Elders and Deacons...a question

[meganahan]

When you were discerning your call, did you always know that you were called to be an elder? Or did you always know that you were called to be a deacon?

OR did the inquiry process help you figure out where you belong?

 

[GodsAmbassador2Nicolette]

In my area, Methodist Churches don't really have Elders or Deacons. We have layleaders and a Sunday School Superintendent and the committee chairs. We say elders of the church, but we are referring to older men in the church that play a prominent role, but not as in an actual title. The Baptist churches around us though have Deacons, not sure about Elders.

 

[meganahan]

In my area, Methodist Churches don't really have Elders or Deacons. We have layleaders and a Sunday School Superintendent and the committee chairs. We say elders of the church, but we are referring to older men in the church that play a prominent role, but not as in an actual title. The Baptist churches around us though have Deacons, not sure about Elders.

In the United Methodist Church, Elders are Ordained pastors. Deacons are also ordained clergy. Are you not part of the United Methodist Church, but instead part of another type of Methodist church?

http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=258 I used this source to get the definitions below.

elder
A person ordained to a lifetime ministry of service, word, sacrament and order. He or she is authorized to preach and teach God’s word, to administer the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion, and to order the life of the church for mission and ministry.
Source: Sharing God's Gifts Glossary of United Methodist Terms

Glossary of Terms: Term definition
deacon
An ordained clergyperson who is called to serve all people, particularly the poor, the sick, and the oppressed, and to equip and lead the laity in ministries of compassion, justice and service in the world. In this capacity, he or she leads the church in relating the gathered community to their ministries in the world, thus connecting the church’s worship with its service in the world. A deacon has the authority to teach and proclaim God's Word, to lead in worship, to assist elders in the administration of the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion, to perform the marriage ceremony where the laws of the state permit, and to bury the dead.

 

[GraceSeeker]

In the United Methodist Church, Elders are Ordained pastors. Deacons are also ordained clergy. Are you not part of the United Methodist Church, but instead part of another type of Methodist church?

The membership of ordained ministers (elders and deacons) is not held in the local church, but in the Annual Conference.

You are correct in what you told GodsAmbassador2Nicolette, the offices she spoke of are the various ministries fulfilled by the laity of a local congregation. Many other denominations give the title of deacon or elder to special lay leadership positions in their respective congregations. Not so the United Methodist Church. Our ordained clergy are in one of two orders, the Order of Deacons or the Order of Elder. Paragraph 306 of The Discipline states:

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.

Now, to answer your other question. When I was first experienced the sense of being called into ministry, there was no established permament Order of Deacon. Rather we had a two-step process toward becoming an elder, in which a person was first ordained as a deacon with the expectation that it was only a temporary phase (you could only be so ordained for 8 years) before becoming an elder (or dropping out). Then we also had the non-ordained but consecrated status of Diaconial Minister.

The candidacy process was itself meaningless to me. My sense of calling came quite apart from anything that I participated in through the life of the church -- at least not the administrative structures and programs. It was my hands-on involvement in ministry within the church, my personal devotional life, and my Christian fellowship with others that helped me to sense and affirmed my calling. And, yes, I always knew I was called to be an elder because I knew I was called specificaly to pastoral ministry. If you are not sure of where it is you are being called to serve, and only that you are being called to serve it may be that your experience of this process is going to be different than mine. And that is OK. Indeed that is the intention of the Candidacy Process to help you sort through that calling if you don't have a specific sense of it, but only a more general one.

Now, I am tempted go on and even give you a little more of an answer than you have asked for. But the Spirit is gently nudging me to stop. So, I shall listen, and wait to hear if you have other questions.

 

[kelco]

When you were discerning your call, did you always know that you were called to be an elder? Or did you always know that you were called to be a deacon?

OR did the inquiry process help you figure out where you belong?

Yes since I first discerned my call I've always known that I am called to pastoral ministry, specifically a local pastor. I've read all the literature and am working on becoming a certified candidate. I'm working through the guidebook now and all it has really done for me is to give me a headache.
Like GraceSeeker none of the programs or administrative duties in the church have really been helpful to me in discerning my calling. More than anything it has been the chance I've had in the last year to work closely with my pastor. Being involved in helping him in his ministry and just generally allowing him and his wife to become an important part of my life has really helped me to see that being a local pastor is what God is calling me to do. But if you are searching for where you belong I can see the candidacy program helping you.. Everyone hears their call differently and I think that God calls us to the part of the ministry we have the most talents and gifts for.

 

[meganahan]

For me, the toughest part is figuring out how ordained ministry fits in with another important ministry.....my marriage to my pastor husband.

 

[GraceSeeker]

For me, the toughest part is figuring out how ordained ministry fits in with another important ministry.....my marriage to my pastor husband.

It may or may not fit. But I would think that if the call is of God that it would fit, and that if the call is not of God ... well, then, let me just say I hope you follow God's call and not some human endeavor.

In my conference are many ordained elders married to one another. In fact one of my best friends from college is a pastor and married to another pastor who has since become another of my best friends. They have had ministries where they were placed serving churches 10-15 miles apart and would see each other only in the evening. They have served as co-pastors at a mid-sized church where each was considered 3/4 time. They have served as co-pastors at a large church where at first each was full time, and then he became half-time at the church and half-time a member of conference staff. Now they serve in a new church where she is the solo pastor and he still has his conference staff position which has become full-time. So, there are all sorts of ways that this can be worked out. Others I have known have had one of the pastoral spouse simply take sabbatical leave for a period of time. But difficult as it may be for the cabinet to find an appropriate appointment with the "tethers" that can be attached, I have yet to see someone put in the positon where it was their ministry or their marriage. Not that there aren't unique challenges to having two pastors married to each other, but in general they are no more difficult than any other two professionals face.