Bishop's CornerThe District Superintendent
By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker
 The office of
district superintendent is unique to the Christian communions that arose
out of the movement known as Methodism.
The offices of bishops and district
superintendents are described in a separate section of “The Book of
Discipline” titled The Superintendency, _401-435. Both bishops and
district superintendents are ordained elders who are set apart for a
particular vocation in The United Methodist Church. It is a vocation
of providing temporal and spiritual oversight to the Church. Bishops
are general superintendents who are responsible for providing
oversight to the whole Church with special responsibility for a
particular area consisting of one or more annual conferences. District
superintendents are responsible for providing oversight with the
bishop and other district superintendents of the annual conference and
the particular district to which they are appointed.
Because superintendency is a particular
vocation, elders who are appointed to be district superintendents
should have certain qualifications.
Superintendents should be elders who are committed to the primary
purpose of the Church to make disciples of Jesus Christ. They consult
with pastors and congregations about the effectiveness of their
ministries and provide leadership to their districts and the annual
conference in equipping congregations to fulfill their purpose.
They should be persons of vision who can see how the Church can
fulfill its mission more effectively in the region comprised by their
districts.
They need to be capable administrators who know how to plan, organize,
implement and evaluate strategies to enable the Church to fulfill its
mission.
They ought to possess the kind of experience that is necessary to both
enable the cabinet of the bishop and district superintendents and
other officers to do their tasks and provide leadership on their
particular district. Since districts are different, the life and work
experiences of the superintendents will be different.
They should also possess the right kind of temperament for their
vocation. District superintendents must be able to handle stress and
guide people through conflict without becoming frustrated or angry.
Given the rapid change in society there is more conflict in the Church
than ever before, and superintendents must be able to encounter
conflict and bring it to resolution.
They must have a mature attitude toward the polity and connection of
the United Methodist Church. Since the Church is ordered in accordance
with “The Book of Discipline,” superintendents have to follow the
provisions of our systems of Church law in matters of clergy
discipline, property transactions and conferences. Moreover, they must
be able to affirm the commitment of the Church to fulfill a global
mission through its connection.
They have to have a gift of discernment in making appointments of
pastors to congregations. The ability to listen is a critical
dimension of effective discernment.
Members of the cabinet should reflect the
diversity in the Church. The cabinet cannot be effective in making
appointments or dealing with issues of the annual conference unless it
has within it a variety of voices. This diversity encompasses
ethnicity, gender, theological perspective, personality and life
experience.
Needless to say, superintendents must have a
healthy work ethic. Superintendency is an intense vocation that
becomes more complex as time passes.
Finally, they must live with their people by
participating in the lives of their congregations and caring for the
clergy under their supervision. DS does not mean “Distant
Superintendent.”
The office of district superintendent is an
honorable vocation that has a critical role in the Church, for it is
the point in our connection where the local congregation meets the
rest of the Church. Those who serve in this office provide significant
service to Christ and to the Church, and when they leave it they have
a larger perspective upon the challenges and opportunities facing the
Church today.
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