Discipleship and the people called Methodists - BEH District

has previously existed. And again perception is crucial. Subsidiarity understood
as having something ‘dumped on us’ by ‘them’, resulting in resentment, will
kill us. Subsidiarity understood as encouraging us all to take decisions which
make a difference and embody our continuing commitment to be a disciple-
making movement will enliven us. When each part of the connexion recognises
that’s what it is, is truly itself, interdependent and interrelated with the rest of
the connexion, when it shares its stories, self understandings, challenges and a
renewed commitment to contemporary disciple making, connexionalism will be
strengthened and renewed. If each part doesn’t understand itself in these terms,
connexionalism throughout the whole Church is in grave danger.
Missional
Like all other Methodist structures connexionalism is essentially missional
in intention and a chosen model for enabling disciple-making in the Methodist
tradition. We look at a couple of examples of this.
Itinerant ministry
One of the elements of connexionalism going right back to the origins of Methodism
is the nature of the Methodist ministry and particularly that it is an itinerant
ministry. Methodism had travelling preachers before it ever had settled pastors.
Methodist ministers – both presbyters and deacons – are ordained to the
whole Church. They’re appointed to circuits rather than specific congregation(s)
and are ‘stationed’ – to use the technical term – to these by the Conference.
For their part Methodist circuits, through their leadership structures decide how
presbyters, deacons, local preachers and increasingly lay employees with various
roles exercise their ministry within the circuit. Circuits also share in the process
whereby the whole Church attempts to identify a mutually apt ‘match’ of both
minister and appointment in terms of further enabling the mission of God through
the ministry of the Church. Every part of the process involves both laity and clergy
and is connexional in nature and intent. Itinerant ministry, ministry ‘sent’ and
‘received’ by the whole Church, demonstrates the missional commitment of a
connexional Church. In Methodism ministers are intended to be a resource to
be deployed essentially for purposes of mission rather than a workforce to be
employed by local Methodist churches.
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