Minister Without Charge

Definition and Meaning

The term muim (無任) means "having no assigned post." A minister without charge is one who has been ordained as a minister but does not currently pastor or serve any church or institution. Because such a person has not relinquished the ministerial office, his or her ministerial standing and membership remain intact. In this respect, a minister without charge is distinguished from a retired minister or a deposed minister.

Biblical and Historical Background

The term "minister without charge" does not appear in Scripture. The title arose from systems of church polity, particularly the Presbyterian form of government. In Presbyterianism, a minister is a member not of a local congregation but of a presbytery. Consequently, even when a minister leaves a church, his or her membership in the presbytery continues, and a term was needed to describe this status. The system of ministerial titles in Korean Presbyterianism is understood to have been adopted from American Presbyterian polity and codified in the church constitution. American Presbyterianism likewise had a category for ministers without a pastoral charge.

Practice in Korean Churches

Presbyterian Churches

The constitutions of many Presbyterian denominations classify ministerial titles as installed pastor, stated pastor (temporary pastor), associate pastor, evangelistic minister, institutional minister, cooperating minister, retired minister, and so forth, with the minister without charge as one of these categories.

• The constitution of the Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong) defines a minister without charge as "a minister who has no pastoral charge." Such a minister is understood to have the right to speak in presbytery but not the right to vote.
• Other Presbyterian denominations generally use a similar concept. However, the scope of presbytery membership rights, eligibility to serve as a commissioner, and the handling of prolonged periods without a charge vary according to the rules of each denomination and presbytery.

Other Denominations

• Denominations that appoint ministers to churches, such as the Korean Methodist Church, address the status of ministers using different terminology and regulations.
• Denominations with strong congregational autonomy, such as the Baptists, often do not adopt the Presbyterian system of titles as such.

Circumstances and Issues

In practice, ministers come to be without charge for a variety of reasons, including:

• Resigning from a church and awaiting the next call
• Taking leave for study abroad or because of illness
• Preparing to establish a church plant

While without charge, a minister may register as a cooperating minister at another church and assist with preaching or other forms of service. It has been observed that the number of ministers without charge is increasing because the number of seminary graduates continues to grow while there are too few churches able to extend a call. This issue is often raised in connection with discussions of bivocational ministry.