Greetings in the name of Christ! For years I have been reading publications from various organizations, and I generally skip over articles that report on business meetings. I suspect that is why I enjoy the Council for Accountable Discipleship so much. When we gather, it isn't business as usual. First, this entire gathering is different because we genuinely enjoy each other's company and respect other's labor. We know that our work is not marked by competition but arises out of our desire to see everyone grow in faithfulness. Consequently, it is a pleasure to report that the Annual Gatherings of The Council for Accountable Discipleship (CFAD) met April 24-26, 2001, at Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC.

This was a special year for CFAD! In November, we began celebrating the 25th anniversary of covenant discipleship at Duke University Divinity School, where covenant discipleship started. The capstone of our celebration was the announcement of the David Lowes Watson Endowment Fund, established to further the impact of covenant discipleship in the church. And we rejoiced at the publication of Steven Manskar's book, Accountable Discipleship: Living in God's Household (Discipleship Resources). These two events gave us the center point to project us forward into the next 25 years.

During this year's annual gathering, CFAD members established a covenant among themselves. Our goal in covenanting is to bind us together for the work of building, supporting, and furthering accountable discipleship across the church. Furthermore, we spent important time visioning for the future. But a key component of our gathering was hearing the successes of our sisters and brothers and joining hands in our commitment to the work of Jesus Christ. In the words of our Chair, Bill Pyatt, "Three years ago when I first joined CFAD, I was not sure where we were going, but today I can see hope for the vision growing in our church."

Michael Bartley is secretary of CFAD and Director of the United Methodist Student Center, Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma City, OK. Natalya Sharp, Central PA, and Yong Min Hong, Peninsula DE (shown in the photo on the left), were May graduates invited to attend a session of CFAD.