Report on the Nashville General Assembly
John Burton, July 2011
You know that I went to the General Assembly in Nashville but for most of you that does not mean much more than “the preacher is playing hookey in another town with a bunch of other ministers and friends.” Well, that is true…but there is much more. Let me share with you some of it – stop reading whenever you lose interest.
Saturday July 9:
I flew from Love Field to Nashville by way of San Antonio. My old friend Ed Hantel picked me up from the airport. He was most gracious to let me stay in his home and to allow me to use one of his cars to get to/from the GA which took place in downtown Nashville.
The GA opened with worship. It was a dynamic service. This being Nashville and all the service included a lot of music that I would label “Western Swing.” The 8,000 people attending were feeling the spirit. The preacher for the evening was an old friend, Rev. Holly McKissik, and she made us all proud. Set a dynamic tone for the week and brought the word of God right to us. When we left we knew we had been churched!
Sunday, July 10:
A tradition at the GA is that local Disciple as well as other congregations invite in a Disciple pastor to preach and invite the assembly participants to come. I attended worship at Woodmont Christian Church. Dr. Fred Craddock was the 11:00 am preacher. I had to feed my Craddock addiction! I got there an hour early but when the doors opened not only could I not find one seat in the sanctuary but when I got to the fellowship hall, where Craddock’s sermon was to be broadcast, I didn’t get a seat there until some church members brought more chairs from various Sunday School classes. I was a bit unhappy about not getting into the sanctuary but it turns out I was right where I needed to be. The sermon was to be broadcast but the rest of the service was done by the church’s Sunday evening worship team. Wow! Andra Moran and her husband and their band lead the service. I’m not saying that stopping to listen to Dr. Craddock’s sermon was a bad thing (it was NOT) but the service was hitting on all cylinders before and after the sermon. Note: I have Dr. Craddock’s sermon on DVD and you can borrow it. No one preaches better than Fred Craddock. On my best day I have the preaching skills that guy has in his little finger, and you know, he doesn’t even use his little finger when preaching!
After lunch I went back to the Convention Center for the first business session and to hear the General Minister and President’s State of the Church Address. I can’t synopsize that here but I do have it on DVD. Stop by and ask to borrow it! It gives you the broader picture of what is going on in our denomination than we normally get! You can also see the State of the Church on the web by clicking here.
After dinner the evening service was a concert/service featuring Gabe Dixon, a Disciple who is one of the most successful songwriters in Nashville. They rocked the house and I stayed to the very end. I could have gone to the Week of Compassion Concert at the Country Music Hall of Fame but I wouldn’t have had the energy to drive back to the home I stayed at some 15 miles outside downtown.
Monday, July 11:
First order of business was a business session and the main agenda was the motion to re-elect Rev. Sharon Watkins for a second term as General Minister and President. This was a no-brainer. I’ve seen General Minister come and go over the past 40 or so years and she’s done a good job. Almost everyone thought so, too.
I attended the Vanderbilt Divinity School luncheon (I am an alumni.) It was held in Nashville’s new symphony center. What a building!! The lunch was great because many of those old friends I had not seen in 30 years! My good friend Bob Hill presented this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award – to Dr. Craddock.
In the afternoon we all had lots of choices. Do you remember the Indiana Jones film where he found the Holy Grail. There was an ancient knight guarding a room full of gleaming goblets. The Nazi chose a bejeweled one to drink from and…he died horribly. The Knight Templar said, “He chose poorly.” Well, I choose poorly. I didn’t die but I almost passed out until I realized that no one was paying me to stay there. So I left.
Late afternoon I attended a Vanderbilt Divinity House Reunion. Man, there were some tall tales told there and a lot of true stories remembered. Such fun as I have not had in a long time.
Monday night featured an “Emergent Church Worship Service.” Lots of scripture. Lots of great contemporary music (sometimes traditional lyrics with modern arrangements and accompaniment). And a sermon by Brian McLaren (Pastor, author, preacher who has been on Larry King Live, Nightline, and been featured in Christianity Today, The Christian Century, Newsweek, and the Washington Post) who was top shelf from the first word. He had me going – so I had to buy a DVD of his sermon so I could slow him down enough to steal some of this ideas and phrases.
After the service was over our old Vandy crew gathered to listen to some music and socialize at Tootsies’ Orchid Lounge. Sadly, we’re now too old to stay out past the start of the Tonight Show. And we didn’t.
Tuesday, July 12:
My last day though the GA went through July 13th.
The morning was taken up with a business session which featured several notable resolutions.
In between resolutions I dropped a copy of the last FCC Denton Cookbook off at the Disciples Historical Society booth. They are in the midst of a huge project of trying to collect cookbooks from all Disciple Congregations. Your recipes are now a part of the collection!
For lunch I attended the TCU/Brite Luncheon. It was a big luncheon! I got to sit with my old friends, Tom and Patty Plumbley, and Lauren and David Odell-Scott and John Yonker and his wife. The speaker was probably excellent but when you stacked him up against Holly McKissick, Sharon Watkins, Fred Craddock, and Brian McClaren he didn’t shine so bright.
Ran from lunch back to meet my friend Ed Hantel, who graciously took me back to the airport. Let me just say, he saved us a lot of money that I would have spent on a downtown Nashville hotel! Think a kind and grateful thought his way! The plane, naturally, could not fly straight back to Love Field. I had to layover in Austin. I did get a hat there with Davy Crockett’s famous saying, addressed to the Tennessee legislature, “You can go to Hell and I will go to Texas.”
Advance PR For The General Assembly 2011 -- Nashville
The General Assembly is the great family gathering of the Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ) in North America. It is a time of fellowship, worship, study, mission work, and conducting the business of the church. The General Assembly will run from Saturday night, July 9th through Wednesday evening, July 13th. It will take place at the Nashville Convention Center. Copied below is the schedule for the Assembly. Below the schedule are links which you can click on the see individual resolutions or reports. You may also click here to go to the General Assembly Web Page for much more information about the General Assembly.
Saturday, July 9
| 8:00am - 4:00pm | Pre-assembly Elders Conference Renaissance Music City Ballroom  Register online for the Conference when you register for the Assembly! |
| On-site Registration Begins | |
| 9:00am - 7:00pm | Exhibit Hall Open |
| 5:30pm - 7:00pm | Dinners: Church Extension, Disciples Home Missions & HELM Combined Dinner - Renaissance Grand Ballroom Buy Tickets Online! |
| 7:30pm - 9:00pm |  Opening Worship: Holly McKissickPlenary Hall Deut. 6:1-12 Doors open at 7:00pm |
| 9:30pm - 11:00pm | After Sessions Lexington Theological Seminary After Session - Convention Center Room 204 Gathering of the Christian Church in the Southwest - Convention Center Room 205 Reception for Friends of DHM - Renaissance Fisk |
Sunday, July 10
| 8:00am | Plenary Doors Open |
| 8:30am - 9:30am |  HIV/AIDS Healing Worship ServiceWilliam "Bill" Lee Plenary Hall |
| 8:00am - 1:30pm | Worship in Local Congregations Follow the link to see a list of congregations. |
| 9:45am | Hispanic Ministries Reception/Worship Disciples Historical Society Building |
| 1:00pm - 7:00pm | Exhibit Hall Open |
| 2:30pm - 4:30pm |  Opening Business SessionState of the Church Sharon E. Watkins Doors open at 2:00pm |
| 4:30pm - 6:00pm | Travel Time and Dinners: National Convocation Dinner - Renaissance Grand Ballroom West Buy Tickets Online! |
| 5:30pm | Week of Compassion ReceptionBuy Tickets Online! |
| 7:00pm - 8:30pm |  "Sing It!" ConcertGabe Dixon Plenary Hall Doors open at 6:30pm |
| 8:30pm - 11:00pm | Travel Time and After Sessions Christian Theological Seminary Reception - Renaissance Belmont 1 & 2 GLAD Open & Affirming After Session - Convention Center Room 204 NAPAD Gathering - Convention Center Room 106 Northwestern Regions Reception - Renaissance Fisk "Tell It: Imagining Our Future Now!" - Nashville Convention Center Room 215 |
| 9:00pm | Week of Compassion - Country Music Hall of Fame †Buy Tickets Online! |
Monday, July 11
| 7:00am | Pension Fund Ministers & Mates Breakfast - Renaissance Grand BallroomBuy Tickets Online! |
| 8:00am | Plenary Doors Open |
| 8:30am | Business Session Plenary Hall |
| 9:00am | All-Assembly Silence |
| 9:00am - 7:00pm | Exhibit Hall Open |
| 9:05am | Order of the Day: GMP Re-election Moderator Team Election |
| 10:45am |  "Be The Change"Harvey Cox Business resumes following the presentation. |
| Noon - 2:00pm | Travel Time and Lunch Break |
| 12:15pm | Seminary Lunches - Buy Tickets Online! **ALL LUNCHES WILL BEGIN AT 12:15 PM** Christian Theological Seminary - Convention Center Rooms 204 & 205 Disciples Divinity House Chicago - Renaissance Music City Ballroom Disciples Divinity House Vanderbilt - Schermerhorn Symphony Center † Disciples Seminary Foundation - Convention Center Room 206 Lexington Theological Seminary - Renaissance Grand Ballrooms East & Center Phillips Theological Seminary - Renaissance Grand Ballroom West Yale Divinity School Alumni - Renaissance Fisk 2 Brown Bag Revival |
| 2:30pm - 5:00pm | Learning Opportunities |
| 5:00pm | Travel Time |
| 5:30pm |
Dinners: |
| 7:30pm - 9:00pm |  Emergent Worship: Brian McClarenLuke 10 Plenary Hall Doors open at 7:00pm |
| 9:30pm - 11:00pm | After Sessions: General Minister and President Reception for Moderators Renaissance Ballroom (ticketed event) Buy Tickets Online!Korean Disciples Gathering - Convention Center Room 105 Arizona Region Reception - Nashville Convention Center Room 110 |
Tuesday, July 12
| 7:00am | Reconciliation Ministry Breakfast Renaissance Hotel - Fisk Room |
| 8:30am | Business Session Doors open at 8:00am |
| 9:00am | All-Assembly Silence |
| 9:00am - 7:00pm | Exhibit Hall Open |
| 9:05am | Business Resumes: Immigration plenary conversation |
| 10:45am |  "Be The Change"Soong Chan Rah Business resumes after the presentation. |
| Noon | Lunch and Travel Time |
| 12:15pm | College/University Lunches - Buy Tickets Online! **ALL LUNCHES WILL BEGIN AT 12:15 PM** Barton College - Renaissance Grand Ballroom East Bethany College - Renaissance Belmont 2 & 3 Chapman University - Renaissance Grand Ballroom West Culver-Stockton College Alumni & Friends - Renaissance Music City Ballroom Eureka College - Renaissance Belmont 1 Hiram College Luncheon - Hilton McKissack 1 Jarvis Christian College - Hilton McKissack Theatre Lynchburg College - Nashville City Club † NAPAD - Convention Center Room 204 Northwest Christian University - McKissack 3 Phillips University - Renaissance Ryman TCU/Brite Divinity School - Renaissance Grand Ballroom Center Transylvania University - Renaissance Fisk Brown Bag Revival |
| 2:30pm | |
| 4:15pm |  "Be The Change"Patrick Villier Business resumes after the presentation. |
| 5:30pm - 7:00pm | Dinner Christian Church Foundation Anniversary Dinner - Renaissance Grand Ballroom GLAD Alliance Banquet - Convention Center Rooms 204 & 205 Buy Tickets Online! |
| 7:30pm - 9:00pm |  "Tell it!" TestimoniesFred Craddock Plenary Hall Doors open at 7:00pm |
| 9:30pm - 11:00pm | After Sessions: Georgia Regional Gathering - Nashville Convention Center Room 102 Immigration Prayer Vigil - Hall of Wholeness Nebraska Disciples Gathering - Convention Center Room 110 PSWR, CRM, CCNC, & AZ Reception - Nashville Convention Center Rooms 103 & 104 |
Wednesday, July 13
| 8:30am | Business Session Doors open at 8:00am |
| 9:00am | All-Assembly Silence |
| 9:00am - 4:00pm | Exhibit Hall Open |
| 9:05am | Business Resumes |
| 10:45am |  "Be The Change"Amy J. Levine Business resumes after the presentation. |
| 12:15pm | Lunch Break Disciples Women Disciples Men † Brown Bag Revival Buy Tickets Online! |
| 2:00pm | Travel Time |
| 2:30pm - 5:00pm | Learning Opportunities |
| 5:30pm |
Dinner: |
| 7:30pm - 9:00pm |  Commissioning Worship: Marian Wright EdelmanPlenary Hall Romans 10:11-15 Doors open at 7:00pm |
Links to select General Assembly Reports and Resolutions
Click here to see 1116 "Addressing Anti Muslim Action In The United States And Canada"
Click here to see 1117 ""A Call For Reflection And Advocacy On Behalf Of The Democratic Republic Of Congo"
Click here to see 1118 "Celebrate And Reaffirm Our Committment To The Vision Of Planting New Mission"
Click here to see 1119 "Healing And Preventing Noral Injury In A Time Of War"
Click here to see 1120 "Human Trafficing"
Click here to see 1121 "Justice In Education Reform"
Click here to see 1122 "Preventing Sexual Abuse And Ministering To It's Victims"
Click here to see 1123 "Support Of Children And Youth By Opposing Bullying"
Click here to see 1124 "Reelection Of The General Minister And President"
Click here to see 1125 "Report Of The General Assembly Committee For Time And Place"
General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
The "Family Gathering" of all the Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ) will take place in Nashville, Tennessee, beginning Saturday July 9th and concluding Wednesday July 13. This will feel like going home for Pastor Burton who spend three years in Nashville, studying at Vanderbilt Divinity School.
There will be fabulous preaching, opportunities for study, spiritual enrighment, and mission work. And of soure there will be plenty of music in what is known as "Music City." This is an event that all Disciples should attend at least once during their lifetime!! For much, much more information (including how to connect to the streaming of the Assembly worship services and the State of the Church address) go to the General Assembly Home Page.
Click here to go to the General Assembly Home Page
Click here to see the GA schedule and resolutions