What is the authority of the Ministers in the Methodist Church?

Answer 1

Methodist Ministers have total authority over the worship service. They have total authority over teaching new members for admission to membership in the church. The rest of their authority mainly depends on leadership ability and an ability to size up situations and step in when needed. The methodist pastor can call up the bishop and say, "Get me out of here," and he will. The pastor parish relations committee can vote to remove the pastor from the church, and the bishop will. It is generally the congregation that elects that committee. Still, unlike some churches, if some busybody in the congregation doesn't like the pastor, the congregation can't vote to get rid of the pastor. So the pastor has to work but doesn't have to worry about a split in the congregation. John Wesley set up the Methodist Church so that individual congregations could function without a pastor around. Thus, if the creeks were over the bridges and the circuit rider could not get across the swollen rivers, the churches functioned as normal. If the members of the church boards did not do the work and the boards could not function, the pastor could step in and make appointments. When there is a conflict, it is the job of the District Superintendent to come in and review the situation.