Cabinet Retirements Announced

Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr., resident bishop of the Central and North Texas Conferences of The United Methodist Church, has announced the retirements of two Central Texas Conference Cabinet members – Dr. Will Cotton and Dr. Clifton Howard. Dr. Cotton will continue his roles as executive director of the Smith Center for Evangelism, Mission & Church Growth and the New Church Start District Superintendent through June 2024. Dr. Howard, assistant to the bishop, chief of staff and conference secretary for the Central Texas Conference, will remain through the planned unifying conference at the end of September. His official retirement is effective Oct. 1.
 
“Clifton and Will have been sources of inspiration, reason, wisdom and creative problem solving for me and the entire Cabinet,” said Bishop Saenz. “Both bring outstanding practical and institutional knowledge and experience to the table, but more importantly, they are true followers of Jesus who bring faith, hope and love to any situation.”
 
“The inspired and measured leadership and counsel offered by Drs. Cotton and Howard as the conference emerged from the COVID-19 shutdown and throughout the season of disaffiliation were beyond vital to our success,” continued Bishop Saenz. “And recently, their visionary insights into unifying the Central, North and Northwest Conferences have been and will continue to be fundamental in our plans to serve future generations and make disciples of Jesus Christ for decades to come.”

Dr. Willard N. Cotton and his bride of more than 40 years Tina Cotton will officially begin their next chapter of life and ministry upon his retirement effective July 1, 2024. Since July 2022, Will has served as Executive Director of the Smith Center for Evangelism, Mission & Church Growth and the District Superintendent of the New Church Start District in the Central Texas Conference. For more on Will’s pastoral impact on the Central Texas and the Northwest Texas/New Mexico Conferences, click here.
 
“After 42 years of pastoral ministry, and nine years of music ministry prior to that, it is time to seek God about my next chapter of ministry,” said Will. “There is much that Tina and I want to do in ministry together and don’t want to miss out on what that could be.
 
For more than a half century of active ministry - yes, it was as a high schooler during the Nixon administration when he first answered the call – Will has been called by God to be part of encouraging, equipping and empowering the next generation of leaders, both inside and outside the walls of the church. Recently, the tug on Will’s heart has been to walk alongside organizations – both churches and secular non-profit and for-profit businesses - looking to establish and grow principled, collaborative and resilient leadership. To date, Team Cotton has shared plans to develop a website to share written and social media resources and a “fun and provocative” podcast to discuss myriad topics affecting society. 
 
“Of course, there is also the music we have shared throughout our 40-plus years together and it’s time to do what many have been encouraging me to do for a long time and actually begin to work on one or more of the five book outlines I have on my hard drive,” quipped Will. “Having said all that, we don’t quite know what’s next and are prayerfully open. With Tina’s journey through becoming differently abled we have another dimension to help encourage people into a new day.”
 

Dr. Will Cotton and Rev. Meg Witmer-Faile shared a powerful vision for the Smith Center for Evangelism, Mission & Church Growth during AC23.

The past three years have been what Dr. Cotton terms “the most challenging days of ministry I have seen” due to all the disruptions to our mission and vision brought about by the COVID pandemic and disaffiliation. His time with the Smith Center and on the Cabinet though has been a realization of a dream a quarter century in the making.
 
“What a special privilege it has been to serve on the cabinet and staff of the Central Texas Conference,” remarked Will. “The Smith Center team has done extraordinary work and it has been great fun creating initiatives and being part of the creation and renewal of faith communities. I would be remiss if I didn’t offer special thanks to Meg Witmer-Faile for her great work."  
 
“Words cannot express my gratitude to have served with such a prayerful, dedicated and gifted cabinet for the Central Texas Conference as well as in our developing relationships with the North Texas and Northwest Texas Conferences," continued Will. "Under the able and Spirit-filled leadership of Bishop Saenz, there is a blend of vision and holy resolve that will bless untold numbers of people in the future. My hope for the Unified Annual Conference is for a powerful partnership to develop between local churches and the conference, as well as between the laity and clergy, so that millions can become Jesus followers and help transform our world from one at the mercy of the forces of selfishness, division and the idolatry to a place of love, justice and freedom for all people.”
 
Clifton Howard Set to Retire Fall 2024
Dr. Clifton O. Howard has announced plans to officially retire from active pastoral ministry effective Oct. 1, 2024. During his 42 years of service in and with the Central Texas Conference, Clifton has pastored congregations in Italy (Texas), Milford, Pelham, Brush Prairie, Belton, Temple, Fort Worth and Arlington, and served as District Superintendent for the Brownwood, Waco and South Districts of the CTC. Since July 2017, Dr. Howard has served as the Assistant to the Bishop and Chief of Staff for the Central Texas Conference.
 
Though he has been in church and district leadership positions since 1982, Dr. Howard first and foremost understands himself as a follower of Jesus – a disciple that is continually learning and growing in the knowledge and grace of Christ. “Following Christ has been so interesting,” Clifton recalled. “There have been days so filled with joy and a sense of accomplishment that ten thousand tongues couldn’t express my gratitude. And there have been days when the darkness was so thick that I wondered if the sun would ever shine again. What I am learning is that in joy or through darkness, the call to follow Christ is a call to trust.”

It is the call to trust that helped Clifton decide that the time is right to retire from the conference and the UMC connection from which he has been “blessed beyond measure” and pursue and maybe even complete some personal projects that he’s been looking forward to completing. Editors note: we were unable to confirm if any of those projects included getting his golf handicap in the single digits. 
 

Dr. Clifton Howard listening to presentations during his first Annual Conference as Conference Secretary (2017)

“While I’m looking forward to completing one or two of those projects, I’m more anxious and excited to discover what new things I will be learning and understanding how to incorporate that learning into our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ,” Clifton said. “My prayer, for all of us, is that as we move into new phases of our lives and ministries, we might see in every challenge, every achievement, every joy, every sorrow, a new and fresh opportunity to learn to trust the God from whose love nothing can separate us.” 
 
Whether in the local church, on a committee, at the District level or in a Conference role, Dr. Howard approached his role with a “heart filled with gratitude” for the opportunity provided “a young, inexperienced, too self-assured, Baptist minister” to serve in The United Methodist Church.
 
“This Conference and denomination gave me an opportunity to offer my gifts and serve when it seemed an opportunity might never come. I could never adequately express my gratitude for that,” Clifton observed. “The people, churches, and districts Barbara and I had the joy of serving will forever bring a smile. And, of course, serving on the Cabinet has been and is a tremendous honor.  In so many ways, it challenged me to stretch myself and grow, while at the same time providing one after another opportunity to learn about myself, the church and the Lord.”
 
Please join Bishop Saenz, the Central Texas Cabinet and the CTC staff in expressing their thanks for the work and ministry of Drs. Will Cotton and Clifton Howard and in prayers for peace, joy, abundance and love in the next chapter(s) in which God has in store for them.