Ministerial Appointments: Pastor

725. The pastor shall administer the spiritual and temporal affairs of the church in keeping with The Discipline and other general and district regulations and shall be responsible to:

General

(1) Study the Scriptures, pray, and do the work assigned.

(2) Seek, by all means, the conversion of sinners, the sanctification of believers, and the upbuilding of God’s people in the most holy faith.

(3) Pray to God for and with the flock.

(4) Feed the flock by reading, expounding, teaching, and preaching the Word.

(5) Have the general guidance, under the Holy Spirit, of the religious services and cultivate the practice of corporate worship.

(6) Administer, if an ordained (313:1), commissioned (3059:2a), or licensed minister (3044:1), the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Each pastor is encouraged to provide for the observance of the Lord’s Supper at least once each month, but is required to do so at least once every three months (293). A supply pastor shall secure the services of an ordained (313:1), commissioned (3059:2), or licensed minister (3044:1) who is a pastor, for such observance (3260:2), except when authorization has been granted by a district superintendent as provided in 3260:2.

(7) Solemnize, if an ordained (313:1), commissioned (3059:2a), or licensed minister (3044:1), the rite of matrimony, in keeping with the Scriptures and The Discipline (265:6; 3111-3112); to counsel with those being married and those already married, emphasizing the spiritual values in all phases of marital and parental life, seeking to develop the spiritual ideals and resources necessary to build permanent unions and godly homes (410:6).

(8) Comfort the bereaved and to bury the dead.

(9) Provide pastoral guidance and oversight through visitation and counsel to the members of the church and to others in need of a pastor’s help. The minister, as counselor, has the right to protect the conversation with a counselee as privileged communication.

(10) Keep all members fully conversant with the Christian lifestyle set forth in the Guides and Helps to Holy Living and the biblical basis for the same, and to maintain with diligence and love adherence to these membership requirements (260-268).

(11) Be responsible for the instruction of all prospective members in the Articles of Religion, Guides and Helps to Holy Living, and polity of The Wesleyan Church, and in the meaning and purpose of church membership, holding or arranging for membership classes for all members (566-570; 782:8.

(12) Administer the ritual of membership and to give the right hand of fellowship on behalf of the church to new members (553:4; 5550-5595).

(13) Grant, in conjunction with the local church secretary, letters of transfer, recommendation, or withdrawal (575; 590; 592; 6000–6040).

(14) Receive any complaint or accusation against any member of a church under personal care, and to give such prompt and careful attention as required under the Judiciary (5000–5004) and the General Board Policy on Church Discipline and Ministerial Restoration, and to refer any matter requiring official investigation or judicial proceedings to the local board of administration for disposition (782:10).

(15) Preside as chair of the local church conference and the local board of administration except as otherwise provided (635; 770–773), and to oversee and direct all departments and local church organizations as the chief executive officer.

Administrative

(16) Serve as a voting member of boards and committees established by the local board of administration, and to meet with boards and committees as time will permit.

(17) Give leadership to the missionary, evangelistic, educational, and devotional programs of the local church in harmony with objectives and programs of the district and the General Church.

(18) Promote all the interests of the General Church and the district in the local church, in the manner and to the extent authorized by the General Conference, the General Board, and the district conference.

(19) See, together with the local board of administration, that the United Stewardship Fund and all other obligations are met in full; and to protect the church from solicitations not authorized by the General Church or the district.

(20) Promote stewardship, emphasizing tithing and the storehouse plan as a part of the Christian’s total stewardship (460–475), and to see that tithes and freewill offerings are collected regularly.

(21) See that all church property is properly secured according to The Discipline and the local laws, with all legal papers submitted to the district superintendent for approval.

(22) See that no steps are taken involving the church in financial liability without proper authorization from the local board of administration and local church conference, or without the approval of the district board of administration when such financial liability involves the mortgaging or other encumbering of the church property (655:11; 782:28–32; 1233:30).

(23) See that all property and building transactions are carried out as set forth in 4700–4728.

(24) Circulate holiness literature.

(25) Have general supervision of the spiritual formation of the local church, organizing classes for the instruction of adults, youth, and children in the Word of God and for Christian living, and providing for the instruction and inspiration of the leaders in spiritual formation.

(26) Enlist laborers for the gospel ministry, and for missionary and other special work, encouraging and helping them to prepare for their God-appointed task at educational institutions provided by The Wesleyan Church; to sign, in conjunction with the local church secretary (830:3), licenses for lay ministers granted by the local church conference (655:7; 782:19); and to have the oversight over all lay ministers.

(27) Nominate to the local board of administration an assistant pastor (741) or a lay assistant to the pastor; to nominate to the local board of administration all members of the employed staff, and to supervise, with the assistance of the local board of administration, the services of all employed staff members.

(28) See that up-to-date files are kept on church constituency and membership, and to be ready to turn over such lists to the successor in office (610; 830:2, 5).

(29) See that adequate historical records and financial records are maintained for the church (610; 842:2, 6).

(30) See that all necessary data are collected for the various statistical and financial reports, and to present reports to the local board of administration monthly, to the local church conference at its regular sessions, to the district superintendent as requested, to the district conference annually on forms approved by the General Superintendent, and to various General Church or district departmental officers as required.

(31) Attend district conference sessions, and to participate in the life and work of the district and the General Church as opportunity affords.

735. Pastor/Senior Pastor. An ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister who is called of God and appointed by the Church to serve as sole pastor of a church shall be referred to simply as “the pastor.” The term “senior pastor” is applied to the presiding minister in a multiple pastoral staff who bears ultimate responsibility for carrying out the function set forth in 675. 1240:I:A:

2. Pastoral and Local Service.

a. Ordained ministers appointed as pastors, assistant pastors, or interim pastors within the district (3255).

b. Ordained ministers on loan to other districts of The Wesleyan Church for service as supply pastors (3100:2; 3260:1).

c. Ordained ministers appointed to serve in a local church spiritual formation or Christian education program (3310:2).

3255. Regular Pastoral Service. The pastoral office is defined in 675. In The Wesleyan Church, pastoral service includes the pastor of a church or churches (735), and an assistant pastor (741). An ordained minister appointed by a district conference to any of these levels of pastoral service in connection with a Wesleyan church, developing church, or mission shall be placed on the appointed list (1240:1:A:2); a commissioned or licensed minister appointed as pastor or assistant pastor of a Wesleyan church shall be a voting member of the district conference (317; 1083:3; 1240:2:A; 1240:3:A; 3044:4; 3059:2e).

3260. Supply Pastors. A district conference (503; 1180:24b; 1240:5:E), or, in the interim of its sessions, the district superintendent and the district board of administration (1233:29, 36; 1310:20-21) shall have the power to appoint a supply pastor, who shall serve subject to the following regulations:

(1) A supply pastor may be a Wesleyan ordained minister or commissioned or licensed minister serving under some other appointment or an ordained minister on loan from one district to another (503; 1240:1:A:2b; 3100:2); a licensed special or commissioned worker (3460–3470); a minister in process of transfer from another denomination (3104); a minister who belongs to another denomination, a ministerial student, a lay minister, or a lay member.

(2) A supply pastor shall be appointed temporarily to fill the pulpit and to provide a spiritual ministry, but shall not have authority to administer the sacraments or to perform marriages unless that authority adheres on some other basis, and shall not perform the administrative function of the pastor except in filing of reports unless authorized to do so by the district superintendent (1310:8, 25). If a supply pastor is serving a congregation isolated from Wesleyan ministers, making it difficult to provide for administration of the sacraments (725:6), the district superintendent may grant the supply pastor special authorization to administer them.

(3) A supply pastor’s church membership shall not be automatically transferred to the church of service.

(4) A supply pastor shall be granted a certificate of authorization to supply on the form provided in 6240, and shall be a nonvoting member of the district conference unless qualifying as a voting member by some other right (1090:7).

(5) A supply pastor may be removed or replaced at any time by the district board of administration (1233:36; 1310:20-21; Gen. Bd. Policy on Ch. Disc. 5200:4; 5215:1).