Frequently Asked Questions | Leadership

Clergy Leadership

• How can I contact a United Methodist pastor? | Answer
• How can I contact my district superintendent? | Answer
• How can I contact my bishop? | Answer

Pastoral Appointments

• Our pastor is being moved after the congregation unanimously recommended that he stay to continue work he has begun. Can we do anything to prevent the move once the decision has been made? | Answer
• I am on my church's pastor-parish relations committee which recently decided against reappointing our pastor. We were just informed by our district superintendent that we would keep our pastor. What is the official procedure to protest or reject this decision? | Answer
• How can a new pastor be chosen for a church without the voice of the congregation? I had assumed an appointment would be brought before the congregation before any definite changes were made. What can I do as a member to have a voice in major changes in my church? | Answer
• Who makes the decision of whether we can replace our pastor? Is it the district superintendent, the bishop or a special committee? | Answer
• When a church gets a new pastor, is it responsible for the moving expenses of the pastor that is leaving or for the new pastor that is arriving? | Answer
• Is it true that The United Methodist Church discourages pastors from having contact with members of congregations that they previously served? | Answer
• Are the new pastoral appointments posted online? | Answer

Lay Leadership

• As a new leader in my church, where can I find information about my responsibilities? | Answer
• Who decides on the membership of the church council? | Answer
• Can youth be members of the church council? | Answer
• Does a person have to be a member of a local church for at least one year in order to hold office? | Answer
• Can anyone attend a committee meeting? Who is allowed to vote at committee meetings? | Answer
• Can non-members serve on committees? | Answer
• Can a self avowed homosexual lay person serve in a leadership position in a local church? | Answer
• Can paid staff persons vote on the church council or other committees? | Answer
• How are vacancies filled that occur in committees between regularly scheduled charge conferences? | Answer
• How many members are needed for a quorum for any standing committee? | Answer
• Can the pastor be the chairperson of a committee? | Answer
• What are the pastor's voting privileges on committees? | Answer
• Is it required to publicly announce a committee meeting at least ten days in advance? | Answer
• Are committees required to take minutes at meetings and make the minutes public? | Answer

Pastor Parish Relations Committee

• Is the pastor a member of the PPR committee? | Answer
• Can the pastor-parish relations committee meet in closed session without the pastor? | Answer
• Can you define the term “immediate family” as it applies to the pastor-parish relations committee? | Answer
• Are the lay leader and lay member included in the maximum of nine members on the PPR committee? | Answer
• After a PPR member has served a three-year term, can she immediately serve another three-year term? | Answer

Trustees and Finance

• Do the members of the board of trustees have to be members of the church? | Answer
• Is the pastor a voting member of the board of trustees? | Answer
• To which body does the church treasurer report - the committee on finance or the church council? | Answer

Charge Conference

• Where can I find charge conference forms? | Answer
• What is the process for changing the name of an existing local church? | Answer