by Synod Vice President John Auger
To be honest, I was concerned that we had a new Bishop. I was one year into my role as Vice President, still trying to figure out who is who and which end is up and we have a Bishop's election and a new Bishop to work with. I was truly apprehensive that the work that had been gaining momentum – Vision 2018 implementation, synod restructuring, leadership development, the Forward in Faith capital campaign and our overall response to helping our rostered and lay leaders respond to our changing culture, was going to take one or two steps backwards as our new Bishop came up to speed and began to impart his input into our efforts. I have been through many of these transitions in my years in the church and business worlds. It is just the way it is.
What I truly underestimated, and have been truly amazed at, is that working with Bill has resulted in a significant acceleration of our efforts. He hit the ground running the first day; we connected immediately as he made it clear that we would lead our synod together on the course that we had already aligned on. His actions have backed up those words! We have traveled countless miles together as we have made two "round trips" of our conferences to connect with our rostered ministers, we have planned and consulted with each other face-to-face, by email, or by text nearly daily as we model the shared leadership behavior that is truly servant leadership in action. His faithful, wise, strong, compassionate, empowering leadership has been an inspiration to me and many others in our synod over the past year. He lives his faith, at times at personal risk (as in Charlottesville), as he shows us the way that our love for Jesus should be lived out daily.
I truly consider Bill to be a close friend, my leadership partner, and an outstanding example of how we should live out our faith. I believe the Holy Spirit will continue to guide and direct us as we move forward into our challenging and sometime scary world. It gives me great comfort knowing that Bill is on the journey beside me and the rest of our synod. Congratulations on a great first year, Bill!