Category: Queen Street

Queen Street United Methodist Church
Kinston, NC

Pastor’s Column in the June Newsletter

Sisters and Brothers in Christ –

Greetings in the Name of the One Who Is, the One Who Was, and the One Who Is to Come!

In the month of June we mark the closing of one year of my ministry with the people called Methodist at Queen Street UMC. It has been a long journey for me. I came with energy to spare and ready to lean into God’s future for Kinston. No sooner than I had arrived and we commending the soul of our sister Teresa Smith to God. My plans were changed. Our plans were changed. Suddenly we had to rely on God’s guidance as we began to move in new directions under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Where are we now? The pastor-parish relations committee hopes to hire a full-time director of our children’s ministry in the coming months. The board of trustees is utilizing the resources from the sale of the house on Margaret Lane to renovate spaces for children and youth ministries. We learned from our Music Academy what a venture into after-school care might look like in our building. So we are now positioned to open, pending renovation and hiring, an after-school program for elementary children this fall. With God’s blessing may it come to pass!

As the summer is now upon us, we are already shifting gears to implement strategies for the fall. As Jacob Mewborn and I reviewed our summer plans, it made sense to us to wait until August for us to launch a worship-filled weekly Bible study on Wednesday evenings. In the meantime we are looking over our calendars to find several times to gather ourselves together to have some fun and fellowship on some Wednesday evenings. We will keep you posted on the progress of our plans.

Sisters and brothers … we stand ready to move. Like many of you, I am excited by recent announcements of jobs coming to Kinston. I am excited about the resurgence I sense in our steps and encourage us to continue seeking for the welfare of the city, for in it we will find our own welfare (see Jeremiah 29:6). Keep praying for strength to lean into God’s vision for his soon-coming and already-arriving kingdom.

Grace and Peace, Allen

Pastor’s Column in the May Newsletter

Sisters and Brothers in Christ:

Greetings in the name of our Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

In our Easter sermon series I have been suggesting that after God raised Jesus from the dead, Jesus became a God of motion. He was moving out to the gentile world when he encountered the disciples on the road to Emmaus. After he left them he showed up later in the evening with the disciples gathered in Jerusalem (see Luke 24). Later Jesus showed up to challenge the Thomas in each of us to accept that his wounds were real, his death certain, and his resurrection was the final word (see John 20). He went up Galilee to find disciples who had “gone fishing” and invited them back to the journey (see John 21). On the day of Jesus’ Ascension he took his followers up on the Mount of Olives and commanded them to be his witnesses (the Greek here says martyrs) in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (see Acts 1:8).

In our day, I think our Jerusalem is the folks we know who show their devotion to God by showing up to worship at Queen Street and being a part of the body of Christ in this place. Jesus says we are to faithful witnesses here and so we are. Our Judea is the folks who look like us, act like us, worship the God made known in Jesus like us, and who are already aware of the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. Our Samaria are the folks around who do not look like us, do not behave like us, or do not know Jesus Christ and call upon his Name. Finally, we are called to share the good news of Jesus Christ around the world … to whatever end of world God call us to go. As I read the book of Acts I see Jesus leading the church to be a body in motion and I see Queen Street warming to the task of perpetual motion for God as well. Thanks be to God.

I invite you in the month of May to join for the fellowship meal as we explore how we are becoming a body in motion. One night we will discuss our children and youth space and the hiring of a children’s minister, another night we will feed at least 2,500 starving people in an effort with the good ministry of STOP Hunger Now! Another night will remember how the early church cared for its members and pray about how we care for every member of the congregation as we move forward. Finally, our Ministry Review Team will present its report to the congregation and help us begin to move united as the body of Christ on Queen Street. We are a body in motion … come join the journey.

Grace and Peace, Allen

Pastor’s Column in the April Newsletter

Greetings Resurrection People!

The first “resurrection people,” the disciples of Jesus, responded to the good news of God’s triumph over death in varied ways. Some women trembled at the news (see Mark 16:8). Another woman asked a gardener where they had moved Jesus’ body (John 20:11-18). The men did not believe the resurrection word of the women (see Luke 24:22-24). Others sought to escape the confusion by leaving town (see Luke 24:13-35). Some doubted in the bodily resurrected and others believed (see John 20:19-29). Ultimately every one of those followers was commissioned by Jesus to “be my witnesses to the end of the earth” (see Acts 1:8). Ever since that first commissioning, to be baptized into the body of Christ was to accept the call to be a missionary.

Missionary (noun) / one who attempts to convert others to a specific way of life, set of ideas, or course of action (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Thesaurus). These words define our worship and preaching themes for the weeks following Easter. Each week we will talk about the large and small ways that each of us can engage in the task of carrying the good news of God’s love to every person with whom we relate to every day. I invite you to challenged by the Word of God to examine the moments in your life when you could invite someone to meet Jesus, to prepare our children to follow in the Way, to see our places of work and play as opportunities for God to move among us, and to examine how God uses our weaknesses and excuses to make a way for someone else to meet Jesus. I hope you will find your place among the saints and sinners of Queen Street UMC who are following the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

As we worship I invite you to join us for our Wednesday night fellowship meal and Bible Study. This month we will be moving into a discussion of how the Spirit of God calls us into the community of faith. We will remind ourselves that the song from our childhood that says “here is the church and here is the steeple; open the doors and see all the people” forgets that first and foremost the church has always been the people – the community of faith.

Grace and Peace, Allen

Pastor’s Report for Queen Street UMC (2007)

dorean elabote, dorean dote. Given Gifts – Give Gifts. (Matthew 10:8b).

I offer the above phrase, the motto of the Theological School of Drew University, as my personal mission statement. I am privileged to employ my gifts and talents among the United Methodists on Queen Street in Kinston, North Carolina. As a relative newcomer to the almost century old ministry of this church I am a period of continuous learning about our mission. Currently it is stated as: Being and Making Disciples of Christ in the Heart of Kinston. As I ponder our future together, I am piecing together the original dream for our church – a dream that placed our sanctuary on the outer edge of Kinston in 1911. The strong statement of building the largest sanctuary of any kind east of Raleigh conveys a tremendous vision, a vision that has over the intervening decades faded from view.

In the coming year we will be putting a team together to help us pray through a process of uncovering God’s dream for the people called Methodist on Queen Street. As we do this we will be paying attention to the leading of our Bishop, Al Gwinn, who is inviting every church in our conference to consider becoming an “ACTS 2 Church.” This involves paying special attention to the following: Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Spiritual Formation, and Risk-Taking Mission and Ministry to the World. Below is his challenge:

  • … by the Annual Conference of 2008 I want us to be able to identify, by name, 200 Acts 2 Churches in this conference! Churches that have all four of these qualities functioning well in the life of the Body. Churches that have decided to reach the lost, the unchurched, the de-churched – to reach children, youth, Hispanics and Latinos – not counting the cost or sacrifice involved.
  • Churches that have prayer-based, Spirit-filled, quality worship services. By the way, our 2005 statistics also show that our average Sunday morning worship attendance is down 2,796 persons! That fact should cause us to ask ourselves several serious questions about how we do worship, what we are or are not teaching about commitment and if real relationships actually exist.
  • By 2008 we will name 200 churches that are teaching their members to go deeper and not just wider. Churches that are serious about every member being in small groups where they are supported, encouraged and challenged to grow in Christ. Churches that are helping their members understand the gifts of the Spirit and the role of those gifts in building up the Body of Christ. Churches that forge strong, full partnerships between the clergy and laity. Churches that want a leader to equip and empower them and not do their ministry for them. Churches that want to be challenged and not coddled.
  • In 2008 we want to name 200 churches that are risk-takers in attacking poverty, seeking justice, caring for the needy – eager to give a hand-up and not just a hand-out.

– Bishop Al Gwinn, The State of the Church Address, Annual Conference 2006

As part of that work I offer the following as areas of emphasis for my ministry:

  • Creating a welcoming space and a caring team to work with children and youth;
  • Lead us in a disciplined approach to adult spiritual formation that challenges every baptized and professing member to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.
  • Create a systematic model for reaching out into the community to invite persons into our community of faith and helping them become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
  • Continue refining our systems of congregational care to include the formation and training of a new congregational care team.

I challenge our church to remember with Paul that the work of a pastor is “to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (see Ephesians 4:11). I remain committed to setting each of us free for ministry in this place. I thank God for the way Jacob Mewborn invites God’s Spirit into our worship life together. I give thanks for Teresa Smith and Sandra Thompson for providing valuable assistance to the administrative life of our church. There are numerous saints who offer themselves in powerful ways as we seek “to become all things to all people so that by all means some might be saved” (1 Corinthians 9:22).

Pastor’s Report for Queen Street UMC (2007)

dorean elabote, dorean dote. Given Gifts – Give Gifts. (Matthew 10:8b).

I offer the above phrase, the motto of the Theological School of Drew University, as my personal mission statement. I am privileged to employ my gifts and talents among the United Methodists on Queen Street in Kinston, North Carolina. As a relative newcomer to the almost century old ministry of this church I am a period of continuous learning about our mission. Currently it is stated as: Being and Making Disciples of Christ in the Heart of Kinston. As I ponder our future together, I am piecing together the original dream for our church – a dream that placed our sanctuary on the outer edge of Kinston in 1911. The strong statement of building the largest sanctuary of any kind east of Raleigh conveys a tremendous vision, a vision that has over the intervening decades faded from view.

In the coming year we will be putting a team together to help us pray through a process of uncovering God’s dream for the people called Methodist on Queen Street. As we do this we will be paying attention to the leading of our Bishop, Al Gwinn, who is inviting every church in our conference to consider becoming an “ACTS 2 Church.” This involves paying special attention to the following: Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Spiritual Formation, and Risk-Taking Mission and Ministry to the World. Below is his challenge:

  • … by the Annual Conference of 2008 I want us to be able to identify, by name, 200 Acts 2 Churches in this conference! Churches that have all four of these qualities functioning well in the life of the Body. Churches that have decided to reach the lost, the unchurched, the de-churched – to reach children, youth, Hispanics and Latinos – not counting the cost or sacrifice involved.
  • Churches that have prayer-based, Spirit-filled, quality worship services. By the way, our 2005 statistics also show that our average Sunday morning worship attendance is down 2,796 persons! That fact should cause us to ask ourselves several serious questions about how we do worship, what we are or are not teaching about commitment and if real relationships actually exist.
  • By 2008 we will name 200 churches that are teaching their members to go deeper and not just wider. Churches that are serious about every member being in small groups where they are supported, encouraged and challenged to grow in Christ. Churches that are helping their members understand the gifts of the Spirit and the role of those gifts in building up the Body of Christ. Churches that forge strong, full partnerships between the clergy and laity. Churches that want a leader to equip and empower them and not do their ministry for them. Churches that want to be challenged and not coddled.
  • In 2008 we want to name 200 churches that are risk-takers in attacking poverty, seeking justice, caring for the needy – eager to give a hand-up and not just a hand-out.

– Bishop Al Gwinn, The State of the Church Address, Annual Conference 2006

As part of that work I offer the following as areas of emphasis for my ministry:

  • Creating a welcoming space and a caring team to work with children and youth;
  • Lead us in a disciplined approach to adult spiritual formation that challenges every baptized and professing member to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.
  • Create a systematic model for reaching out into the community to invite persons into our community of faith and helping them become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
  • Continue refining our systems of congregational care to include the formation and training of a new congregational care team.

I challenge our church to remember with Paul that the work of a pastor is “to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (see Ephesians 4:11). I remain committed to setting each of us free for ministry in this place. I thank God for the way Jacob Mewborn invites God’s Spirit into our worship life together. I give thanks for Teresa Smith and Sandra Thompson for providing valuable assistance to the administrative life of our church. There are numerous saints who offer themselves in powerful ways as we seek “to become all things to all people so that by all means some might be saved” (1 Corinthians 9:22).

Pastor’s Report for Queen Street UMC (2007)

dorean elabote, dorean dote. Given Gifts – Give Gifts. (Matthew 10:8b).

I offer the above phrase, the motto of the Theological School of Drew University, as my personal mission statement. I am privileged to employ my gifts and talents among the United Methodists on Queen Street in Kinston, North Carolina. As a relative newcomer to the almost century old ministry of this church I am a period of continuous learning about our mission. Currently it is stated as: Being and Making Disciples of Christ in the Heart of Kinston. As I ponder our future together, I am piecing together the original dream for our church – a dream that placed our sanctuary on the outer edge of Kinston in 1911. The strong statement of building the largest sanctuary of any kind east of Raleigh conveys a tremendous vision, a vision that has over the intervening decades faded from view.

In the coming year we will be putting a team together to help us pray through a process of uncovering God’s dream for the people called Methodist on Queen Street. As we do this we will be paying attention to the leading of our Bishop, Al Gwinn, who is inviting every church in our conference to consider becoming an “ACTS 2 Church.” This involves paying special attention to the following: Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Spiritual Formation, and Risk-Taking Mission and Ministry to the World. Below is his challenge:

  • … by the Annual Conference of 2008 I want us to be able to identify, by name, 200 Acts 2 Churches in this conference! Churches that have all four of these qualities functioning well in the life of the Body. Churches that have decided to reach the lost, the unchurched, the de-churched – to reach children, youth, Hispanics and Latinos – not counting the cost or sacrifice involved.
  • Churches that have prayer-based, Spirit-filled, quality worship services. By the way, our 2005 statistics also show that our average Sunday morning worship attendance is down 2,796 persons! That fact should cause us to ask ourselves several serious questions about how we do worship, what we are or are not teaching about commitment and if real relationships actually exist.
  • By 2008 we will name 200 churches that are teaching their members to go deeper and not just wider. Churches that are serious about every member being in small groups where they are supported, encouraged and challenged to grow in Christ. Churches that are helping their members understand the gifts of the Spirit and the role of those gifts in building up the Body of Christ. Churches that forge strong, full partnerships between the clergy and laity. Churches that want a leader to equip and empower them and not do their ministry for them. Churches that want to be challenged and not coddled.
  • In 2008 we want to name 200 churches that are risk-takers in attacking poverty, seeking justice, caring for the needy – eager to give a hand-up and not just a hand-out.

– Bishop Al Gwinn, The State of the Church Address, Annual Conference 2006

As part of that work I offer the following as areas of emphasis for my ministry:

  • Creating a welcoming space and a caring team to work with children and youth;
  • Lead us in a disciplined approach to adult spiritual formation that challenges every baptized and professing member to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.
  • Create a systematic model for reaching out into the community to invite persons into our community of faith and helping them become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
  • Continue refining our systems of congregational care to include the formation and training of a new congregational care team.

I challenge our church to remember with Paul that the work of a pastor is “to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (see Ephesians 4:11). I remain committed to setting each of us free for ministry in this place. I thank God for the way Jacob Mewborn invites God’s Spirit into our worship life together. I give thanks for Teresa Smith and Sandra Thompson for providing valuable assistance to the administrative life of our church. There are numerous saints who offer themselves in powerful ways as we seek “to become all things to all people so that by all means some might be saved” (1 Corinthians 9:22).

Pastor’s Column in the September Newsletter

Sisters and Brothers in Christ:

Greetings in the Name of Jesus Christ – the One Who Is, the One Who Was, and the One Who Is to Come!

As Labor Day begins to call summer to a close, I invite us to refocus our divergent energies in the coming weeks on three things: worship, fellowship, and service. Many of you already know that one of my measures for our spiritual maturity is our regular participation in worship, involvement in a fellowship group, and commitment to show the love of God to others in service. I hope the rest of this newsletter provides you with activities that will help you deepen your love of God and neighbor.

I will be leading our Wednesday night Bible study on how scripture describes a healthy congregation. This will be a time for fellowship as we pay attention to what God has done for the his children and what God is dreaming for our life together.

I invite you to join me in helping unload the truck from the Food Bank of Eastern North Carolina on Thursday, September __. Last month I enjoyed handing folks a case of bottled water while saying “God loves you and so do I.” I anticipate another time of service with our “Hand in Hand” project at Southeast Elementary on Thursday, September 28. Meet me at 9:45 AM at the church and we will drive over together and read to the preschoolers and kindergarteners of Southeast. Can you imagine the smiles that will come across your face as you help someone develop an appreciation for the written word?

Worship, fellowship, service is a formula for spiritual maturity. I hope you find that “worship plus two” helps you learn to love God and your neighbor in a special way.

Grace and Peace, Allen Bingham

P.S. I dearly love the opportunities to meet you in your home or at a favorite eating spot to learn about each other. Contact Sandra Thompson at the church office or email me at allenbingham@msn.com to make an appointment.

Expectations of Leaders for Queen Street Church

Our work is providing spiritual leadership to our congregation. We treat our work and each other with respect.

Our leadership is lived out individually by our regular participation in a life of worship, fellowship, and service (worship plus two) and by making a financial pledge (a forward looking commitment) to the church.

In our conversations together we will …

  • Focus on issues and behaviors, not personalities.
  • Seek to focus our attention on describing the situation rather than evaluating the situation.
  • State an opinion and “own it” by saying “this is my opinion.” In my experience the number of people described by phrase “some people are saying” is usually about 3.
  • Share all the information we need to make a decision and not withhold our opinion or information to share with the “parking lot committee” at another time.
  • In our church council meetings we will …
  • Understand that, as a rule, there are no emergencies in church life. Decisions are best made in a prayerful and deliberate manner. In my experience this has usually meant praying over a decision for at least several days.
  • Understand that disagreements will emerge.
  • State our disagreements openly in private and stand together in public.
  • Support the decisions of the church council whether it reflects our personal views or not

I will lead by …

  • Engaging us with the world by reading books and articles that are not overtly Christian.
  • Engaging us in the Word by reading the Bible together in a disciplined way (to be determined in the coming weeks).
  • “Hunching” when I have not done the homework and showing you the data when I have.
  • Challenge us to live out Matthew 18 when inevitable conflicts emerge.