wfn.org | United Methodist Church draws pastors from other traditions

[NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG]

Dec. 11, 2000 News media contact: Linda Green·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-21-30-71B{557}

By Linda Green*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) -- Each year, about 35 pastors from other faith
traditions transfer into the United Methodist Church, drawn by its theology,
ministerial style and diversity.

The transfers come primarily from the Baptist and Pentecostal traditions,
and relatively few are from other Methodist denominations, according to the
United Methodist Division of Ordained Ministry in Nashville. 

In the past five years, an average of 36 pastors annually have transferred
in the denomination from other Christian traditions, according to the
statistical office at the United Methodist General Council on Finance and
Administration in Evanston, Ill.

Pastors like the United Methodist Church's wider latitude in theology,
practical ministerial style, openness to gender and ethnic diversity, and
evangelical fervor, said the Rev. Kil Sang Yoon, a staff member of the
United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville.

They are also eager to join because of the number of pastorates available
and as a result of solicitation by district superintendents, said the Rev.
Robert Kohler, an executive in the division. "The United Methodist Church
provides a stable environment for ministry. We have a stronger support
system that encourages people to seek employment in the United Methodist
Church."

That support system was in evidence Dec. 4-6, when the division brought 60
new African-American pastors together in Nashville to learn about the
denomination and resources available to them. The pastors were transfers
from other communions, recent seminary graduates or ministers serving their
first United Methodist appointment.

The orientation, the first of its kind, was the United Methodist Board of
Higher Education and Ministry's response to the denomination's Strengthening
the Black Church for the 21st Century initiative. Each board and agency in
the church has been challenged to come up with an action plan to help the
initiative strengthen the 2,500 black churches across the country.

African-American transfers reflect the Wesleyan heritage and Baptist
tradition, and to some degree the Pentecostal church, according to the
ordained ministry office. When pastors transfer from other Methodist
denominations, they understand the polity and organization of the church
pretty well, Kohler said. "The exception might be of Korean transfers
because their church is organized like a Presbyterian Church." 

Looking at other ethnic groups, Kohler said that Hispanic transfers
generally have a Wesleyan or Pentecostal background. The Wesleyan heritage
can be seen in the Methodists from the Caribbean, the Nazarene Church and
the Methodist Church of Mexico. 

He added that the United Methodist Church's Native American pastors usually
come from within the denomination itself.

The absolute number of pastors transferring in is relatively small and has
not increased in 10 years, but United Methodist pastors are increasingly
from other denominations, Kohler said.

He is seeing more Baptist candidates seeking to become United Methodist
pastors, as well as an increase in Baptist pastors who want to transfer
because of conflicts in their tradition. 

"The conflicts are either forcing them or encouraging them to look at
alternatives," he said. "In some instances, they are no longer employable in
the Baptist Church because of divorce, or in some cases, they are no longer
in agreement with the basic beliefs of the Baptist Church and are looking
for other alternatives."

Kohler told the African-American pastors that regardless of whether they
came from a tradition that emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit, they
should know that "John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, was
himself Pentecostal. He would see himself as pietistic or Pentecostal
because he was open to the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of
Christians. In fact, he embarrassed the whole Church of England because he
believed in the work of the Spirit in the lives of people." Wesley was
willing to take religious emotion and feeling seriously, while the Church of
England wanted to base religion on thought rather than the work of the
Spirit, he said.

He reminded the participants that the Bible is first in the lives of
theologians in the United Methodist Church. "We will cast all of our faith
in the life of the Scripture. Scriptures are the foundations of our belief,
and we will constantly turn back to it for guidance. And above all else, we
will trust the word of the Lord.  Now, we may not go as far as some of our
Baptist friends who believe every word of Scripture is perfect, but we will
trust the word of God."

The sessions touched on the origins of Methodism in England, the
participation and contributions of African-Americans in American Methodism,
the ethos of the church, pastoral authority, leadership styles and the
denomination's connectional nature.  

For new pastors transferring into the church or going through the candidacy
process, the most important requirement is to learn and support the
tradition of itinerancy, the episcopacy, connectionalism and accountability,
Kohler said. "This is important because in the United Methodist system a
pastor does not function independently of the will of the bishop or the
annual conference," he said. "Pastors are not independent agents. They are
under the will of the annual conference and under the supervision of the
bishop. Our expectation is that pastors will follow the instruction of a
bishop in matters of appointment."

During the orientation session, participants also engaged in small dialogue
sessions to form networks of support with one another. The process prompted
some to observe that they were not alone in navigating the paths necessary
to become effective pastors in the denomination. 

Many pastors had specific questions for resolving conflict in their
congregations, but most wanted answers to questions about the authority of
the pastor and how to rectify damage that occurred before they were
appointed to their churches.   

Some pastors were encouraged to take the reins of control, and others were
told to use conflict mediation personnel available from the annual
conference. Numerous pastors said they were constantly hampered in their
ministry by authoritarian church boards and trustees, or by additional
church structures not outlined in the United Methodist Book of Discipline.
In those cases, the solution offered was to make the district superintendent
aware of the problem and to allow the district superintendent to rectify the
situation.  

The Rev. Andrew Gardner, a member of the orientation design team and pastor
of Lenexa (Kan.) United Methodist Church, warned the ministers against
letting former pastors prejudice them toward members of the congregation. He
encouraged the new pastors to overlook the "watch out for" lists of a
predecessor because the person or people with whom that pastor found
difficulty, "may turn out to be your best friend."  

In a panel discussion about resolving conflict within the congregation and
the role of the pastor, the Rev. Zan Holmes, pastor of St. Luke Community
United Methodist Church in Dallas reminded participants that they were
responsible for helping the church where they are appointed establish a
vision and help making disciples for Jesus Christ.  "We have the chief
responsibility of enabling the church to be the church God is calling it to
be."

Holmes, also an adjunct professor of homiletics at Perkins School of
Theology, encouraged the pastors to not "underestimate their ability to
resolve conflict in some way."   

Other participants in the orientation session were the Rev. Lillian Smith,
the Rev. Marion Jackson and the Rev. Luther Felder, staff members from the
United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry; the Rev. Richard
Stewart, a former staff member; and Gerald Richardson, a former board
member.
# # #
*Green is news director of the Nashville, Tenn.,-based office of United
Methodist News Service.

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United Methodist News Service
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