An investigation into the phenomena and practices of spiritual ...

5.3 The Authority and Power of the MinisterIn both churches observed in this study, the minister, as a leader, has authority when it islegitimised by the denomination and the local congregation. Ideas of legitimate authorityalso depend on the interpretation of scripture and the doctrine of the Holy Spirit (c.f.Muser1992). All URC ministers have to demonstrate their leadership abilities on paper as well asin practice. The same is true for younger COGIC ministers who have been appointed in thepast ten to twenty years as the older ministers who were appointed in the early daysfollowing their migration to Britain, retire or become too old to function as leaders.COGIC has fewer full-time ministers than the URC. This may have some relationship tothe availability of training that is acceptable to the church authorities and the fewministers‟ training colleges that are specific or suitable for Pentecostal ministers. Thenumber of ministers in the URC - like the membership - has decreased considerably inrecent years where it more commonplace for one minister to have responsibility for morethan one church (United Reformed Churches, 2008). Yet the number of members hasincreased in the Pentecostal churches like COGIC (Thomas-Juggan, 2000).Using NVIVO software on collected data to select and code, I have charted theoccurrences of the denotations „pastor‟ and „minister‟ in the interviews and observationalmaterial as I have described in chapter 3. This was prompted by the comment of theminister in the extract below, who was unable to gain access to a hospital ward to visit apatient because he failed to introduce himself as a relative or a trained minister. Thisinstance highlights the minister‟s power and authority within the church and the widersociety.152