Agenda Volume 3 - Methodist Conference

57. The Fruitful Field Project
intended that Faith & Worship would
take, on average, two years to
complete. Based on connexional
data for the 990 people who went
on note from January 2000 onwards
and have since been accredited as
Local Preachers, the average time
to complete is now a little over four
years and four months (from on note
to admittance), with an average of
nine and a half months of that time
on note. Nearly a fifth (191) required
an extension to the five-year limit.
One participant in a consultation
meeting noted that “I felt a strong
call to preach but the course was too
much to cope with whilst having a
young family... I felt extremely guilty
stopping the preaching but that didn’t
mean I was no longer called, it just
meant that the time was difficult.”
105.2 Others find Faith & Worship too ‘academic‘
– which, when this is explored
further with those expressing dissatisfaction,
is not a criticism of a pathway
which has theological depth and
rigour, but a concern about the style
of formation, training and assessment.
Faith & Worship “only has one
learning style: reading and writing,”
says one person who was consulted;
“this isn’t how I learn.” “The course
material is dry and boring – it needs
bringing alive,” noted another who
was consulted. Another noted that
Faith & Worship and its assessment
“is based too much on words... When
submitting details of my service I can
only supply the written script which
takes no account of the slides and
music that I used.”
105.3 Various groups find the style of Faith
& Worship particularly inaccessible,
including: (a) younger people,
whose experience is usually of a
very different style of education; (b)
people with less experience of formal
learning; (c) those with dyslexia;
and (d) people for whom English is
an additional language (who may be
competent speakers of English, but
find it difficult to study and write in
English).
105.4 It is worth noting that becoming a
Local Preacher is a pre-requisite
for being recommended to the
Conference as a candidate for
presbyteral ministry, so potential
hurdles for preachers also inevitably
hinder people following a call to
presbyteral ministry.
105.5 As well as affecting the lives and
calling of these individuals, there
is a particular and specific impact
on some linguistic and culturallydistinctive
fellowships and societies,
who report difficulty in finding
preachers, or in offering accessible
pathways for those within their
congregations who discern a call to
preach.
105.6 Given these pressures, some fail to
complete Faith & Worship. It should
be acknowledged that any discerning
formational process, however
accessible, will result in a proportion
of people deciding that preaching
is not for them. However, stories
have been shared about preachers
’dropping out‘ because they run out
678 Conference Agenda 2012