Dear Colleagues in Ordained Ministry,

For the past quadrennium, I have been privileged to serve on the Full Membership Committee of the Board of Ordained Ministry, and for the last three I have been its chairperson. We work with probationary members of the conference during the first years of their ministry. Our job description is in Paragraph 335 of the Book of Discipline. One sentence in particular has challenged us: “Their service shall be evaluated by the board of ordained ministry as effective according to written guidelines developed by the board and adopted by the clergy members in full connection.”

The Full Membership Committee and the Board of Ordained Ministry have worked extensively over the past few years to develop written guidelines that would be a useful picture of the personal graces, professional competencies, intellectual disciplines and self-understanding that make for effective ministry. These guidelines were originally developed by the Board in 1996 and have been reviewed and revised several times since, but they have not yet been adopted by the clergy members in full connection.

The Board has presented these Guidelines to the June 2007 Clergy Session and the Clergy Symposium held in Olympia in November 2007. We have revised them based on feedback from these two conversations, and we are now ready to bring them to the clergy members in full connection for your adoption!

These Guidelines will not only be useful for the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, but they will be shared with District BOMs and even local church Staff-Parish Relations Committees as they consider candidates for ministry. They are guidelines, not standards or requirements, but they are a valuable expression of our collective understanding of what makes for an effective pastor in our conference.

My hope, and the recommendation of the Board of Ordained Ministry, is that we will adopt these Guidelines for Ordained Ministry at this year’s clergy session.

Peace,

Dale L. Cockrum