Leadership Academy 2008

We are excited and pleased to have Dr. Cynthia A. Bond Hopson as our keynote speaker at the 2008 Leadership Academy on Saturday, February 2. She is a dynamic and inspirational speaker and a wonderful teacher. She has written thought-provoking and inspirational columns, feature articles, and speeches. Why not come see for yourself? Not only is she giving the keynote address, but she also will teach two or three workshops. She’s a lady who is blessed to wear many hats, and we are fortunate to be on the receiving end of her blessings.

Since September of 2005, Bond Hopson has served The United Methodist Church on the Board of Higher Education and Ministry (BHEM) in Nashville as Assistant General Secretary, Black College Fund and Ethnic Concerns. Hopson is responsible for promotion and interpretation of The United Methodist Church’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU), the Black College Fund, and related community and church issues. She also manages and distributes the Black College Fund to participating schools, coordinates institutional on-site reviews for the University Senate and the Commission on Black Colleges, oversees the Black College Fund initiatives such as the Lina H. McCord Summer Intern Program, and presents and writes proposals for the Ethnic Concerns Committee.

Bond Hopson received her B.A. in Mass Communications in 1985 from Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University); her M.S. in Journalism from Murray (KY) State University in 1989; and her Ph.D. in Journalism from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale in 2000.  From 1995-2005 she was employed as a journalism professor at The University of Memphis where she was twice selected through national competition as an American Society of Newspaper Editors Journalism Excellence Fellow.  

She has been nominated for teaching excellence and was selected in 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006 for Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. She is the 2004 recipient of the Dean’s Faculty Advisor Award for the College of Communication and Fine Arts and is a member of Kappa Tau Alpha Journalism Honors Society and an honorary member of the Golden Key International Honors Society.  She previously taught at Lane College and Murray (KY) State University.

That’s not all! In 2002, Bond Hopson launched Touched By Grace Professional Communications Ministry, which offers women’s retreat leadership, diversity consultation and training, writing, musical and public speaking services to businesses, churches and organizations.  Wiggle Tales, A Collection of Hopson’s Haywood Columns from the Brownsville States Graphic, released in December 2003, was her first book. Times of Challenge and Controversy: Voter Registration in Haywood County, 1960-1961. A Content Analysis of Local, Regional and National Newspaper Coverage was released in April 2005 by the University Press of America and her newest book, Bad Hair Days, Rainy Days and Mondays:  Wisdom and Encouragement to Lift a Woman's Spirit, was released by Abingdon Press in April 2006. In October 2006 she was awarded the Distinguished Writer's Award from the Brownsville Haywood County Chapter of the NAACP and named a prolific author and educator.

She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the National Association of Black Journalists and the NAACP.  She is married to the Rev. Roger A. Hopson, Director of Program Ministries for the Memphis Conference of the United Methodist Church and they live in Jackson, Tenn.  They have two children, Marcos and Angela, and three grandchildren. 

We are all busy in today’s fast-paced world, and we know how important it is to make room and time for God in our lives. The Leadership Academy Steering Committee really doesn’t want to offer up a McDonald’s style, in-and-out kind of faith—we’re not looking for short-cuts and we don’t think you are either. We do, however, want to offer you the opportunity to help yourself be well-equipped to live a life of faith and still accomplish all you need to do in your day-to-day living. Just ask for Christ/the Word, to be served with the “food” of your daily lives.

“Come and have breakfast,” said Christ to his fishing disciples by the Sea of Galilee. The disciples recognized Jesus through his invitation to them and through his servant role. What Christ asks us to do is recognize him walking beside us all the time. As we grow in our spirituality, that act becomes easier for us. God is always there—our minds know that—but we are the ones who let God enter into us…enter into our lives. When we leave the church on Sundays, we can remember to take Christ with us, feast on him from day to day, digesting the Word and filling ourselves with his love and grace through prayer, devotion, meditation, Bible study and fellowship. That kind of self-discipline (discipleship) is what brings us closer to Jesus Christ and his ways (and his way). Soon we’re running on full faith, finding that it’s not balance we’re looking for so much as a blending of our secular world and our faith world.

Showing the world that Jesus is with us (Emanuel) is one way we have of living our faith. It means modeling the life of Jesus in our everyday living and making a good reputation for Christianity. It means taking time for prayer and meditation and scripture study. It means sharing ourselves with God and others. It means sharing our faith whenever an opportunity arises. We are called to be in this world, not of this world. Jesus said, Feed my sheep.

We are answering God’s call to be in ministry here in the North Coast District, in East Ohio and around the world. You are invited to a time of worship, praise, prayer and learning, and the opportunity to choose three to four workshops from a selection of 31, as we share ways to do ministry in the most efficient, effective and God-like ways. We don’t want to “mcdonaldize” the church, but some of their ideas are helpful in our busy lives.

Open your mind and heart more powerfully than ever to the overflowing abundance offered to all who love God's Word. There is spiritual nourishment, inspiration, and assurance to all who hunger for truth. God will foster in every seeker a deeper love and understanding of Christ and His life-changing Word. Feast on it!

Plan to participate in the North Coast District UMC Leadership Academy 2008—it’s only $6.00 for all this plus materials and lunch!