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BY VICKI BROWN
United Methodist News Service

Isolation, itinerancy, guaranteed appointments and the need for better evaluation of the effectiveness of pastors are among concerns lifted from a survey examining ministry in The United Methodist Church.

More than 550 survey respondents indicate that although there are issues surrounding ministry, people are largely satisfied with the orders of ministry the denomination established in 1996.

'I sense a feeling that it?s time to get together and move on in order to fulfill the ministry of the church,' said the Rev. Mary Ann Moman, a staff executive in the Division of Ordained Ministry at the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry and a member of the commission studying ministry in the church.

The 2004 General Conference established the commission because of questions, concerns and uncertainty regarding the two ordained clergy orders ? Deacons and Elders ? and local pastors. Its task is to 'theologically discuss and clearly define the ordering of our shared life together in The United Methodist Church.'

Moman and the Rev. Robert Kohler, a division staff member, cautioned that current results are preliminary. But the survey, which is still under way through both online responses and focus groups around the world, indicates most people have accepted the roles of Deacons, Elders and local pastors.

Kohler noted there were few questions about sacramental authority for Deacons. However, he said, there does not appear to be a consensus on the voting rights and responsibilities of local pastors at annual conferences.

Respondents in the United States and a focus group in Harare, Zimbabwe, saw itinerancy as allowing a sharing of gifts and graces. In the United States, survey respondents said it brought new ideas to a congregation and allowed the congregation to continue its mission uninterrupted.

But the Harare focus group said congregations want more input in the appointment of their pastors. Survey respondents in the United States warned that itinerancy protects and hides incompetent clergy. Some wanted to eliminate guaranteed appointments and evaluate pastors based on their effectiveness.

Kohler said he agrees the church needs to address ineffectiveness in ministry. But he said people need to understand the guarantee is not that everyone will be appointed but that the bishop will appoint all Elders in full connection who are approved for an appointment by the clergy members of the annual conference.

'This rule was put in place to limit the authority of bishops to leave people without an appointment, a privilege that often led to women being excluded from the appointment process. What people do not realize is that the elimination of the guaranteed appointment will once again return us to a time when the bishop will decide who is qualified for ministry in the annual conference and not the annual conference itself through the board of ordained ministry,' he said.

Other survey answers reflect discontent with the large number of churches under a single district superintendent. The responses identify a sense of isolation among many pastors, particularly of rural churches.

Kohler said the completed survey will provide background for the commission?s report on ministry to the 2008 General Conference, which meets in Fort Worth, Texas.

Kohler and Moman urge both clergy and laity to respond to the online survey at www.gbhem.org.