Oooooooh,
Thank you so much for noticing that error. It was a typo. It should have been "Lay" Servant.
So I attend a denomination which is about to split likely next year. I do not support gay unions/etc but some do
in the United Methodist Church and the church (global) will likely split as a result. I know that sometimes I mention
that I attend at UMC church people initially think that I support gay marriage, and I don't and many UMC churches do not.
Now that I have that out of the way, in the United Methodist Church Pastors are ordained by the Conference. The pastors
are not members in the church but members in the conference and the conference appoints them to the churches.
This is called
itineracy ( read more here:
To be United Methodist: What is “itineracy”? | ResourceUMC )
And every so often they are moved to different churches so that the body of Christ does not get too attached to one individual
but is reminded that it is about God, not the preacher, and further so that the ministers of God can be moved around the conference
and share their spiritual gifts. My father was a UMC, he stayed at one assignment for 10 years, however, every year he had
to be reviewed by the conference to see if that was going to be his assignment next year. Pros and Cons to that system.
Anywho, when the pastor is not present "Lay Servants" fill in and they preach and bring the WORD and lead worship.
I completed such a program through here (
Home - BeADisciple.com )
These were the classes that I had to take to be a certified (
Lay Servant Ministries - BeADisciple.com )
So thanks again for recognizing that error, I meant to say Lay Servant Minister. Meaning a Lay person (non-clergy) who
has not attended Seminary school which the Pastors in the UMC attend, ( 4 year Theology degree from a Bible College )
but has completed a shorter program so that they can preach in the absence of the pastor.
----- From the
itineracy link above --------------
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, preached up to 40,000 sermons in his lifetime. He was an “itinerant” preacher, traveling from town to town in England, setting up Methodist societies.
In the days of Francis Asbury, the first of two Methodist bishops in the United States, a pastor – most often a circuit rider – might be appointed to half of a state or more. His appointment might be for only three months, after which he moved to another circuit. Thousands of the oldest United Methodist congregations today trace their history to a circuit rider.
This traveling from place to place to begin Methodist societies in principle led to the itinerant system The United Methodist Church uses today.
“Itinerancy” refers specifically to the commitment by pastors to go and serve wherever their bishops send them. “Appointment” is the action taken by bishops. These are different, yet related.
