09/05/2026
At the end of General Conference 2026
Pioneers and Settlers
There have been a lot of tears this week.
I have learned that the heart can hold heartbreak and joy at the same time. And I have realized, perhaps more deeply than ever, how much I love the Lord and this expression of His Church called the Global Methodist Church.
On Sunday, after powerful worship, I sat with tears streaming down my face as I watched people from nations around the world singing, praying, and praising God together.
I leaned over to Bishop Carolyn Moore and said, “I don’t care! I really don’t care! I just want to be a part of this movement of God however God can use me.”
I meant it with all my being.
By that evening, I would know the heartbreak of falling seven votes short of the qualifying ballot for bishop.
The tears surprised me. Some were disappointment. Some were gratitude. Some from gently releasing something so sacred that I have carried for so long. But through them all, I felt the tremendous love of my Global Methodist family and the nearness of God.
As people have come to offer loving grace this week, several have called me a pioneer. At first, I wasn’t sure what to do with that word. Then I thought about my Oklahoma roots and the stories of pioneers and settlers.
Pioneers go first. They cross rivers before there are bridges and follow trails before there are roads. They live with uncertainty because they believe something worth building lies ahead.
But pioneers are never the whole story.
Eventually, settlers come. They build on the ground others cleared and create what will endure for generations.
Pioneers break ground. Settlers build upon it. Both are necessary.
What a privilege it has been to help pioneer the Global Methodist Church. We built while moving, made decisions without decades of precedent, crossed rivers without bridges, and occasionally discovered the trail didn’t lead where we expected.
And I certainly did not pioneer alone.
I am profoundly grateful for the faithful people with whom I have labored over the years—those I served alongside on the Good News Board, the many taskforces of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, the Transitional Leadership Council, and my fellow Bishops Emerita. We prayed together, dreamed together, wrestled with hard questions, took risks, made mistakes, celebrated victories, and kept moving because we believed God was calling a new expression of Methodism into being.
Those are relationships and memories I will treasure for the rest of my life.
But there comes a time when pioneers make room for settlers. That isn’t failure. That is the fulfillment of pioneering.
You don’t blaze a trail so everyone behind you has to keep carrying a machete. You blaze it so someone can eventually build a road.
Paul reminds us, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” (1 Corinthians 3:6)
Different assignments. Different seasons.
Same God. Same mission. Same Kingdom.
As for me, I meant what I said Sunday morning. I simply want to be part of this movement of God however He can use me.
And I am deeply blessed that takes me home after two years of very heavy travel.
MidTexas, thank you for sharing me with the larger Church these past two years. Thank you for praying, encouraging, and carrying more than your share so I could help blaze some trails. I will never take that gift for granted.
Now I get to come home—to a mission field I love, among people I love, doing work that still makes my heart come alive.
There are disciples to make, churches to strengthen and plant, leaders to raise up, and people who need Jesus.
The pioneering isn’t over. There is simply new ground to cover.
And as this General Conference closes, I celebrate our new Assembly of Bishops. I am grateful for each one who has said yes to this sacred responsibility and for the gifts God has placed within them for this season of our Church.
May we pray for them generously, encourage them faithfully, and give them the freedom to lead as God directs. May the Holy Spirit give them wisdom beyond their own, courage when the way is difficult, humility in their authority, and a deep love for the whole Church—from every nation, language, culture, annual conference, and local congregation.
May they never forget that episcopal leadership is not about preserving what we have built, but leading us ever more faithfully into the mission of Jesus Christ.
The pioneers have helped blaze the trail.
Now may God bless those called to lead us along it—and into places we have not yet imagined.
The mission continues. The Church belongs to Jesus. And the best days of this movement may still be ahead of us.
MidTexas, I’m coming home.
Global Methodists, wherever God has planted you—
Let’s storm the gates!
