Artwork for podcast Be Encouraged with Bishop Julius C. Trimble
Legacy of Encouragement: Bishop Julius C. Trimble's Mission Continues
Episode 11713th August 2024 • Be Encouraged with Bishop Julius C. Trimble • Bishop Julius C. Trimble
00:00:00 00:34:04

Share Episode

Shownotes

Episode 117 To Be Encouraged with Bishop Julius C. Trimble

Legacy of Encouragement: Bishop Julius C. Trimble's Mission Continues

Transition and Transformation: Bishop Julius C. Trimble on Encouragement and New Beginnings

In this heartfelt episode of the "To Be Encouraged" podcast, Rev. Dr. Brad Miller engages in a deep and insightful conversation with Bishop Julius C. Trimble. As Bishop Trimble prepares to transition from his role as the Bishop of the Indiana Area United Methodist Church, he reflects on his journey, his mission of encouragement, and his inspiring vision moving forward. This episode is filled with gratitude, wisdom, and a passionate call to spread love and encouragement in a world often filled with negativity.

**Top 3 Takeaways:**

1. **The Power of Encouragement and Gratitude:**

  - Bishop Trimble emphasizes the importance of expressing gratitude to others, acknowledging that his journey has been nurtured and supported by numerous people throughout his 40 years in ministry. He reflects on his mission to encourage all people with the love of Jesus Christ, underscoring that genuine encouragement goes beyond making people feel good about themselves; it's about inspiring them to do good for others and rise to their highest potential.

  - "I want to encourage all people with the love of Jesus Christ to rise to their highest potential," says Bishop Trimble, highlighting that his mission is rooted in his Christian faith and a desire to cultivate a better world.

2. **Addressing the Steady Diet of Negativity:**

  - Bishop Trimble shares his concern about the pervasive negativity in today's society, where people are often offered reasons to dislike and distrust others. He points out the lack of public discourse on critical issues like the well-being of children and the basic right to secure shelter. His vision is to counteract this negativity with a "steady diet of encouragement," which he believes can transform lives and communities by fostering a spirit of can-doism and unity.

  - He passionately states, "We're offered a steady diet of bad news... but there's so little discussion about those who are marginalized, those who have lost a sense of belonging."

3. **Looking Ahead: A Vision for Wider Impact:**

  - As Bishop Trimble transitions out of his episcopal role, he sets a bold new goal for himself: to encourage 2,000,000 people. He plans to leverage various platforms, including his new website, bishopjuliusctrimble.com, to continue his mission of encouragement through writing, blogging, speaking engagements, and leadership training. Bishop Trimble's unwavering belief in the power of encouragement to transform lives is central to his vision moving forward.

  - He says, "What if I intentionally decide part of my motivation at this stage... Let's set a wildly important goal that only you can accomplish if God helps you."

Join us in this inspiring episode as Bishop Julius C. Trimble shares his insights, aspirations, and unwavering commitment to spreading love and encouragement in an often discouraged world.

**Connect with Us:**

- **Website:** [To Be Encouraged Podcast](http://tobeencouraged.com)

- **Bishop Julius C. Trimble’s Website:** [bishopjuliusctrimble.com](http://bishopjuliusctrimble.com)

- **Subscribe & Listen:** Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Transcripts

Speaker:

Hello again, good people, and welcome to the to the to be

Speaker:

encouraged podcast with Bishop Julius c

Speaker:

Trimble. The podcast where we look to offer an encouraging word to

Speaker:

an often discouraged world. I'm your cohost, reverend doctor

Speaker:

Brad Miller. Well, bishop, we find ourselves in a

Speaker:

place of absolute transition. We, you and I have

Speaker:

done the To Be In Encourage podcast together with you as bishop

Speaker:

of the Indiana Area United Methodist Church for a few years now.

Speaker:

And now we're coming to the time when you're gonna be transitioning out of the

Speaker:

office of bishop into some new endeavors. And so this

Speaker:

is our last podcast together with you as the

Speaker:

bishop of Indiana. So tell me a little bit what's going through your mind right

Speaker:

now. What are some of the emotions that you're feeling? What what

Speaker:

share a little bit. What what's going in your heart right now?

Speaker:

Well, over the last, several weeks and actually several months, I've

Speaker:

been saying thank you to a lot of people. And I have this

Speaker:

this nightmare, or maybe it's not so much a nightmare, but this dream

Speaker:

that that I know there's somebody people that I forgot to say

Speaker:

thank you to. So I say thank you to you, Brad, and to the

Speaker:

people who listen to this podcast. I've been so

Speaker:

blessed to be a servant leader in the United Methodist Church for over

Speaker:

40 years as a pastor,

Speaker:

excuse me, and as a district superintendent and as

Speaker:

a bishop. But most of all, I've also been able to be

Speaker:

nurtured both by late late persons and clergy. And

Speaker:

and, you know, all all pastors were laypersons. Mhmm.

Speaker:

True. And we were we didn't just even if

Speaker:

we're p k's as in your case Uh-huh. You know, you're

Speaker:

you were a layperson before you were a pastor. So Sure. I

Speaker:

really, really wanna say a big thank you to all of the laity

Speaker:

women and men who, who live out their faith every day

Speaker:

and are engaged in their local congregations and their communities,

Speaker:

making a difference by expressing the love of Jesus Christ in

Speaker:

so many ways. So this is a time for me

Speaker:

to to reflect and to be thankful, and I

Speaker:

think I'm really mostly feel, Brad, with the spirit sense of gratitude

Speaker:

that, I remember one of my friends some years ago, Brad,

Speaker:

from Chicago said, man, you a preacher?

Speaker:

And then when then I became a bishop. You a bishop? You a bishop.

Speaker:

Yeah. I said I said, look what God can do. Yeah. God could

Speaker:

do anything. Right? I said, god can do anything. So I said, yes.

Speaker:

And it's been my privilege to to be a servant leader. And I

Speaker:

intend to continue to be to to to serve in in ways that

Speaker:

hopefully will have a positive impact on the lives of others.

Speaker:

I I said it out loud in a public setting that I

Speaker:

wanted to encourage 2,000,000 people as I as I

Speaker:

pivoted with passion to what god had next for me.

Speaker:

Sure. So now I'm actually stepping into that, and,

Speaker:

hopefully, this can be a vehicle for that to continue to happen. Well,

Speaker:

let's just let's just talk about where all that started for a moment. I,

Speaker:

you know, I first became of course, you and I have known each other and

Speaker:

been, friends in one form or another for 40 something years in seminary days.

Speaker:

But I was struck when you first came to Indiana, 8

Speaker:

years ago. One of the first things I read and heard about you when

Speaker:

I started to research a little bit was your mission statement, which I think

Speaker:

you've had for some time. Sometime even before you came to Indiana, I

Speaker:

believe. And I'm just gonna share it, and I want you to

Speaker:

expand on it a little bit because I think it takes us to where we

Speaker:

wanna go in our conversation. Your mission is to encourage all people with

Speaker:

the love of Jesus Christ to rise to their highest

Speaker:

potential or be encouraged for short. How long have you

Speaker:

had that mission statement? And then tell us about how that kinda

Speaker:

drives or impacts everything you're about. Well,

Speaker:

actually, the the genesis of it goes back to to our family.

Speaker:

My wife and I, particularly my wife, leading us in a process in

Speaker:

as a family to really think through our our our

Speaker:

mission statements. What it was we wanted to accomplish as a family

Speaker:

and as individually doing that. So we both

Speaker:

created mission statements that have stuck with us, and

Speaker:

it it helped me particularly when after I left the local

Speaker:

church and became a district superintendent. I said, I'm I know I'm

Speaker:

gonna be in this position for a period of time, and then that

Speaker:

period will come to an end. How can I leave something or

Speaker:

have some moniker or some some motto,

Speaker:

moniker, and statement that identifies who I

Speaker:

am and how I want to lead and serve? And so

Speaker:

that's then when I came up with to to to encourage all

Speaker:

people, there's some key parts of the mission statement. First of

Speaker:

all, it's not a segregated or it's not a

Speaker:

caucus of tribal statement. I I wanna

Speaker:

encourage all people, and it's rooted in my own Christian

Speaker:

faith and witness. I wanna encourage them with the love of Jesus

Speaker:

Christ to rise to their highest potential.

Speaker:

So I've said this on a couple of occasions, but

Speaker:

but the statement is not so much to help people

Speaker:

feel good about themselves as it is to encourage people

Speaker:

and inspire people to wanna do good for others as well.

Speaker:

So it's important for us, Brad, to feel healthy enough about our

Speaker:

own witness, our own journey. We're forgiven sinners.

Speaker:

We're imperfect. As I like to say, we're all hypocrites on different

Speaker:

subjects. So we all need forgiveness. We all should be praying prayers

Speaker:

of confession. But God has chosen us

Speaker:

to to not only to support our churches with

Speaker:

our time, our talents, our money, but it also says with our gifts and our

Speaker:

service and our witness. So this is my way of witnessing,

Speaker:

and my way of witnessing is to encourage people to rise to their highest

Speaker:

potential, not to be what it is I want you to be or

Speaker:

or or what others have said. But what is it that you'd like to really

Speaker:

rise to? And I wanna be an instrument of encouragement

Speaker:

for that to happen. So a little bit more than a motivator or rah rah

Speaker:

cheerleading thing. It's about transformation, isn't it? It's about helping people

Speaker:

and then therefore to transform the world. Right? So In fact, I

Speaker:

encourage people to to contemplate coming up with their

Speaker:

own mission statements or purpose statements and

Speaker:

vision statements or whatever you wanna call it. And I'm not saying that's

Speaker:

a necessary guideline or a plumb line or something to

Speaker:

to to to monitor what it is that you wanna do every day

Speaker:

or all the way along along the way. What I like about our

Speaker:

mission statement in the United Methodist Church, I have it memorized

Speaker:

to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the

Speaker:

world. So in essence, we

Speaker:

Are you there? Mister Burtz, and encourage them, and they can do things

Speaker:

that I don't necessarily have the natural gifts to

Speaker:

do. Well, let's take this mission statement that you

Speaker:

have as part of your legacy and who you are as

Speaker:

a as a pastor and as a bishop.

Speaker:

And, you know, we know you're going on some different things in your life, which

Speaker:

include the the general secretary of the Board of Church and Society, but

Speaker:

you also have kind of a now a personal mission

Speaker:

to apply your mission statement, and that is to apply it to

Speaker:

people's lives. Tell us a bit about your vision of who you wanna reach

Speaker:

now, and what's this gonna be? Tell us about your vision. Well, we live in

Speaker:

a world where there are 1,000,000,000 of people. And

Speaker:

so I I say that, you know, all of us have an have a circle

Speaker:

that we can impact. Some people have used that whole nurse notion of

Speaker:

circle, the people that you influence your family into the wider circle

Speaker:

and then the wider circle. And so I said, how wide can my circle

Speaker:

be? When I think about 42 years of ministry, Brad,

Speaker:

I've had a chance to encourage people on multiple occasions

Speaker:

on the continent of Africa. One time goes way back

Speaker:

to 1991, speaking to 500 high school

Speaker:

students at Hartzell's High School in in Zimbabwe

Speaker:

with with with with our former classmate who at the time was the

Speaker:

district superintendent. And I you sometimes you can forget the

Speaker:

impact. I I started ministry at a at I came out

Speaker:

of a relatively small membership church, then I was assigned to

Speaker:

a small membership church. But every person that you talk to and

Speaker:

that you preach have a chance to preach to or or do a funeral

Speaker:

for or baptism, all of those are encounters in which you've

Speaker:

had an impact in some way, some of which you forgot. In

Speaker:

fact, one of the young persons who was at my

Speaker:

first full time appointment sent a note of affirmation

Speaker:

and thank you at my retirement, which is in the which is in the

Speaker:

souvenir retirement book, who I had forgotten all about. And he

Speaker:

said, I've followed you through social media over the

Speaker:

years of your career. Now I was in my twenties when I

Speaker:

was serving Emmanuel United Methodist Church in North

Speaker:

Chicago. This was a young person. He was actually in

Speaker:

middle school, when I became the pastor there, and

Speaker:

he'd now he just retired from his job after 31 years. Wow.

Speaker:

He said, I've been following you, and you had a positive impact on

Speaker:

me. This is true for lots, if not the vast majority of

Speaker:

pastors, but also mail carriers or school my mother was a

Speaker:

school. So many of us have impact. And

Speaker:

what if we intentionally I said, what if I intentionally decide part

Speaker:

of my motivation at this stage, my I'm in the Q4 of life, so

Speaker:

to speak. What do I wanna do that keeps me

Speaker:

motivated? And I said, let's set a wily important goal

Speaker:

that only you can accomplish if god helps you. Sure. That's where the

Speaker:

2,000,000 came up. I said, if I say 2,000, that might

Speaker:

happen after you speak after I spoke at annual conference.

Speaker:

Sure. I had another time to speak at that and that was a 1,000 people

Speaker:

right there. So I thought I'd set a goal that was lofty

Speaker:

enough that would suit me dizzy. So you wanna

Speaker:

impact and influence with a word of encouragement

Speaker:

and help people rise with a potential 2,000,000 people.

Speaker:

Wow. That's a lofty Can you help me with that? That's a loft. That's a

Speaker:

that's a lofty goal, my friend. But let's let's break it down just

Speaker:

a little bit here about why you would wanna do that. I'm gonna ask

Speaker:

you 3 quick questions here because I think this has to do with where we

Speaker:

go next. When you think about this goal of encouraging

Speaker:

people, what breaks your heart about that? What what breaks your heart about

Speaker:

Well, what really breaks my heart, Brad, is that people have been offered

Speaker:

a steady diet of negativity and reasons to

Speaker:

hate the other. And I put that, quote, unquote, the other, whoever the

Speaker:

other may be. So little conversation I hear in the public

Speaker:

discourse about the state of children across the world.

Speaker:

I think how every time I see a picture of my granddaughter posted and

Speaker:

my daughter posted or other grandchildren, children that are are

Speaker:

adopted children, I think, oh, how fortunate they are to be

Speaker:

living the lives that they're living. Then I think about all of the

Speaker:

millions of children that don't have that experience. They don't have

Speaker:

extended family. They don't have 3 meals or 2 meals a day.

Speaker:

Sometimes, in Gaza and other places, not just Gaza,

Speaker:

there's not even one meal a day. Sure. But there's so little

Speaker:

discussion about our role in addressing that.

Speaker:

We're offered a steady diet

Speaker:

of bad news, of people we

Speaker:

should dislike, of why this

Speaker:

particular political position is is is

Speaker:

more advantageous than the other. And there's so little discussion

Speaker:

about those who are marginalized, those who have

Speaker:

lost a sense of belonging. I was just entering

Speaker:

the elevator at the hospital today and

Speaker:

speaking to people, and it seems as though even that

Speaker:

for some is is kind of an unusual experience.

Speaker:

Something has happened with the advent of smartphones and and

Speaker:

the advent of communications and across

Speaker:

the Internet and and and and take the advancement of technology.

Speaker:

Somehow, we've lost the notion. We've lost the natural

Speaker:

ability really to connect with people on a regular basis. Sure. So

Speaker:

I really feel That breaks your heart to see that happen. A part. And a

Speaker:

part it sounds like a part of it even ticks you off a little bit

Speaker:

that things are really hurtful to people, that people are being hurt by this.

Speaker:

Right? Well, it ticks me off. It ticks me off that that

Speaker:

even the the basic right of having

Speaker:

secure shelter is is not a we don't we we haven't a

Speaker:

break embrace that as a basic human right. It's kinda every person is

Speaker:

on their own, every man for themselves, every woman for hers

Speaker:

herself. And somehow that doesn't feel right with me. That's

Speaker:

very smart. So you got to Brooke this these aspects

Speaker:

here. What do you think you offer, to kinda speak to that

Speaker:

problem? What are some of the things that that you're gonna offer moving

Speaker:

forward in your next 4th quarters, you say, to help speak to

Speaker:

those problems? I'm gonna offer a steady diet of encouragement

Speaker:

Right. A steady diet diet of affirmation

Speaker:

and what I call can doism. Can doism. Oh, I love it. I love it.

Speaker:

There are many things that we we've convinced ourselves we cannot do, and I often

Speaker:

have said this for years. You've heard me say it. Most of our limitations are

Speaker:

self imposed. We have convinced ourselves by playing

Speaker:

the tapes over and over again that we don't have

Speaker:

enough, we're not gifted enough, or we don't

Speaker:

know enough, or we're not connected enough, or we

Speaker:

don't have resources enough to really do great things

Speaker:

that would advance what many have lifted up

Speaker:

as beloved community. With with your spirit of can doism,

Speaker:

it sounds like even though you're leaving the episcopacy, that

Speaker:

God's not done with you yet in this mission of encouragement, and you got more

Speaker:

to do. Is that right? Well, absolutely. And I Brad, I hope you and

Speaker:

others can help me stay connected. And I hope people that wanna stay

Speaker:

connected and be a part of this positive

Speaker:

energy because it's both ways. It it's both ways. When

Speaker:

hearing from people, I just got a note of thank you from

Speaker:

Sarah who lives in Virginia, and I feel so

Speaker:

blessed. She just lifted our thanking us for

Speaker:

something we have done years ago. And we we my

Speaker:

wife and I were saying, well, they we were blessed just as much as they

Speaker:

were blessed by meeting these these new friends. So Sure.

Speaker:

I think a lot a lot can be done intergenerationally

Speaker:

too, Brad, if we create those portals for people

Speaker:

to receive a steady diet of affirmation. That's

Speaker:

that steady diet means that some people ask me, you know, they've asked you, well,

Speaker:

what's gonna happen to your podcast and what's gonna happen to everything else once you

Speaker:

leave the episcopacy? And so we're looking to very real

Speaker:

opportunity for this podcast and your writing, your

Speaker:

blogging, your books, your can doism parts of

Speaker:

your life are gonna carry on. And you wanna carry that on to one form

Speaker:

or another, do do you not? Absolutely. I wanna stay in

Speaker:

touch with people, and I wanna hear from people. If if I hear from people

Speaker:

say, hey. This has been worthwhile. It's been it's been a blessing to

Speaker:

me. I've passed it on to others. I know there's a lot of options, a

Speaker:

lot of choices people have, but but I believe

Speaker:

encouraging people with the love of Jesus Christ to rise to their highest

Speaker:

potential is something that should be part of our regular diet. In

Speaker:

fact in fact, I have a piece I'm working on called the encouragement

Speaker:

diet. Encouragement diet. Everybody's trying a diet that didn't

Speaker:

work or but I love it. Encourage diet. I love

Speaker:

I love I love that. Well, in that spirit, I think it's appropriate for us

Speaker:

to kinda share with the folks that that in one form or another, the To

Speaker:

Be Encouraged podcast is gonna carry on. And so

Speaker:

people are gonna be able to still find the To Be Encouraged podcast at to

Speaker:

be encouraged.com. But beyond that, Bishop,

Speaker:

you're creating a a website that's gonna be a place for you to

Speaker:

share these can doisms. It's atbishopjuliactremble.com,

Speaker:

and that is the place where people can go and get on your list right

Speaker:

now. They'll get a little gift of of a checklist of

Speaker:

the ten reasons that you're a United Methodist and can

Speaker:

apply to their life. But that's gonna be a place for you to blog

Speaker:

and to have your podcast live there and your sermons

Speaker:

and things about your speaking and live

Speaker:

stream, coaching, opportunities. These things that you're gonna be doing to help other

Speaker:

people. So tell us a little bit about how you feel this can be

Speaker:

a a a, place for people to

Speaker:

remain connected to you and what you're all about. Well, I think

Speaker:

they're first persons who who want to be

Speaker:

connected to a source of not

Speaker:

just information, but also inspiration that can

Speaker:

connect to their goal of transformation. I believe

Speaker:

with my wealth of experience of over 42 years of ministry

Speaker:

and including some of my background as an in a community

Speaker:

organizer and what I call a community encourager and an

Speaker:

individual encourager and counselor that I could be of I could be

Speaker:

of assistance to lots of people. I I have a certain number

Speaker:

of days that I'm available for public speaking, and I will

Speaker:

hopefully continue to do that. But I also want to make sure

Speaker:

that people are able to access just through their computers

Speaker:

an opportunity to receive affirmation and some teaching

Speaker:

modules, Brad, that would help them to advance in their own

Speaker:

ministry. I think the ministry of encouragement is a ministry that we all

Speaker:

could embrace as a part of who we are, whether

Speaker:

we are Christians or not. But it's particularly if you're a

Speaker:

Christian. I think the ministry of encouragement should be one of the tools

Speaker:

that is in your toolbox. Well, let me just reemphasize that again. I don't wanna

Speaker:

give you the last word here on your last podcast as Bishop

Speaker:

that people can go to bishopjuliactrembl.com,

Speaker:

and there you're gonna be able to get on to the bishop's list, the email

Speaker:

list about be connected with everything he's about moving

Speaker:

forward now to reach this vision

Speaker:

of inspiring and encouraging 2,000,000

Speaker:

people. So that basically, people are buying in to be a part of your

Speaker:

community, your team, because you can't do this alone, can you? I can't

Speaker:

do it alone. Haven't been able to do it alone for years. Yeah.

Speaker:

Yes. We can change the world. So that's you're gonna find your the

Speaker:

podcast, your sermons, the leadership training, all kinds of things will will

Speaker:

be there. And so I just wanna thank you for being encouraging,

Speaker:

the voice to pastors and leaders and teachers in the in

Speaker:

the Indiana Conference of United Methodist Church as a starting place and

Speaker:

certainly beyond in the in the global church. I know we've been

Speaker:

friends and colleagues for many years, but I've seen you

Speaker:

really inspire and engage during a time well, a lot of

Speaker:

rough things happened the last 8 years, and you've been a steady

Speaker:

steady Eddie through the whole process and an inspiration to many. I know

Speaker:

you've had a few ups and downs of your own, but I thank you for

Speaker:

being encouragement to me and to others. And so that's to

Speaker:

me and that other part of that, they help people rise

Speaker:

to their level of excellence. I I love that. And I'm looking forward

Speaker:

to hearing more about this encouragement diet. I think that's gonna be

Speaker:

cool. I think it's gonna gonna be cool, whatever that turns out to be. So

Speaker:

I'm gonna thank you for being an encourager on the behalf of the people who

Speaker:

listen to the To Be Encouraged podcast and the people of the Indiana Conference of

Speaker:

the United Methodist Church. But I wanna give you the last word, my friend, here

Speaker:

on the what are you encouraged about as you transition

Speaker:

now from the episcopacy to what's next for you?

Speaker:

What encourages you? Well, I'm encouraged by just the

Speaker:

spirit of joy that I see in an in a number of places.

Speaker:

You know? And I think it's a it's a spirit that we can cultivate.

Speaker:

God loves us. Joy comes from the deep certainty of god's love and

Speaker:

presence in our lives, and we can spread that love and and

Speaker:

that presence to we we can be intentional about our

Speaker:

work. Wherever we are wherever our work finds us, wherever we wherever

Speaker:

we are wherever we are living out our expression of god's

Speaker:

love, we can be intentional. God loves us. God loves you. I

Speaker:

often say there's nothing you can do about it, but that's not really true. You

Speaker:

can spread that love that you experience from God.

Speaker:

So God bless you. Looking forward to staying connected.

Speaker:

I'm still working on my book. Be encouraged, and, I hope

Speaker:

folks can stay connected so when that when that project is completed, you'll

Speaker:

be the 1st to receive it. God bless you. Well, thank you, Bishop. Thank you

Speaker:

for sharing that. Let me share one more time your mission statement because I think

Speaker:

it's an appropriate place for us to close this aspect of the To Be

Speaker:

Encouraged podcast. Bishop Julius c Tribble's mission

Speaker:

is to encourage all people with the love of Jesus Christ to

Speaker:

rise to their highest potential or be encouraged.

Speaker:

Thank you for joining us here on the To Be Encouraged podcast

Speaker:

with Bishop Julius c Trimble, the podcast where we look to offer an

Speaker:

encouraging word to an often discouraged world.

Links

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube