Some advice and encouragement for Candidates for the Methodist ministry (Presbyters and Ordinands)

It is that time of the year again! I know that the screening of Candidates for the Methodist Ministry is coming closer because I start getting lots of phone calls from Methodist colleagues, and their candidates, asking for advice and insight to help them prepare for their screening.

I thought that I would compile a few thoughts here that may be of some encouragement, and perhaps even offer some insight, for those who are preparing to be screened as Candidates for the Ordained Ministries of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (that is both Deacons and Presbyters). Let me say, however, that I no longer represent the Education for Ministry and Mission Unit in ANY official capacity. I no longer serve within EMMU. My advice will always be, first and foremost, to contact our dedicated staff in the Unit - they can be reached via telephone on (012) 804 3022 for official advice and information about screening.

That being said, I served as a District Supervisor of Studies for some years, and then during my years in EMMU I wrote (and rewrote, and rewrote, and REWROTE) most of the procedures and examinations and questions for Candidates for the Ordained Methodist Ministries.

Some general advice for Candidates for the Ministry.

1. First and most importantly you need to prepare yourself and your spouse for the day of your candidates screening. This process is intended to be a time of discernment on behalf of the Church. Remember that ministry is extremely taxing, and frequently a sacrificial and costly choice on behalf of both the Church (who will spend many thousands of Rands offering you an exceptional world class training), and on the part of you and your family who will face many challenges and difficulties during your training and the ministry that follows that. So, please do approach the the screening process great respect, very deep and committed prayer, and with absolute honesty and openness. I would encourage you to prepare yourself and your spouse in a few ways:
• Pray together as a couple, and spend time praying on your own. Be absolutely certain of the fact that Almighty God has called you to the ordained ministry! I shall say more about the emphasis on 'ordination' a little later.
• Encourage some members of your family and congregation to pray for you and your family on the day of your candidates screening.
• Be certain to prepare a clear and reasonable account of your conversion to Christianity that you will need to share with the committee. I shall say a little more about this very important part below. However, I would suggest that you take some time to share your account of your conversion with a few trusted friends and colleagues (such as members of the Church in which you worship, your minister, some family members etc.)
• Please take some time to carefully and clearly write out your understanding of why you believe God has called you to train towards ordination as a Deacon or a Presbyter (the word for an Ordained 'minister') in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. Remember that the committee is likely to hear 15 or more such accounts during the screening process - so keep your testimony and call as clear and structured as you can (I'll say more about that below) and KEEP IT AS SHORT as possible! My suggestion is that you try to fit each of these (the testimony and account of call) to no longer than 3 minutes each.
• Discuss as many of the implications, challenges, opportunities, an possible scenarios with your spouse and children. The screening committee is going to ask about such things as your financial situation, any unsettled debt, your health and the health of your family, how you will cope with conflict, what things scare you as a family, how you will support yourselves etc.
2. On the day of screening please be sure to know exactly where the screening will take place, and on what day you will be screened. You can confirm these details with your District Supervisor of Studies (if you don't know who that is please ask your minister to check at the start of the list of names in the Yearbook). Make sure that you arrive on time and that you have set aside the whole day for the screening. At times things runs a little longer than expected.
3. My advice is that you dress fairly smartly for the screening - by this I would mean that men should wear a tie and jacket (where appropriate) and woman a smart suit or dress. Remember, that in some senses this screening is a little like a job interview. Your clothes and body language make an impression upon the community.
4. Be patient and kind. You may have to wait for a while between the two examinations (theology and 'readiness' or screening). Remember that the committee is under a great deal of pressure and frequently spends days screening candidates. It is a taxing and very emotional process. It will be good for you to remain calm and friendly when you encounter the committee. The same goes for your spouse who will have to sit in on the 'screening' or 'readiness' committee. A humble, yet confident demeanor makes a wonderful impression. In the 15 years that I was part of screening candidates I cannot tell you how many people harmed their chances by being too nervous, tired, or irritated when they came to be screened.

The general format of the screening of Candidates for the Ministry.

The screening process is actually comprised of two committees. The intention, as stated above, is for these committees to discern two very important things. First, they shall need to discern whether you are called to be trained for the Ordained ministry in the MCSA. In order to do this they shall need to be convinced that you have an active, real, and significant relationship with Jesus (that is normally heard in your testimony of your conversion), and that you have a clear and confirmed call to the Ordained ministry in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (that is normally understood from your account of your call to ministry). As part of this process the committee will also need to be sure that you have no encumbrances that could hinder your ministry (e.g., moral, doctrinal, or social problems - I shall say some more about this under the heading of the 'Readiness' committee below). Secondly, the committee has the responsibility of ascertaining that you hold basic views on Methodist and Wesleyan theology and that you are trainable. In short, they shall ask some questions and engage in some discussion to see whether you hold any views that are contrary to those of our denominational tradition (this means that you shall need to be sure to understand what Methodists in Southern Africa believe!), and whether you are flexible and open enough to engage with different positions and theological viewpoints from your own without simply rejecting, or uncritically accepting, them. So, you will need to have some basic theological insights, and you will need to be able to engage with other points of view while maintaining your own views or being willing to consider that other points of view may be equally valid.

Each of the two committees are appointed by the District Bishop and have at least one Connexional representative from EMMU present (to ensure that there is a similar standard across all of the districts in the Connexion). The 'readiness' committee (see Laws and Discipline 11th Edition 4.14 forward) is comprised of both laity and clergy. These persons will normally include a minister, a district supervisor of studies, someone with psychological skills, a person with some personnel or Human resources experience, and then the spouse of a minister and some leaders from lay ministries in the Church. The Theological committee is normally comprised of ministers and lay persons who have some theological training and can engage you in a significant level of theological dialogue in order to assess your theology.

It is important to note that if you fail either the 'readiness' committee or the theological committee you will not be able to continue with your candidature for the Ordained ministries of the MCSA. Officially the screening process is a process of your District (appointed by your Bishop and moderated by EMMU). So the report from the screening will go both to your district SYNOD and to EMMU.

Let's move on to consider each of the committees in a little more detail.

The 'readiness' committee.

The purpose of this committee is to discern your call to ministry and your readiness to begin training for the ordained ministry of the MCSA. Let me make two brief points right at the start:

• The committee needs to be CONVINCED that you are called to the ORDAINED ministry of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. Many candidates have come to the screening committee convinced that they should be in some form of ministry - but do remember that you are appearing before the committee to convince them that you should be trained towards ordination as either a Deacon of a Presbyter in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa! Ordination is a very specific thing (it has to do with being set aside and commission either to the ministry of 'word and service' (if you're called to be a Deacon) or 'word and sacraments (Baptism and Holy Communion)' (if you're called as a Presbyter (Reverend) in the MCSA). So please, be sure to convince the committee that you are called to be Ordained! If you want to understand a little more about ordination and the different forms of ministry please read the following paper that I wrote for the Doctrine, Ethics and Worship Commission (DEWCOM). You can download the paper here: http://tinyurl.com/a8sb8f - so please remember that you must convince the committee that you're called to be Ordained! That is different from the common expression 'full time ministry'! All Christians are in full time ministry! Some of us are doing full time ministry in our regular work, others do it expressly through the life of the Church (the latter are called and set aside to the Ordained ministry, and the sacraments and preaching are an important part of that ministry).
• Second, and equally important, you need to convince the committee that you should be trained towards ordination in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa! It is important to show the committee that God has called you to serve within the MCSA - the Church will entrust you with precious members (and properties!), and they will invest a large sum of money to train you, so they need to be sure that you're called to serve in this denomination. Remember this committee has a responsibility to serve as the Church's steward in this regard.

Another vitally important part of this committee's task is to make sure that even if you are called to the ministry, you are READY to be trained towards ordination. Sometimes even when a person is called to enter the ordained ministry the timing may not be quite right. There are many things to consider. Some of them relate to you personally - perhaps you need to grow in some area, or need help to overcome some struggle or encumbrance. At other times it may be something in your surroundings or community that may not be ready for you to enter the ministry - for example you may have a child that requires schooling in a particular area, or a wife that is not supportive of your entry into ministry. Timing is very important!

The committee will ask you questions under the following headings:

1. Personal spirituality (conversion and call, current relationship with Jesus, current devotional life and participation in the life of the Church).
2. Methodist Ministry (the challenges of being in ministry, call to Ordained ministry, gifts and strengths you bring to the MCSA, why the MCSA?)
3. Personal history (any history of abuse, family relationships, your personality, your fears etc.) / Employment history / Personal relationships in general (how do you deal with conflict etc.) / personal relationships at home / personal relationships at work and Church / Academic history / Practicalities (e.g., how you will cope financially while you're at College, ages of your children, schooling, medical needs etc.) In this section the committee will ask your spouse some questions about him or herself, their support of your entry into ministry etc.
4. Non Itinerant and Part Time candidates. This is a VERY, VERY important section of the screening! Being part time or non itinerant must NOT just be a matter of convenience (e.g., 'I have a job that pays well and I don't want to loose the income', or 'I like the area in which I live and so am not willing to move out of my town') You will need to convince the committee that you're CALLED to do ministry while you have another vocation, or that you're CALLED to serve in a particular Church or Circuit! Please note this as it is very important! Please also note the new regulations (since 2007) that require you to have a letter from your employer acknowledging their 'awareness' of your intention to candidate for the Methodist Ministry (they don't need to give permission, but they do need to know that you will be spending some of your time).

I want to set your mind at ease by saying that none of us has it 'all together' - we all have some areas with which we struggle and some fears. So be prepared to be honest and pray that God will guide the committee in their deliberations.

The theological committee.

The purpose of this committee is to engage you in theological conversation in order to get some idea of your theology, your understanding of Methodist theology, and your ability to engage with the ideas and thoughts of others.

I would suggest that you read a couple of books to prepare yourself for this important committee:

• Hulley, LD. 1987 Wesley - A plain man for plain people. Westville. Methodist Church of Southern Africa. (available directly from EMMU)
• Malinga, P & Richardson, N (eds). 2005 Rediscovering Wesley for Africa. Pretoria. Education for Ministry and Mission Unit (pp. 1-28, 51-72, 97-104, 115-146, 153-172). (available directly from EMMU and Connexion bookshops)
• Storey, P 2004 And are we yet alive? Re-visioning our Wesleyan heritage in the new South Africa. Cape Town. Methodist Publishing House (see chs. 3, 4, 5 which is very important, 6, and 7). (available from Upper Room Africa and Connexion bookshops).

Then there are two newer books that can give you some good insights into our Southern African Methodist heritage:

• Bentley, W & Forster, DA. 2008 Methodism in Southern Africa: A celebration of Wesleyan Mission. Kempton Park. AcadSA Publishers. (this book contains some superb chapters with historical and theological reflections on how Methodism came to South Africa, and how it developed and what challenges the Church currently faces). (available from Upper Room Africa and Connexion bookshops).
• Bentley, W & Forster, DA. 2009 What are we thinking? Reflections on Church and Society by Southern African Methodists. Cape Town. Methodist Publishing House. (this book has some wonderful chapters and essays discussing some of the most contentious ethical and theological issues in Southern African society (these include same sex relationships, postmodernism, Africanization of Christianity, liturgy and worship, ecology and the environment, gender issues etc.) (available from Connexion bookshops).

I have included some of the notes that we prepared for the examining committee in years past - these will give you some insight into the nature and process of the theological examination committee.

General notes to the examining committee:

A. The purpose of the examination is to assesses the candidate's ability to grapple with theological, practical, and ethical issues related to the ordained ministry.

B. Please remember that it is unlikely that the Candidate will already have a strongly articulated theology, however, some basic theological skill should be evident. Furthermore, the candidate should display an ability to interact with the views of others (e.g., those of members of the examining committee). The candidate be considered trainable towards achieving the exit outcomes required for an ordained minister of the MCSA, and should not hold views that are radically different from those of our denomination.

C. Remember it is essential that you make the information about the examination available to the members of the examining committee some weeks in advance of the examination (including copied pages from the books). It is essential that all of the committee members have read the prescribed and suggested books (or the above-mentioned sections thereof).

The required outcomes of the examination:

A. It is essential that the committee establishes the following outcomes in order to recommend the candidate to train for the Methodist ministry:

1. The candidate is able to articulate his or her theology clearly.

2. The candidate does not hold a theological stance that is contrary to Methodist doctrine and policy on pertinent issues (e.g., the doctrine of salvation, the structure of the Church and issues of discipline and polity such as the ordination of women, the submission to authority), practical issues such as the mission mandate of the Church, and the sacraments (for example the MCSA's stance on rebaptism and infant baptism).

3. The candidate shows a willingness to listen to, and interact with, the views of others.

4. The candidate has an understanding of the vision and mission of the MCSA and can offer some practical suggestions on how he or she will participate in and further these objectives.

5. The candidate would be teachable and trainable towards achieving the exit outcomes required for an ordained minister of the MCSA.

Some final comments:

Please do rely on the insights and expertise of others who have gone through this process in previous years (for example your minister). Second, please be sure to familiarize yourself with the expectations for the screening by contacting your District Supervisor of Studies in your district!

Finally, please pray for the screening committee, pray for the other candidates across the connexion who will be screened (particularly for those who will have to return again next year because they are not yet ready to enter the training process). Know that I, and many others, are praying for you as you offer yourself for ministry. This is truly a 'high calling'! We rejoice to have more gifted women and men entering this vocation of service of Christ and those whom Christ loves.

I hope this helps!

Rich blessing,

Dion

Comments

[Wessel Bentley]

Hi D.

Emmu is still in Pta. The tel code is 012 ;-)

Cheers
W

[digitaldion (Dion Forster)]

Ha ha! Thanks Wes! I've corrected it here.

Well spotted. Rich blessing,

Dion