Pastor Nick Talbott serves as pastor of University UMC in Salina, KS. Prior to that, he served as pastor of Stockton and Woodston UMCs in the Hays District. 

Easter Sunday 1997: a man with a voice so deep I can still remember the bellowing sound looked my Dad square in the eyes and said, “You are aware the church is open more than one day a year.” We never went back. That was the extent of my childhood church experience. We went on Easter and sometimes Christmas, I knew that Jesus was a baby and that somehow he rose from the dead. I vaguely remember songs with lyrics I didn’t understand, and being asked to eat flesh and blood. Church was creepy, but intriguing.
 
My Junior year of high school, I started attending a youth group with some of my friends. The church was behind our house and I quickly became a regular attender.  I loved it!  Church was life changing for me, it came at a time in my life I desperately needed it. After years at this church, getting married, and having kids, I had some friction with Southern Baptist Theology. In a conversation with my wife, she informed me that not all churches think the same way. I was floored!
 
I set on a quest to find a denomination that was more inclusive. I sought a place where my daughter could be everything I could be. That led me to the United Methodist Church. I landed in what we now call a Traditional UMC. The pastor and congregation of this church taught me about open hearts, open minds, and open doors. It was a perfect fit, it was a church that I wanted my kids to grow up in.
 
I entered the UMC at a very difficult and divisive time. The argument about inclusion was heating up as we entered the 2012 General Conference. I toed the party line of the church I was attending and serving. I believed the Bible was very clear, and I was not going to change. In the next four years I would go from church member, to church employee, to a licensed local pastor.
 
The 2016 General Conference was instrumental in my change of heart. It was like a soap opera that I could not stop watching. For days I was glued to the computer screen. I noticed my heart began to change. I saw first hand the harm that was being done.  I entered the UMC because it was a place of open hearts, open minds, and open doors. I now saw myself as someone closing doors, and realized I needed to stop.
 
Since May 20th, 2016, I have been on a journey. I have read, studied, listened, and prayed. I still have more work to do, but I am a Local Pastor in the Great Plains Conference fully committed to seeing the full inclusion of all of God’s people in the UMC. To those I have harmed with my previous understandings, I am sorry and ask for forgiveness. To those still being harmed, know that you are loved and are not alone.

Abigail Koech is a Jurisdictional Lay Delegate and first alternate to General Conference. She is a member of Lenexa UMC in Lenexa, KS. Abigail is 18 and a freshman in journalism at Johnson County Community College. She plans to transfer to the University of Kansas.

As a young college student who has grown up in the United Methodist Church, I’ve always felt a sense of consistency and routine in church. Since General Conference, there have been conversations of a split. As you probably know, the Protocol of Separation and Grace Through Reconciliation was recently released. Lately, people have had many questions and concerns about how to navigate the current state that we’re in. I’m not a clergyperson, so I don’t know what it’s like to lead a congregation in that way. However, I think being a young person gives me a slightly different perspective because of my role within the church.

I’ve received a few questions from people who are worried about the future of the whole church and how it will affect both clergy and laity. I also don’t believe that there is only a specific group of people that carry these concerns. If there’s one thing we all share, it’s the stress that comes from the state that our church is in right now. It’s apparent that things are becoming more serious, as legislation keeps coming out. I completely understand why people feel like they don’t know where we’re headed; however, it’s important to note that our society is ever-changing. In five years, the church will most likely be unrecognizable. Not only due to a possible schism, but because of generational and political change.

My optimism lies in the fact that this change is occurring as a result of a shifting mindset. Meaning that people are hopefully willing to take on the responsibility of serving justice and equality. Something that we can do to alleviate uneasiness is have faith in our young people. I believe that the future of the church is ultimately determined by the young members of the UMC. Not necessarily because they have potential to be future pastors and lay leaders, or even because I’m young myself. The fact is that younger generations have a different experience and perspective of the church that is very much needed today. I understand that we are in a very challenging time, but I hope that we can find peace of mind in that we have younger generations of competent leaders.