Bishop Julius C. Trimble is the Resident Bishop of the Indiana Area of the United Methodist Church.

Bishop Trimble has the personal mission to encourage all people with the love of Jesus Christ to rise to their highest potential. It is his commitment to his personal mission that led Bishop Trimble to create the “To Be Encouraged” Podcast along with co-host Rev.Dr. Brad Miller.

Bishop Trimble says, “I am compelled by Jesus to share with you an encouraging word or two about Jesus, theology, the Bible, the pandemic, the environment, racism, voting rights, human sexuality, and the state of the United Methodist Church.”

To Be Encouraged with Bishop Julius C. Trimble is to be published weekly and is available at www.tobeencouraged.com and all the podcast directories.

https://www.inumc.org/bishop/office-of-the-bishop/

In the latest episode 108 of "To Be Encouraged," host Rev. Dr. Brad Miller welcomes the esteemed Bishop Julius C. Trimble for an enlightening conversation that ranges from the personal to the globally impactful. As the newly appointed General Secretary of the General Board of Church and Society, Bishop Trimble brings a wealth of experience and passion for advocacy, offering listeners a deeper understanding of the pivotal role the church plays in society.

The episode begins with a reflection on the recent general conference, where Bishop Trimble highlights the love and reverence people, particularly those in Africa, have for the United Methodist symbol of the cross and the flame. This symbol is more than iconic; it represents health, education, and faith, foundational pillars that resonate deeply within the global Methodist community. Rev. Dr. Miller shares the positive energy and progress observed at the conference, focusing on pressing issues like climate care and access to essential resources such as nutritious food and clean water.

Bishop Trimble's recent appointment to the General Board of Church and Society is discussed in detail. He elucidates the social dimensions of the church and his vision for impactful advocacy work. From supporting legislation like PEPFAR aimed at eradicating diseases globally to engaging members of Congress in meaningful dialogue, Bishop Trimble emphasizes the church's commitment to social principles rooted in scripture and the tradition of social holiness.

A major theme of this episode is the upcoming annual conference in Indiana. Bishop Trimble shares his enthusiasm for this event, which he likens to a "church family reunion." He emphasizes the diversity of preaching and worship that will take center stage and expresses gratitude for the opportunity to connect with laypeople and new church ministries. The annual conference, he believes, marks a crucial turning point in the church's journey.

As the episode draws to a close, Bishop Trimble offers a powerful reflection on Psalm 24, wrapping up with a heartfelt prayer. Their conversation is charged with hope and mutual encouragement, encapsulating the core ethos of the "To Be Encouraged" podcast.

**Takeaway Points:**

1. The United Methodist symbol of the cross and the flame holds profound meaning, representing health, education, and faith within the global community.

2. Bishop Trimble’s new role involves advocating for social principles and engaging in meaningful legislative dialogue.

3. The annual conference in Indiana is highlighted as a turning point, celebrating diversity in preaching and worship and fostering community connection.

4. The General Board of Church and Society's vision focuses on making social principles influential and applicable globally, particularly in government decision-making.

I'm your co host, reverend doctor Brad Miller. Bishop Trimble, today,

we're gonna talk about a number of things. Are you ready to have a good

conversation, my friend? Yes. Yes. There's a lot to talk

about, both from reflecting on recent past and

looking for forward to, only a days a few

days from now, beginning the annual conference, which will be my last

annual conference in the Indiana conference as the residential

bishop. Well, let's reflect on a couple of things first,

and then we look forward to annual conference, and then some other things about

what's next for you. We've

recently had some conversations around general conference.

So is there any reflections you have? We've had some great conversations

in the some of the, decisions there. Was there any

reflection you have about general conference in terms of the

spirituality of it or anything else along that line that you really think are going

to be, have a lasting impact? They're gonna be just a

an event which is not held in memory, but it's gonna be really a,

pivotal point for the church moving forward. Yeah. I I think

the general conference that was held at Charlotte, North Carolina really

tapped into, a deep love that

people have for the cross and the flame, Brad Mhmm. For the for

the great history of United Methodism. It's not it's

not an untattered history, but there was

a great sense that people who were, as one Bishop

Olivetteo called Methodist, people who be who are who are just

love Methodism and everything about Methodism. And and many

people, particularly some of my colleagues and friends that I've met over the years in

Africa, who have a deep love breath for the symbol of

the cross and the flame. Because for many of them, that represents

health, education, and faith in

god. So we often think of, well, it's it's just a sign

welcoming people to a local congregation. But for some

people, the United Methodist Church and its

symbol of the flame and the the cross and the flame represents an

a school, a a a clinic,

and a congregation. And sometimes those congregations don't

even have a building. Right. But it seems like also that's an indication

that, you know, this is a sign of life, a sign of energy, a

sign that, something good is happening moving forward,

whereas so much of the talk prior to general conference was about

division and about anger and about this and that. And now we've got some really

positive signs moving forward, including,

with our brothers and sisters in the continent of Africa and other places where there

was some, I just believe, some kind of a gray area or

some misunderstanding. Would you agree with that? We've got some positive energy

moving forward now. Absolutely. This is, this is our

season for what some have called the post conflict United

Methodist movement, And an

opportunity for us to engage with others who are concerned

about not only the souls that need to be saved, but the

saving of our planet, if you will. So now there can be more energy focused

on, for example, climate care and

Yes. The the the hunger across the world. You

know, 2 thirds of the world's population have less

than sufficient, nourished nourishing food and

access to clean drinking water, and that should be unacceptable to those of us

who are followers of Jesus. Well, those are some areas

of application of what we did at general conference. You mentioned climate

care and clean water and other

things regarding the social principles, and I think it leads us to another

area that we've not yet talked about, Bishop, but that

this has to do with what you're touching on here, social

aspects of the church. And just not too long ago, I

believe it was in March, received a word that

you had been appointed the upcoming, head. I'm not sure

what the exact title is, CEO or head of the General secretary.

General secretary of the Board of Church and Society. And,

what first of all, I just wanna say congratulations on your

appointment as the general secretary of the Board of Church and Society. And let's

just talk about that a little bit because you just mentioned coming out of a

general conference, we're gonna have some energy in these areas. Now you're

you're, you're the general secretary of this area. So tell us a little bit of

what Jurickson Society is, what it does, and what you're gonna be doing. Well, it,

I was elected by the board, the the current board of the

General Board of Church and Society, which is a board that I served on a

number of years ago. I had an 8 year term,

that I served 2 4 year terms I served on the General Board of Church

and Society. It's the office is based in the United

Methodist building, which is located right

next door to the Supreme Court and right across the street from the

capitol. It's the only nongovernmental building,

that's in that Capitol Square, if you will. So the

United Methodist Church have a long history. In 190

8, the Methodist Episcopal Church North was the 1st

denomination to adopt a social creed,

which call for equal rights and complete justice, quote,

unquote, for all men, in

all all stations of life. That's the quote quote

unquote for all men in all stations of life. We have come

a long way since then, but from the very beginning of the

social social creed to now what we

have adopted for many, many years at general conference

social principles, which is included in our book of discipline.

These are, living statements that United Methodist

agreed that we should we should forward.

And I think it's directly related to the second part of our mission

statement. Our mission statement is to make disciples of Jesus Christ

for the transformation of the world. So how do we do that? Well,

the social principles, while they are not considered church law,

they are considered a consensus or or

or a mandate for United Methodist to care about things

like God's creation. So we should care about the

about, child labor,

and and about safety for children, about

reducing violence across the globe.

So those things that, have to do with the nurture

of community, that have to do political society,

are are things that we have a position about or we made a statement

about. And all of the social principles are based on

scripture as well as our tradition of being

social, not just, social holiness

is the only kind of holiness that really matters. Mhmm. Absolutely.

Well, Bishop, the rumors were you were gonna retire this year. This

doesn't sound a whole lot like retirement to me if you're going right on the

I'm gonna have a quick retirement. And we're

taking taking a family cruise in August, a family cruise in

August, and we're going on to some a couple of birthday celebrations

in in after annual conference in June.

But we'll have some time in August. And our granddaughter starts 1st

grade, so I plan on being around when she starts 1st grade to visit

her. So I am scheduled to begin my assignment

September 1. And, you're right. It'll

be a it'll be a relatively short short retirement.

Jump right into it. And so let's talk a little bit. You've mentioned some of

the roles that, will be happening there.

But, the the roles you know, I know there are 5 emphasis in the board

of church and society, climate, peace, poverty, health, and

civil human rights. So what's your vision moving forward, my

friend, for those areas? What do you see, how

your leadership can have implications in those areas or anything

else moving forward, the Border Church and Society, and how it may

or may not be influential upon

a government and anything else that's happening. So tell us where what

about your vision moving forward? Well, my well, I think it's an exciting

time for me to have the opportunity to accept this role.

Let me say tell you why, Brad. Number 1, at the most

recent general conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, we adopted

an updated revised version of the

social principles. Now why is that a big deal?

Because it was 2,012, 12 years

ago, that the general conference mandated a committee

to be formed, which was made up of a large

group of writers and persons who did

dozens of surveys. I think over 4,000 people were talked to around

around the globe around how to adopt the social principles

so they they can be accessible and

applicable across the globe for things that you know, for

example, climate change may be different in in countries of

poverty because it really impacts those impoverished.

Violence while violence, gun violence, and mass shootings may be

a primary, event that happens in the US context,

other kinds of tribal violence happens across the across the

globe. So the adoption of the new social principles,

revised social principles, are both more abbreviated

than they previously were, but also more applicable across the globe. So

it's an exciting time to help congregations and annual

conferences, which will be part of my role, to be able to

use the social principles in teaching format,

podcast, if you will, Brad. Alright. To make to make the social

principles usable so people know, hey. This is what United Methodist

say we believe. This is what United Methodist say we can do

to actually transform the world so that we can say thy will

be done on earth as it is in heaven. So I'm

excited about that opportunity to help lead a team that's

doing that work. So if you will, it sounds like we're trying to take the

social principles and kinda you know, we have the book of social

principles, and for for many people, unfortunately, that becomes a

book that sits on the shelf. And it sounds to me or,

that where your role or you see your vision is gonna be

how can we take the social principles and really apply it and make it

usable through educational materials, podcast, other

communication sources to local churches, annual conferences,

other entities even, perhaps government or other entities,

to to make it, apply it, so to speak. Am I

anywhere close to what you're working on here? You're absolutely right.

For example, there are any number of persons who are serving in

the house of representatives and the US senate that

have their spiritual homes in The United Methodist Church.

Mhmm. So part of my response or part of our responsibility, I think, is to

make sure that those who are elected representatives, particularly

those who are United Methodists, say, listen. While you are making

these deliberations and decisions, allow your social

principles from the church that you either were baptized in or

joined or were confirmed in or got married in or the church you claim as

your home church, allow that to have an impact on the decisions

that you are making. And I know that that's happened in the past with

previous general secretaries and and staff. There's an

there's an exceptional relatively young,

staff of professionals who work at the General Board of Churches Society,

who are who are what we what I would call experts in these

particular areas of working with governmental officials,

working with working with, people who are in the capital,

who are who are in congress. We're working specifically,

Brad, with our ecumenical and interfaith partners,

many who are based in C, but, but but

are inactive all across the globe. So one of my roles

will be really to up our commitment to building

interfaith and ecumenical relationships. And, fortunately, as

a bishop, I've had the chance to meet a lot of people both in the

US, Brad, and also outside of the US. So

it won't be too hard for me to begin to make more friends, for

The United Methodist Church. And part of making friends and

relationships also has to do with having some influence and impact. Do you

see your role or the role of church in society as anywhere

being hoping to influence, say, legislation or

influence, for lack of a better word, being a lobbyist

for, for for certain positions here, is any of that gonna

be taking place? Are you gonna be having, you know, lunch with the congressman

and so on to try to share Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Again.

Okay. Yes, yes, and yes again. And we do there are certain

legislation that the General Board of Churches Society

really advocates for. You know, for example, I was

participating in the in the continued promotion of what was

called PEPFAR, which was interrupted. And that was an

a commitment of the United States government to contribute to a larger,

like United Nations commitment to eradicate malaria,

tuberculosis, and other diseases across the globe. So this

is a significant pot of money that the US has

historically always contributed to. And when I was chairing the

or have I been when I chaired the United Methodist Global AIDS Committee,

I had a chance to meet with senator Todd Young, who had

been a strong who's who has historically been a strong supporter of PEPFAR.

That's an example. But there's other specific legislation

that we have supported and officially joined with

other faith communities, Brad, to say these are things

that are good for the common person, and not

only in the United States, but in the case of PEPFAR, that's something that would

affect people across the globe. So, yes,

we're not really a a traditional lobbyist

organization, but we we are certified to be able to actually

meet with elected officials in order to advocate for

positions that are consistent with our social principles.

So we we're we're not we're not partisan. We don't go

and, campaign for a particular

off officer persons who are running for government, but

we campaign for those who are

impacted by, policies, that

that affect children, families,

persons who are marginalized, and and and what we call

the common good. Yeah. And I think that's that's

an encouraging sign. You know, we we like to talk about being encouraged here on

your podcast, and that's certainly what you were all about. And,

I would just say that it seems like we're at a time,

Bishop, to see what you think, that we're starting

to stop our navel gazing as it were in the United Methodist Church,

kind of so absorbed in our own problems, our own internal

disputes, and we're at least having the opportunity to look outwards. Now we've always looked

outwards. We've always done great mission work, but but we've had a bit of an

obsession the last few years about what's going on with us. You

see this as a new opportunity, a new day for us to really

get after what really we are supposed to be all about. You see

there's a new day here where we can also take maybe if there's legislation going

on that's that that we want to be supportive of, we can also say to

our United Methodist brothers and sisters, hey. Here's our position on

this. This is a good thing too or whatever it is. Unpack that for. Let

me a little bit. I think you're you're absolutely right. This is a time where

we can say, here, you can't we can't do everything as as the late,

John Lewis, Congressman John Lewis would say. You can't do everything, but

everybody ought to choose to do something. Something to make the world

better, make make your community better, make the globe better.

And I think what I hope to be able to help do along with some

very gifted, talented team

members is to help people say, you can be

overwhelmed. You know, how do you solve world hunger, Brad? How do you

solve, you know, poverty? That's a bit but here's here's a

one piece of legislation that would make, for example,

the the preschool

legislation or such things that could actually,

reduce child poverty in the US or things that could actually

reduce child poverty across the

globe. Here's a piece of legislation, or here's here's an

initiative, both that we can support as faith

community. Or, for example, we have a role, Brad. We,

the General Board of Churches and Society, have a role and an office

and a staff person who's stationed at the United

Nations, officially registered with the United Nations

as, one of the few nongovernmental,

representatives that has access to participate in some of the

global policy and some of the global goals, and we wanna hold

on to that influence. Well, I just think there's

some real positive signs there and that moving forward, I I

trust your leadership and congratulate you again on your appointment as

general secretary, and we just look for good things to happen and some more

conversations like this about the the global scene that's

happening. But I'd like to shift our conversation now to be

really more little bit more local and applicable to the local church, and

that has to do with annual conference. Now

we've talked about general conference. We've talked about Board of Church and Society,

but your primary role is is the Bishop of Indiana.

And now you're, the next week or 2 here, you're gonna be heading

into, really, your last annual conference that you're gonna preside

over as a as a Bishop of United Methodist Church, and

I'm aware of at least. And then so share some thoughts you have going

into annual conference, particularly as we look to interpret and

apply general conference, border restrictions society, anything

else to annual conference. What are your thoughts about about annual

conference, coming up soon? Well, I really

like, and it was kind of a consensus decision by

the team that planned the annual conference in the Indiana conference

that we came up with a theme cultivating joy.

And, excuse me, it comes out

our our scriptural basis is the the apostle Paul's

writing to the church in Rome. Romans the

15th chapter, the 13th verse, may the God of hope

fill you with all joy and peace

in believing so that you may abound in hope by the power of the

Holy Spirit. I think a post conflict

United Methodist in Indiana really

should grasp onto this theme of our the annual

conference cultivating joy. How do we cultivate joy in

our community when some so many people feel overwhelmed by

the cost of groceries, where people

feel despondent because there's not enough access to housing, where people don't have

a church home, or sometimes they don't have a friend, or they feel

like nobody's paying attention, Brad, to mental illness

or to depression and and the struggles that people have on a day to day

basis. We can cultivate joy if we pay

attention, to what people are going through

and make our church a place of welcome. As

as, Paul Chilcote said, what if the United Methodist

Church were known as the most loving church Oh. In the United

States? So what if what if that was true in Indiana, Brad? Oh my

goodness. What what a world what a world. What

a world that would be. Yeah. I think there's a song in there somewhere.

Well, that's, that's, so let's just turn it to this. If we're talking

about cultivating joy as a part of the theme of

annual conference in Indiana, What are you feeling,

joyful about as we enter, annual conference?

And but kinda particularly, maybe reflect a little bit as you kind of

conclude this part of your ministry, your bishop presiding

bishop, part of your ministry. What are you joyful about going

into annual conference? Well, I'm joyful about the opportunity

to say thank you to 100, if not thousands of people. And I

wanna say thank you to you, Brad, the reverend doctor Brad Miller, because you've

been such an important part of my life and my ministry. Absolutely. And I'm

not ashamed to say it. So I know that I'll probably,

what Ruth Ellen neither was telling me said I think it was her

or Darlene was telling me, bring some Kleenex tissue.

Because you probably and and I and the older I get and

once I became a grandpa, I don't know. Maybe it I I cry pretty

easily now, Brett. I don't know about you. Oh, man. But I, you know,

I I cry pretty easily. I know. My granddaughters know how to push my buttons.

I'll put it that way. Yeah. And I and I and I love to laugh

too. So so I'm really looking forward to, you know, it's serious.

You know, we still have churches that feel that are hurting Mhmm. Because of

this affiliation and some that feel like they were disappointed in

decisions. Some feel maybe we've abandoned traditional

understanding of marriage and so forth. And I would say, no. What we've really done

is just, may put more chairs at the table. Yeah.

And if we look at it that way, I think I'm looking forward

to good news from our financial state. We were in

a good place. We recognize that churches are struggling.

Some churches are struggling, but we think we're on a rebound,

post COVID. And we still we're still coming back from COVID. So

we have a lot to celebrate. We have a big celebration around new church

ministries. So I think since the first time in my

8 years, we will really we will have a special dinner prior

prior to during annual conference, as well as acknowledging,

fresh expressions and new start ministries. New congregations have

started in the last 2 years. So, even as

I finish and give my last Episcopal address, my

theme is gonna be, I can continue to cultivate

joy. And I wanna take an opportunity to say thank

you. Well and I just wanna say as,

from my perspective, we your leadership and your

sense of continued, kind of a steady hand of leadership through

some pretty tumultuous times both in Indiana and beyond

is appreciated, and the constant word

of Encouraged, to be encouragement, to be encouraged

is very welcome. So what do you what kind of surprises do you have in

mind for us? So can we get any preview of your final episcopal

address here? Anything along that line that we can look forward to? Yeah. The title

is a few minutes to say thank you. And and I hope I don't

go way over my time because

you know, I I am a black preacher to someone.

Someone C, since someone was given 5 minutes, I don't know, maybe

it was Bishop Woody White or someone one time. He said, I need 5

minutes just to introduce myself.

Well, that's part of the joy. That's part of the joy then, kind of the

diverse nature of how preaching and teaching and and, worship takes place is

part of what we experience at annual conference. And and I think,

this annual conference, I believe, just from my perspective,

has the opportunity to be a true turning point to really move

from one kind of season of the church to a

new one that's a fresh expression as one some have said, you

know, a fresh way to go about this. And, look forward

to to what, to what is coming up

next. Well, bishop, any of those let's just take the next couple of minutes to

talk about anything you want to talk about regarding the

church or your family or, anything else

regarding because this will probably be our last opportunity to chat before annual

conference. So anything else you want to share, to our to be

encouraged audience here today? Well, I'm looking forward to, annual

conference. My family I think my my

core family, my my wife, and our 3

adult children and our granddaughter are scheduled to be here.

I don't know if I if we have some surprises from other family members or

not. So that's always a highlight. And I'm looking forward to really thanking a

lot of lay people and and clergy, who

over the years have welcomed me. Every annual conference I've had

an opportunity, Brad, to really acknowledge and

uplift people who are there for the first time. So you and I,

you know, as clergy members, we we we are used to, you know, it's

kinda part of your job and your rhythm. But every year,

I it's interesting when I talk with persons, laypersons

who said, this is the first time I've ever been to a conference. And usually,

it's a positive experience, or it's a really refreshing

idea when people think, well, I come from a church that only has

40 members, and I'm sitting here singing o 4,000

tongues, Brad, with a 1,000 tongues singing 04,000

tongues. So, I I have always loved annual

conference before I was a bishop. I just like the

energy that's there. And sometimes I like the debates. You

know? Sure. Now I have to I don't get to engage

in debating, but I get to preside at the

conference. And, usually, we have more to celebrate than

we do to lament. Yeah. Well, it is There's

there's time to lament. There's a time that the writer of Ecclesiastes

says there's a time for everything. So we do acknowledge that,

you know, there are people who have died since the last time we met, and

we will have a celebration of life. There are those who are excited about

being ordained, so we'll we'll have a time for that. There

are some miss missionaries and deaconesses that we

will acknowledge. So so annual conference is a time where

I call it the kind of the church family reunion. And

this time, we will be at a local church, so we won't have

to we won't have to kinda recreate worship space.

I know. Somehow it seems applicable. Seems C

in a way. And, certainly, Christian conferencing is a form of doing

church, and we're gonna be doing church in a local church.

And I, for 1, find that to be a a welcome thing,

thing to have happened. Well, I wanna thank you again, Bishop

Julius Trimble, for being a part of the To Be Encouraged

podcast and for being my bishop personally and for the bishop

of Indiana and Iowa prior to that. We look forward to great

things happening for you, in the future on the board of church and

society and other things happening, as well. And one

of the things I love about you, my friend, is the way that you bring

the spirituality in everything you do. So can you close this episode

of To Be Encouraged with an encouraging word of prayer?

Absolutely. I wanna close with a word of scripture before I

pray and say, Brad, you may not know this or recall remember

this, but this year's annual conference, 2024,

will be held at St. Luke's United Methodist Church, Indianapolis.

When I came to Indiana in 2016 and they had the welcome service, it was

planned for me. I just had to show up for my wife and myself, but

we showed up, and we had most of our family, including my mom, who's

now in a nursing home, a lot of our family, my my

brother-in-law who's now gone on to heaven. And, so

so we were welcomed in 2016 at St.

Luke's United Methodist Church, the very same sanctuary

that I will be preaching, the celebration of life service

and giving my last episcopal address. And when I

came in 2016, I said I would pay attention,

be astounded, and tell as many people about

Jesus as possible. And I've tried to do that, Brad, and you've helped

me, tell as many people about Jesus as possible,

and pay attention along the way. So I'm really happy about that. And for

people who are listening to the podcast, we really want you to

know, I really want you to know, we want you to know, that God

loves you. There's nothing you can do about it, but just receive

that. It doesn't have to be debated. It doesn't have to be,

discussed with a finance committee. It doesn't have to be brought to

your family reunion. You are loved by God, and God

has done something for us that we could not do for ourselves. Psalm 24,

which is a critical passage of scripture for the

social principles, reads this way. The

first couple of verses is all I'm going to read. The

earth is the Lord's, and all that

is in it, the world and those who

live in it. For God has founded it

on the seas and established it on the

rivers. Earth

is the lord's Mhmm. And all the people

who live. So we give thanks

to God. Lord God, we thank you for creation. We ask that you

help us, oh, God, to be better stewards of creation.

Help us to be better stewards of relationships and friendships.

Help us, oh god, to be the kind of church that helps

people to experience belonging, not just

service, but really sacred

fellowship and friendship. We give you thanks for

this podcast, and we give you thanks, oh, God, for the ways in

which you have forgiven us and continue to

lift us up. Oh god, now I pray that

through the power of the Holy Spirit, you would encourage people

and allow us to be instruments of your grace, peace, and love.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen. And we do thank you for listening to the To Be

Encouraged podcast. The podcast where we look to offer an

encouraging word to an often discouraged world. Speaking

for Bishop Julius c Trimble, I'm reverend doctor Brad

Miller encouraging you to always do all the good that

you can. Close. Alright,

my friend. We nailed it. We nailed it there.