The 2008 session of the North Carolina Annual Conference took place in the Greenville Convention Center on June 11-14. What follows are a few of the most interesting snapshots, according to this pastor, of this year's conference.

1. Amy Davis and Patrick Mann represented St. Peter's United Methodist Church at the conference. It was always good to see them during the four-day meeting.

2. During the Executive Session for Clergy, Bishop Alfred W. Gwinn, Jr. strongly reminded pastors to respect other pastors -- especially those who are serving churches they once served.

3. In his State of the Church Address, Bishop Gwinn tried to knit together the "7 Pathways," "4 Foci," and "3 Rules" that have become a part of United Methodist life.

4. In the same address, Bishop Gwinn declared that God alone owns the Church. Therefore, the congregation and the pastor are, first and last, responsible to God. And therefore, the pastor is not an employee of the congregation.

5. The Greenville mayor joked to the assembly: "While you are here, do lots of praying. But do not fast."

6. While considering the Rules of Order and Procedure, the Annual Conference changed the way it nominates a clergy member to become a candidate for bishop. The new process involves much more competition among those who sense a divine call to become a nominee for bishop.

7. Dr. Paul L. Leeland was endorsed as the North Carolina Conference nominee for bishop. For Dr. Leeland, it's on to the election process at the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference at Lake Junaluska later this month.

8. Dr. Ben Witherington III, who teaches as Asbury Theological Seminary, warned against "watering down the Gospel" in his Bible study. Later, he joked that archeologists should admit their lives are always in ruins.

9. Jeff Babajtis, the husband of Anna Banks and a student at Duke Divinity School, is now a student local pastor serving two congregations.

10. It was decided that The United Methodist Building on Glenwood Avenue, in Raleigh, will be sold. A new conference office building will be constructed southeast of Raleigh near the intersection of Highway 70 and Interstate 40.

11. St. Peter's United Methodist Church was selected as an Acts 2 Church with strong mission and ministry.

12. The election of Rev. F. Belton Joyner, Jr. to The United Methodist Church's Judicial Council was celebrated.

13. The Lifewatch table was visited, and its free literature gathered, by many.

14. The presentation on The Unity Dialogue included this comment by the pastor: "In 1998, the North Carolina Annual Conference moved most of public disagreements on homosexuality from the floor debates of Annual Conference to the table talks of The Unity Dialogue. For ten years, The Unity Dialogue has been practicing 'holy conferencing' -- long before 'holy conferencing' became cool.

"The Unity Dialogue's unity is sustained by: the presence of the Holy Spirit, the practice of Holy Communion, the witness of Holy Scripture, the participation of the bishop, respect for the God-given dignity of each person, the study of common Christian texts, the virtue of patience, and the gifts of good cheer and humor. This unity allows The Unity Dialogue to engage the tensions between two theological traditions -- Liberal (or Progressive) Protestantism and Confessional (or Orthodox) Protestantism. This unity shows that The United Methodist Church, with moral teaching, can be a host to dissent -- for a season of undetermined duration. Unified, we can dialogue -- even debate, disagree, and clarify disagreements -- in service of the truth."

15. By the end of the week, soot from the fires in northeastern North Carolina had settled even inside the Convention Center.

16. The 2009 salary for District Superintendents was set at $100,400. (I continue to think that a sufficient salary for DS’s would be two times the "minimum salary" for pastors – nearly $78,200 in 2009.)

On Saturday morning of the conference, the testimonies of the Love Feast had been spoken and heard. The conference budget had been adopted. And the appointments for the year had been read. It was time for all of us to go home and begin another year of United Methodist faith and life, mission and ministry, in eastern North Carolina. In the grace of God, that is what we did -- and are doing.