, she will conduct a Charge Conference for the purpose of providing church members an opportunity for the congregation to have a voice in the daycare board’s recommendation to close Kids First Day Care.
The Kids First Day Care board made the recommendation in June to end this ministry of the Frontenac United Methodist Church. Under the bylaws of the operation and the Book of Discipline, a charge conference has to be held to address the disposition of the daycare’s license and its non-profit status. Under the terms of a charge conference, church members have a voice but no vote regarding the daycare. Once everyone has had a change to speak, the administrative board will vote in open session by show of hands whether or not to close Kids First Day Care.
MAILING ADDRESS CHANGE
Since the Kids First Day Cae has closed, we have removed the mailbox at the church and are only using the Post Office Box for mail at this time. So please send all correspondence to: P.O. Box 908 Frontenac, KS. 66763. Thank you. Summer greetings! Do you realize it’s been an entire season since I last wrote Pastor Pedalings. OK. So, June 21 meant we are now in the summer rather than the spring. LOL