Bishops examine roles, appointments process
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Bishops William Morris and Hope
Morgan Ward discuss a task force report on the episcopacy during the
Council of Bishops meeting in Springmaid Beach, S.C.
UMNS photos by Linda Green.
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By Linda Green*
May 10, 2007 | SPRINGMAID BEACH, S.C. (UMNS)
The United Methodist Church "must face an inconvenient truth" to
reverse its 40-year decline in U.S. membership, worship attendance and
church school attendance, its bishops agree.
"There are many roles to be played in facing the truth of our church
in the United States," said Iowa Bishop Gregory Palmer, chairman of the
internal Council of Bishops Episcopacy Study Task Force.
In a May 3 task force report to the denomination's Council of
Bishops, Palmer told colleagues that retooling its leadership processes
for lay members, clergy and bishops "is essential to reversing this
decline."
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Bishop Gregory Palmer
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Since 1964, United Methodist membership in the United States has
decreased 27 percent, despite the nation's population growth by 54
percent. The percentage of youth members declined from one in seven in
1964 to one in 21 in 2005. Also in 2005, approximately 41 percent of its
U.S. churches received no members on profession of faith.
The bishops are responding - beginning with themselves - by looking
internally and asking "what is the role of episcopal leadership in
making disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the
world?"
In examining their call, resources and accountability, the bishops
must focus on their relationship to "God's vision for the church they
have been called to serve," according to the report. "In this light,
episcopal leadership gains its power not from the office but from its
alignment with the larger call of God's purpose."
The episcopacy also is being studied by a separate task force created
by the 2004 General Conference. That study group - with members from
the Council of Bishops, jurisdictional episcopacy committees and the
United Methodist Council on Finance and Administration - will report its
findings to the 2008 General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas.
Clergy appointments
The task force identified the system of "guaranteed appointment" of
clergy as one of the biggest hurdles to reviving the church. The bishops
also addressed the issue of ineffective pastoral leadership.
"The greatest drain on our time and energy
that keeps us from leading proactively in our mission of making
disciples ... is dealing with ineffective clergy." -Bishop Robert Schnase"The
greatest drain on our time and energy that keeps us from leading
proactively in our mission of making disciples ... is dealing with
ineffective clergy," said Missouri Area Bishop Robert Schnase, noting
that the corporate world is shifting from a system of "guaranteed
employment" to employees having to demonstrate that they are "guaranteed
employable."
The bishops will ask the 2008 General Conference, the denomination's
top lawmaking body, to redefine "guaranteed appointment" - in which
ordained elders are assigned to local churches regardless of their
effectiveness. The term was adopted in 1956 to protect pastors from
arbitrary, sexist or racist abuses of authority, requiring bishops to
appoint every elder in good standing in their respective annual
conferences.
While not suggesting that the appointments system be completely
replaced, the council is requesting General Conference to amend the
"guaranteed appointment" section to enable bishops to deal with
ineffective pastors.
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Bishops Alfred Norris, Jonathan Keaton and Herbert Skeete share a moment during the April 29-May 4 gathering.
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The United Methodist Book of Discipline (Paragraphs 334.2 and
334.3) now place the burden on the bishop and the bishop's cabinet to
determine a pastor's ineffectiveness. Palmer said the proposal would
make pastors responsible for proving their effectiveness.
"It moves guaranteed appointment from a right of clergy to a
privilege that requires evidence of growth in vocational competence and
effectiveness and a willingness to accept the missional strategy of the
bishop reflected in the appointment process," said the report.
Clarifying the role of the bishop
The bishops are submitting legislative petitions to improve the
effectiveness of their own servant leadership and accountability as the
council seeks to clarify the role of a bishop in the 21st century.
The council voted to continue discussing several recommendations from its Episcopacy Study Task Force including:
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Increasing the normal length of a bishop's assignment to an
area beyond 12 years to assist conferences in accomplishing goals and
foster relationships among bishops and political leaders;
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Raising the retirement age for bishops by two years, to 68;
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Requiring jurisdictional committees on episcopacy to set up an
evaluation process to review bishop commitment to the transformation of
the church and world, passion for unity of the church and ministry of
administration, among other things.
Bishops are to vote on these items and respond by mail ballot before
September so that petitions can be submitted to General Conference.
The council tabled the idea of dedicating one bishop to the four-year
job as president of the Council of Bishops, rather than the current
system in which the council president also maintains responsibilities
for an Episcopal area. The change would require a constitutional
amendment.
*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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2008 General Conference
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