Clergy orders meeting Jan. 17 with bishop
The first Orders Meeting with Bishop Jimmy Nunn will be Jan. 17 at OKC-St. Luke’s.
On that Tuesday in the new year, Oklahoma’s clergy will hear from our new bishop as well as from new-church developer Jim Ozier of the North Texas Conference. In addition to directing new church development and congregational transformation there, he consults in more than 20 annual conferences.
Rev. Dr. Ozier’s topic will be "Creating a Culture of Growth."
"Too often we are on a wishing trip," Ozier wrote. "We wish we had more people; we wish we made more of an impact; we wish we were more fruitful.
"Jesus said, ‘Follow me and I’ll make you fishers...’ He calls us to go on a fishing trip."
Ozier uses humor and shares simple techniques and tools that clergy can take home to help move a church from wishing to fishing for new people by "creating a culture that is outwardly focused in your community mission field."
According to professionals in change management, the results you get are because of the culture you have. Thus to change the results, you must change the culture, he said.
Ozier began his ministry working for noted missionary E. Stanley Jones, and he first served a church as a high school student.
Prior to his current assignment, he led a church in Flower Mound, Texas, to grow from 800 to over 4,000 members and birth three more churches.
He has presented at Church of the Resurrection’s Leadership Institute and co-authored two books published by Abingdon Press. His doctorate is from Perkins School of Theology.
The Orders Meeting begins at 10 a.m. and concludes by 3 p.m.
Bishop Nunn will preach in the morning during the covenant renewal service, lunch will be served courtesy of the Board of Ordained Ministry, and Ozier’s presentation will be in the afternoon.
All clergy under appointment are expected to attend, and retired clergy also are welcome.
Jim Ozier