Annual Conference time is fast approaching. Some of our itinerant ministers are expecting to move; some want to move and will; some want to move and will not. Some itinerants do not want to move but will; and some congregations want their ministers to move. It is a nervous time for many, to say the least. It’s the Methodist way. The itinerancy may well be our most unusual characteristic.
    One of John Wesley’s favorite ministers was Jonathan Maskew, of whom Wesley wrote, “Ten such preachers as Jonathan Maskew would carry the world before them.” Jonathan Maskew had begun his ministry under the supervision of William Grimshaw in the midlands of England. When Wesley accepted him into the itinerancy, he moved him to the northern part of England.
    In February 1753, Wesley wrote to Maskew with a request that he “hurry on to Manchester.”  (From what I know about Wesley’s style, that request was probably more of an order.) For whatever reason, Maskew had remained too long at his current appointment. Some historians have said that Maskew wanted to go back to William Grimshaw’s circuit rather than move on to the place Wesley wanted him to go. 
    The gentle but firm District Superintendent wrote these words to Maskew: “My dear brother, … I believe your staying so long in the Newcastle circuit has been for good, both for you and for others; and you are still wanted there. But you are wanted more elsewhere. I do not mean you should go to Mr. Grimshaw's circuit (although you might stay a fortnight there, not more), but to Manchester. I promised you should set out for there some time ago. …  So you are sadly beyond your time; the blame of which is probably (as usual) laid upon me. Therefore the sooner you are at Manchester the better. Peace be with your spirit. I am your affectionate brother, J. Wesley.”
    As we read Wesley’s WORKS and his Letters, we see how diplomatic yet to the point Wesley can be in working with his ministers. In this instance, one scholar has speculated that Maskew had tarried four months before heeding Wesley’s direction to move to the new location. My guess is, that never happened again. I dare say, the follow-up on Maskew’s next appointment was more deliberate.