Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
1
United Methodist
Handbook on
Ministry Interpretation
2013-2016
Quadrennium Division of Ordained Ministry General Board of Higher Education and Ministry The United Methodist Church January, 2013 {Includes changes resulting from Judicial Council Decisions of October, 2012 and Errata published 1/2013}
2
Table of Contents
Introduction……………………………………………………………… ... 5
Clergy Session…………………………………………………………….. .. 7
The Annual Conference ¶370………………………………………… .. 8
Ordering of Ministry………………………………………………… .... 9
The Ordained Deacon in Full Connection…………… ............………11
The Ordained Elder in Full Connection……………… ....................... 13
The Local Pastor Licensed for Pastoral Ministry……………………15
The Ordained Deacon, Elder, Associate Member and those………. . 17
Licensed for Pastoral ministry in Appointment extending the
ministry of Christ
Orders and Fellowship………………………………………………… .... 19
The Order of Deacons and the Order of Elders…………………….. 20
Basic Discipline Paragraphs…………………………………………. . 21
Basic Guidelines for the Order of Deacons and Order of Elders…. . 23
Suggested Questions for Reflection on Clergy Orders……………. ... 25
Basic Guidelines for the Fellowship of Local Pastors and…………. . 28
Associate Members
Deacon…………………………………………………………............... …29
License for Provisional Members Preparing to become………….. ... 30
Deacons in Full Connection
Appointment of Deacon and Provisional Deacon ................................ 32
Appointment of Deacon in Full Connection and Provisional……. .... 33
Members in the Deacon Track (Form)
Deacons and Provisional Deacons Serving Beyond
the Local Church………………….. ................................................. 35
Deacons Serving as Sole Pastor of a Church……………………….... 38
Deacons and the Sacraments……………………………………….. ... 40
Statement from the Council of Bishops……………………………. ... 43
NonSalaried, Less than Full-time, and Across……………………. .... 44
Conference to Other Denominations
Salary and Benefits for Deacons and Provisional Deacons................. 45
Termination and Support for Deacons & Provisional Deacons….. ... 47
3
Elders ............................................................................................................. 49
Ordained Elder………………………………………………………….50
Ministry, Authority and Responsibility of Elder…………………….. 51
Requirements for Admission to Elder in Full Connection and ….. .... 53
Ordination as Elder
Admission & Continuance of Full Membership in the Annual……. .. 56
Conference
Appointments to Various Ministries……………………………….. .... 57
The Itinerant System……………………………………………………58
Definition of a Pastor………………………………………………….. 61
Responsibilities & Duties of Elders & Local Pastors………………. .. 61
Unauthorized Conduct………………………………………………. ... 64
Local Pastors ................................................................................................. 67
License for Pastoral Ministry…………………………………………. 66
Responsibilities & Duties of those Licensed for Pastoral…………..... 67
Ministry
Local Pastors Seeking to Transfer to Another Annual Conference…68
Interim License as Local Pastor……………………………………… . 68
Categories of Local Pastors…………………………………………… 69
Continuance as a Local Pastor……………………………………….. . 70
Exiting, Reinstatement, and Retirements of Local Pastors…………. 71
Who are not Provisional Members
Associate Members……………………………………………………….. 73
Associate Membership ¶321……………………………………………74
Requirements for Election as Associate Members……………………75
Provisional Membership .............................................................................. 77
Qualifications for Election to Provisional Membership…………....... 78
Commissioning……………………………………………………… ..... 82
Service of Provisional Members……………………………………… . 83
Eligibility and Rights of Provisional Members………………………..84
Conference Relations………………………………………………. .......... 86
Voluntary Leaves……………………………………………………. ... 87
4
Involuntary Leaves………………………………………………….. ... 89
Voluntary/Involuntary Leaves……………………………………… .. 90
Transitional Leave………………………………………… ............ ..…91
Recommendations to Annual Conference Boards………………….. . 91
Ordained Ministry for Persons Changing from One Order
to Another Order
Process for Clergy Members to Change Orders ¶309.2…………… . 92
Ordained Elders who seek to be ordained Deacon……………… ...... 93
Ordained Deacons who seek to be ordained Elder…….. .................... 94
Commissioned Provisional Member in Elder Track who seek…… .. 95
to be ordained Deacon in full connection
Commissioned Provisional Member in the Deacon Track………… . 96
who seek to be ordained Elder in full connection
Extension Ministries……………………………………………………….97
Extension Ministries…………………………………………………....98
Elders in Extension Ministry Appointments……………………….....99
Deacons or Provisional Deacons Serving …………………………....101
Beyond the Local Church
Endorsement………………………………………………………………102
Ecclesiastical Endorsements, Approval, and Affirmation…………..103
Certification in Specialized Ministry Areas………………………….….104
Index…………………………………………………………………….…110
5
Introduction The purpose of organizing the life of the church is to provide an instrument through which
ministry can be more effective. We refer to that organizing as “ordering”. When persons
are enabled to live out their beliefs and commitments, and work is shared, ministry
happens. Therefore, order is the servant of ministry.
The United Methodist Church, more than most Christian traditions, has focused on the
needs of the people for direction in ordering ministry. Through baptism we are all called
to ministry on behalf of Jesus Christ. The offices and orders exist to support and enable
the ministry of all Christians. Therefore, it is a servant leadership role to which elders and
deacons are called and ordained, supervised by the bishop, yet each has distinctive roles.
Servant leadership is integral to all ordained ministry just as ordained ministry is an
integral part of the ministry of all Christians.
Deacons are called by God, authorized by the church, and ordained by a bishop to a
lifetime ministry of word, service, compassion and justice which is to be lived out in the
congregation and the community and helps to connect both congregation and community.
Deacons are to be models of Christian discipleship. They are to also lead others to enter
into discipleship. In the world, a deacon seeks to express compassion and justice,
assisting lay persons to claim their own ministry. In the congregation, the deacon’s
ministry is to teach and form disciples, and to lead worship together with other ordained,
licensed and lay persons.
The ministry of the deacon builds a bridge between the needs in the world and the gifts of
the congregation. Some deacons are employed in their places of service while others are
volunteers. Deacons serve in schools, colleges, theological schools, or in church-related
health and welfare agencies. Deacons also work as educators in the church or in the
community. Some bring the Gospel to persons who are not served by the usual ministry
of the church while others serve in contexts with no religious affiliation. If the deacon’s
primary appointment is within a local church, the relationship of worship and the world
must be demonstrated. Wherever the primary place of service, there is a relationship to a
local church in which they take responsibility for leading other Christians into ministries
of service.
Elders in The United Methodist Church are persons called by God, authorized by the
church, and ordained by the bishop into a lifetime, itinerant ministry of Word, Service,
Sacrament and Order. Elders lead persons into mission and ministry in the world by
proclaiming God’s work, building up the Christian community, administering the
sacraments and serving persons through acts of compassion and justice. Elders also
oversee the ministry of the church as district superintendents and bishops, and they may
6
hold a variety of other appointments which extend God’s mission and ministry of all
Christians beyond the local church.
The ministry of the elder has demonstrated the very close relationship of ordained
ministry with the congregation since the time of the early church. The elder has always
taught, guided and served, especially presiding at Holy Communion.
So, the ordering of ministry is the essential servant which creates opportunities for
ministry in which personal commitment can be lived and work can be shared. All
Christians along with the ordained, consecrated, and licensed persons participate in
equipping others for ministry. As they order their lives as faithful disciples, they share
with others the ministry to which God has called them in the world. It is a ministry of
hope for our time and healing of the world, and calls for new commitment to discipleship
lived out in our homes, communities and in the world. The “reason for being” of clergy
(deacons, elders and local pastors) and diaconal ministers is to help laity claim their own
calling to ministry. The ordering of ministry also compels those who have a ministry of
oversight to guide and evaluate clergy leadership in ministry by their effectiveness in
enabling the ministry of all Christians. God’s call to serve still comes to all! The
ordering of the church’s life exists to be servant to God’s call to serve all God’s people
and the world.
The first edition of Ministry Interpretation Handbook was developed in 1997 by the Joint
Committee on Ministry Interpretation: Bishops William Oden, William W. Dew, Jr.,
Robert E. Fannin, Neil Irons, David J. Lawson, Roy I. Sano, Ann Brookshire Sherer,
Woodie W. White and Assistant General Secretaries Jimmy Carr and John E. Harnish.
Revised July, 2012
Division of Ordained Ministry
Associate General Secretary
Gwen Purushotham
Director of Provisional Membership, Deacon Support,
And Certification in Specialized Ministry
Anita D. Wood
Director of Candidacy, Mentoring, & Conference Relations
Meg Lassiat
7
CL
ER
GY
SE
SS
IO
N
8
The Annual Conference - ¶370
1. The annual conference is the basic body of The United Methodist Church. The clergy
membership of an annual conference shall consist of deacons and elders in full
connection (¶329, ¶333), provisional members (¶327), associate members, affiliate
members (¶344.4, ¶586.4), and local pastors under full-time and part-time
appointment to a pastoral charge (¶317). All clergy are amenable to the annual
conference in the performance of their duties in the positions to which they are
appointed
2. Both men and women are included in all provisions of the Discipline that refer to the
ordained ministry.
3. In all cases where district committees on ordained ministry, boards of ordained, or
clergy in executive session vote on granting any status regarding license, ordination,
or conference membership, it is understood that the requirements set forth herein are
minimum requirements only. Each person voting is expected to vote prayerfully based
on his or her personal judgment of the applicant’s gifts, evidence of God’s grace, and
promise of future usefulness for the mission of the church.
4. All clergy members mentioned in ¶370.1 shall receive written communication about
decisions made regarding their relationship with the annual conference.
5. There shall be an annual meeting of this covenant body, in executive session of clergy
members in full connection with the annual conference, including both deacons and
elders, at the site of the regular session of the annual conference or an alternative time
and location determined by the bishop after consultation with the cabinet and the
executive committee of the board of ordained ministry to consider questions relating to
matters of ordination, character, and conference relations (¶¶605.7, 636.2).
6. A special session of the annual conference may be held at such time and at such place
as the bishop shall determine, after consultation with the cabinet and the executive
committee of the board of ordained ministry. A special clergy session shall have only
such powers as stated in the call.
9
ORDERING OF MINISTRY CANDIDACY ¶310
The Foundation of Ministry: Baptism The ministry of all Christians, the mission and ministry of the United Methodist Church, the ministry of the Ordained
1. Inquiring Candidates
1. Contact your pastor, DS, or another deacon or elder
2. Reading The Christian as Minister is recommended
2. Exploring Candidate
1. Member of the United Methodist Church or baptized participant of a
Recognized UM campus ministry or other UM ministry setting for
One (1) year
2. Apply to DS in writing, including statement of call, and ask to be
Assigned a candidacy mentor
3. Complete candidacy online enrollment and $75 payment
4. Complete beginning stages of candidacy with candidacy mentor
3. Declared Candidate
1. High school graduate
2. Pastor-staff parish committee review or equivalent in
your ministry setting as specified by dCOM
3. Recommended by charge conference or equivalent in
your ministry setting as specified by dCOM
4. Certified Candidate
1. Written response to ministry questions specified in
Discipline
2. Psychological assessment, criminal and sexual
misconduct background, and credit check
3. Examination and approval by district committee
4. Annual recommendation by charge conference/equivalent
5. Annual approval by district committee
Requirements for Provisional Members and
Commissioning Toward Elder’s Orders, ¶324
Qualifications
Certified Candidate for 1 year, maximum 12 years
Demonstrated service leadership to satisfaction
of dCOM
Education
Bachelor’s degree M.Div (one-half of the studies)
including ½ of the basic graduate
theological studies (minimum 24 hours)
health certificate
doctrinal examination/biographical statement
interview and recommendation of district committee
interview and recommendation of conference board
Alternative Education for Elder, ¶324.6
Forty years of age Bachelor’s degree
five years Course of Study
32 hours of graduate theological studies
Requirements for /Provisional Members and
Commissioning Toward Deacon’s Orders, ¶324
Qualifications Certified Candidate for 1 year, maximum 12 years
Demonstrated service leadership to satisfaction of dCOM
Education
Bachelor’s degree
Master’s in specialized ministry (one-half of the studies)
completed ½ of basic graduate theological studies (minimum 24 hours)
health certificate
doctrinal examination/biographical statement interview and recommendation of district committee
interview and recommendation of conference board
Alternative education for deacon in full connection, ¶324.5
thirty-five years of age
bachelor’s degree
certification or license in area of service (minimum of eight graduate hours)
basic graduate theological studies (minimum 24
hours)
The Local Pastors, ¶315
Qualifications
Certified Candidate
Education
Studies for license as a local pastor or 1/3 the work for M.Div degree
health certificate
examination and recommendation of dCOM approval of conference board
Continuation
Satisfactory progress in Course of Study
Associate Member ¶322
40 years of age
60 semester hours undergraduate study five year Course of Study
four years of full-time service health certificate
10
One half of all formal education completed
Recommended by the Board of Ordained Ministry
Elected to Provisional Member by Clergy Session
Commissioned
Provisional Membership, ¶324, ¶326-327 relationship with a mentor
minimum of two years; following completion of education
requirement; maximum of eight years
annual conference has jurisdiction through clergy session
under supervision of district superintendent
annual review and evaluation
annual report to the Board of Ordained Ministry
vote on all matters except constitutional amendments, election to General and
Jurisdictional Conferences, and matters of ordination
curriculum to extend theological education
covenant groups to support practice and work of the commissioned minister
mentoring to contemplate the meaning of ordained ministry and its covenant
those appointed as elders or deacons must be licensed for their particular ministry
those appointed as deacon must have license for ministry of deacon
To deacon in full connection, ¶330
complete all requirements
recommended by the Board of Ordained Ministry
elected by Clergy Session
To elder in full connection, ¶335
complete all requirements
recommended by the Board of Ordained Ministry
elected by Clergy Session
Ordained as Deacon in full connection
(word, service, compassion and justice)
Received into Order of Deacon, ¶305, 306, 331
Ordained as Elder in full connection
(word, sacrament, order and service)
Received into Order of Elder, ¶305, 306, 338
participate in order of deacon
full annual conference membership
appointed by bishop (non-itinerant)
may be part-time
may be non-salaried
may be appointed to another annual conference or
denomination
annual evaluation and district superintendent report
accountability to local church
participate in order of elder
full annual conference membership
appointed by bishop (itinerant)
may be less than full time for up to eight years
annual evaluation with local church and district
superintendent
may be endorsed as a chaplain to an extension ministry
annual report to charge conference
Clergy Sessions ¶605.7
elders and deacons in full connection
lay members of Board of Ordained Ministry
Annual Conference Session
elder and deacon in full connection – vote on all matters
provisional member, associate, affiliate members, local pastors under appointment –
limited vote ¶327.2. ¶321.1, ¶344.4, ¶316.6
11
The Ordained Deacon in Full Connection
“…Those who respond to God’s call to lead in service, word, compassion, and
justice and equip others for this ministry through teaching, proclamation, and
worship, and who assist elders in the administration of the sacraments are ordained
as deacons.” (¶303.2)
1. Ordained to Word, Service, Compassion and Justice
Deacons are persons called by God, authorized by the church, and ordained by a
bishop to a lifetime ministry of Word, Service, Compassion, and Justice, to both
the community and the congregation in a ministry that connects the two.
Deacons exemplify Christian discipleship and create opportunities for others to
enter into discipleship. The work of deacons is a work of justice, serving with
compassion as they seek to serve those on the margins of society. In the
congregation, the ministry of the deacon is to teach and to form disciples, and to
lead worship together with other ordained and laypersons. ¶329
Deacons give leadership in the church’s life: in the teaching and proclaiming the
word; in contributing to worship, and in assisting the elders in administering the
sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper; in forming and nurturing disciples; in
conducting marriages and burying the dead; in embodying the church’s mission to the
world; and in leading congregations in interpreting the needs, concerns, and hopes of
the world. For the sake of extending the mission and ministry of the church, a pastor-
in-charge or district superintendent may request that the bishop grant local
sacramental authority to the deacon to administer the sacraments in the absence of an
elder, within a deacon’s primary appointment. It is the deacons, in both person and
function, whose distinctive ministry is to embody, articulate, and lead the whole
people of God in its servant ministry…. (¶328).
2. Called and Set Apart for a Ministry of Service From the earliest days of the church, deacons were called and set apart for the ministry
of love, justice, and service; of connecting the church with the most needy, neglected
and marginalized among the children of God. This ministry grows out of the
Wesleyan passion for social holiness and ministry among the poor…
….The ministry of the deacon is a faithful response of the mission of the Church
meeting the emerging needs of the future. Deacons are accountable to the annual
conference and the bishop for the fulfillment of their call to servant leadership (¶328).
12
3. Appointment
Deacons and provisional deacons may be appointed to serve in the following settings:
a) Agencies and settings beyond the local church, including ecumenical agencies,
that extend the witness and service of Christ’s love and justice in the world and
connect the church with the most needy, neglected, and marginialized;
b) United Methodist Church-related agencies, schools, colleges, theological
schools, and within the connectional structures of The United Methodist
Church;
c) A local congregation, charge, or cooperative parish, leading in the
congregation’s mission to the world and equipping all Christians to fulfill their
own calls to Christian service.
If a deacon is appointed beyond the local church he/she will also have a secondary
appointment to a local church (¶331.5)
Deacons in full connection are clergy members and shall have voice and vote in the
clergy session and the annual conference where membership is held. (¶329.2)
4. Deacons serving a local church without the presence of an elder.
Deacons should only be appointed to a local church where there is not an elder serving
in exceptional circumstances for missional purposes and for a particular time. If the
deacon is required to administer the sacraments authority should be given by the
Bishop. ¶328, ¶625.4
13
The Ordained Elder in Full Connection
“….Those whose leadership in service includes preaching and teaching the Word
of God, administration of the sacraments, ordering the Church for its mission and
service, and administration of the Discipline of the Church are ordained as
elders.” (¶303.2)
1. Ordained to Word, Sacrament, Order and Service
The elder and the deacon share the responsibility for “Word”, the apostolic task of the
faithful transmission of the faith and proclamation of the Word of God. For the elder,
this includes primary responsibility for the preaching ministry, though preaching in
Methodism has always included the lay preacher as well as the ordained. The unique
focus of the Elder is the responsibility for administration of the sacraments and the
ordering of the ministry of the church. For most elders, this will be lived out as the
pastor in charge of a local congregation, but the elder’s ministry is not restricted to the
parish. They may be appointed to “Extension Ministries” (¶343), serving in a variety
of settings. Because elders have been ordained to ordering the ministry of the church
and administering the Discipline, Bishops and district superintendents are chosen from
the ordained elders. Elders share with the bishop the responsibility for this ministry
and serve as pastors in charge in the congregation.
2. Ordained to Service
With the deacon, the elder is ordained to service. This is important, since all ordained
ministry is rooted in servant leadership,. For Wesley this meant refusing the
constraints of parish boundaries and claiming the world as his parish. For us it means
that elders as well as deacons are responsible for leading the church in service in the
world. The elder is specifically ordained to “order the church for its mission and
service.”
3. Itinerant clergy
The Elder continues to be itinerant, offering him/herself “without reserve to be
appointed” and to serve where needed for the sake of the mission of the church
(¶335.5c) (1)). The traveling elder commits him/herself to full-time service in the
connection under the authority of the bishop. All elders who are in good standing
shall be continued under appointment unless they are on leave and are assured
equitable compensation for their ministry (¶342.1).
14
4. Elder as Pastor-in-charge
As pastor of a local congregation, the elder assumes responsibility to “oversee the
total ministry of the local church in its nurturing ministries and in fulfilling its mission
of witness and service in the world.” These responsibilities are outlined in. ¶340-341.
15
The Local Pastor Licensed for Pastoral Ministry
¶315. License for Pastoral Ministry – All persons not ordained as elders who are
appointed to preach and conduct divine worship and perform the duties of a pastor
shall have a license for pastoral ministry The Board of Ordained Ministry
(¶635.2h), may recommend to the executive session of the annual conference the
licensing of those persons.”
1. The essential ministry of the local pastor
Essential to the ministry of early Methodism was the lay preacher, the exhorter, the
class leader. These persons, though not ordained, provided primary forms of ministry
and leadership in the frontier church. That ministry is continued through the Local
Pastor. Though not ordained, the Local Pastor is authorized to provide pastoral
leadership to the local church, including sacramental administration and the
responsibility to order the mission and ministry of the congregation. Full-time and
part-time local pastors have vote as clergy members of the annual conference and
have voice but not vote in the clergy session.
2. Categories of Local Pastors (¶318)
Full-time local pastors (¶318.1)
Full-time local pastors devote their entire time to the charge to which they are
appointed and its outreach in ministry and mission to the community. They must
complete the course of study program and have their license renewed annually.
Part-Time local pastors (¶318.2)
Persons who have met the provisions of the Discipline and do not devote their
entire time to the charge may be appointed as part-time local pastors. They must
complete at least two courses per year in the course of study and have their license
renewed annually/
Student local pastors (¶318.3)
Those enrolled in colleges, universities or schools of theology and who are making
progress in their education may be licensed and appointed as part-time or full-time
local pastors. Their license must be renewed annually.
Associate Members (¶321)
Local pastors may be elected to associate membership by vote of the clergy
members in full connection upon recommendation of the board of ordained
ministry, when they have (1) reached age forty (2) served four years as full-time
local pastors; (3) completed the five year course of study for ordained ministry; (4)
completed a minimum of sixty semester hours of a college degree and met all other
requirements listed in ¶322.
16
3. Local pastor as pastor-in-charge
As pastor of a local church, the local pastor assumes the full responsibilities of the
pastor (¶340.2). He/she is licensed to serve in that appointment under the direct
supervision of the district superintendent.
17
The Ordained Deacon, Elder, Associate Member, & Those Licensed for
Pastoral Ministry in Appointments Extending the Ministry of Christ
Elders in effective relationship may be appointed to serve in ministry settings beyond
the local United Methodist Church in the witness and service of Christ’s love and
justice (¶343).
Deacons in full connection may be appointed to serve in various ministries beyond
the local church (¶331)
Associate members may be appointed to extension ministries. (¶344)
Those licensed for pastoral ministry may be appointed to extension ministries.
(¶316.1; 344.1) 1. Extending the ministry of Christ
Basic to our understanding of ministry is that all persons have the right to receive the
full ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Ministry is the responsibility of every
Christian and extends to every place and to all persons through acts of love and
service that convey God’s love and the love of God’s people. The full ministry of
Christ extends beyond the congregation to persons in special situations or with special
needs which require an inter-faith outreach or ministry by persons with both a calling
and specific qualifications for work in specialized settings. The ordained elder,
associate member, and deacon extend the ministry in particular ways. 2. The elder in extension ministries (¶343-344)
Extension Ministries normally take place outside the boundaries of a local
congregation. Extension ministries are initiated in missional response to the needs of
persons in special circumstances and unique situations and may be time-limited as
needs and situations change. Endorsement for some extension ministries, such as
chaplaincy and pastoral care, is carried out by the United Methodist Endorsing
Agency of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (¶1421.5c).
Elders may be appointed to extension ministries in the following categories:
a. Within the connectional structures of United Methodism
b. Endorsed ministry settings
c. Under the General Board of Global Ministries
d. Ecumenical settings and ministries that are not usually provided for by the local
church.
18
3. The deacon in various ministries (¶331)
By its very nature and vision, the deacon in full connection extends the ministry of
Christ into the community. Whether a deacon’s primary appointment is to a local
congregation, denominational, ecumenical agency, or settings that extend the witness
and service of Christ, they are compelled to serve the needs and hurts of the world as
well as equip and call out members of the congregation to serve Christ in the world.
All deacons are appointed to a local church regardless of their service setting and
charged to inter-relate the altar, table, and the marketplace.
Ministry settings that require endorsement may be filled by the deacon in full
connection. Sacramental authority may be granted by the Bishop, to a deacon in their
primary appointment when an elder is absent .( ¶328) Endorsement will be done by
the United Methodist Endorsing Agency, General Board of Higher Education and
Ministry (¶1421.5c).
4. Fulfilling the ministry of Christ
These ministers represent God’s new thing in a new time. John Wesley was a
practitioner of “holy pragmatism,” and made use of whatever strategies and structures
that were useful to fulfill the mission for which God had raised up “the people called
Methodist.”
This kind of pragmatism has been characteristic of our Methodist tradition which has
always been more mission oriented than churchly. Appointments that extend the
ministry of Christ enable The United Methodist Church to demonstrate in concrete
ways that the world is, indeed, our parish.
19
Or
de
rs
an
d F
el
lo
ws
hip
20
The Order of Deacons and the Order of Elders
“There shall be in each annual conference an Order of Deacons and an Order of
Elders . . . A covenant community . . . to mutually support, care for, and hold
accountable its members for the sake of the life and mission of the church (¶306).
The Orders are structures through which the vocation and covenant for elders and
deacons in full conference membership can be affirmed. We have an opportunity for,
indeed a calling into, covenant relationships with our colleagues. The order will “seek to
respond to the spiritual hunger among clergy for a fulfilling sense of vocation, for support
among peers, and for a deepening relationship with God” (¶306). Each annual conference
will have an Order of Elders and an Order of Deacons. The purpose is multi-
dimensional, yet will include:
1. Provide for regular gatherings or ordained deacons and ordained elders for continuing
formation in relationship to Jesus Christ through such experiences as Bible, study of
issues facing the church and society, and theological exploration in vocational identity
and leadership;
2. Assist in plans for individual study and retreat experiences;
3. Develop a bond of unity and common commitment to mission and ministry of The
United Methodist Church and the annual conference;
4. Enable the creation of relationships that allow mutual support and trust; and,
5. Hold accountable all members of the order in the fulfilling of these purposes (¶307).
The Order of Elder and the Order of Deacon has its purpose in conversation, exploration,
prayer, and relationship. Each annual conference will need to engage in a process that
makes the Order indigenous to the annual conference, to the identity of its members, and
to welcome the full participation of clergy members.
The Order of Deacons and the Order of Elders may meet separately or together. The
Orders are to be convened by the Bishop. The chairperson is nominated by the board of
ordained ministry and is elected by the full membership of the Order. Clergy are
members of the Order by ordination and full membership in the annual conference.
Persons become members of the Order upon their ordination and election to full clergy
membership in the annual conference.
21
Basic Discipline Paragraphs
¶306 Order of Deacons and Order of Elders
There shall be in each Annual Conference an Order of Deacons and an Order of Elders.
All persons ordained as clergy in The United Methodist Church upon election to full
membership in the annual conference shall be members of and participate in an Order
appropriate to their election. An Order is a covenant community within the church to
mutually support, care for, and hold accountable its members for the sake of the life and
mission of the church. These orders, separately or together, seek to respond to the
spiritual hunger among clergy for a fulfilling sense of vocation, for support among peers
during stressful times in the church, and for a deepening relationship with God.
¶307 Purpose for an Order
The specific and limited function of each Order is to
(1) provide for regular gatherings of ordained deacons and ordained elders for continuing
formation in relationship to Jesus Christ through such experiences as Bible study,
study of issues facing the church and society, and theological exploration in
vocational identity and leadership;
(2) assist in plans for individual study and retreat experiences;
(3) develop a bond of unity and common commitment to the mission and ministry of The
United Methodist Church and the annual conference;
(4) enable the creation of relationships that allow mutual support and trust; and
(5) hold accountable all members of the Order in the fulfilling of these purposes. All of
the functions of the Order(s) shall be fulfilled in cooperation and coordination with the
Board of Ordained Ministry and do not replace the normal supervisory processes, the
processes of evaluation for ordained ministers, or the responsibilities of the Board of
Ordained Ministry, the cabinet, or the Clergy Session.
¶308 Organization of an Order
The Bishop shall convene and provide continuing spiritual leadership for the order,
with the support and assistance of the Board of Ordained Ministry. Necessary
financial support shall be provided by the annual conference through the budget of the
board. The board may also use other appropriate funding sources for this purpose.
The board shall nominate from within the order’s membership and the order shall
elect quadrennially a chairperson of the order who, in cooperation with and under the
guidance of the bishop, will provide continuing leadership for the order. The
chairperson will be responsible for implementation of plans and activities of the order
and will represent the order to the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. The
chairperson will serve as a member of the board’s executive committee. Activities of
the order and proposals for funding shall be regularly reported to the board.
22
¶309 Membership in an Order
Persons shall become members of the Order of Deacons or Order of Elders following
their election to full membership in the annual conference. Acceptance of the status
of full membership will constitute a commitment to regular participation in the life of
the Order.
For information on changing orders, please see section on Conference Relations.
23
Basic Guidelines for the Order of Deacons and Order of Elders
Organization of Orders
The Purpose:
Purpose of an Order - The specific and limited function of each Order is to:
1. Provide for regular gatherings of ordained deacons and ordained elders for continuing
formation in relationship to Jesus Christ through such experiences as Bible study, study
of issues facing the church and society, and theological exploration in vocational identity
and leadership;
2. Assist in plans for individual study and retreat experiences;
3. Develop a bond of unity and common commitment to the mission and ministry of The
United Methodist Church and the annual conference;
4. Enable the creation of relationships that allow mutual support and trust; and
5. Hold accountable all members of the Order in the fulfilling of these purposes.
Bishop
The Bishop shall convene the Order initially and provide continuing spiritual leadership
with the support and assistance of the conference Board of Ordained Ministry.
Role of Board of Ordained Ministry
The Board of Ordained Ministry shall nominate the Chairperson of the Order, shall
provide funding through the current budget or other appropriate funding sources, and
shall receive regular reports of the activities and funding of the Order through the
Chairperson of the Order. The membership of the Executive Committee of the Board
will include the Chairperson of the Order of Deacon and Order of Elder.
Organization
The Chairperson of the Order is nominated by the Board of Ordained Ministry from the
membership of the Order. The Order then elects quadrennially the Chairperson of the
Order. In cooperation with and under the guidance of the Bishop, the chairperson shall
provide continuing leadership for the Order. The Chairperson will be a member of the
Executive Committee of the Board of Ordained Ministry and will represent the Order to
the Conference Board and will carry proposals for funding to the Board.
Members
All persons ordained as clergy in the UMC upon election to full membership in the
annual conference shall be members of and participate in an Order appropriate to their
election.
24
Financial Support
The Conference Board of Ordained Ministry budget shall provide the necessary financial
support, although the Board may use other appropriate funding sources.
Convening the Order
Bishops may convene the Order in cooperation with the Board of Ordained Ministry. They
may choose to organize their structure and activities according to the needs of the
conference. Orders are encouraged to give time for prayer and discernment to allow for the
Order to evolve from within the community.
25
Suggested Questions for Reflection on Clergy Orders
Naming the Nature and Value of the Order
What are the ongoing and underlying values of the purpose and activities of your
annual conference order?
Do the clergy in your conference feel an obligation or a calling as a member of the
Order? How are the Orders in your annual conference experienced as a relationship
among the connectional people called clergy, rather than simply an organization?
Claiming our Identity and Ministry
Why is it important to have an Order of Elders or an Order of Deacons when all
persons are called into relationship with Jesus Christ and into fellowship within the
Church through our common baptism?
What are the characteristics that make the Orders distinct and what is the need?
What are the differing and what are the unifying characteristics between the Order of
Deacons and the Order of Elders?
To whom are the Orders amenable? Forming the Community
What is the larger purpose in the Order of Elders and the Order of Deacons in your
annual conference? Or was it created in order to fulfill the obligation of the Discipline
or to fulfill the mandate of the Bishop or the Board of Ordained Ministry?
How are the Order of Elders and the Order of Deacons related to each other? To the
annual conference? To the mission and ministry of the United Methodist Church? To
the living out of our call as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ within the world?
Do the Orders exist only as clergy gather? Or, do they exist as clergy are dispersed?
What is the nature of dispersed community? Journeying with/in the Community
Author Jean Vanier, in Community and Growth, “speaks of the ‘four great crises
of community life; that affect personal formation. The first is the initial arrival,
when we have to release our hold on old values. The second is the discovery that
the community is not perfect. The third is the inevitable feeling of being
misunderstood or rejected because we do not receive everything we wanted. And
the fourth is disappointment in ourselves as we discover, through life in
community, the less-than-perfect condition of our inner self.” (1)
How are each of these crises in community life portrayed in the Order of Deacons or
Order of Elders? What are some possibilities for turning these crises into
opportunities for growth in the community?
26
How is the interweaving of solitude and community experienced in the Orders?
Living the Community Life
In early monastic orders and in the holy clubs led by Wesley in university settings,
spiritual growth and community were best achieved by residential living. In our
culture and in the milieu of the United Methodist Church, we are itinerant and live
far distances from one another.
How is “community” experienced in our dispersed living?
How are clergy who are in extension ministries relate to the Order, especially those
appointed beyond the boundaries of the conference?
How is it that “community” is known and experienced?
How do pastors in immigrant congregations relate to the Orders?
What does an Order do? What is the agenda?
How are the Orders funded?
Where and when will the Orders meet?
How do the life of the Orders relate to programs of continuing education and
formation?
Expressing our Support and Care
The Orders speak of mutual sharing and accountability, of the need for respect and
trust among the clergy colleagues. It is important for these to be present if
community is to be formed, if relationships are to be the web of the Order. Yet, the
practicality of respect, trust, sharing, support, care, concern, and “speaking your
truth in love” (Ephesians) have a variety of expressions.
How do we live out the sharing of burdens and joys of the fellowship?
How can the life of the Order be expressed in the annual clergy session at annual
conference? Dancing with Support and Accountability “Support without accountability promotes moral weakness; accountability without
support is a form of cruelty” states the General Rules & Social Principles, in the Book
of Discipline.
How is support and accountability both present in the formation and the ongoing life
of the Order of Deacons and the Order of Elders? What accountability and support for
clergy do the Orders provide?
What processes or relationships need to be present in order for clergy to experience
both support and accountability and thereby continue to grow in covenantal
relationship with Jesus Christ, with others, and within their ministry?
27
What is the nature of mutual accountability within the Orders?
Leading with Soul in the Order
How is leadership exercised within the Order so that the souls of all clergy are
“exercised” - are challenged, evoked, called to care, to justice and prophecy?
Birthing Reverence and Awe
Does the leadership for the Order embody reverence and awe? And how do the
activities of the Order invite reverence and awe by the clergy within the Order?
Do others outside the Order know, through experience with members of the Order,
that reverence and awe are foundational to the life and relationships of persons within
the Order?
(1) Vanier, Jean. Community and Growth. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1989. (Quoted in Weavings, July/Aug.1990)
28
¶323 Basic Guidelines for the Fellowship of Local Pastors and Associate
Members
Bishop
The Bishop shall convene the Fellowship and provide continuing spiritual leadership with
the support and assistance of the conference Board of Ordained Ministry.
Role of Board of Ordained Ministry
They shall provide funding through the current budget or other appropriate funding
sources, and shall receive regular reports of the activities and funding through the
Fellowship Chairperson.
Chairperson
The Fellowship will elect a chairperson from its membership quadrennially who will
provide leadership for the Fellowship. The bishop may nominate at least two associate
members or full-time local pastors who have completed the Course of Study for
membership on the Board of Ordained Ministry with voice and vote. (¶635).
Members
All local pastors licensed for pastoral ministry and associate members may be members
of the Fellowship of Local Pastors and Associate Members.
Financial Support
The Conference Board of Ordained Ministry budget shall provide the necessary financial
support, although the Board may use other appropriate funding sources.
Purpose of the Fellowship
The specific and limited function of the Fellowship parallels the purpose of an Order. It
is to:
1) provide for regular gatherings of local pastors and associate members for continuing
formation in relationship to Jesus Christ through such experiences as Bible study,
study of issues facing the church and society, and theological exploration in vocation
identity and leadership;
2) encourage local pastors in continued study beyond the Course of Study;
3) develop a bond of unity and common commitment to the mission and ministry of The
United Methodist Church and the annual conference; and
4) enable the creation of relationships that allow mutual support and trust.
29
De
ac
on
S
30
License for Provisional Members
Preparing to Become Deacons in Full Connection
According to ¶326.1 of The Book of Discipline, a provisional member who has been
commissioned shall receive a license “for the practice of the ministry of the deacon” as
described in ¶328 of The Book of Discipline.
The provisional deacon’s license is distinct from the license “for pastoral ministry”
described in ¶315 and ¶316 of The Book of Discipline, given to Provisional Elders and
Local Pastors which includes “to perform the duties of a pastor” including sacramental
authority under the supervision of the district superintendent.
Candidates for ordained deacon who have completed all the requirements for
commissioning, have been elected as provisional members, commissioned, and licensed
will be able to give leadership in the church’s life in worship, in assisting the elders in the
administration of the sacraments, and in conducting marriages and burying the dead
(¶328), under the supervision of the district superintendent and the board of ordained
ministry, during this provisional time (¶326.1).
Therefore, it is strongly recommended by the Division of Ordained Ministry that persons in
candidacy preparing to be provisional members and licensed for the ministry of the Deacon,
participate in a formation/discernment event designed by the Division of Ordained Ministry
GBHEM in order to assist candidates with issues such as:
the privileges and responsibilities of license for provisional members
preparing to become deacons in full connection,
identity of the Deacon,
the meaning of community,
accountability,
the liturgical role of the Deacon,
the connecting role of the Deacon between the congregation and the
needs of the community and
the partnership of ministry with the elder, the laity and the deacon.
Provisional members preparing to become Deacons in Full Connection can be
appointed to serve in an approved setting of specialized ministry under the
supervision of the district superintendent and the Conference Board of Ordained
Ministry in accordance with ¶326 and ¶331 and shall complete the appropriate form
(prepared by the GCFA) for appointment of provisional members in the Deacon
track.
31
It is strongly recommended by the Division of Ordained Ministry that provisional
members attend an event designed by the Division of Ordained Ministry in order to
be with other provisional members seeking ordination as deacons and deal with issues
such as:
the Role of the Deacon
Partnership with Elders and Laity in Ministry
Relationship to Annual Conferences
Accountability
Missional priorities
Ordination
Continuing formation
32
Appointment of Deacon and Provisional Deacons
Settings of ministry of the deacon ¶331
Deacons and provisional deacons may be appointed to serve in the following settings:
Agencies and settings beyond the local church, including ecumenical agencies, that
extend the witness and service of Christ’s love and justice in the world and connect the
church with the most needy, neglected and marginalized;
United Methodist church related agencies, schools, colleges, theological schools, and
within the connectional structures of The United Methodist Church;
A local congregation, charge, or cooperative parish, leading in the congregation’s
mission to the world and equipping all Christians to fulfill their own calls to Christian
service.
Deacons and Provisional Deacons may be appointed to attend school.
Deacons and Provisional Deacons shall be appointed to settings that allow fulfillment
of their call and where supervision is provided with goals, evaluation, and
accountability acceptable to the bishop, the cabinet and the Board of Ordained
Ministry.
Deacons are responsible for finding their own employment BUT it can be initiated by the
District Superintendent or Bishop. The Bishop makes the appointment after reviewing its
suitability for the ministry of the deacon. (¶331.6)
The Appointment Form
The official form developed by the General Council on Finance and Administration that
can be used as models to assist bishops and cabinets in the appointment of deacons in full
connection includes:
“Appointment, Deacon in Full Connection Serving in Setting Beyond Local Church,”
¶331.
“Appointment for Deacon in Full Connection, Local Church Appointment,” ¶331.
“Report about the ways in which the Deacon has lived out the call of the ministry of the
deacon connecting the congregation with the needs of the world”
33
SAMPLE ONLY-FORM BEING UPDATED
The United Methodist Church
APPOINTMENT OF DEACON IN FULL CONNECTION and
PROVISIONAL MEMBERS IN THE DEACON TRACK
PART I NAME
APPOINTMENT
PHONE
HOME PHONE
FAX E-MAIL
APPOINTMENT
ADDRESS
CITY STATE ZIP
HOME ADDRESS
CITY STATE ZIP
PREFERRED ADDRESS FOR MAILING PURPOSES AND FOR INCLUSION IN JOURNAL
HOME APPOINTMENT
FULL MEMBER PROBATIONARY/PROVISIONAL MEMBER
OF ANNUAL CONFERENCE
CHARGE CONFERENCEMEMBERSHIP DISTRICT
PART II (Attach sheet if needed)
1. If you are serving in a setting extending the witness and service of Christ in the world {¶331.1a}, give the name and address of the
institution or agency.
According to ¶331.5, deacons in full connection serving in an agency or setting beyond the local church shall relate to a local
congregation. Give the name and address (including district and conference) of the local church to which you relate and serve as your
second appointment.
2. If your primary field of service is in the local church, give the name and address of the local church, district, and conference.
3. If you are under appointment outside the conference of which you are a member, please complete the following:
Conference where you serve Bishop
District District Superintendent
For affiliate charge conference membership, give the name and address (including district and conference) of the local church to which
you relate.
TITLE/POSITION
AGENCY/INSTITUTION
BASE COMPENSATION (YEAR ) $
UTILITIES AND OTHER HOUSING RELATED ALLOWANCES
TRAVEL ALLOWANCE OTHER CASH ALLOWANCES
PLEASE INDICATE YOUR APPOINTMENT CATEGORY: (¶331.1)
a. Agency or setting beyond the local church
b. United Methodist Church-related agency, school, college, theological school, or ecumenical agency
c. Local congregation, charge, or cooperative parish
d. Endorsed by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry
e. In service with General Board of Global Ministries
34
PART III Area of your certification, specialization, or field of service:
Have you mailed your request for annual review and renewal of certification, specialization to the appropriate agency? Yes No
On Leave: First Year Second Year Third Year Fourth Year Fifth Year {¶354-358}
PART IV -- REPORT OF THE DEACON
Read ¶328 and ¶329 of The Book of Discipline. Reflect and write about the ways in which you have lived out your call to the ministry of
the deacon connecting the congregation with the needs of the world.
Describe in what new ways you envision connecting the church with the needs in the world.
According to ¶419.7 the district superintendent shall receive a report of each clergy person on his or her program of continuing education
and spiritual growth. According to ¶351 list the ways you have fulfilled your plans for your continuing personal formation during the past
year, including spiritual enrichment, service, missional, and continuing education opportunities.
According to ¶351 describe your plans for your continuing formation during the year ahead.
(Attach additional pages if necessary)
Signature of the Deacon Date
SEND COPIES TO:
1. The Bishop
2. District Superintendent
3. Board of Ordained Ministry
4. Bishop of the area in which you serve, if other than area of which you are a member.
5. Conference Secretary
6. Charge Conference
Copies of this report may also be used to inform the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.
THE GENERAL C OUNCIL OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION 2009
35
Deacons and Provisional Deacons Serving Beyond the Local Church
¶331.1 Primary and Secondary Appointments of a Deacon Serving Beyond the
Local Church
When primary appointments are through agencies and settings beyond the local
church that extend the witness and service of Christ’s love and justice in the world
or through United Methodist Church-related agencies, schools, colleges,
theological schools, ecumenical agencies;
¶331.5 The secondary appointment is to a local church.
When deacons and provisional deacons serve in an agency or setting beyond the
local church, the bishop, after consultation with the deacon or provisional deacon
and the pastor in charge, shall appoint the deacon or provisional deacon to a local
congregation where they will take missional responsibility for leading other
Christians into ministries of service. In this ministry the deacons and provisional
deacons shall be accountable to the pastor in charge, the charge conference, and
other bodies that coordinate the ministry of the local church. In those instances
where the appointment is in another episcopal area, the appointment to a local
church shall be made in consultation with the bishop of that area.
Recommended questions in determining the advisability and appropriateness of an appointment: a. Is the proposed ministry one in which the vows of ordination to word, service,
compassion and justice can be fulfilled?
b. Does the proposed setting of ministry provide opportunity to maintain a
relationship and accountability with the order and the structure of the church?
c. Is the proposed ministry congruent with the church’s missional commitment in
and to the world?
d. Does the person possess the specific/special gifts, training, education, work
experience, and experiences of grace required for the proposed ministry?
¶331.3 Goals, Evaluation, and Accountability
Deacons and provisional deacons shall be appointed to settings that allow
fulfillment of their call and where supervision is provided with goals, evaluation,
and accountability acceptable to the bishop, the cabinet, and the Board of Ordained
Ministry.
36
Recommendation When a setting does not provide evaluation or accountability (example: self-
employed), a board or advisory committee may be required by the bishop, cabinet,
and board of ordained ministry.
¶1421.5c Endorsement of a deacon or provisional deacon When a setting requires ecclesiastical endorsement, the deacon or provisional
deacon apply as does the elder or provisional elder to the General Board of Higher
Education and Ministry, Endorsing Agency.
A process for secondary appointment of deacons and provisional deacons A possible process for Deacons and provisional deacons serving beyond the local
church as they also receive a secondary local church appointment
1. The bishop and/or district superintendent may contact the deacon or provisional
deacon to have conversations about an appointment to a local church. Or, the
deacon or provisional deacon writes the bishop and the district superintendent
in the episcopal area and district where an appointment is desired requesting an
appointment to a local church. (If the appointment is outside the boundary of
the deacon’s or provisional deacons’ home conference, the home conference’s
bishop is copied.)
2. The bishop in the episcopal area where the deacon or provisional deacon is to
be appointed shares the process used in the annual conference. The following
process may be helpful:
a) The bishop, district superintendent, local church pastor or deacon or
provisional deacon initiates conversation to determine whether the deacon’s
or provisional deacons’ gifts could be used to “take missional responsibility”
(¶331.4) in the local church, how much time the deacon or provisional deacon
could give, how the deacon or provisional deacon will be used in the worship
and study life of the congregation, and the lines of accountability in the local
church for the deacon or provisional deacon. A consultation with the
pastor/staff-parish relations committee is appropriate.
b) A letter is sent from the pastor in charge to the bishop stating willingness to
have the deacon or provisional deacon appointed to the local church and the
role of the deacon or provisional deacon in that congregation (the district
superintendent in the district where the local church is located is copied; if
the deacon or provisional deacon is from another conference, the home
bishop is also copied).
c) A letter is sent from the deacon or provisional deacon to the bishop in the
conference where the local church is located, requesting the site of the
secondary appointment stating how it fulfills the servant role of the deacon
37
(¶331.4). A copy of the letter is also sent to the relating district
superintendent.
d) The bishop has a conversation with the deacon or provisional deacon and
local church pastor as needed.
3. The bishop makes the appointment. (If the deacon or provisional deacon is a
member of another conference, the bishop communicates with the bishop of the
deacon’s or provisional deacon’s home conference.)
4. If the deacon or provisional deacon is a member of another annual conference,
the bishop completes the “Official Record of Appointment of an Ordained
Minister from Another Annual Conference”, signs and forwards to the bishop in
the home conference for a signature from the bishop.
38
Deacons Serving as Sole Pastor of a Church
The order of deacon is distinct from the ministry of the elder and of the licensed
local pastor. The unique ministry of the deacon is to “embody, articulate, and lead
the whole people of God in its servant ministry . . . of connecting the church with
the most needy, neglected, and marginalized among the children of God.” (The
Book of Discipline, ¶328). According to the Discipline, the deacons “give
leadership in the church’s life in the teaching and proclamation of the Word, in
worship, in assisting the elders in the administration of the sacraments, and in
conducting marriages and burying the dead” (¶328).
The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry appreciates the very real
dilemma facing bishops, cabinets, and boards of ordained ministry in providing
churches with qualified, ordained clergy authorized to administer the sacraments in
missional settings where the gifts of a deacon may be needed.
If a deacon is appointed to a church where there is no elder serving, it is
recommended the deacon be given sacramental authority. ¶328 or serve for
missional purposes without sacramental authority.
The practice of licensing deacons for pastoral ministry diminishes the integrity
of the church’s ordered ministry and thus weakens the distinctive identities of
deacons, elders, and local pastors. By performing “the duties of a pastor”
(¶315), the deacon is called upon to assume responsibilities (Order and
Sacrament) for which he or she has not been duly authorized through ordination.
Indeed, the distinctions in ordination are clouded by this action. Ordained
ministry functions as a normative “focus” or “sign” of the ministry of Christ and
thus represents to the church the indispensable aspects of its divine calling in the
world. One of these aspects of the church’s mission is service (diakonia),
represented by the deacon’s distinctive calling to Service. Through his or her
representative ministry, the deacon empowers the church (and holds it
accountable) to carry out its diaconal calling in the world on behalf of Christ.
Appointing deacons as local pastors diminishes the church’s awareness of
its call to servant ministry, for which the deacon is the focal image in the
life of the church.
The practice impairs the integrity of the connectional covenant in the annual
conference — a covenant characterized by relationships of collegiality, mutual
respect, and accountability. Local pastors and deacons are both clergy but
have different relationships to the annual conference. As members in full
connection, deacons are full members of the clergy session. Local pastors
39
have limited vote in the annual conference and in the clergy session.
Licensing deacons for pastoral ministry seriously impairs the integrity of these
relationships and weakens the integrity of the connectional bond.
The argument that follows draws heavily on the work of Robert Hannaford and Daniel T. Benedict, Jr. See Hannaford’s
“Towards a Theology of the Diaconate”, “ in The Deacon’s Ministry, ed. by Christine Hall (Gracewing, 1992), 25-44; and
Benedict’s “Elders and Deacons: Renewed Orders and Partnerships in Leading Worship,” Quarterly Review 19/4 (Winter 1999-
2000) : 387-403.
40
Deacons and the Sacraments
¶328. The Ministry of a Deacon
From among the baptized, deacons are called by God to a lifetime of servant
leadership, authorized by the Church, and ordained by a bishop. Deacons fulfill
servant ministry in the world and lead the Church in relating the gathered life of
Christians to their ministries in the world, interrelating worship in the gathered
community with service to God in the world. Deacons give leadership in the
Church’s life: in teaching and proclaiming the Word; in contributing to worship,
and in assisting the elders in the administering the sacraments of baptism and the
Lord’s Supper; in forming and nurturing disciples; in conducting marriages and
burying the dead; in embodying the church’s mission to the world; and in leading
the congregation in interpreting the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world. For
the sake of extending the mission and ministry of the church, a pastor-in-charge
or district superintendent may request that the bishop grant local sacramental
authority to the deacon to administer the sacraments in the absence of an elder,
within a deacon’s primary appointment. It is the deacons, in both person and
function, whose distinctive ministry is to embody, articulate, and lead the whole
people of God in its servant ministry.…. From the earliest days of the church,
deacons were called and set apart for the ministry of love, justice, and service; of
connecting the church with the most needy, neglected, and marginalized among the
children of God. This ministry grows out of the Wesleyan passion for social
holiness and ministry among the poor.”
The church is the sacrament of Christ’s ministry in the world.* As sacrament, the
church both manifests God’s work of salvation in the world and functions as an
instrument of the divine mission. Thus, as sacrament of Christ’s ministry, the
church incarnates the divine mission both in its self-image — its identity — and in
its work — its ministry. In Baptism, persons are initiated into a distinctive
community, the body of Christ, while in the celebration of the Eucharist the church
rehearses its identity as the body of Christ and commits itself to live out that
identity in ministry to the world.
For Jesus, faithfulness to God’s mission involves giving ourselves in sacrificial
service to others, particularly to the “most needy, neglected, and marginalized
among the children of God” (¶328). It is in such Christlike service (diakonia) that
signs of God’ coming kingdom erupt in the world. The calling of the deacon is to
be a “focal image” or “sign” of the church’s summons to be a sacrament of Christ’s
ministry in the world. In what he or she is and does in the church and in the world,
the deacon represents the church’s identification with the servant ministry of Jesus.
The distinct ministry of the deacon, then, is to work with and empower both laity
41
and elders to claim their servant ministry and to be with them as they seek to be
faithful to God’s mission in the myriad places in which they find themselves. The
phrase “from altar to marketplace” — and the reverse, “from marketplace to altar”
— is an apt description of the deacon’s work.
As an ordained minister of the church, the deacon assists the elder in the
administration of the sacraments. As an example of the deacon’s assisting role,
consider the liturgy of Holy Communion. Gathered around the Table, disciples
rehearse their identity as sacrament of God’s mission and receive the sustenance
they need to be ministers of God’s grace in the world. In this, the deacon’s work in
the Eucharistic liturgy is both distinct and utterly indispensable. Through such acts
as lifting up the prayers of the people, reading the gospel for the people, receiving
the elements and setting the Table in order after everyone has received, and sending
the people forth in ministry, the deacon links and extends the worshiping
community’s life in service to the world, particularly to the poor and the
marginalized.
It is thus crucial that the distinctive liturgical roles of elders and deacons in the
celebration of Holy Communion not be confused or minimized.
Through ordination, the elder primarily represents the identity and ministry of
Christ as priest, while the deacon primarily represents the identity and ministry
of Christ as servant.
These are two distinct, mutually complementary, and equal orders with distinct
and indispensable leadership roles in the liturgy of the Eucharist.
When the priestly and servant dimensions of Christ’s ministry receive
appropriate emphasis in the celebration of the sacrament, the church begins to
understand and practice the full scope of its calling in the world.
Thus, the elder presides at the Eucharist to “sacramentalize” (“focus” or
“mirror”) Christ’s royal priesthood, while deacons assist to “sacramentalize”
(“focus” or “mirror”) Christ’s ministry of sacrificial service.
Both of these dimensions of the church’s identity and mission must find
expression in the liturgy, for it is precisely as members of Christ’s royal
priesthood that disciples understand their ministry as costly, self-emptying
service in the world.
It is only when both deacons and elders carry out their distinctive representative
roles as priest and servant in the eucharistic liturgy that the body of Christ will
understand and practice faithfully the wholeness of God’s redemptive mission in
the world.
It is for these reasons that deacons should be called upon to assist in rather than to
administer the sacrament of Holy Communion. When deacons administer the
42
sacrament, their distinctive identity and ministry become unclear. As a result, the
integrity of the deacon’s calling to lead the worshiping assembly in emulating
Christ’s ministry of self-sacrificing service in their daily lives is compromised. The
fullness of Christ’s ministry to which the church is called receives full expression
when the deacon performs those leadership functions in the liturgy that exemplify
and focus the diakonia of Christ for the congregation.
There are circumstances, such as sickness or disability, which prevent some
parishioners from celebrating Holy Communion with the congregation. In such
situations, it is most appropriate for the deacon to train and lead laity in taking the
eucharistic elements to those who are unable to attend the service. A poignant
symbolic way to do this is for the deacon to lead a procession of persons from the
Table, with the deacon carrying the bread and wine. It should be made very clear
that this liturgical act does not imply that the deacon is administering the
sacraments to the absent persons. Rather, the deacon leads in “extending the
Table,” thus exemplifying his or her calling to “interrelat(e) worship in the gathered
community with service to God in the world.”
The 2008 General Conference granted the giving of sacramental authority to the
deacon by the Bishop when needed to extend the mission and ministry of the
church in the absence of an elder, within a deacon’s primary appointment. ¶328
This section is indebted to the following resources: Daniel T. Benedict, Jr., “Elders and Deacons: Renewed Orders and
Partnerships in Leading Worship,” Quarterly Review 19/4 (Winter 1999-2000) : 387-403; Robert Hannaford, “Towards a
Theology of the Diaconate,” in The Deacon’s Ministry, ed. by Christine Hall (Gracewing, 1992), 25-44; Margaret Ann Crain
and Jack L. Seymour, A Deacon’s Heart: The New United Methodist Diaconate (Nashville: Abingdon, 2001); and John E.
Harnish, The Orders of the Ministry in the United Methodist Church (Nashville : Abingdon, 2000).
43
Statement from the Council of Bishops 11/83/2009
Deacons and the Administration of the Sacraments
Guidelines for ¶328
The 2008 General Conference approved an additional sentence describing the
circumstances in which Deacons may preside over the Sacrament of Holy
Communion. “For the sake of extending the mission and ministry of the
church, a pastor-in-charge or district superintendent may request that the
bishop grant local sacramental authority to the deacon to administer the
sacraments in the absence of an elder, within a deacon’s primary
appointment.” After exploring the legislative intent and its practical application,
the Council of Bishops provides the following guidelines.
The new language does not fundamentally change the sacramental privileges of
the Order of Deacon, but attempts to describe the extraordinary missional
reasons that justify exceptions to general practice. The church provides for
administration of the sacraments through the ordinary sacramental authority
invested in ordained elders, licensed provisional clergy, and licensed local
pastors, and the new language gives guidance for the extraordinary
circumstances that require the provision of the sacraments by Deacons.
“Local sacramental authority” refers to the primary field of service of the
Deacon, meaning the immediate community of faith for a congregational
appointment or the primary service setting and community for Deacons serving
beyond a local church.
The “absence of an elder” refers to the complete unavailability of an elder in the
congregation, ministry setting or community. This exception is not intended
merely for the convenience of church staffs or to fill gaps during vacation, but to
assist in the extraordinary circumstance where no elder can be present.
In all cases, the Discipline gives the bishop the final discretionary authority to
decide which circumstances justify the extraordinary exceptions to general
practice.
44
NonSalaried, Less than Full-Time, and Across Conference to Other
Denominations
¶331.6d
NonSalaried appointment “Deacons and provisional deacons at their own request or with their
consent may be appointed to a nonsalaried position. Such missional
appointments will serve to express the Church’s concern for social
holiness, for ministry among the poor, and for advancing emerging needs
of the future. In such cases, the bishop will carefully review plans for
expressing this appointed ministry and will consult with the deacon or
provisional deacon about the well-being and financial security of his or
her family.”
It is understood that these “missional appointments . . .” can be as
broad as the bishop determines.
¶331.7 Less than full-time appointment “At the request of the deacon or provisional deacon and with the consent
of the bishop and cabinet where conference membership is held, the
deacon or provisional deacon may receive a less than full-time
appointment under the following conditions:
a) The deacon or provisional deacon shall present a written request to
the bishop, district superintendent and the conference Board of
Ordained Ministry, giving a rationale for the request at least ninety
(90) days prior to the annual conference at which the appointment
is to be made.
b) Reappointment to less than full-time service shall be requested
annually of the bishop by the deacon or provisional deacon.
c) The bishop may make an interim appointment of less than full-time
service upon request of a deacon or provisional deacon, with the
recommendation of the executive committee of the conference
Board of Ordained Ministry.
¶331.8 Deacons and provisional deacons with the approval of their bishop and
the judicatory authorities of the other denomination may receive an
appointment to another denomination while retaining their home
conference membership. The appointment may be made in response to
exceptional missional needs.
45
Salary and Benefits for Deacons and Provisional Deacons
¶331.10
Support for deacons and provisional deacons appointed by a
bishop.
a) Deacons and provisional deacons shall receive their support
under the policies and agreements of the setting to which they
are appointed.
b) Deacons who are appointed to a local congregation, charge,
or cooperative parish, shall receive a salary from the local
church, charge, or cooperative parish (¶625.2) not less than the
minimum established by the equitable compensation policy of
the annual conference for elders. Provisional deacons who are
appointed to a local congregation, charge, or cooperative
parish shall receive a salary from the local church, charge, or
cooperative parish (¶625.2 & ¶625.4) not less than the
minimum established for provisional elders. When deacons or
provisional deacons are appointed to less than full time
ministry in a local congregation, charge, or cooperative parish
they shall receive a salary that is no less than the minimum
salary for elders or provisional elders, pro-rated in one-quarter
time increments.
c) Deacons and provisional deacons shall participate in the
denominational pension and benefit plans and programs. They
shall participate in the health benefit and supplement programs
of the annual conference subject to the provisions and
standards of those programs as established by the annual
conference when health benefit coverage is not provided by
another source.
d) The above (§10 [a-c]) does not apply to a deacon or
provisional deacon appointed by a bishop to a non-salaried
position (§6 [d]).
46
Termination
Procedures
Salary
Pension &
Benefits
e) Since deacons and provisional deacons are not guaranteed a
place of employment in the Church, special attention shall be
given to termination procedures that allow time for seeking
another service appointment. Notification of dismissal shall
provide for a ninety-day period prior to final termination of the
appointment except for causes listed in ¶2702. Deacons or
provisional deacons shall not be dismissed from a local church
appointment without prior consultation between the deacon or
provisional deacon and the Staff-Parish Relations Committee,
nor without the full knowledge of the overseeing district
superintendent and the presiding bishop.
The Judicial Council decision #807 affirmed the principle that
deacons in full connection are to be granted the same
minimum salary as an elder in full connection when their
primary appointment is within a local church
If a church is unable to pay the minimum salary and the
deacon or provisional deacon desires, the deacon may request
less than full-time increments of quarter time, (three fourths,
one half, and one fourth.) If the appointment is for missional
reasons, application can be made to the annual conference
equitable salary commission. ¶625.4
Deacons and Provisional Deacons are clergy and should be a
part of the Ministerial Clergy Program. Annual conference
health programs must be open for participation of the deacon
and provisional deacons.( ¶331.10c)
Bishops and district superintendents are encouraged to ensure
that pension and health benefits are provided for deacons and
provisional deacons.
47
Termination and Support for Deacons and Provisional Deacons
¶331.10e Since deacons and provisional deacons are not guaranteed a place of
employment in the Church, special attention shall be given to termination procedures
that allow time for seeking another service appointment. Notification of dismissal shall
provide for a ninety-day period prior to final termination of the appointment except for
causes listed in ¶2702. Deacons or provisional deacons shall not be dismissed from a
local church appointment without prior consultation between the deacon or provisional
deacon and the Staff-Parish Relations Committee, nor without the full knowledge of
the overseeing district superintendent and the presiding bishop.
District Superintendents and bishops have three major areas of responsibility to
deacons and provisional deacons facing termination.
Process for Termination
1. To ensure that the process is followed including consultation, notification to
the bishop, 90 day notice before the appointment ends. ¶331.10e
Care and Support:
1. To intentionally care and provide support for the deacons and provisional deacons
(¶419).
Appointment Status:
2. To counsel about possible appointment (¶331.6a) and the appointment status of the
person (¶353 and ¶354)
¶354.2c Transitional Leave – A leave granted for up to 12 months with approval of
the bishop and the Board of Ordained Ministry Executive Committee to provisional
and associate members and full clergy members in good standing who are temporarily
between appointments.
A transitional leave of absence may be granted for the following reasons:
1. A provisional or full member deacon needs to seek and secure an appointable
primary position—compensated or non-salaried.
2. A provisional member, associate member, or full member elder needs to transition
from an extension ministry to another appointment.
48
During transitional leave, the clergyperson shall provide quarterly substantiation of his
or her effort to obtain an appointable position to the bishop and to the Board of
Ordained Ministry Executive Committee.
49
El
de
rs
50
The Ordained Elder in Full Connection
¶ 332. Ministry of an Elder—Elders are ordained ministers who, by God’s grace, have
completed their formal preparation and have been commissioned and served as a
provisional member, have been found by the Church to be of sound learning, of
Christian character, possessing the necessary gifts and evidence of God’s grace, and
whose call by God to ordination has been confirmed by the Church. Elders are
ordained to a lifetime ministry of Word, Sacrament, Order, and Service. By the
authority given in their ordination, they are authorized to preach and teach the Word of
God, to provide pastoral care and counsel, to administer the sacraments of baptism and
Holy Communion, and to order the life of the Church for service in mission and
ministry. The servant leadership of the elder, in both parish and extension ministries, is
expressed by leading the people of God in worship and prayer, by leading persons to
faith in Jesus Christ, by exercising pastoral supervision, and by ordering the Church in
mission in the world.
As members of the Order of Elder, all elders are in covenant with all other elders in the
annual conference and shall participate in the life of their order.
¶ 333. Elders in Full Connection—1. Elders in full connection with an annual
conference by virtue of their election and ordination are bound in special covenant
with all the ordained elders of the annual conference. In the keeping of this covenant
they perform the ministerial duties and maintain the ministerial standards established
by those in the covenant. They offer themselves without reserve to be appointed and to
serve, after consultation, as the appointive authority may determine. They live with all
other ordained ministers in mutual trust and concern and seek with them the
sanctification of the fellowship. By entering into the covenant, they accept and subject
themselves to the process of clergy discipline, including serving on committees on
investigation, trial courts, or appellate committees. Only those shall be elected to full
membership who are of unquestionable moral character and genuine piety, sound in
the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, and faithful in the discharge of their duties.12
2. A provisional member of the annual conference who has completed the
requirements for Elder’s Orders and admission into full membership shall be eligible
for election to full membership and ordination as elder by a bishop. Following election,
the bishop and secretary of the conference shall provide a certificate of full
51
membership in the annual conference, and following ordination, a certificate of
ordination.
3. An elder shall be ordained by a bishop by the laying on of hands, employing the
Order of Service for the Ordination of Elders (see ¶ 415.6). The bishop shall be
assisted by other elders and may include laity designated by the bishop representing
the Church community. Bishops in other communions may join the ordaining bishop in
laying hands on the head of the candidate, while participating elders and laity may lay
hands on the back or shoulders of the candidate.
12. See Judicial Council Decisions 406, 534, 552, 555.
Ministry, Authority, and Responsibilities of an Elder
¶ 334. Ministry, Authority, and Responsibilities of an Elder in Full Connection—An
elder in full connection is authorized to give spiritual and temporal servant leadership
in the Church in the following manner:
1. Elders in full connection shall have the right to vote on all matters in the annual
conference except in the election of lay delegates to the general and jurisdictional or
central conferences (¶ 602.1a) and shall share with deacons in full connection
responsibility for all matters of ordination, character, and conference relations of
clergy. This responsibility shall not be limited by the recommendation or lack of
recommendation by the Board of Ordained Ministry, notwithstanding provisions which
grant to the Board of Ordained Ministry the right of recommendation.13
They shall be
eligible to hold office in the annual conference and to be elected delegates to the
general and jurisdictional or central conferences under the provision of the
Constitution (¶ 35, Article IV). Every effective elder in full connection who is in good
standing shall be continued under appointment by the bishop provided that if the elder
is appointed to serve in an affiliated relationship in a missionary conference (¶ 586)
and that appointment is terminated by the bishop who presides in the missionary
conference, then the responsibility for meeting this obligation rests with the bishop of
the conference of which the elder is a member.14
52
2. There are professional responsibilities (¶ 340) that elders are expected to fulfill and
that represent a fundamental part of their accountability and a primary basis of their
continued eligibility for annual appointment. These shall include:
a) Continuing availability for appointment.
b) Annual participation in a process of evaluation with committees on pastor-
parish relations or comparable authority as well as annual participation in a
process of evaluation with the district superintendent or comparable authority.
c) Evidence of continuing effectiveness reflected in annual evaluations by the
pastor parish relations committee and by the district superintendent or
comparable authorities
d) Growth in professional competence and effectiveness through continuing
education and formation. The Board of Ordained Ministry may set the minimum
standards and specific guidelines for continuing education and formation for
conference members;
e) Willingness to assume supervisory and mentoring responsibilities within the
connection.
3. When an elder’s effectiveness is in question, the bishop shall complete the following
procedure:
a) Identify the concerns. These can include an elder’s failed professional
responsibilities or vocational ineffectiveness.
b) Hold supervisory conversations with the elder that identifies the concerns,
and designs collaboratively with the elder, a corrective plan of action.
c) Upon evaluation, determine that the plan of action has not been carried out or
produced fruit that gives a realistic expectation of future effectiveness.
4. If an elder fails to demonstrate vocational competence or effectiveness (¶ 340) as
defined by the annual conference through the Board of Ordained Ministry and cabinet,
then the bishop may begin the administrative location process as outlined in ¶ 360.
5. Clergy who are retired, on incapacity leave, or on sabbatical leave may at their own
initiative apply to the conference Board of Ordained Ministry for affiliate membership
in the annual conference where they reside. By a two-thirds vote of the executive
session, such clergy may be received with rights and privileges, including service on
conference boards, agencies, task forces, and committees, with voice but without vote.
Voting membership shall be retained in the clergy member’s home annual conference
for the duration of affiliate member relationship. Such persons may serve on the board,
agency, task force or committee of only one annual conference at any one time.
53
13. See Judicial Council Decision 690.
14. See Judicial Council Decisions 462, 473, 492, 534, 552, 555.
Requirements for Admission to Full Connection and Ordination as
Elder
¶ 335. Requirements for Admission to Full Connection and Ordination as Elder—
Provisional members who are candidates for full connection and ordination as elders
and have been provisional members for at least two years may be admitted into
membership in full connection in an annual conference and approved for elder’s
ordination by two-thirds vote of the clergy members in full connection of the annual
conference, upon recommendation by two-thirds vote of the Board of Ordained
Ministry,15
after they have qualified as follows. They shall have: (1) served full-time
under episcopal appointment for at least two full annual conference years following the
completion of the educational requirements specified in 3(b) below. Years of service in
any ministry setting requiring the regular proclamation of the word, the administration
of the sacraments, and the short or long-term ordering of the life of the community of
faith may count toward the fulfillment of this requirement. Such ministry settings may
include campus ministry, college and university chaplaincy, hospital and prison
chaplaincy, military chaplaincy, overseas/mission work and other ministries so
recognized by the Division of Ordained Ministry of the General Board of Higher
Education and Ministry. Upon recommendation of the Board of Ordained Ministry, an
annual conference may equate less than full-time to the requirement of full-time
service.
Such equivalence is to be determined in light of the years of service involved, the
quality of that service, the maturity of the applicant, and other relevant factors.
Supervision is to be (a) personally assumed or delegated by the district superintendent,
and (b) assumed by a mentor assigned by the Board of Ordained Ministry. Their
service shall be evaluated by the Board of Ordained Ministry as effective according to
written guidelines developed by the board and adopted by the clergy members in full
connection.16
In rare cases, the Board of Ordained Ministry may, by a two-thirds vote,
approve years of service in an autonomous Methodist church as meeting this
requirement if adequate supervision has been provided; (2) been previously elected as
provisional members; (3) met the following educational requirements: (a) graduation
with a Bachelor of Arts or equivalent degree from a college or university listed by the
University Senate, or demonstrated competency equivalence through a process
54
designed in consultation with the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry; (b)
graduation with a Master of Divinity degree from a school of theology listed by the
University Senate, or its equivalent as determined by the General Board of Higher
Education and Ministry; or (c) met the education requirements of ¶ 324.6 for local
pastors; (d) educational requirements in every case shall include a minimum of two
semester or three quarter hours in each of the fields of United Methodist history,
doctrine, and polity, provided that a candidate may meet the requirements by
undertaking an independent study program provided and administered by the General
Board of Higher Education and Ministry (see ¶ 1421.3d); (4) satisfied the board
regarding physical, mental, and emotional health; (5) prepared and preached at least
one written sermon on a biblical passage specified by the Board of Ordained Ministry;
(6) presented a detailed plan and outline for teaching a Bible study; (7) presented a
project that demonstrates fruitfulness in carrying out the church’s mission of “Making
Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World”; (8) responded to a
written or oral doctrinal examination administered by the Board of Ordained Ministry.
The candidate should demonstrate the ability to communicate clearly in both oral and
written form. The candidate’s reflections and the board’s response should be informed
by the insights and guidelines of Part III of the Discipline. The following questions are
guidelines for the preparation of the examination:
a) Theology.
(1) Give examples of how the practice of ministry has affected your experience and
understanding of:
(a) God
(b) Humanity
(c) The need for divine grace
(d) The Lordship of Jesus Christ
(e) The work of the Holy Spirit
(f) The meaning and significance of the sacraments
(g) The kingdom of God
(h) Resurrection and eternal life
(2) How do you understand the following traditional evangelical doctrines: (a)
repentance; (b) justification; (c) regeneration; (d) sanctification? What are the marks of
the Christian life?
(3) How has the practice of ministry informed your understanding of the nature and
mission of the Church? What are its primary challenges today?
(4) The United Methodist Church holds that Scripture, tradition, experience, and
reason are sources and norms for belief and practice, but that the Bible is primary
55
among them. What is your understanding of this theological position of the Church,
and how has your practice of ministry been affected by this understanding?
(5) How has the practice of ministry enriched your understanding of the meaning and
significance of the sacraments?
b) Vocation
(1) How has the experience of ministry shaped your understanding of your vocation as
an ordained elder?
c) The Practice of Ministry
(1) How has the practice of ministry affected your understanding of the
expectations and obligations of the itinerant system? Do you offer yourself
without reserve to be appointed and to serve as the appointive authority may
determine?
(2) Describe and evaluate your personal gifts for ministry and how they have
resulted in fruitful ministry. What would be your areas of strength and areas in
which you need to be strengthened in order to be more fruitful in ministry?
(3) For the sake of the mission of Jesus Christ in the world and the most
effective witness to the Christian gospel and in consideration of your influence
as an ordained minister, are you willing to make a complete dedication of
yourself to the highest ideals of the Christian life; and to this end will you agree
to exercise responsible self-control by personal habits conducive to physical
health, intentional intellectual development, fidelity in marriage and celibacy in
singleness, integrity in all personal relationships, social responsibility, and
growth in grace and the knowledge and love of God?17
(4) Provide evidence of your willingness to relate yourself in ministry to all
persons without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, social status,
gender, sexual orientation, age, economic condition, or disability.
(5) Will you regard all pastoral conversations of a confessional nature as a trust
between the person concerned and God?
(6) Provide evidence of experience in peace and justice ministries.
15. See Judicial Council Decisions 157, 344, 1199. 16. See Judicial Council Decisions 555, 719.
17. See Judicial Council Decision 542.
56
Admission and Continuance of Full Membership in the Annual Conference
¶ 336. Historic Examination for Admission into Full Connection—The bishop as chief
pastor shall engage those seeking to be admitted in serious self-searching and prayer to
prepare them for their examination before the conference. At the time of the
examination the bishop shall also explain to the conference the historic nature of the
following questions and seek to interpret their spirit and intent. The questions are these
and any others that may be thought necessary:
1. Have you faith in Christ?
2. Are you going on to perfection?
3. Do you expect to be made perfect in love in this life?
4. Are you earnestly striving after it?
5. Are you resolved to devote yourself wholly to God and his work?
6. Do you know the General Rules of our Church?
7. Will you keep them?
8. Have you studied the doctrines of The United Methodist Church?
9. After full examination, do you believe that our doctrines are in harmony with the
Holy Scriptures?
10. Will you preach and maintain them?
11. Have you studied our form of Church discipline and polity?
12. Do you approve our Church government and polity?
13. Will you support and maintain them?
14. Will you diligently instruct the children in every place?
15. Will you visit from house to house?
16. Will you recommend fasting or abstinence, both by precept and example?
17. Are you determined to employ all your time in the work of God?
18. Are you in debt so as to embarrass you in your work?
19. Will you observe the following directions?
a) Be diligent. Never be unemployed. Never be triflingly employed. Never trifle
away time; neither spend any more time at any one place than is strictly
necessary.
b) Be punctual. Do everything exactly at the time. And do not mend our rules,
but keep them; not for wrath, but for conscience’ sake.18
These are the questions that every Methodist preacher from the beginning has been
required to answer upon becoming a full member of an annual conference. These
questions were formulated by John Wesley and have been little changed throughout
the years.
57
Appointments to Various Ministries
¶ 337. General Provisions—
1. All elders in full connection who are in good standing in an annual conference shall
be continued under appointment by the bishop unless they are granted a sabbatical
leave, a medical leave (¶357), family leave, a leave of absence, retirement, or have
failed to meet the requirements for continued eligibility (¶334.2, .3), provided that
if the elder is appointed to serve in an affiliated relationship in a missionary
conference (¶586.4b) and that appointment is terminated by the bishop who
presides in the missionary conference, then the responsibility of meeting this
obligation rests with the bishop of the conference of which the elder is a
member.19
*
2. In addition to ordained elders and persons who have been granted a license for
pastoral ministry and who have been approved by vote of the clergy members in
full connection may be appointed to local churches as pastors in charge under
certain conditions, which are specified in ¶¶315-318.* All clergy members and
licensed local pastors to be appointed shall assume a lifestyle consistent with
Christian teaching as set forth in the Social Principles.
3. Elders and deacons, associate members, provisional members, and persons licensed
for pastoral ministry may be appointed to ministry settings that extend the ministry
of The United Methodist Church and the witness and service of Christ’s love and
justice in the world. They shall be given the same moral and spiritual support by the
annual conference as are persons in appointments to pastoral charges. Their
effectiveness shall be evaluated in the context of the specific setting in which their
ministry is performed. Such ministry settings shall include teaching, pastoral care
and counseling, chaplaincy, campus ministry, social services, and other ministries
so recognized by the conference Board of Ordained Ministry and approved by the
bishop.
a) Full connection and provisional member elders, associate members, and
persons licensed for pastoral ministry may be appointed to Extension Ministries
serving in ministries of pastoral care in specialized settings. See ¶¶ 326, 343-344
for specific information about Extension Ministries.
b) Deacons in provisional membership and full connection may be appointed to
appointments beyond the local church that extend the witness and service of
Christ’s love and justice in a ministry to both the community and the church.
This ministry connects community and church and equips all Christians to fulfill
their own calls to Christian service. See ¶¶ 326, 328, 329, 331 for specific
information about these ministries.
58
c) All persons in such appointments should:
(1) be appointed to a setting that provides an appropriate support and
accountability structure;
(2) continue to be accountable to the annual conference for the practice of
their ministry;
(3) provide an annual report, including a narrative of their ministry,
evidence of continuing education, and evidence of an annual evaluation in
their setting;
(4) maintain a relationship with a charge conference.
19. See Judicial Council Decisions 380, 462, 492, 524, 702, 985.
* Affirmed by Judicial Council Decision 1226, General Conference 2012 Calendar Item 355 (DCA page 2178) being declared unconstitutional,
October, 2012.
The Itinerant System
¶ 338. The Itinerant System—The itinerant system is the accepted method of The
United Methodist Church by which ordained elders, provisional elders, and associate
members are appointed by the bishop to fields of labor.19
All ordained elders,
provisional elders, and associate members shall accept and abide by these
appointments. Bishops and cabinets shall commit to and support open itineracy and the
protection of the prophetic pulpit and diversity. Persons appointed to multiple-staff
ministries, either in a single parish or in a cluster or larger parish, shall have personal
and professional access to the bishop and cabinet, the committee on pastor-parish
relations, as well as to the pastor in charge. The nature of the appointment process is
specified in ¶¶ 425-429.
1. Full-time service shall be the norm for ordained elders, provisional elders, and
associate members in the annual conference. Full-time service shall mean that the
person’s entire vocational time, as defined by the district superintendent in
consultation with the pastor and the committee on pastor-parish relations, is
devoted to the work of ministry in the field of labor to which one is appointed by
the bishop.
2. At the initiative of the bishop and cabinet or at his or her request, an elder,
provisional elder, or associate member may receive a less than full-time
appointment under the conditions stipulated in this paragraph.20
Less than full-time
service shall mean that a specified amount of time less than full-time agreed upon
59
by the bishop and the cabinet, the clergy member, and the annual conference Board
of Ordained Ministry is devoted to the work of ministry in the field of labor to
which the person is appointed by the bishop. At the initiative of the bishop and
cabinet or at his or her own initiative, a clergy member may be appointed in one-
quarter, one-half, or three-quarter time increments by the bishop to less than full-
time service without loss of essential rights or membership in the annual
conference. Division of Ordained Ministry-endorsed appointments beyond the local
church may be for less than full-time service. Appointment to less than full-time
service is not a guarantee, but may be made by the bishop, provided that the
following conditions are met:
a. The ordained elder, provisional elder, or associate member seeking less than
full-time service should present a written request to the bishop and the
chairperson of the Board of Ordained Ministry at least 90 days prior to the
annual conference session at which the appointment is made. Exceptions to the
90-day deadline shall be approved by the cabinet and the executive committee of
the Board of Ordained Ministry.
b) The bishop may appoint an ordained elder, provisional member elder, or an
associate member to less than full-time service. The clergyperson shall be
notified at least 90 days prior to the annual conference at which the appointment
shall be made. Special attention shall be given to ensure that the values of open
itineracy are preserved.
c) Following appropriate consultation, as established in ¶¶ 338 and 425-429, and
upon joint recommendation of the cabinet and the Board of Ordained Ministry,
the less than full-time category shall be confirmed by a two-thirds vote of the
clergy members in full connection of the annual conference.
d) Reappointment to less than full-time service shall be requested by the ordained
elder, provisional elder, or associate member and approved annually by the
bishop and cabinet and shall not be granted for more than a total of eight years,
except by a three-fourths vote of the clergy members in full connection of the
annual conference.
e) Ordained elders, provisional elders, and associate members who receive
appointment at less than full-time service remain within the itineracy and, as
such, remain available, upon consultation with the bishop and cabinet, for
appointment to full-time service. A written request to return to full-time
appointment shall be made to the bishop and cabinet at least six months prior to
the annual conference session at which the appointment is to be made. f) The bishop may make ad interim appointments at less than full-time service
upon request of the ordained elder, provisional elder, or associate member
following consultation as specified in ¶424, ¶ 428 and upon recommendation of
60
the cabinet and executive committee of the Board of Ordained Ministry, the
same to be acted upon by the next regular session of the annual conference.21
3. Interim appointments may be made to charges that have special transitional needs.
a. Interim clergy may serve outside the annual conference where membership is
held under the provision of ¶ 346.1, with approval and consent of the bishops
involved.
b) Interim appointments will be for a specified length of time, established in
advance following consultation with the district superintendent, the pastor-
parish relations committee, and the interim pastor.
4. Associate members, provisional members, or full members may be appointed to
attend any school, college, or theological seminary listed by the University Senate,
or participate in a program of clinical pastoral education in a setting accredited by
the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education or another accrediting agency
approved by GBHEM.
20. See Judicial Council Decision 713. 21. See Judicial Council Decision 719.
22. See Judicial Council Decision 579.
61
Definition of a Pastor
¶ 339. Definition of a Pastor—-A pastor is an ordained elder, provisional deacon,
(according to 1992 Book of Discipline ) or licensed person approved by vote of the
clergy members in full connection and may be appointed by the bishop to be in charge
of a station, circuit, cooperative parish, extension ministry, ecumenical shared
ministry,23
or to a church of another denomination, or on the staff of one such
appointment.
23. Ecumenical shared ministries are ecumenical congregations formed by a local United Methodist church and one or more local congregations of other Christian traditions. Forms of ecumenical shared ministries include: (a) a federated congregation, in which one congregation is related to two
denominations, with persons holding membership in one or the other of the denominations; (b) a union congregation, in which a congregation with one
unified membership roll is related to two denominations; (c) a merged congregation, in which two or more congregations of different denominations form one congregation which relates to only one of the constituent denominations; and (d) a yoked parish, in which a United Methodist congregation is
yoked with one or more congregations of other denominations.
Responsibilities and Duties of Elders and Licensed Pastors
¶ 340. Responsibilities and Duties of Elders and Licensed Pastors—-
1. The responsibilities of elders are derived from the authority given in ordination.
Elders have a fourfold ministry of Word, Sacrament, Order, and Service and thus serve
in the local church and in extension ministries in witness and service of Christ’s love
and justice. Elders are authorized to preach and teach the Word, to provide pastoral
care and counsel, to administer the sacraments, and to order the life of the church for
service in mission and ministry as pastors, superintendents, and bishops.
2. Licensed pastors share with the elders the responsibilities and duties of a pastor for
this fourfold ministry, within the context of their appointment.
a) Word and ecclesial acts:
(1) To preach the Word of God, lead in worship, read and teach the Scriptures,
and engage the people in study and witness.24
(a) To ensure faithful transmission of the Christian faith.
(b) To lead people in discipleship and evangelistic outreach that others
might come to know Christ and to follow him.
(2) To counsel persons with personal, ethical, or spiritual struggles.
(3) To perform the ecclesial acts of marriage and burial.
62
(a) To perform the marriage ceremony after due counsel with the parties
involved and in accordance with the laws of the state and the rules of The
United Methodist Church. The decision to perform the ceremony shall be
the right and responsibility of the pastor.
(b) To conduct funeral and memorial services and provide care and grief
counseling.
(4) To visit in the homes of the church and the community, especially among the
sick, aged, imprisoned, and others in need.
(5) To maintain all confidences inviolate, including confessional confidences
except in the cases of suspected child abuse or neglect, or in cases where
mandatory reporting is required by civil law.
b) Sacrament:
(1) To administer the sacraments of baptism and the Supper of the Lord
according to Christ’s ordinance.
(a) To prepare the parents and sponsors before baptizing infants or
children, and instruct them concerning the significance of baptism and
their responsibilities for the Christian training of the baptized child.
(b) To encourage reaffirmation of the baptismal covenant and renewal of
baptismal vows at different stages of life.
(c) To encourage people baptized in infancy or early childhood to make
their profession of faith, after instruction, so that they might become
professing members of the church.
(d) To explain the meaning of the Lord’s Supper and to encourage regular
participation as a means of grace to grow in faith and holiness.
(e) To select and train deacons and lay members to serve the consecrated
communion elements.
(2) To encourage the private and congregational use of the other means of grace.
c) Order:
(1) To be the administrative officer of the local church and to assure that the
organizational concerns of the congregation are adequately provided for.
(a) To give pastoral support, guidance, and training to the lay leadership,
equipping them to fulfill the ministry to which they are called.
(b) To give oversight to the educational program of the church and
encourage the use of United Methodist literature and media.
(c) To be responsible for organizational faithfulness, goal setting,
planning and evaluation.
(d) To search out and counsel men and women for the ministry of
deacons, elders, local pastors and other church related ministries.
63
(2) To administer the temporal affairs of the church in their appointment, the
annual conference, and the general church.
(a) To administer the provisions of the Discipline.
(b) To give an account of their pastoral ministries to the charge and
annual conference according to the prescribed forms.
(c) To provide leadership for the funding ministry of the congregation.
(d) To model and promote faithful financial stewardship and to encourage
giving as a spiritual discipline by teaching the biblical principles of
giving.
(e) To lead the congregation in the fulfillment of its mission through full
and faithful payment of all apportioned ministerial support,
administrative, and benevolent funds.
(f) To care for all church records and local church financial obligations,
and certify the accuracy of all financial, membership, and any other
reports submitted by the local church to the annual conference for use in
apportioning costs back to the church.
(3) To participate in denominational and conference programs and training
opportunities.
(a) To seek out opportunities for cooperative ministries with other United
Methodist pastors and churches.
(b) To be willing to assume supervisory responsibilities within the
connection.
(4) To lead the congregation in racial and ethnic inclusiveness.
d) Service:
(1) To embody the teachings of Jesus in servant ministries and servant
leadership.
(2) To give diligent pastoral leadership in ordering the life of the congregation
for discipleship in the world.
(3) To build the body of Christ as a caring and giving community, extending the
ministry of Christ to the world.
(4) To participate in community, ecumenical and inter-religious concerns and to
encourage the people to become so involved and to pray and labor for the unity
of the Christian community.
24. See Judicial Council Decision 694.
64
Unauthorized Conduct
¶ 341. Unauthorized Conduct—1. Pastors shall first obtain the written consent of the
district superintendent before engaging for an evangelist any person who is not a
general evangelist (¶¶ 630.3f, 1112.7), a clergy member of an annual conference, a
local pastor, or a certified lay servant in good standing in The United Methodist
Church.
2. No pastor shall discontinue services in a local church between sessions of the annual
conference without the consent of the charge conference and the district
superintendent.
3. No pastor shall arbitrarily organize a pastoral charge. (See ¶ 259 for the method of
organizing a local church.)
4. No pastor shall hold a religious service within the bounds of a pastoral charge other
than the one to which appointed without the consent of the pastor of the charge, or the
district superintendent. No pastor shall hold a religious service within the bounds of a
pastoral charge or establish a ministry to a college or university campus served by The
United Methodist Church without the consent of the pastor of the charge, or campus
minister or chaplain serving the charge, or the district superintendent. If that pastor
does not refrain from such conduct, he or she shall then be liable to the provisions of
¶ 363.1 and ¶ 2702.
5. All clergy of The United Methodist Church are charged to maintain all confidences
inviolate, including confessional confidences, except in the cases of suspected child
abuse or neglect or in cases where mandatory reporting is required by civil law. 25
6. Ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions shall not be conducted by our
ministers and shall not be conducted in our churches.
7. No pastor shall re-baptize. The practice of re-baptism does not conform with God’s
action in baptism and is not consistent with Wesleyan tradition and the historic
teaching of the church. Therefore, the pastor should counsel any person seeking re-
baptism to participate in a rite of re-affirmation of baptismal vows.
25. See Judicial Council Decision 936.
65
Lo
ca
l P
as
to
rs
66
License for Pastoral Ministry
¶ 315. License for Pastoral Ministry—All persons not ordained as elders who are
appointed to preach and conduct divine worship and perform the duties of a pastor
shall have a license for pastoral ministry. The Board of Ordained Ministry (¶ 635.2h)
may recommend to the executive session of the annual conference the licensing of
those persons who are:
1. Provisional elders commissioned by the annual conference, or
2. Local pastors who have completed the following:
a) The conditions for candidacy certification in ¶¶ 310.1-2;
b) The Orientation to Ministry;
c) The studies for the license as a local pastor as prescribed and supervised by the
Division of Ordained Ministry or one-third of their work for a Master of Divinity
degree at a school of theology listed by the University Senate;
d) Been examined and recommended by the district committee on ordained ministry
(¶666.8); or
3. Associate members of the annual conference
4. Deacons in full connection, seeking to qualify for ordination as an elder; or
5. Licensed or ordained clergy from other denominations who have training equivalent
to the studies for license as a local pastor prescribed by the Division of Ordained
Ministry, but do not meet the educational requirements for provisional membership in
the annual conference.
6. In every case, those who are licensed shall have:
a) Released the required psychological reports, criminal background and credit checks,
and reports of sexual misconduct and/or child abuse. They shall submit, on a form
provided by the conference Board of Ordained Ministry:
(1) a notarized statement detailing any convictions for felony or misdemeanor or
written accusations of sexual misconduct or child abuse; or
(2) a notarized statement certifying that the candidate has not been convicted of a
felony or misdemeanor, or accused in writing of sexual misconduct or child abuse.
b) Been approved by the Board of Ordained Ministry (¶ 635.2h);
c) Provided the board with a satisfactory certificate of good health on a prescribed
form from a physician approved by that board.
67
Responsibilities and Duties of Those Licensed for Pastoral Ministry
¶ 316. Responsibilities and Duties of Those Licensed for Pastoral Ministry—
1. Provisional elders approved annually by the Board of Ordained Ministry and local
pastors approved annually by the district committee on ordained ministry may be
licensed by the bishop to perform all the duties of a pastor (¶ 340), including the
sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion as well as the service of marriage (where
state laws allow),4 burial, confirmation, and membership reception, within and while
appointed to a particular charge or extension ministry. For the purposes of these
paragraphs the charge or extension ministry will be defined as “people within or
related to the community or ministry setting being served.” Those licensed for pastoral
ministry may be appointed to extension ministry settings when approved by the bishop
and the Board of Ordained Ministry.
2. Such authorization granted by the license may be renewed annually by the district
committee or the Board of Ordained Ministry.
3. The license shall remain valid only so long as the appointment continues and shall
be recertified by the bishop when assignments change between sessions of the annual
conference.5
4. A local pastor shall be under the supervision of a district superintendent and shall be
assigned a clergy mentor while in the Course of Study or in seminary (¶ 349).
5. Local pastors shall be amenable to the clergy session of the annual conference in the
performance of their pastoral duties and shall attend the sessions of the annual
conference.
6. The membership of local pastors under full-time and part-time appointment is in the
annual conference where they shall have the right to vote on all matters except
constitutional amendments, and matters of ordination, character, and conference
relations of clergy.
7. All local pastors shall receive written communication about decisions made
regarding their relationship with the annual conference
8. Local pastors who have completed the Course of Study may upon retirement
annually request from the District Committee of Ordained Ministry and the bishop a
license to continue to serve in the local church where they hold membership for the
68
purpose of providing sacramental rites of baptism and Holy Communion, at the request
of the appointed pastor.
4. See Judicial Council Decision 694.
5. See Judicial Council Decision 112.
Local Pastors Seeking to Transfer to Another Annual Conference
This is a question asked of GBHEM many times. Since local pastors are only local
pastors while under appointment by the bishop there is no way to transfer, they
have no annual conference membership when not under appointment.
If they seek an appointment in another conference, they would be under the
DCOM and be received in the same way as any local pastor would be treated.
References of their work in their former annual conference may be required for
information and for their file.
Interim License as Local Pastor
¶ 317. Interim License as Local Pastor-Between sessions of the annual conference,
persons who have completed the conditions for licensing listed above may be granted
interim license as a local pastor upon recommendation of the cabinet, the district
committee on ordained ministry, and executive committee of the conference Board of
Ordained Ministry, and may be appointed by the bishop.
69
Categories of Local Pastor
¶ 318. Categories of Local Pastor—Upon satisfactory completion of the requirements
of ¶ 315, the district committee on ordained ministry shall certify the completion of the
prescribed studies to the candidates and the Board of Ordained Ministry, and they shall
be listed in the journal as eligible to be appointed as local pastors. Award of the license
shall not be made until an appointment to a pastoral charge is made in accordance with
¶ 337. In recommending to the annual conference those who have met the
requirements to serve as local pastors for the ensuing year, the Board of Ordained
Ministry shall classify them in three categories with educational and other
requirements of their category. Any person who fails to meet these requirements shall
be discontinued as a local pastor. The categories shall be defined as follows:
1.Full-Time Local Pastors—Those eligible to be appointed full-time local pastors are
persons (a) who may devote their entire time to the church in the charge to which they
are appointed and its outreach in ministry and mission to the community; (b) who
receive in cash support per annum from all Church sources a sum equal to or larger
than the minimum base compensation established by the annual conference for full-
time local pastors; (c) who, unless they have completed the Course of Study or other
approved theological education, shall (i) complete four courses per year in a Course of
Study school, or (ii) shall have made progress in the correspondence curriculum
prescribed by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (¶ 1421.3d), or (iii)
be enrolled as a pre-theological or theological student in a college, university, or
school of theology approved by the University Senate; (d) who, when they have
completed the Course of Study, are involved in continuing education (¶ 351);6 (e) who
shall not be enrolled as a full-time student in any school.
2. Part-Time Local Pastors—Those eligible to be appointed as part-time local pastors
are persons (a) who have met the provisions of ¶ 315; (b) who do not devote their
entire time to the charge to which they are appointed; or (c) do not receive in cash
support per annum from all Church sources a sum equal to or larger than the minimum
base compensation established by the annual conference for full-time local pastors; and
(d) who, unless they have completed the Course of Study or other approved theological
education, shall (i) complete two courses per year in a Course of Study school, or (ii)
have made progress in the correspondence curriculum prescribed by the General Board
of Higher Education and Ministry, or (iii) be enrolled as a pre-theological or
theological student in a college, university, or school of theology approved by the
70
University Senate. Part-time local pastors may be appointed to small membership
churches that are grouped together in a charge under the supervision of a mentor.
3. Students Appointed as Local Pastors—-Students enrolled as pre-theological or
theological students in a college, university, or school of theology listed by the
University Senate (a) who have met the provisions of ¶ 315, and (b) who shall make
appropriate progress in their educational program as determined by the Board of
Ordained Ministry may be appointed as part-time or full-time local pastors in a
conference other than the conference in which they are certified candidates. c) Students
who are appointed as local pastors continue to relate to the district committee on
ordained ministry in the conference in which they are certified candidates and shall be
responsible to them for the continuation of their certified candidacy.
4. Upon recommendation of the Board of Ordained Ministry, the clergy members in
full connection may vote approval annually for students of other denominations
enrolled in a school of theology listed by the University Senate to serve as local pastors
for the ensuing year under the direction of the district superintendent, provided that
they shall indicate to the satisfaction of the Board of Ordained Ministry their
agreement to support and maintain the doctrine and polity of The United Methodist
Church while under appointment.
5. Local pastors may serve on any board, commission, or committee with voice and
vote, except on matters of clergy character, qualifications, status, and ordination.
However, local pastors who have completed the Course of Study may serve on the
District Committee on Ordained Ministry with voice and vote. Full-time local pastors
who have completed the Course of Study may serve on the Board of Ordained
Ministry with voice and vote.
6. See Judicial Council Decisions 343, 572.
Continuance as a Local Pastor
¶ 319. Continuance as a Local Pastor—1. Persons licensed as local pastors who are
not provisional members shall continue in college, in a program of theological
education at an approved seminary, or in the Course of Study.
2. Upon completing each year’s education and other qualifications, a local pastor who
is not a provisional member may be recommended for continuance by the district
71
committee on ordained ministry. The clergy members in full connection of the annual
conference may approve continuance of a local pastor after reference to and
recommendation by its Board of Ordained Ministry.
3. A full-time local pastor shall complete the Course of Study curriculum within eight
years and a part-time local pastor within twelve, unless a family situation or other
circumstance precludes the local pastor’s opportunity to meet said requirements. The
local pastor may be granted an annual extension beyond the prescribed limit upon a
three-fourths vote of the district committee on ordained ministry, recommendation by
the conference Board of Ordained Ministry, and the vote of the clergy members in full
connection.7
4. A local pastor may choose to remain in a local relationship with the annual
conference upon having completed the five-year Course of Study.
5. None of the provisions in this legislation shall be interpreted to change or limit
authorizations to local pastors ordained as deacon and elder prior to 1996.8
7. See Judicial Council Decisions 436, 439.
8. See Judicial Council Decisions 436, 439.
Exiting, Reinstatement, and Retirement of Local Pastors Who Are Not
Provisional Members
¶ 320. Exiting, Reinstatement, and Retirement of Local Pastors Who Are Not
Provisional Members—1. Discontinuance of Local Pastor—Whenever a local pastor
retires or is no longer approved for appointment by the annual conference as required
in ¶318, whenever any local pastor severs relationship with The United Methodist
Church, whenever the appointment of a local pastor is discontinued by the bishop, or
whenever the district committee on ordained ministry does not recommend
continuation of license, license and credentials shall be surrendered to the district
superintendent for deposit with the secretary of the conference. After consultation with
the pastor, the former local pastor shall designate the local church in which
membership shall be held. The Board of Ordained Ministry shall file with the resident
bishop a permanent record of the circumstances relating to the discontinuance of local
pastor status as required in ¶ 635.3d.
2. Withdrawal Under Complaints and Charges—When a local pastor is accused of an
offense under ¶ 2702 and desires to withdraw from the Church, the procedures
described in ¶ 2719.2 shall apply.
72
3. Trial of Local Pastor—When a local pastor is accused of an offense under ¶ 2702,
the procedures described in ¶¶ 2703-2713 shall apply.9
4. Reinstatement of Local Pastor Status—Local pastors whose approved status has
been discontinued from an annual conference of The United Methodist Church or
one of its legal predecessors may be reinstated only by the annual conference that
previously approved them, its legal successor, or the annual conference of which
the major portion of their former conference is a part, only upon recommendation
by the district committee on ordained ministry from which their license was
discontinued, the Board of Ordained Ministry, and the cabinet. Persons seeking
reinstatement shall provide evidence that they have been members of a local United
Methodist church for at least one year prior to their request for reinstatement. The
district committee shall require a recommendation from the charge conference
where his or her membership is currently held. When approved by the clergy
members in full connection as provided in ¶ 337, their license and credentials shall
be restored, and they shall be eligible for appointment as pastors of a charge. They
shall complete current studies and meet requirements as provided in ¶¶ 315, 318.
Whenever persons whose approval as local pastors has been discontinued by an
annual conference are being considered for appointment or temporary employment
in another annual conference, the Board of Ordained Ministry where these persons
are being considered shall obtain from the Board of Ordained Ministry of the
conference where approval has been discontinued verification of their qualifications
and information about the circumstances relating to the termination of their
approval as local pastors.
5. Retirement of Local Pastor—A local pastor who has made satisfactory progress in
the Course of Study as specified in ¶ 318.1 or .2 may be recognized as a retired
local pastor. Retirement provisions for local pastors shall be the same as those for
clergy members in ¶ 358.1, .2, .4, with pensions payable in accordance with
¶1506.5a. Retired local pastors may attend annual conference sessions with voice
but not vote. A retired local pastor may be appointed by the bishop to a charge and
licensed upon recommendation by the district committee on ordained ministry
without creating additional claim upon the conference minimum compensation nor
further pension credit.
9. See Judicial Council Decision 982.
73
AS
SO
CIA
TE
ME
MB
ER
S
74
¶321.Associate Membership
Eligibility and Rights of Associate Members-Associate members of an annual conference are in the
itinerant ministry of the Church and are available on a continuing basis for appointment by the
bishop. They offer themselves without reserve to be appointed (and to serve as their superiors in
office shall direct). They shall be amenable to the annual conference in the performance of their
ministry and shall be granted the same security of appointment as provisional members in full
connection.*
1. Associate members shall have a right to vote in the annual conference on all matters except the
following:
(a) constitutional amendments;
(b) all matters of ordination, character, and conference relations of clergy.
2. Associate members may serve on any board, commission, or committee of an annual conference.
They shall not be eligible for election as delegates to the general or jurisdictional or central
conferences.
3. Associate members shall be subject to the provisions governing sabbatical leave, leave of
absence, location, retirement, minimum salary, and pension.
*Judicial Council Decision 1226
75
¶ 322. Requirements for Election as Associate Members
1. Local pastors may be elected to associate membership by vote of the clergy members in full
connection, upon recommendation of the Board of Ordained Ministry, when they have met the
following conditions. They shall have:
(1) reached age forty;
(2) served four years as full-time local pastors;
(3) completed the five-year Course of Study for ordained ministry in addition to the studies for
license as a local pastor, up to one half of which may be taken by correspondence or
online/distance learning courses;
(4) completed a minimum of sixty semester hours toward the Bachelor of Arts or an equivalent
degree in a college or university listed by the University Senate;
(5) been recommended by the district committee on ordained ministry and the Board of Ordained
Ministry;
(6) declared their willingness to accept continuing full-time appointment;
(7) satisfied the board regarding their physical, mental, and emotional health (the annual
conference shall require psychological reports, criminal background and credit checks, and
reports of sexual misconduct and/or child abuse to provide additional information on the
candidate’s fitness for the ministry);
(8) for the sake of the mission of Jesus Christ in the world and the most effective witness to the
Christian gospel, and in consideration of his/her influence as a clergy member of the annual
conference, be willing to make a complete dedication of himself/herself to the highest ideals
of the Christian life; and to this end agree to exercise responsible self-control by personal
76
habits conducive to bodily health, mental and emotional maturity, fidelity in marriage and
celibacy in singleness, social responsibility, and growth in grace and the knowledge and love
of God; and
(9) prepared at least one written sermon on a biblical passage specified by the Board of Ordained
Ministry and given satisfactory answers in a written doctrinal examination administered by
the Board of Ordained Ministry. (Consideration shall be given to the questions listed in ¶
324.9.)
2. Upon recommendation of the Board of Ordained Ministry, an annual conference may equate part-
time service to the requirement of full-time service. Such equivalence is to be determined in light
of the years of service involved, the quality of that service, the maturity of the applicant, and
other relevant factors.
3. Associate members may retire under the provisions of ¶ 358 of the Discipline. They shall retain
their license for pastoral ministry for service in the local church and maintain their relationship as
retired clergy members of the annual conference.
4. Associate members may be received as provisional members in the annual conference under
conditions as set forth in ¶ 324.6 upon receiving a three-fourths majority vote of the clergy
members of the conference in full connection, present and voting.
77
Pr
ov
isio
na
l M
em
be
rs
hip
78
Qualifications for Election to Provisional Membership
¶ 324. Qualifications for Election to Provisional Membership—A person shall be
eligible for election to provisional membership in the annual conference by vote of the
clergy session on recommendation of its Board of Ordained Ministry after meeting the
following qualifications.
1. Candidacy Requirement: Each candidate shall have been a certified candidate for
provisional membership for at least one year and no more than twelve years.
2. Service Requirement: Each candidate shall have demonstrated his or her gifts for
ministries of service and leadership to the satisfaction of the district committee on
ordained ministry as a condition for provisional membership.
3. Undergraduate Requirement: A candidate for provisional membership shall have
completed a bachelor’s degree from a college or university recognized by the
University Senate. Exceptions to the undergraduate degree requirements may be made
in consultation with the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry in some
instances, for missional purposes, for persons who have a minimum of sixty semester
hours of Bachelor of Arts credit and: a) have been prevented from pursuit of the
normal course of baccalaureate education, b) are members of a group whose cultural
practices and training enhance insight and skills for effective ministry not available
through conventional formal education, or c) have graduated with a bachelor’s degree
or its equivalent from a college not recognized by the University Senate and have
completed one half of the studies of the Master of Divinity or equivalent first
professional degree in a school of theology listed by the University Senate.
4. Graduate Requirement:
a) Candidates for deacon or elder shall have completed one-half of the basic
graduate theological studies in the Christian faith. These courses may be
included within or in addition to a seminary degree. These basic graduate
theological studies must include courses in Old Testament; New Testament;
theology; church history; mission of the church in the world; evangelism;
worship/liturgy; and United Methodist doctrine, polity and history.
b) a candidate for ordination as an elder shall have completed one half of the
studies toward a Master of Divinity degree or its equivalent, including one half
of the basic graduate theological studies from a seminary listed by the
University Senate.
79
c) a candidate for ordination as a deacon shall have:
(1) completed one half of the studies of a master’s degree from a United
Methodist seminary or one listed by the University Senate, or
(2) received a master’s degree in the area of the specialized ministry in
which the candidate will serve
(3) completed one half of the basic graduate theological studies, in a
context which will provide formation as a United Methodist deacon in full
connection within a cohesive program developed by the seminary and
approved by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry,
documented by a record of completion from that school.
5. In some instances a candidate who is pursuing ordination to serve as deacon in full
connection may fulfill the academic requirements through the following professional
certification alternate route:
a) shall have reached thirty-five years of age at the time to become a certified
candidate;
b) completed a bachelor’s degree, received professional certification or license
in the area of ministry in which the candidate will serve, have completed a
minimum of eight semester hours of graduate credit or equivalent quarter hours
in the area of specialization, and have been recommended by the conference
Board of Ordained Ministry;
c) have completed one half of the minimum of twenty-four semester hours of the
basic graduate theological studies of the Christian faith including the areas of:
Old Testament; New Testament; theology; church history; mission of the church
in the world; evangelism; worship/liturgy; and United Methodist doctrine,
polity, and history, in a context which will provide a cohesive program and
formation as a United Methodist deacon in full connection within a cohesive
program developed by the seminary and approved by the General Board of
Higher Education and Ministry, documented by a record of completion from that
school.
6. Local pastors may fulfill the requirements for provisional membership when they
have:
a) reached forty years of age;
b) satisfied all requirements of Sections 1-3 and 7-14 of this paragraph.
c) completed the five-year Course of Study for ordained ministry, of which no
more than one-half may be taken by correspondence or Internet; up to one-half
of Course of Study may be online courses; and
80
d) an Advanced Course of Study consisting of thirty-two semester hours of
graduate theological study offered by a seminary recognized by the University
Senate or its equivalent as determined by the General Board of Higher
Education and Ministry that shall include United Methodist history, doctrine,
and polity.10
7. The Board of Ordained Ministry shall require an official transcript of credits from
each school before recognizing any of the applicant’s educational claims. In case of
doubt, the board may submit a transcript to the General Board of Higher Education and
Ministry.
8. Each candidate shall present a satisfactory certificate of good health by a physician
on the prescribed form. Disabilities are not to be construed as unfavorable health
factors when a person with disability is capable of meeting the professional standards
and is able to render effective service as a provisional member.
9. Each candidate shall respond to a written and oral doctrinal examination
administered by the conference Board of Ordained Ministry. The examination shall
cover the following:
a) Describe your personal experience of God and the understanding of God you
derive from biblical, theological, and historical sources.
b) What is your understanding of evil as it exists in the world?
c) What is your understanding of humanity, and the human need for divine
grace?
d) How do you interpret the statement Jesus Christ is Lord?
e) What is your conception of the activity of the Holy Spirit in personal faith, in
the community of believers, and in responsible living in the world?
f) What is your understanding of the kingdom of God; the Resurrection; eternal
life?
g) How do you intend to affirm, teach and apply Part III of the Discipline
(Doctrinal Standards and Our Theological Task) in your work in the ministry to
which you have been called?
h) The United Methodist Church holds that the living core of the Christian faith
was revealed in Scripture, illumined by tradition, vivified in personal
experience, and confirmed by reason. What is your understanding of this
theological position of the Church?
i) Describe the nature and mission of the Church. What are its primary tasks
today?
81
j) Discuss your understanding of the primary characteristics of United Methodist
polity.
k) How do you perceive yourself, your gifts, your motives, your role, and your
commitment as a provisional member and commissioned minister in The United
Methodist Church?
l) Describe your understanding of diakonia, the servant ministry of the church,
and the servant ministry of the provisional member.
m) What is the meaning of ordination in the context of the general ministry of
the Church?
n) Describe your understanding of an inclusive church and ministry.
o) You have agreed as a candidate for the sake of the mission of Jesus Christ in
the world and the most effective witness of the gospel, and in consideration of
their influence as ministers, to make a complete dedication of yourself to the
highest ideals of the Christian life, and to this end agree to exercise responsible
self-control by personal habits conducive to bodily health, mental and emotional
maturity, integrity in all personal relationships, fidelity in marriage and celibacy
in singleness, social responsibility, and growth in grace and the knowledge and
love of God. What is your understanding of this agreement?
p) Explain the role and significance of the sacraments in the ministry to which
you have been called.
10. Each candidate shall have been recommended in writing to the conference Board
of Ordained Ministry, based on a three-fourths majority vote of the district committee
on ordained ministry.
11. Each candidate shall have a personal interview with the conference Board of
Ordained Ministry to complete his or her candidacy.
12. Each candidate shall submit on a form provided by the Board of Ordained Ministry
a notarized statement detailing any convictions for felony, or misdemeanor, or written
accusations and its disposition of sexual misconduct or child abuse; or certifying that
this candidate has not been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor or accused in writing
of sexual misconduct or child abuse. The candidate also shall release required
psychological reports, criminal background, credit checks and reports of child abuse.
13. Each candidate shall file with the board a written, concise, autobiographical
statement (in duplicate on a prescribed form) regarding age, health, family status,
Christian experience, call to ministry, educational record, formative Christian
experiences, and plans for service in the Church.
82
14. Each candidate shall have been recommended in writing to the clergy session
based on at least a two-thirds majority vote of the conference Board of Ordained
Ministry.
10. See Judicial Council Decision 823.
Commissioning
¶ 325. Commissioning—Commissioning is the act of the church that publicly
acknowledges God’s call and the response, talents, gifts and training of the candidate.
The church invokes the Holy Spirit as the candidate is commissioned to be a faithful
servant leader among the people, to lead the church in service, to proclaim the Word of
God and to equip others for ministry.
Through commissioning, the church sends persons in leadership and service in the
name of Jesus Christ and marks their entrance into a time of provisional membership
as they prepare for ordination. Commissioned ministers are provisional clergy
members of the annual conference and are accountable to the bishop and the clergy
session for the conduct of their ministry.
During the residency program the clergy session discerns their fitness for ordination
and their effectiveness in ministry. After fulfilling all candidacy requirements and
upon recommendation of the conference Board of Ordained Ministry, the clergy
session shall vote on the provisional membership and commissioning of the
candidates.
The bishop and secretary of the conference shall provide credentials as a provisional
member and a commissioned minister in the annual conference.
The period of commissioned ministry is concluded when the provisional members are
received as full members of the annual conference and ordained as either deacon or
elder, or a decision is made not to proceed toward ordination and provisional
membership is ended.
83
Service of Provisional Members
¶ 326. Service of Provisional Members—All persons who are provisional members
shall be appointed by a bishop (¶ 425) and serve as a provisional member of the annual
conference for a minimum of two years following the completion of education
requirements for full connection. During the provisional period, arrangements shall be
offered by the Board of Ordained Ministry for all provisional members to be involved
in a residency curriculum that extends theological education by using covenant groups
and mentoring to support the practice and work of their ministry as servant leaders, to
contemplate the grounding of ordained ministry, and to understand covenant ministry
in the life of the conference. Provisional members may be appointed to attend school,
to extension ministry, or in appointments beyond the local church. Wherever they are
appointed, the service of provisional members shall be evaluated by the district
superintendent and the Board of Ordained Ministry in terms of the provisional
member’s ability to express and give leadership in servant ministry.
1. Provisional members planning to give their lives as deacons in full connection shall
be in ministries of Word, Service, Compassion, and Justice in the local church or in an
approved appointment beyond the local church.
A provisional member preparing for ordination as a deacon shall be licensed for the
practice of ministry during provisional membership to perform the duties of the
ministry of the deacon as stated in ¶ 328 and be granted support as stated in ¶ 331.10.
2. Provisional members planning to give their lives as elders in full connection shall be
in ministries of Word, Sacrament, Order, and Service in the local church or in an
approved extension ministry. A provisional member preparing for ordination as an
elder shall be licensed for pastoral ministry (¶ 315).
3. Provisional members who are serving in extension ministries, enrolled in graduate
degree programs, or appointments beyond the local church shall be accountable to the
district superintendent and the Board of Ordained Ministry for the conduct of ministry,
and for demonstrating their effectiveness in the ministry of the order to which they
seek to be ordained. In all cases, they will also demonstrate their effectiveness in
servant leadership in the local church to the satisfaction of the Board of Ordained
Ministry.
84
4. Provisional members seeking to change their ordination track shall:
a) Write to the Board of Ordained Ministry and inform the district
superintendent and bishop of their intention.
b) Interview with the Board of Ordained Ministry to articulate and clarify their
call.
c) Fulfill academic and service requirements.
Upon the recommendation of the Board of Ordained Ministry and by vote of the clergy
session the person may be received into full connection with the annual conference and
be ordained into the order to which they are transitioning.
Eligibility and Rights of Provisional Membership
¶ 327. Eligibility and Rights of Provisional Membership—Provisional members are on
trial in preparation for membership in full connection in the annual conference as
deacons or elders. They are on probation as to character, servant leadership, and
effectiveness in ministry. The annual conference, through the clergy session, has
jurisdiction over provisional members. Annually, the Board of Ordained Ministry shall
review and evaluate their relationship and make recommendation to the clergy
members in full connection regarding their continuance. No member shall be
continued on provisional membership beyond the eighth regular session following
their admission to provisional membership.
1. Provisional members who are preparing for deacon’s or elder’s orders may be
ordained deacons or elders when they qualify for membership in full connection in the
annual conference.
2. Provisional members shall have the right to vote in the annual conference on all
matters except the following:
a) constitutional amendments;
b) all matters of ordination, character, and conference relations of clergy.
3. Provisional members may serve on any board, commission, or committee of the
annual conference except the Board of Ordained Ministry (¶ 635.1). They shall not be
eligible for election as delegates to the General, central, or jurisdictional conferences.
85
4. Provisional members shall be amenable to the annual conference in the performance
of their ministry and are subject to the provisions of the Book of Discipline in the
performance of their duties. They shall be supervised by the district superintendent
under whom they are appointed. They shall also be assigned a deacon or elder as
mentor by the Board of Ordained Ministry. Provisional members preparing to become
elders shall be eligible for appointment by meeting disciplinary provisions (¶ 315).
5. Provisional members in appointments beyond the local church shall relate
themselves to the district superintendent in the area where their work is done. The
district superintendent shall give them supervision and report annually to their Board
of Ordained Ministry.
6. Discontinuance from Provisional Membership—Provisional members may request
discontinuance of this relationship or may be discontinued by the clergy session upon
recommendation of the Board of Ordained Ministry. When provisional members in
good standing withdraw to unite with another denomination or to terminate their
membership in The United Methodist Church, their action shall be considered a
request for discontinuance of their relationship and their credentials shall be
surrendered to a district superintendent. In the case of discontinuation without consent,
prior to any final recommendation, a provisional member will be advised of the right to
a fair process hearing before the committee on conference relations of the Board of
Ordained Ministry. A report of the action will be made to the full board for final
action. The provisions of fair process (¶362.2) shall be observed and there shall be a
review by the administrative review committee under ¶ 636 prior to hearing by the
annual conference. When this relationship is discontinued, they shall no longer be
permitted to exercise ministerial functions and shall return their credentials to the
district superintendent for deposit with the secretary of the conference, and their
membership shall be transferred by the district superintendent to the local church they
designate after consultation with the pastor. The Board of Ordained Ministry shall file
with the resident bishop and the secretary of the conference a permanent record of the
circumstances relating to discontinuance as a provisional member as required in
¶635.3d. After discontinuance, provisional members may be classified and approved as
local pastors in accordance with the provision of ¶ 316.
7. Provisional members may not be retired under the provisions of ¶ 358.
Provisional members who have reached the mandatory retirement age shall be
automatically discontinued. Provisional elders may be classified as retired local pastors
under the provisions of ¶ 320.5.
86
Co
nf
er
en
ce
Re
la
tio
ns
87
Voluntary Status Change
2012 Status Purpose Initiation Timeline Limits Required Approval Return From
351.3 Formational and Spiritual Growth
For Formational or Spiritual Growth Clergy
Negotiated w/ appt setting
Serving FT appt for at least 6 yrs. Can last up to 6 months.
S/PPRC, Church Council, DS As approved
352 Sabbatical Program of study or travel Clergy
Request 6 mos prior to annual conf
AM, FD, or FE w/ 6 yrs FT service or equivalent
Bishop appoints, BOM recommends, Clergy Session approves
Appointment by Bishop
354.2a)
Voluntary Leave of Absence - Personal
Temporarily unable or unwilling to continue in appt Clergy
Request through BOM, w/ copy to Bishop and DS, 90 days prior to annual conference
PM, AM, FD, FE; 5 yr limit except w/ 2/3 vote of Clergy Session; not allowed if complaints or charges pending
Annual, by BOM and Clergy Session (majority approval up to 5 yrs; 2/3 approval after 5 yrs)
Request 6 mos prior to annual conference; ad interim request through Bishop, Cabinet w/ approval by BOM Exec Comm
354.2b)
Voluntary Leave of Absence - Family
Temporarily unable to serve b/c of immediate family member's need for full-time care Clergy
Same as personal leave
Same as personal leave
Same as personal leave
Same as personal leave
356 Maternity or Paternity
For birth or arrival of a child into home for adoption Clergy
90 days before start of leave
LP, PM, AM, FD, FE; up to 1/4 yr w/ compensation for no less than 1st 8 wks
Bishop, Cabinet, BOM Exec Comm As approved
358.2 Voluntary Retirement
Clergy seeking retirement and meeting requirements Clergy
Written request to Bishop, Cabinet, BOM at least 100 days before effective date unless waived by Bishop and Cabinet Varies - see ¶358.2
Bishop, Cabinet, BOM rec, Clergy Session
May receive appt while retired; return to effective relationship by request to BOM, Bishop, Cabinet, vote of Clergy Session
88
Voluntary Status Change
2012 Status Purpose Initiation Timeline Limits Required Approval Return From
359 Honorable Location
Clergy seeking to discontinue service in appointive ministry Clergy Not stated
FD or FE in good standing; surrender membership, keep ordination credential; restrict ministerial functions; may take ad interim appt.
BOM rec, Clergy Session approval
dCOM, BOM, Cabinet rec; Clergy Session approval, may require 1 yr as LP (for FE/AM's) or approved setting (FD) before membership returned (¶367)
361.1
W/draw to Unite w/ Another Denomination
Desire to unite with another denomination FD or FE Not stated
Ordained in good standing; surrender membership credentials; keep ordination credentials Clergy Session
dCOM, BOM, Cabinet rec; Clergy Session approval, at least 2 yrs as LP (for FE/AM's) or approved setting (FD) before membership returned (¶367)
361.2
W/draw from the Ordained Ministerial Office
Desire to leave ministerial office and w/draw from conference
Ordained member Not stated
Ordained in good standing; surrender membership and ordination credentials; transfer to local church membership Clergy Session
dCOM, BOM, Cabinet rec; Clergy Session approval, at least 2 yrs as LP (for FE/AM's) or approved setting (FD) before membership returned (¶367)
89
Involuntary Status Change
2012 Status Purpose Initiation Timeline Limits Required Approval Return From
355 Involuntary Leave of Absence
a) Complaint unresolved w/in 90 days or b) Action re. Admin Location (¶364) req. to address allegations Bishop, DS Not stated
PM, AM, FD, FE ; 3 yr. limit; Must follow Fair Process (¶364, ¶362)
Bishop, DS, CRC rec, BOM rec, 2/3 annual approval of Clergy Session
Written request by Bishop, DS at least 6 mos prior to AC, BOM rec for end of leave, after 3 yrs a permanent status must be granted
358.3 Involuntary Retirement
To place into retired relationship; w/ or w/o clergy consent
Cabinet or BOM recommendation
Written notice 180 days prior to annual conference
Clergy members; Fair Process must be followed
CRC rec, BOM rec, 2/3 approval of Clergy Session
Rec by BOM, Bishop, Cabinet, 2/3 vote of Clergy Session from granting annual conference (¶ 369)
360 Administrative Location
When AM, FD, or FE is ineffective
Bishop and District Superintendents; BOM if occurring at the end of Invol Leave of Absence (this is exceptional) Not stated
Surrender membership credentials, retain ordination credentials, limited ministerial service
CRC rec, BOM rec, majority approval of Clergy Session
dCOM, BOM, Cabinet rec; Clergy Session approval, may require 1 yr as LP (for FE/AM's) or approved setting (FD) before membership returned (¶366)
361.3
W/draw under complaints or charges
When clergy is a named respondent and wishes to w/draw Clergy Immediate
Membership, Ordination credentials deposited w/ conference secretary Clergy Session
dCOM, BOM, Cabinet rec; Clergy Session approval, at least 2 yrs as LP (for FE/AM's) or approved setting (FD) before membership returned (¶367)
363.1d Suspension
When complaint filed; to protect complainant, congregation, Annual Conference, clergy, Bishop Bishop Immediate
90 day limit; suspended from responsibilities but not from appt BOM Exec Comm
When complaint is resolved or referred for judicial process
90
Status Changes that can be Voluntary or Involuntary
2012 Status Purpose Initiation Timeline Limits Required Approval Return From
320.1 Discontinue Local Pastor (LP)
To discontinue LP relationship for those who are not PMs
LP retirement; LP no longer approved; LP severs relationship; appt. discontinued by bishop; dCOM does not recommend continuation of license Not stated
Surrender license and credentials to the DS for deposit with conference secretary
Varies, Fair Process Hearing not required
Through the dCOM, with appt. from the bishop; LP receives a license if appointed after retirement
327.6 Discontinue Prov Membership (PM)
To discontinue PM in annual conference
PM or BOM rec (w/o consent of PM) Not stated
PM can request a Fair Process Hearing; credentials surrendered if discontinued
CRC rec, BOM rec, majority approval of Clergy Session
May be approved as LP or may be readmitted by AC where they left w/ rec of dCOM, BOM, Cabinet, Clergy Session (¶365)
354.2c (1) Transitional Leave - PD or FD
Needs to seek an appointment Deacon
At least 90 days prior to annual conference session Up to 12 mos
Bishop, BOM Exec Comm Upon appointment
354.2c (2) Transitional Leave - AM, PE, FE
Needs to seek appt from Extension Ministry to another appt Clergy
At least 90 days prior to annual conference session Up to 12 mos
Bishop, BOM Exec Comm Upon appointment
357
Medical Leave Due to Medical and Disabling Conditions (Either Voluntary or Involuntary)
Unable to perform ministerial duties due to medical and disabling conditions Clergy or Cabinet Not stated
When involuntary, clergy has right to Fair Process Hearing; may not be used solely for medical conditions
Joint Committee on Clergy Medical Leave, CRC rec (if involuntary), BOM rec, majority approval of Clergy Session
Provide medical evidence of sufficient recovery; Approval of Cabinet, Joint Comm or CRC, BOM Exec Comm
358.1 Mandatory Retirement
At age 72 on or before July 1 Automatic
120 days prior to effective date, unless waived by the Bishop and Cabinet Varies - see ¶358
Bishop, Cabinet, BOM rec, Clergy Session
May receive an appt in retired status
91
¶354.2c TRANSITIONAL LEAVE
A leave granted for up to twelve months with approval of the bishop and the Board
of Ordained Ministry Executive Committee to provisional and associate members
and full clergy members in good standing who are temporarily between
appointments.
A transitional leave of absence may be granted for the following reasons:
1) A provisional or full member deacon needs to seek and secure an
appointable primary position—compensated or nonsalaried.
2) A provisional member, associate member, or full member elder needs to
transition from an extension ministry to another appointment.
During transitional leave, the clergyperson shall provide quarterly substantiation of
his or her effort to obtain such an appointable position to the bishop and to the
Board of Ordained Ministry Executive Committee.*
*General Conference 2012 Calendar Items 358 and 359 (DCA page 2178) ruled unconstitutional in Judicial Council Decision 1226, October
2012.
Recommendations to Annual Conference Boards of Ordained
Ministry for Persons Changing from One Order to Another Order
In all times, we are called to be open to the movement and call of God in our
vocation as ordained ministers in the Church. We seek to respond to the inner call
(our personal response to God’s presence in our life) and the outer call (the
Church’s experience of God’s movement and the confirmation of a person’s inner
call). In the United Methodist Church we recognize that God calls people
continually in their life in different ways for different tasks.
There may be a time when an ordained minister seeks to respond to the call to
another form of ordained ministry. The ordained ministry of both deacons and
elders may be expressed in a variety of settings including the local church and in
extension ministry (¶331 and ¶343). It is in both identity and function that a
person responds and embodies their call to ministry, rather than the setting for
ministry determining the order for ministry. The Church offers the following
possibilities:
92
¶309.2 Outlines the process for clergy members to change Orders. Upon recommendation of the Board of Ordained Ministry and vote of the clergy
members in full connection in an annual conference, elders may be received as
deacons in full connection, and deacons in full connection may be received as
elders provided they are in good standing and have:
a) informed the bishop and district superintendent of their intention,
b) applied in writing to the Board of Ordained Ministry,
c) articulated to the Board of Ordained Ministry their call to the ministry of the
deacon or the elder,
d) completed all academic and other requirements for admission to the order
for which they are applying, ¶324, ¶330, ¶335, and
e) completed at least two years, and no more than eight years, under
appointment while licensed for the ministry of the order to which they are
transitioning.
Such persons shall retain their credentials and full membership in the annual
conference through the transition period from one order to the other. When
ordained to the order to which they are transitioning, they shall surrender to the
conference secretary the credentials of the order from which they are leaving.
93
For Ordained Elders Who Seek to be Ordained Deacon
The following steps are required for ordained elders who seek to be received as
deacons in full connection: ¶309.2, The Book of Discipline
1. Ordained elders in good standing seeking to become deacons in full connection
shall apply in writing to the Board of Ordained Ministry and inform the district
superintendent and bishop of their intention.
2. The Board of Ordained Ministry will interview such persons, inviting them to
articulate their call and focus of ministry and how their ministry fulfills the
ministry of the deacon in full connection as outlined in ¶328 and ¶329 of The
Book of Discipline.
3. The Board of Ordained Ministry will determine if such persons have completed
all academic and other requirements for the order of deacon in full connection
according to ¶324 and ¶330 of The Book of Discipline.
4. The Board of Ordained Ministry will also determine if such persons have
completed at least two years of the appropriate formation time licensed for a
specialized ministry related to the ministry of the deacon according to ¶326,
¶328, ¶331. These persons will remain an elder until being ordained or received
as a deacon. ¶309.3.
5. Upon the recommendation of the Board of Ordained Ministry and vote of the
clergy session, such persons may be received into the Order of Deacons and
annual conference as deacons in full connection. They will be recognized in the
ordination service and asked to respond to their willingness to participate in the
Order of Deacons. If they have not been previously ordained a deacon, they
will be ordained.
6. Following satisfactory completion of the listed requirements, such persons shall
deposit their credentials as an elder with the bishop and will no longer function
as an elder and credentials as deacon in full connection will then be issued by
the bishop. (ordination certificate, and license for the ministry of the deacon.)
94
For Ordained Deacons Who Seek to be Ordained Elder
The following steps are recommended for ordained deacons who wish to be
received as elders in full connection: ¶309.2 The Book of Discipline
1. Ordained deacons in full connection who are in good standing and seek to be
ordained as elders in full connection shall apply in writing to the Board of
Ordained Ministry and inform the district superintendent and bishop of their
intention.
2. The Board of Ordained Ministry will interview such persons, inviting them to
articulate their call and their understanding of the ministry of the elder as
outlined in The Book of Discipline. ¶332.
3. The Board of Ordained Ministry will determine if such persons have completed
all academic and other requirements for the order of elder according to The
Book of Discipline. ¶335
4. The Board of Ordained Ministry may require additional education to assure that
their education is equivalent to the M.Div. degree.
5. The Board of Ordained Ministry will determine if the person has completed an
appropriate formation time in the functions of the ministry of the elder. These
persons shall be licensed for pastoral ministry while remaining a deacon
(¶309.3) and serve for at least two years prior to their ordination as an elder.
6. Upon the recommendation of the Board of Ordained Ministry and vote of the
clergy session, such persons may be ordained elder and received into the order
of elders.
7. Following satisfactory completion of the listed requirements, such persons shall
deposit their credentials as a deacon with the bishop and will no longer function
as a deacon or participate in the order of deacons. Credentials as an elder will
then be issued by the bishop.
95
For Commissioned Provisional Member in the Elder Track
Who Seek to be Ordained Deacon in Full Connection
The following steps are recommended for commissioned provisional members in
the elder track who seek to be ordained as deacon in full connection: ¶309.2
1. A commissioned provisional member in the elder track in good standing who
seeks to become a deacon in full connection shall write to the Board of
Ordained Ministry and inform the district superintendent and bishop of their
intention.
2. The Board of Ordained Ministry will interview such persons, inviting them to
articulate their call and their understanding of the ministry of the deacon and
how their ministry fulfills the ministry of deacon in full connection as outlined
¶328-329 of The Book of Discipline.
3. The Board of Ordained Ministry will decide if the person has completed all the
academic requirements and at least two years of appropriate formation time in a
specialized ministry related to the ministry of the deacon during the provisional
period according to ¶326, ¶328 and ¶329. The provisional period may be
extended to provide for appropriate time of formation and service in the work of
a deacon. The provisional member should receive a license for the practice of
ministry as a deacon and remain in provisional membership of the annual
conference.
4. Upon the recommendation of the Board of Ordained Ministry and by vote of the
clergy session, the person may be received into the Annual Conference as
deacon in full connection.
5. These persons would be ordained as deacon in full connection in the ordination
service, participate as members in the Order of Deacons, and receive credentials
as an ordained deacon.
96
For Commissioned Provisional Member in the Deacon
Track Who Seek to be Ordained Elder in Full Connection
The following steps are recommended for commissioned provisional members in
the deacon track who seek to be ordained as elders in full connection: ¶309.2 The
Book of Discipline
1. A commissioned provisional member in the deacon track in good standing who
seeks to become an elder in full connection shall write to the Board of Ordained
Ministry and inform the district superintendent and bishop of their intention.
2. The Board of Ordained Ministry will interview such persons, inviting them to
articulate their call and their understanding of the ministry of the elder and how
their ministry fulfills the ministry of elder in full connection as outlined ¶332,
¶333 of The Book of Discipline.
3. The Board of Ordained Ministry will decide if the person has completed all the
academic requirements and at least two years of appropriate formation time in a
specialized ministry related to the ministry of the elder during the provisional
period according to ¶326, ¶332, and ¶333. The provisional period may be
extended to provide for appropriate time of formation and service in the work of
an elder. The provisional member should be licensed for pastoral ministry and
remain a provisional member of the annual conference.
4. Upon the recommendation of the Board of Ordained Ministry and by vote of the
clergy session, the person may be received into the Annual Conference as elder
in full connection.
5. These persons would be ordained as elders in full connection in the ordination
service, participate as members in the Order of Elders, and receive credentials
as an ordained elder.
97
Ex
te
ns
ion
Min
ist
rie
s
98
Extension Ministries
¶326.3
Provisional members in extension ministries
¶327.5 Provisional members in appointments
beyond the local church
¶344.1 a
1. DS’s Conference Staff
2. General Agency
3. To a UM Institution
4. Ecumenical Agency
¶344.1 b
Under Endorsement
¶344.1 c
With GBGM
¶344.1 d
Beyond the usual ministry extended
¶344.2 a Accountability to the Annual Conference
¶316.1 2008 Discipline allows for Local Pastors to
serve in extension ministries when
approved by the Bishop and the Board of
Ordained Ministry.
¶1421.5 List of settings that require ecclesiastical
endorsement
99
Elders in Extension Ministry Appointments
Elders (¶344)
Appointments may be made to a variety of settings ¶344.1
A. Appointment and Accountability
Elders in effective relationships may be appointed to a variety of settings
under the provisions of ¶344.1
1. Appointments within the connectional structures of United Methodism.
2. Appointments to extension ministries of elders in full connection under
endorsement by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry
(GBHEM). (Also refer to Endorsement tab.)
Categories of Appointment
3. Elders in service under the World Division of the General Board of Global
Ministries may be appointed to the ministries as in 1 and 2 above.
They may be assigned to service either in annual conferences or central
conferences, or with affiliated autonomous churches, independent
churches, churches resulting from the union of Methodist churches and
other communions, or in other denominational or ecumenical ministries.
4. Elders may receive appointments beyond the ministry usually extended
through the local United Methodist church and other institutions listed
above in 1 and 2 when considered by the bishop and the annual conference
Board of Ordained Ministry to be a true extension of the Christian ministry
of the church. They may be appointed to pastoral ministry in other
Christian denominations, at the request of appropriate judicatory officers of
the denomination. These ministries shall be initiated in missional response
to the needs of persons in special circumstances and unique situations and
shall reflect the commitment of the clergy to intentional fulfillment of their
ordination vows to Service, Word, Sacrament, and Order.
B. Accountability and Support
1. In addition to the accountability structure within the extension ministry
setting itself, clergy in such appointments are expected to have a charge
conference relationship in their home annual conference.
(¶344.3b) If persons are appointed outside the bounds of their home
conference, they are also expected to hold affiliate charge conference
100
relationships in a United Methodist church in the area where they are
living.
2. Clergy in extension ministry appointments must provide an annual report
to the bishop, district superintendent, charge conference, and the Board of
Ordained Ministry. Those appointed outside the bounds of their annual
conference must also submit a copy of this report to their affiliate charge
conference and the bishop in the area where they are serving. A
standardized report form (#2170) is available for use by annual
conferences. It is to be supplemented by a narrative report of ministry,
along with information regarding continuing education and evaluation.
Annual Meeting
3. The Book of Discipline calls for an annual meeting between the bishop and
those in an appointment to extension ministry, “...to gain understanding of
one another’s role and function in ministry; to report to other ordained
ministers appointed to extension ministries and to discuss with them
matters concerning the overall approach to ministry in the episcopal area; to
interpret the role and function of extension ministries to the larger church
through the offices of the bishop and his or her representatives; to nurture
the development of various ministries as significant in assisting the mission
of the Church; and to discuss specific programs and services that the bishop
and his or her representatives may initiate, in which the various ordained
ministers serving in appointments beyond the local church may be qualified
as consultants and supervisors...” (¶344.2b)
Annual Visit
4. The Book of Discipline further requires that all bishops “...shall provide for
an annual visit to the ministry setting of all persons under appointment in
extension ministries assigned within the geographical bounds of the annual
conference and shall provide a report of the visit to the bishop of persons
from other annual conferences.” (¶344.2b)
Resources Available XX. Manual on Endorsement - information on requirements and process.
YY. Resources and Relationships - information you need as a member of the Endorsed Community.
ZZ. Chaplains in the Armed Forces Guard/Reserve Program - in question/answer format, especially
helpful for cabinets and Staff Parish Relations Committees.
AAA. Ecclesiastical Approval for the Chaplain Candidate Program.
101
Deacons or Provisional Deacons Serving Beyond the Local Church
Deacons or provisional deacons serving beyond the local church are amenable to the
annual conference of which they are members and insofar as possible should
maintain close working relationship with effective participation in the work of the
annual conference.
These deacons shall submit annually to the bishops and district superintendents (DS)
a written report on the official form “Appointment of Deacon in Full Connection and
Provisional Members in the Deacon Track” (from Bishop's office). A copy of the
report shall also go to the conference Board of Ordained Ministry.
This report shall include a copy of the evaluation by the institution in which the
deacon or provisional deacon serves. The report and evaluation shall serve as the
basis for the evaluation of these deacons in light of the missional needs of the church
and the fulfillment of their ordination to ministries of Word, Service, Compassion,
and Justice. Deacons or provisional deacons serving in appointments outside the
conference in which they hold membership shall also furnish a copy of their report to
the bishop of the area in which they reside and work. (¶331.3)
The bishop shall appoint deacons or provisional deacon serving beyond the local
church to a local congregation where they will take missional responsibility for
leading other Christians into ministries of service, following consultation with the
deacons in full connection and the pastor in charge. These deacons are accountable
to the pastor in charge and the charge conference. Where the appointment is in
another episcopal area, the appointment to a local church shall be made in
consultation with the bishop of that area.
Deacons and provisional deacons who are serving outside the bounds of their annual
conference will receive an appointment to a local congregation in the area in which
their primary appointment is located. These arrangements will be made in
consultation between the two bishops.
102
En
do
rs
em
en
t
103
Ecclesiastical Endorsement, Approval, Affirmation
A. Ecclesiastical Endorsement
1. The United Methodist Endorsing Agency (UMEA) of the Division of
Ordained Ministry, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry is the
official endorsing agency for The United Methodist Church. The agency
provides the ecclesiastical endorsement for elders and deacons in full
connection, which is required of United Methodist clergy who desire to
serve as pastoral counselors or chaplains in a variety of settings. (¶1421.5)
2. Applicants must complete a process that includes an application, written
materials, status and reference checks, and an interview. Persons seeking
endorsement for ministry in non-military settings are expected to relate with
the appropriate professional pastoral care organization and receive
professional certification from that association. The initial step in this
process is a letter to the bishop requesting agreement to appoint if the
individual is endorsed. If the bishop is not willing to appoint, the
endorsement process is terminated at this point.
3. UMEA informs the bishop, the Board of Ordained Ministry chairperson, and
the district superintendent when endorsement is either granted or denied. In
addition, should endorsement be withdrawn for any reason, the bishop is
notified immediately. Annually, the section sends a list to each bishop of
those persons endorsed from his/her annual conference and requests their
reappointment. (¶1421.5)
4. In order to maintain endorsement, persons must continue under appointment.
Changes in status such as leave of absence or location should be reported to
UMEA.
B. Ecclesiastical Approval
UMEA also provides ecclesiastical approval for seminarians in the Chaplain
Candidate programs of the Armed Forces and intermittent chaplaincy service
with the Department of Veterans Affairs and The Civil Air Patrol. Affirmation
is provided for volunteer chaplaincy in police and other community
chaplaincies.
Resources Available
A. Manual on Endorsement - information on requirements and process.
B. Resources and Relationships - information you need as a member of the endorsed
community.
C. Chaplains in the Armed Forces Guard/Reserve Program - in question/answer format,
especially helpful for cabinets and staff parish relations committees.
D. Ecclesiastical Approval for the Chaplain Candidate Program.
104
Ce
rt
ific
at
ion
in S
pe
cia
liz
ed
Min
ist
ry
105
CERTIFICATION IN SPECIALIZED MINISTRY FOR ELDERS, DEACONS, DIACONAL MINISTERS, LOCAL PASTORS, AND LAITY
CERTIFICATION OF QUALIFIED PEOPLE IN SPECIALIZED
MINISTRIES in The United Methodist Church demonstrates a level of
competency and standards set by the denomination. These standards include faith
formation, academic training, and experience, membership in The United
Methodist Church, and continuing study in the area of specialization. The church’s
need for individuals who can serve to the best of their ability makes certification in
specialized ministry areas by The United Methodist Church increasingly important.
There are three tracks for Certification in The United Methodist Church:
Professional, Undergraduate, and Paraprofessional. Each track is available in
twelve areas of specialized ministry: camp/retreat ministry; children’s ministry,
Christian education, collegiate ministry, evangelism, ministry with people with
disabilities, ministry with the poor, music ministry, older adult ministry, spiritual
formation, urban ministry, and youth ministry.
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION
Professional certification is the United Methodist Church’s recognition that an
individual has been called, made a commitment to serve and has fulfilled the
required standards for academic training, experience, and continuing study to serve
with excellence in an area of specialized ministry. The church certification in
specialized ministry offered by the General Board of Higher Education and
Ministry (GBHEM) was born of the desire of individuals to serve the church with
excellence and more effectively.
Professional certification provides biblical and theological training, knowledge of
The United Methodist Church structure and resources, skill development, support,
and accountability.
Professional certification is available to lay persons, ordained deacons and elders,
diaconal ministers, and local pastors who have an undergraduate degree and take
certification courses at graduate level credit and meet the GBHEM’s standards.
UNDERGRADUATE CERTIFICATION
Undergraduate certification is available by taking an undergraduate degree at one
of the United Methodist-related colleges whose programs have been approved by
GBHEM and then completing two years employment in the area of specialized
106
ministry. After two years of employment and at least two years membership in The
United Methodist Church, application should be made to the GBHEM on Form
323790, Application for Professional Certification that can be downloaded from
www.gbhem.org/certification. A copy should be sent to the certification registrar
of the applicant’s annual conference BOM. In both instances copies of transcripts
should be sent with the application.
To request additional information on United Methodist-related colleges with
approved undergraduate programs, send an email to [email protected] or go
to the GBHEM web site at www.gbhem.org/certification .
The process for application for certification and renewal are the same as the
Professional certification.
PARAPROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION
Paraprofessional certification is available to persons who may not have an
undergraduate degree and are working in areas of specialized ministry. Not all
paraprofessional certification courses carry academic credit. This certification is
designed for those seeking training in a specialized ministry as a worker or
volunteer. Those seeking paraprofessional certification should complete a program
approved by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. These programs
are available through some jurisdictions, annual conferences, colleges and
seminaries. See www.gbhem.org/certification for approved programs.
ENROLLMENT
“Enrollment for the Professional (HE4064) and Paraprofessional (HE4065)
certification studies in Ministry Careers” is, found on web site at
www.gbhem.org/certification and must be completed and sent to the student’s
annual conference Board of Ordained Ministry (BOM) and the Division of
Ordained Ministry at GBHEM. The annual conference may want to meet with the
student before they begin their studies.
CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
1. Recognized Christian character, personal competence, integrity, and
commitment to the church’s total ministry and mission.
2. Ability to relate to people, to work with volunteers and staff, and to function
with emotional maturity and sound judgment.
3. Demonstrated leadership, ability to integrate theory and practice, an
understanding of, and commitment to the church’s ministry.
107
4. A member of The United Methodist Church for at least one (1) year before
enrolling in the certification process. Courtesy certification may be granted to
pan-Methodist members at the approval of GBHEM.
5. Knowledge of The United Methodist Church’s structure, polity, resources,
program, and mission.
6. Psychological assessment and background check is required prior to
certification
7. Two years of supervised experience in the specialized area of ministry is
required at the time of certification. Supervised experience must be approved by
the annual conference BOM and shall be defined as a contractual agreement
with supervision, accountability, evaluation, continuing education.
8. Educational Requirements
A graduate degree (a master’s degree, doctor of ministry, doctorate in
theological studies, master of divinity, master of theological studies).The
degree must include a concentration in the area of specialization and a
course in United Methodist studies (a minimum of 15 semester hours or
equivalent quarter hours). The degree must also be from a University Senate
approved seminary or a graduate degree from a United Methodist-related
college or university where the DOM has approved the graduate program for
certification.
OR
A Bachelor’s Degree and Graduate Course – a bachelor’s degree plus five
(5) graduate certification courses in the area of specialization including
United Methodist studies. Courses must be taken at a UM Senate approved
seminary or from a UM-related college or university where DOM has
approved the graduate degree for the fulfillment of the requirements for
certification.
9. There should be an expressed commitment to continuing education that
includes a planned program to enrich both personal and professional growth.
Such a program shall include: 1) reading; 2) study – individual and group
learning events; 3) participation in professional, community, denominational,
and ecumenical groups; 4) renewal of spiritual life; and 5) evaluation by the
immediate supervisor.
10. Be a member of a group or association related to the area of specialization.
APPLICATION PROCESS CERTIFICATION
When all the course work is completed, an “Application” for Professional
Certification (form 323790) or Paraprofessional Certification (form HE4066) must
be sent to the annual conference BOM and a copy of the application with a copy of
transcripts to the Division of Ordained Ministry, Certification in Specialized
Ministries, GBHEM, P. O. Box 340007, Nashville, TN 37203-0007.
108
Upon receipt of your application,
1. The Division of Ordained Ministry of GBHEM will
Verify that the educational requirements have been met,
Examine transcripts,
Verify employment experience and
Church membership.
2. Your annual conference BOM will
Contact the three references given in the application, asking for their
evaluation on the form HE4012 prepared by the GBHEM,
Administer a psychological assessment and background check,
Schedule an interview,
Verify your local church membership, abilities, skills, experience, and
leadership position in chosen field;
Make a recommendation to the annual conference BOM concerning
certification.
3. If the application is approved by the annual conference BOM, a certificate will
be sent by GBHEM to the annual conference BOM for presentation during the
next annual conference session.
The annual conference BOM will keep a record of all certified persons and the
areas of certification and publish names annually in the conference journal. When
certified people transfer from one annual conference to another, his/her records are
forwarded to the new annual conference BOM.
The continuing validity of certification is dependent upon a biennial review and
renewal by the certified person. Form HE4004 Biennial Review and Renewal for
Professional/Paraprofessional Certification prepared by the GBHEM available
from the annual conference BOM or on www.gbhem.org/certification.
BIENNIAL REVIEW AND RENEWAL
1. Form HE4004, “Request for Review and Renewal of
Professional/Paraprofessional Certification” must be completed every other
year (even years) regardless of the year of entrance and sent to the annual
conference BOM.
2. The annual conference BOM will make renewal status recommendations to the
annual conference and inform GBHEM.
3. Evaluation of certified people should be completed by their supervisor.
4. Renewal of certification is permissible for certified persons currently not
serving in a United Methodist setting, or unemployed, but who wish to keep
109
their certification valid. To maintain certification, the person is expected to
actively participate in his/her area of ministry.
5. Certification is valid for as long as the individual wishes, provided all
requirements are fulfilled and the biennial review is updated.
6. The annual conference BOM may withhold certification renewal for a valid
cause, subject to the right of the individual to appeal to the annual conference.
7. Certified people may give up their status upon written notification to the annual
conference BOM. If through oversight or neglect, the conference fails to act in
the matter of biennial renewal of certification, the status of the person should
not be jeopardized, and the conference should act quickly to correct the
deficiency.
8. If certification is allowed to lapse by failure of the certified person, the person
must then meet the current standards in force to be recertified.
Conference Transfer
When a person certified in specialized ministry moves to another annual
conference, their certification records are transferred to the new annual conference.
The transferring person shall write to the new conference BOM requesting a
transfer of his/her certification status from the former conference and shall send a
copy of the request to the former conference. The new conference BOM shall
review the request and upon approval, shall notify the former conference board that
will send the certified person’s accumulated file to the new conference
110
Index SECTIONS: Associate Members…………………………………………………………………………….73
Certification in Specialized Ministry…………………………………………… ................. 104
Clergy Session…………………………………………………………………………………... 7
Conference Relations…………………………………………………………. ........................ 86
Deacons…………………………………………………………………. .................................. 29
Elders………………………………………………………………………………… .............. 49
Endorsement…………………………………………………………………… ..................... 102
Extension Ministries………………………………………………………….. ........................ 97
Local Pastor…………………………………………………………………………………. ... 65
Orders and Fellowship ............................................................................................................. 19
Provisional Membership…………………………………………………………………… ... 77
Admission & Continuance of Full Membership In Annual Conference .............................. 56
Annual Conference ¶370………………………………………………….. ............................... 8
Appointment of Deacon and Provisional Deacon ................................................................... 32
Appointment of Deacon Form .................................................................................................. 33
Appointments to Various Ministries ........................................................................................ 57
Basic Discipline Paragraphs...................................................................................................... 21
Basic Guidelines for the Order of Deacons and Order of Elders .......................................... 23
Basic Guidelines for the Fellowship of Local Pastors & Associate Members…………… .. 28
Categories of Local Pastors ....................................................................................................... 69
Certification in Specialized Ministry …………………………………….. ..... …………….104
Changing from One Order to Another Order ........................................................................ 91
Clergy Session............................................................................................................................... 7
Commissioned Provisional Member in the Elder Track
Who Seek to be Ordained Deacon in Full Connection ....................................................... 95
Commissioned Provisional Member in the Deacon Track
Who Seek to be Ordained Elder in Full Connection .......................................................... 96
Commissioning ........................................................................................................................... 82
Conference Relations ................................................................................................................. 86
Continuance as a Local Pastor.................................................................................................. 70
Deacons and the Sacraments .................................................................................................... 40
Deacons and Provisional Deacon Serving Beyond the Local Church ................................... 35
Deacons Serving as Sole Pastor of a Church ........................................................................... 38
Definition of a Pastor ................................................................................................................. 61
Ecclesiastical Endorsement, Approval, Affirmation…………………………….................103
Elders in Extension Ministry Appointments ........................................................................... 99
Eligibility and Rights of Provisional Members ....................................................................... 84
Endorsement………………………………………………………………………………. .... 102
Exiting, Reinstatement, & Retirements of Local Pastors ....................................................... 71
Who are not Provisional Members
Extension Ministries .................................................................................................................. 97
Interim License for Pastoral Ministry ..................................................................................... 68
111
Involuntary Leave……………………………………………………………………………. . 89
License for Pastoral Ministry ................................................................................................... 66
License for Provisional Members Preparing to Become
Deacons in Full Connection................................................................................................... 30
Local Pastor Licensed for Pastoral Ministry........................................................................... 15
Local Pastor Seeking to Transfer to Another Annual Conference………………………….68
Ministry, Authority and Responsibility of Elder .................................................................... 51
NonSalaried, Less than Full-Time and Across Conference ................................................... 44
to Other Denominations
Ordained Deacon ....................................................................................................................... 11
Ordained Deacon, Elder, Associate Member and those Licensed ......................................... 17
for Pastoral Ministry in Appointments Extending the Ministry of Christ
Ordained Deacons Who Seek to be Ordained Elder ............................................................. 94
Ordained Elder..................................................................................................................... 13, 50
Ordained Elders Who Seek to be Ordained Deacon .............................................................. 93
Order of Deacons and the Order of Elders ............................................................................. 20
Process for Clergy Members to Change Orders ¶309.2……………………………….. ....... 92
Provisional Membership ........................................................................................................... 77
Qualifications for Election to Provisional Membership ......................................................... 78
Questions for Reflection on Clergy Orders ............................................................................. 25
Recommendations to Annual Conference Boards of Ordained Ministry ............................. 91
for Persons Changing from One Order to Another Order
Requirements for Admission to Elder and Ordination as Elder ........................................... 53
Responsibilities & Duties of Elders and Local Pastors .......................................................... 61
Responsibilities & Duties of those Licensed for Pastoral Ministry ....................................... 67
Salary and Benefits for Deacons and Provisional Deacons .................................................... 45
Service of Provisional Members ............................................................................................... 83
Termination and Support for Deacons and Provisional Deacons ......................................... 47
Transitional Leave ..................................................................................................................... 91
Unauthorized Conduct of Elder ............................................................................................... 64
Voluntary Leave……………………………………………………………………… ............. 87
Voluntary or Involuntary Leave……………………………………………………………... 90
112
Division of Ordained Ministry
General Board of Higher Education and Ministry
The United Methodist Church
P. O. Box 340007
Nashville, TN 37203-0007
www.gbhem.org
Preparing a New Generation of Christian Leaders
