By Keith Boyette
May 31, 2022
Five years ago, God surprised me when He called me to the presidency of the Wesleyan Covenant Association. The WCA Global Council confirmed that call when it voted to install me in that position. What a glorious five years it has been! Although I have never felt adequate to the task, God has done an amazing work in and around my life. God has shown up every day of this journey. He has taken my inadequacy and transformed it into His adequacy. In the process, God has surrounded me with amazing followers of Jesus Christ in the WCA staff (Walter Fenton, Angela Pleasants, Teresa Marcus, and Selena Armstead), our Africa Coordinator (Simon Mafunda), our WCA Global Council, regional chapter leaders, and the members of the WCA. God has indeed done great things as we have joined Him in His mission to reach those who are lost and offer them new life in Jesus Christ.
In the words of Hebrews 12:1, we have “run with endurance the race God has set before us.” In the journey, I have encountered afresh the goodness and faithfulness of God. I praise God for His vision for the work of the WCA – to contend vigorously and passionately for the faith delivered to us by the apostles and handed down to us by those who have run this race before us, to encourage those who believe that God still saves, transforms, and calls us to lives of holiness that embody the life of Jesus, and to partner with Jesus as He builds His church.
None of us thought this journey would take this long. God takes a long view however. The Hebrews wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before reaching the promised land. The people of God were in exile for 70 years. Four hundred years passed between the last of the Old Testament prophets’ pronouncements and the birth of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. Two thousand years have passed while we wait for the return of Jesus following his resurrection and ascension. Yet God continues at work. He is patient, longsuffering, merciful, and full of grace and truth.
I celebrate the victories we have received:
- The 2019 special General Conference’s reaffirmation of the church’s historic teachings on marriage, ordination, and sexual ethics.
- The mediation which produced the Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace through Separation, as God made a way to demonstrate how we could bless and amicably part ways amid serious, irreconcilable differences.
- The development and launch of the Global Methodist Church.
I grieve the brokenness of the part of the universal church which has been my spiritual home for more than 50 years. I watched as chaos enveloped the church as bishops, annual conferences, clergy, and local churches defiantly rejected, ignored and rebelled against the decision of the only body entrusted to speak for the entire church, the General Conference. I witnessed arrogance, contempt for Christ and His church, the loss of trust, and broken promises as bishops and other leaders have acted in bad faith blinded by their quest for power and self-preservation. I mourn the decline of a church that once unapologetically offered Christ to the world but has now lost its way.
I am hopeful for the future. My hope is in Jesus Christ who continues to build His church. I am reassured that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. I rejoice in the resurrected Jesus who has defeated the power of sin and death, and who is making all things new. With Elijah, I see the faintest hint of a rain cloud on the horizon promising an end to drought and famine. I know we have victory in Jesus.
Now I pass the mantle of leadership of the WCA to its new president, Rev. James J. Therrell, Jr. Jay has been wonderfully prepared for the next season of the race. In the coming days, he will share with you God’s call upon us as we press on to reach the end of the race. Your fervent prayers have been the fuel God has used to empower me. I know you will pray as fervently for Jay and the WCA in the coming days. Be generous in the gift of your time and resources in support of the WCA’s mission.
I now assume new responsibilities as the chief executive and administrative officer of the Global Methodist Church. I look forward to our continuing work together as we make disciples of Jesus Christ who worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly. In the words of Hebrews 12, “let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us … keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.”
Rev. Keith Boyette is president of the Wesleyan Covenant Association through May 31, 2022. He is an elder in the Global Methodist Church where he serves as the Transitional Connectional Officer, the chief executive and administrative officer for the denomination. You may reach Keith at kboyette@globalmethodist.org.