Stationing Committee Memories (Part 1)

C. Ray Miller
Bishop, 1973-1993

May 1993

In our denomination, pastors are assigned to churches by a stationing committee, which consists of the bishop and about five other ministers. This contrasts with the "call system," in which churches are responsible for finding their own pastor. With us, final authority rests with the stationing committee, rather than with the church itself.

I have served on stationing committees for 31 years, ever since being elected to the Pennsylvania Conference committee in 1962. Upon becoming bishop in 1973, I suddenly became a member of stationing committees in four conferences. And since 1989, when we reduced the number of bishops, I've been a member of six committees.

So over the years, I've helped make hundreds of decisions about pastors and churches--many wise decisions, but also some poor decisions.

Each annual conference concludes with the stationing committee report. The bishop reads the list of churches in alphabetical order, and with each church names the pastor assigned there for the coming year. As bishop, I've read stationing committee reports 90-some times.

I'm old enough that I can say, "I remember when...."

Well, I remember when stationing committees did all of their work in about two days. The committee was appointed on Wednesday during annual conference and gave their report during the Friday night service.

We would meet during break times and late into the night. We might tap a minister on the shoulder and call him out of an evening service (which would prompt speculation about where he might be sent).

We advised ministers not to leave the conference grounds during the week, because we might need to talk to them. I remember when Rev. Jacob Stover, then pastoring what is now the Good Shepherd church in Huntington, Ind., before returning the Pennsylvania Conference, left the conference and was quite surprised to discover, when the report was read, that he had been reassigned to a church across town (the present New Hope church).

Sometimes we called ministers or lay delegates before the committee. But it wasn't to consult them before making a decision, but to inform them of our decision. Ministers had little or no say in these matters. When you consider the ramifications of this--pulling kids out of school, severing relationships, forcing a wife to quit her job, interrupting fruitful ministries--the stationing committee had an awesome responsibility.

As the bishop read the stationing committee report, ministers and their families would sit in suspense, not knowing their fate. I remember Denny and Pam sitting in their chairs, anxiously waiting to hear our name called, wondering, "Will we be moved, or not?"

Upon hearing his name read, a minister would walk to the front of the tabernacle, sometimes in shock. There, he would be handed the "passbook" containing the names the people in his congregation, whether it was the passbook he turned in a few days before or the passbook of a different church.

After the closing prayer, people always came forward to greet their pastor. I remember some very emotional times, when pastors and family members didn't want to move but had to. Or when a pastor was assured he would be sent to one church, but discovered he was being sent to a different church instead. Or when parishioners didn't want their pastor to move. They'd come up to their former pastor and be crying, while their new pastor stood there feeling awkward and perhaps unwanted (which might well be the case).

There are stories of bishops having the car running and ready to go, so he could flee the conference grounds before people descended on him with complaints. Let the superintendents and stationing committee handle the fallout.

You might wonder, "How could we have operated like that? Why did people put up with it?" But that was just the way things were done, and people accepted it. Today, of course, it wouldn't work. People expect input into matters affecting their lives.

I remember the 1961 Pennsylvania Annual Conference, when ministers could meet with the stationing committee prior to the closing service to learn where they were being assigned. That was a big change. In the late 1970s, we began circulating the stationing committee report 30 days prior to annual conference.

Many other changes--good ones--have occurred over the years. In seeking a good pastor-church fit, we have increasingly allowed ministers and churches to become involved in the process--a trend I heartily endorse. Next month, I will discuss how we assign pastors today.