Last year, I began reaching out to clergy across the Southwest Conference with a request to submit their current call agreements and Three-Way or Four-Way Covenants. This was more than a routine administrative task or a simple check-in on record keeping. It was an invitation to revisit the very heart of our shared identity. In the United Church of Christ, we are a covenantal people. If we claim to live in such a relationship, we should be able to point to where that covenant is written and retained. Healthy governance requires this balance of relational clarity and accurate documentation, ensuring that our shared promises are both lived and recorded.
This identity shapes how we understand authorization, which is the formal recognition that an individual is called and prepared to serve. In our tradition, ministers are never authorized independently of the wider church. Their standing exists within a web of covenantal relationships. That recognition is expressed through a Three-Way Covenant linking the minister, the local church, and the Conference, or through a Four-Way Covenant that includes an employing institution or ecumenical partner. Through these documents, the wider church affirms that a specific ministry is not a solo endeavor, but one accountable to and supported by the whole Body.
Because we do not operate through hierarchical control, our accountability flows directly from these mutual commitments. It is helpful to distinguish between a call agreement, which addresses the practical terms of employment and compensation, and a covenant, which names the ecclesial bond. A well-maintained covenant clarifies the minister’s responsibilities, the congregation’s commitments of support, and the Conference’s role in maintaining standing. When I asked for these documents, the goal was integrity in both areas. Many agreements had not been updated in years. Some covenants had never been formally collected or preserved. Clear documentation protects ministers and congregations alike, ensuring transparency and continuity, especially during seasons of transition.
This structure also provides the framework for discernment, which we understand as a communal act of listening to the Holy Spirit. Within a covenant, the minister, the ministry setting, and the Conference each discern their vocation and mission in relationship to one another. Discernment is not limited to the beginning of a call. Ministries evolve. Contexts shift. Covenant offers a steady structure for ongoing faithfulness. It allows us to ask together how the Spirit is moving in our present reality.
On a day-to-day level, this work involves reviewing agreements, updating documentation, and walking alongside Members in Discernment. It includes confirming that boundary training is current and holding confidential conversations when concerns arise. These tasks may appear administrative, yet behind every file is a person called by God and a ministry shaped by promise. By tending these covenants and keeping our records in order, we embody the covenantal nature we profess. When our commitments are both relationally strong and clearly documented, we strengthen the church’s witness and serve God’s people with integrity.