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Church agency examines forms of ministry for lay, clergy

Oct. 18, 2005

NOTE: Photographs are available at http://umns.umc.org.

By Ciona D. Rouse*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - The United Methodist Board of Higher Education
and Ministry is planning a series of churchwide discussions on the types
of pastoral ministry offered in the denomination.

The conversations will be held in regional focus groups and are intended
to help clarify the forms of ministry for lay, licensed and ordained
ministry - including the episcopacy - in the United Methodist Church.

During its Oct. 13-16 meeting, the board invited its directors to be
active participants in the discussions.

Directors of the board's Division of Ordained Ministry participated in a
shortened version of the dialogues Oct. 14. In small groups, they
discussed the church's identity and how the ordering of ministry
reflects its mission and ministry.

Topics in the small groups included what it means to make disciples, the
distinctiveness of the different orders of ministry, how the orders work
together and points of clarity that are needed concerning the itinerant
system of moving pastors.

"People were really, really drawn into that discussion," said Bishop
Gregory Palmer, board president and leader of the denomination's Iowa
Area. "It was an inspiring discussion. If what we've done here spreads
out throughout the church, this will contribute to the church having
important affirmation and clarification in regards to its ministry."

At its 2004 General Conference, the denomination's top legislative body
resolved that the Board of Higher Education and Ministry consult with
the Council of Bishops and the Board of Discipleship to form a
commission to study the "ordering of ministry for the mission of making
disciples of Jesus Christ." The focus groups convening across the United
Methodist Church are part of the commission's strategy to explore the
basis for the ministry structure.

In addition to study groups, the commission launched an online survey at
www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=586421395595 to broaden the scope of the
conversation. Findings from the conversations and survey will be
included in a report to the 2008 General Conference and possibly lead to
the creation of new legislation.

The conversations will occur during the next six to nine months,
according to the Rev. Robert Kohler, assistant general secretary of the
Division of Ordained Ministry. Conversations are scheduled in Virginia
and Germany.

"We want as much information as we can generate for this study," Kohler
said.

"The study's important for the church in order for the denomination to
clarify its understanding of our present order of ministry, our present
ordination and how our ordering and ordination support the mission and
ministry of the United Methodist Church," said the Rev. Mary Ann Moman,
associate general secretary of the board's Division of Ordained
Ministry.

The Board of Higher Education and Ministry is the United Methodist
agency responsible for the recruitment, theological training and
education of church leaders.

In addition to the study, the board of directors participated in ongoing
strategic planning for the agency.

In an Oct. 13 address to directors, the Rev. Jerome King Del Pino, top
staff executive of the agency, presented a vision for the board to lead
the denomination in conversation about stewardship.

"As the agency mandated to serve as 'advocate for the intellectual life
of the church,' I submit that the General Board of Higher Education and
Ministry has a seminal role to play in provoking and nurturing this
conversation," Del Pino said.

When considering stewardship, he said, United Methodists must not live
in the "economy of the market society, which is an economy of debt and
scarcity" but should live out of "God's economy, (which is) one of
abundance grounded in the extravagance of divine grace."

"It is within this larger context of communal life, grounded in the
extravagance of God's gift of love, that our responsibility to share of
the abundance of our material and financial resources must be understood
and practiced," Del Pino said.

During their strategic planning, the directors participated in a process
initially involving 10 potential strategic issues the board should
address. At the top of their list, they want to lead the church in
attracting, enlisting and educating more young people for Christian
vocation. Additionally, the group stressed the importance of working
closely with local churches in strategic planning.

"The completed strategic plan will give extra sharp focus to the board's
mission and ministry and help to encourage synergy around all that were
involved in its shaping," Palmer said.

In other action:

"	The Division of Higher Education approved the Rev. Ken Bedell,
pastor of Archbold (Ohio) United Methodist Church, as the new associate
general secretary for the Division of Higher Education. Bedell will
begin Feb. 1. Wanda Bigham, the assistant general secretary of schools,
colleges and universities for the Division of Higher Education, serves
as associate general secretary in the interim.

"	The Board of Higher Education and Ministry held a banquet Oct.
15 honoring Ken Yamada, who finished his tenure as associate general
secretary Oct. 7 and is now special assistant to Del Pino for global
education and new initiatives.

"	The Loans and Scholarships Committee created an endowed Special
Seminary Scholarship to fund 50 seminarians up to $2,000 beginning next
year. To be eligible, a student must be working on a master of divinity
degree, pursuing ordained ministry as a vocation, be age 30 or younger
upon applying and have a grade point average of 2.85. The committee also
reported that it had awarded more than $31 million in scholarships and
loans to more than 21,206 students in the last four years. The committee
met with 13 scholarship recipients in the Nashville area following its
business meeting.

"	The United Methodist Endorsing Agency endorsing committee
approved 28 applicants for specialized ministries.

"	The Rev. Wilfried Nausner of Graz, Austria, replaced Bishop
Patrick Streiff as the central conference board member from the church's
Central and Southern Europe Area. Streiff resigned at the board meeting
as a result of his election to the episcopacy last April.

*Rouse is a freelance writer in Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org

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