Renewal (August 8, 2026)

The Stax Museum in Memphis

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Good morning friends!

Beginning Monday I will be taking a renewal leave for the next two months. The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church provides bishops up to three months of renewal leave during a quadrennium. I will take two of those months this year.

As I am beginning my sixth year as bishop in Western North Carolina, and my fifteenth as a residential bishop, this seems to be the right moment and I hope it is God’s timing.

With the support of the SEJ College of Bishops and the Western North Carolina Episcopacy Committee, I will spend extended time over the next few weeks with our daughters and granddaughters, in the WNC mountains and in Memphis. I will begin training in spiritual direction at the Haden Institute at Kanuga, in Hendersonville, NC. This will be a two year course. And I will travel with Pam to Paris, France. My intention is that this will be a time of rest, renewal and learning.

My one public act of ministry has come at the invitation of my friend Jim Harnish and those planning the Festival of Wisdom and Grace, to be held at Lake Junaluska from August 17-20. Jim has an illness that prevents him from giving the keynote address, and I’ve been asked to speak. I have tremendous respect and love for Jim, who was so supportive in our years in Florida. I will speak on Tuesday morning, August 18 and on Wednesday, August 19 at noon. In both settings I will reflect on the relationship between spirituality and aging, and especially through the biblical lenses of wisdom and grace. The invitation itself is renewing.

In preparation for a workshop I will lead at the Duke Divinity School Convocation in October, I will be spending time with a sermon by Bishop Kenneth Goodson on “The Methodist Preacher Today: A New Church for a New World” (1969) and a lecture given by Dean Thomas Langford to the United Methodist Council of Bishops on “Grace Upon Grace” (1999). In that workshop we will consider how their voices influenced the church’s responses to racism and exclusion, and we will share stories of their leadership in North Carolina, the church and the divinity school.

For those who read Grinding The Beans, I would love to connect with you in either of these gatherings. The Festival of Wisdom and Grace and the Duke Divinity School Convocation will be extraordinary occasions for connection, spiritual renewal and intellectual reflection.

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Over these weeks I have a reading list of some books I have collected but have not had the time to read:

Nonviolent: A Memoir of Resistance, Agitation and Love by James Lawson and Emily Yellin

London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe

Seascraper by Benjamin Wood

Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction by Margaret Guenther

Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion by Robert Gordon

The Wisdom Years by Margaret Silf

I plan to enjoy the progression of season four of Ted Lasso. I loved the first episode (4.1). I think Professor T is on the horizon. I want to catch up with episodes of The Pitt. And I am excited about the new Mary Oliver documentary on PBS.

I will go fly fishing once or twice. I will pay more attention to the MLB season: the Dodgers, Braves, Brewers, Red Sox and Cubs are impressive. I will hang out with a couple of little humans, who are in the fourth grade and kindergarten. And I will continue to grind the beans.

Mostly I will slow down. I won’t be on professional email or text messages or phone calls. I will worship and pray, and trust that God will sustain the mission in my absence.

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When I return, I will be entering into the last 20 months of active ministry. I want to reflect on how best to use this season in life for the greatest benefit of the church.

An important note, and here I am borrowing the language of my colleague Bishop Hector Burgos-Nunez. All Western North Carolina United Methodist pastoral leaders have access to similar opportunities. If you have never considered it, and especially if you have been in ministry for several years in your church, I encourage you to speak with your district superintendent and staff-parish relations chair.

I will continue to write a reflection each Saturday morning. I can imagine that the content will come through the readings, interspersed with prayers and content from a few recent sermons I have given, especially on our vision to “love boldly, serve joyfully and lead courageously”.

As always, I thank you for reading, subscribing, recommending and sharing. Mostly thank you for your friendship and the connection.