How confusing can this be?

I am trying to be patient.
Granted, patience is not my natural inclination.
But I am trying to be patient.
Maybe patience isn't such a virtue.
What--pray tell--is so confusing about the idea that United Methodists are part of a connectional system not Southern Baptists in a congregational system?

For the second time in two years, I've gotten a call from a longtime United Methodist in JULY saying that the preacher had to move. Both times, the preacher has not done anything wrong. Both times it was from churches where the Pastor Parish Committee had not requested a move. Sometimes, when I am listening to these phone calls, I pinch myself. Surely I am asleep and having a DS nightmare.
What United Methodist doesn't know that we have a METHOD for moving preachers? Even strangers to our church know that we our METHOD (as in the name METHODist) has a regular, annual schedule. Except for emergencies, we do not deviate from the schedule. Having someone mad at the preacher is not an emergency. (Trust me on this one: being mad at your preacher is not an emergency.)
The annual schedule is this: early in the calendar year (usually January), every church has a chance to request consideration for a change of pastor. This is called an appointment advisory. It is called an advisory because it is just that: advisory to the cabinet. Every spring, the cabinet considers all the requests of pastors and churches...along with the needs of churches and pastors across the conference. The cabinet makes a set of appointments, consults with pastors and churches and, at the close of Annual Conference, the bishop FIXES the appointments. United Methodists everywhere: there is a reason we use that word "fix". It means that, except for emergencies that come up, appointments are set for the next conference year. One more time: getting mad at your preacher will not constitute an emergency for the cabinet.
Who could be a longtime United Methodist and, in the absence of an emergency (remember, hurt feelings do not constitute an emergency!) call for a change of pastor less than 30 days after the moving day of the Annual Conference? How does that happen? Have we failed so miserably in educating our laity about the METHOD of METHODist life that they think they can fire a preacher anytime they get mad?
And this is the tragedy: our orderly system is designed to help everyone in the church move toward spiritual maturity. If you like your preacher, great. Enjoy, appreciate, honor that person. Glean the most you can from your time together. If you don't particularly like your preacher, great. You belong to a church that moves preachers. No need to kick up a fuss and show your less-than-flattering, mad-as-a-wet-hen self. Use this time to grow in your spiritual maturity. Relax. In just a few months, every church will have a chance to give an opinion about the pastor's appointment. There's an open system in place for constructive concerns and a discernment process for unfair criticism. Church members -- whether they like the pastor or don't--can grow in Christ and stay focused on what really matters: making disciples for Jesus Christ.

United Methodists have the gift of a METHOD. And the method has a blessing and a challenge and a purpose for everyone. And when you have joined a United METHODist Church--a thoroughly connectional church-- stop complaining like you are from a congregation-based denomination. Hopefully, someday soon, our new and long-time members will appreciate the call to maturity that our METHODist way of life offers.