by Jay Therrell, President pro tempore

JUNE 30, 2024

It’s unusual for us to share something on a Sunday, but today is one of those rare instances that warrants it. Today is the last day for the Revs. Tim Carson and Patti Thue to serve on our Florida Conference Cabinet, and we’re going to miss them very much. I’m going to miss them very much.

What Does a Presiding Elder Do?

The role of a presiding elder is hard – really hard. Having served as a district superintendent in our former denomination, I can tell you that supervisory ministry isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s a combination of trying to pastor pastors, coach leaders, answer questions (big and small), cheerlead, encourage, attend cabinet meetings, make appointments, serve on conference teams, and hold pastors and churches accountable to scripture, our mission, and the Book of Doctrines and Discipline. It was my full-time job, and it was rare that I ever worked less than 60 hours a week. (You’re welcome to hold me accountable for my bad work habits.)

Being a presiding elder is far harder. All our presiding elders do everything I described above…and more! Yet, they do it while also serving a church. Every one of them is preaching most every Sunday at the church where they serve Jesus. They have ministry to lead, staff to oversee, budgets to manage, and parishioners to care for.

I worry about them because it’s a tall order that we ask of them. Yet every one of them – without exception – serves Jesus in this way because they believe it’s a worthy and important calling.

Patti Thue

I came to know the Rev. Patti Thue in-depth as our annual conference was forming. When I served on the cabinet of the Florida UMC, I heard her name around the cabinet table multiple times. It was always positive. She was spoken of as an effective leader and a caring shepherd. That’s why we asked her to serve on the Transitional Conference Advisory Team (“TCAT”) that prepared the Florida Conference to be launched last September 1.

Throughout serving beside her on the TCAT, I saw in person what I had heard from others. Patti is a dedicated pastor. She loves her people and deeply wants to see them thrive in their faith. She’s theologically conservative to the core and has a keen, practical sense to her. I quickly realized that Patti is one of those rare people who’s able to participate in a conversation and get to the bottom of the underlying issue – not just the surface issue.

As I was forming the Cabinet for the Florida GMC, I knew Patti would be a terrific presiding elder, and she has been. Patti is one of those humble servants who doesn’t need notoriety.

Instead, she rolls up her sleeves and gets to work. She’s kind and compassionate while also being strong and firm. It has been a joy to work beside her.

Patti serves Jesus at Grace Church in Lake Mary. Grace Church has seen great growth since becoming a Global Methodist Church, but their staff structure is Patti and an administrative assistant. Unfortunately, serving as a presiding elder and being the primary staff member at the church has been more than she could do in a healthy way. I honor her call to the local church, and so it is with understanding, yet sadness, that she returns to serving the local church and not a district. Well done, good and faithful servant!

Tim Carson

I’ve known Tim Carson for almost all my pastoral ministry. I heard about Tim Carson at my home church where he served as an associate pastor before Kendra and I joined it. I got to know him in a significant way during the residence-in-ministry program of the Florida UMC Board of Ordained Ministry. It was during that process I realized Tim is the perfect combination of wisdom, practicality, and humor.

Over the years I’ve watched Tim’s ministry, I’ve realized that he’s someone that I wanted to emulate. He was always brutally honest and willing to say the hard things, but he did it in a way that made you know that he cared. He is a coach at heart and like any good coach, he is a mixture of encourager and teacher. He’s also especially gifted at asking probing questions. He can get to the heart of the matter quickly and ask questions that clear away the superfluous and help a person deal with the real issue at hand. Yet in all of that, Tim never holds someone to a standard to which he’s not willing to hold himself. If he’s holding you accountable, you can also bet, he does the same for himself even more so.

Tim is also a gifted preacher and writer. Her sermons and “musings” are insightful, always point to Jesus, are humble, and include a large dose of humor. I believe he’s working on a website in retirement where he will share his blog, and once it’s ready, I encourage you to read it. He’ll bless you.

On August 1, Tim and his wonderful wife, Cindy (who I’m also humbled to call a friend), will move into senior status and retire to the home they’ve bought in Virginia. They’ll be closer to kids and grandkids, and we they’ve earned this new season in their lives. That said, Florida is going to miss them. Because I know Tim and Cindy, I truly know the often-used cliché will be true: this won’t be the end of ministry for them, it’ll be the beginning of a new chapter. It’ll be a different chapter, for sure, but it will be one where I know that I know that I know God will use them to bless many. Well done, good and faithful servant!

Turning the Page

Tomorrow, we’ll welcome three new members to the Florida Cabinet. Scott George, Vicki Harrison, and Cesar Villafaña. They are all outstanding leaders. I look forward to you getting to know them and the blessing they will be in your churches and ministry. They have already been sitting in on cabinet meetings, and they are ready to get to work. Please pray for them as their jobs are big, and they all also serve vital churches that are making disciples.

But for today, Tim and Patti, our Florida GMC family will miss you. Thank you for working so hard, mostly behind the scenes, to help get this annual conference up and running. Thank you for being willing to deal with hard things and not avoiding them. Thank you for continually pointing all of us to Jesus and encouraging us to run the race set out for us.

Well done, good and faithful servants!

All God’s love,

Jay