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| Many times, people come to me with
questions -- about God, Jesus, the church, salvation...and "nuts and bolts"
questions about how to apply the Christian faith to a situation with their
uncle, their job, their daughter's teacher, etc. My experience is that usually, if one person has a question, there are a lot of other people wondering about something similar. If that weren't true, why would Dr. Phil and Dr. Laura be so famous? =) So here is a forum where you can ask questions and get them answered, as well as reading the questions and answers of others. Click on the link below to send your question to Ask Pastor Ron, and within short order your question and answer will appear in this space. If you prefer to keep your question (and the answer) private, no problem! Just say so in your letter, and your privacy will be honored. Click here to send your question
Dear Pastor Ron:
A large local United Methodist church recently announced that the bishop is transferring its minister to another parish, against the wishes of both the minister and his present congregation. Assuming Methodist bishops control other seemingly "local" issues, what is the appeal of Methodism over other "mainstream" Protestant denominations, such as Presbyterianism? Two of the biggest governmental differences between United Methodists and Presbyterians are: 1) The assignment of ministers, and 2) The UMC is a worldwide organization. In both of these, Methodists are more like Roman Catholics than they are like Presbyterians, who organize on a nation-to-nation basis. In many other ways, Methodists are more like Presbyterians, including the fact that most "local" issues within a Methodist church are decided by the local church's governing board. From a minister's standpoint, the Methodist system of clergy assignment has both advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage is "job security," as a UMC minister will virtually always have an assignment. The main disadvantage is less control over one's own destiny, exactly as in the case you have referred to. From a congregation's standpoint, you are absolutely right that a church can be very happy with its pastor and vice versa, and the relationship gets broken beyond both of their control. Speaking as a Presbyterian, it's hard to see the benefit in this. The main benefit might be in situations where a congregation is unhappy with its pastor, and/or there has been a happy relationship but "it's time to move on." In these cases, the transition could be a little bit smoother when there is someone else, outside the local congregation, who does the "dirty jobs." --Pastor Ron |
