We've often wondered and been asked why Methodist ministers only stay for a while at one church. It is referred to as the itineracy system, moving from church to church throughout their ministry.
Some argue that it is a system no longer sustainable in our culture that needs to be phased out. Perhaps, but one outcome of the system is a visceral understanding of the idea presented in I Corinthians 3 about servants together in fields of the Lord. Paul argues that our attachments are often to the wrong things: to a human pastor, to a position, to a building. No pastor works in a vacuum, but builds on ministry and mission that others directed long before arriving on the scene; and, that will continue long after the pastor departs.
Sometimes, the key is to understand it from God’s viewpoint, which stretches into eternity. As the song says, "I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together!"
Some argue that it is a system no longer sustainable in our culture that needs to be phased out. Perhaps, but one outcome of the system is a visceral understanding of the idea presented in I Corinthians 3 about servants together in fields of the Lord. Paul argues that our attachments are often to the wrong things: to a human pastor, to a position, to a building. No pastor works in a vacuum, but builds on ministry and mission that others directed long before arriving on the scene; and, that will continue long after the pastor departs.
Sometimes, the key is to understand it from God’s viewpoint, which stretches into eternity. As the song says, "I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together!"