wfn.org | Jim Snead, United Methodist Men leader, dies at 67

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Sept. 12, 2002	News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.  10-71BP{406}

NOTE: A photograph of James H. Snead Jr. is available.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - James H. Snead Jr., longtime director of the
United Methodist Men's program, died Sept. 11 at home after battling liver
cancer. He was 67.
 
Snead led United Methodist Men's ministries for 21 years at the churchwide
Board of Discipleship and later played a major role in the creation of a
separate agency for men's programs.

"Jim provided a solid foundation from which the General Commission on United
Methodist Men got its launch," said the Rev. Joseph Harris, top staff
executive of the agency. "Not only was he a dedicated United Methodist, but
he was also a dedicated person committed to the ministry of all men, and
that spirit is what helped us to begin."

He was "a visionary," said Allen L. Brown of New Orleans, who worked on
Snead's staff from 1978 to 1994. 

"Jim had more impact on United Methodist Men than any other single
individual," Brown said. "Whatever United Methodist Men is today, it is the
result of his leadership." 

The church's once-strong emphasis on men's work had "ceased to exist" by the
early 1970s, Brown recalled. In 1972, the new Board of Discipleship received
responsibility for men's ministries, and Snead joined the agency two years
later. He oversaw the program's growth from a small unit to a full division
of the agency. Through the years, his role expanded from that of national
director to assistant general secretary.

Snead was responsible for starting such programs as the Upper Room Prayer
Ministry, a joint venture with the Upper Room, and Every Man Shares, in
which individual men pledge personal support to United Methodist Men. He
also revived the United Methodist Men Congress, which brings together
thousands of people from around the globe every four years.

Under Snead's leadership, the United Methodist Men took over the church's
scouting ministry for boys and girls. Today, through the men's commission,
the United Methodist Church sponsors more Boy Scout units than any other
denomination, Brown said.

The number of local United Methodist Men's units grew from about 1,800 in
1978 to more than 10,000 by the time Snead left the discipleship board in
1995. Harris said the church currently has about 12,000 chapters. The
denomination's General Minutes puts the organization's total membership at
about 236,000 men. 

After resigning from the Board of Discipleship in mid-1995, Snead continued
working on behalf of United Methodist Men. He was a key person in advocating
the creation of a men's agency by the 1996 General Conference. The
Commission on United Methodist Men began operation the following year.

Snead went on to serve as director of development for Asbury Theological
Seminary in Wilmore, Ky., and executive director of the United Methodist Men
Foundation.

A native of Atlanta, Snead worked for the city's fire and recreation
departments while attending college at the University of Georgia. In 1962,
he became a professional with the Boy Scouts of America, and five years
later went to work for the church. He was the associate council on
ministries director for the South Georgia Annual Conference before joining
the denomination's Board of Discipleship. 

He is survived by his wife, Ann, three daughters and seven grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Central time Sept. 14 at Bellevue
United Methodist Church in Nashville. In lieu of flowers, the family is
requesting that donations be sent to the United Methodist Men Foundation,
P.O. Box 340006, Nashville, TN 37203-0006, or to Bellevue United Methodist
Church Memorial Fund, 7501 Old Harding Pike, Nashville, TN 37221.
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United Methodist News Service
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