So, What is World Convention?  

by Bill McDonald, Interim Executive Director

I have been getting that question a lot lately.  Here's my answer...and my hope.

World Convention is:

1)  A ministry of Christ.  It all starts with Jesus.  He is the hub that holds us together, the Lord and center of our lives.  If Jesus isn't the heart then there is no body.  Unity is our polar star and Christ is our unity.

2)  A ministry of Convention.  Every four years we convene Stone-Campbell churches from across the world in a Global Gathering (2012 in Goiania, Brazil).  A cappella Churches of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Christian Church/Churches of Christ all come to celebrate the stirring of the Holy Spirit that gave birth to our movement of unity and restoration over 200 years ago.

3)  A ministry of Communication. We are the central clearinghouse, the old corner store with the pot-bellied stove, the early morning gathering of wry, coffee-drinking commentators at McDonalds, the faith Facebook for Stone-Campbell ministries.  What in the world is going on?  We want to inform you.

4)  A ministry of Connection.  Who's out there?  When Barton Stone's and Alexander Campbell's evangelists ran across each other in the villages and towns of the US frontier in the early 1800s, they were surprised to discover that they were all about the same task.  So are we.  Stone-Campbell churches in countries all over the globe are yearning for a greater sense of community.  Have you met each other?  We want to introduce you, so that through prayer and encouragement the good news of Jesus Christ might be told to the ends of the earth.

5)  A ministry of Communion.  The Farigoule family, fresh from France, came to our house for supper.  There were three from my family, six from theirs plus a visitor, ten people...but our dining room table barely sat eight places.  So we set up a card table a few feet away in the living room.  When Pierre-Francois saw our seating arrangements, his face fell.  He turned to me and said the words that still echo in my mind, "Surely we can sit at the same table."  So we squeezed in for a joyful meal, shared in closeness of body and heart. Our commission from Jesus is much more than sharing our stories, our news, or our long-distance nods of recognition.  It is sitting down at the table together, sharing the love of Christ with one another, letting than love transcend all differences and disagreements.

This is our ministry and our mission.

SEARCH FOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Board of the World Convention has begun a search for an Executive Director.  The Director's principal responsibility is to lead in the day to day ministry of the World Convention while representing its goals and aspirations.  The chief task of the Director is to encourage unity within the Stone-Campbell Movement and in the Body of Christ at large in multiple creative ways.  The Director is the primary fund-raiser for the support of the World Convention Office and the Quadrennial Global Gatherings.
The World Convention offices are located in Nashville, Tennessee.  Salary and benefits are competitive.  The Search Committee is composed of Douglas Foster (Churches of Christ), Richard Hamm (Disciples of Christ) and Robert Wetzel (Christian Churches).  Applications and requests for a fuller description of responsibilities can be sent to the Chairman of the Search Committee, Robert Wetzel at 338 Pine Forest Lane, Johnson City, TN 37601 or sent electronically to crobert_wetzel@comcast.net