2014 UM Polity Series – Church Courts

It should come as no surprise that a church as large as ours has its own system of courts to deal with violations of church law for both clergy at every level and lay members.  In fact, you may have heard of church trials in the news recently.  The process differs a little depending on whether the accused is a layperson, a member of the clergy, or a bishop.  Yes, there is a process by which a lay member of a local church can be charged with a violation of church law, tried, and removed from leadership, and even from membership, in the church, and a process of appeal.  However, since these almost never happen, I will not go into detail.  Instead, I want to be more narrative with this article.  I am going to tell you a story which follows a fictional pastor through the process.
Pastor Jones performs a funeral for a member of a church to which he was previously appointed without the knowledge or permission of the current pastor, Pastor Smith.  This is a violation of the rule which forbids a pastor to hold religious services within the bounds of the charge of another pastor, which includes the buildings, the geographic area, and the people. (Discipline ¶341.4)  When Pastor Smith tries to speak with Pastor Jones about this, Pastor Jones says that he does not care what the rules say, he will do whatever funerals he wants to do.
Pastor Smith makes a written complaint to her bishop stating that Pastor Jones has violated ¶341.4 and that, in so doing, he has committed two chargeable offences: ¶2702.1.d Disobedience to the order, doctrine, and discipline of the United Methodist Church; and ¶2702.1.f Relationships and/or behavior that undermines the ministry of another pastor.
The bishop receives the complaint (¶363.1) and consults with both Pastor Smith and Pastor Jones in order to attempt a “Just Resolution” (¶363.1.c) to the problem.  The bishop suggests that Pastor Jones apologize to Pastor Smith for conducting the funeral without her permission and promise to never conduct services in the parish of another pastor again.  Pastor Jones refuses to do either of these things.
Since the bishop was not able to reach a just resolution, she appoints another pastor to act as counsel for the Church, kind of like a prosecuting attorney. (¶363.1.e.2 and ¶2704.2.a)  The counsel for the Church conducts further investigation and determines that there is enough evidence for charges and a trial and informs the bishop that the charges are ready to proceed to trial.  At this point, Pastor Jones will be able to select another pastor to be his counsel.  Also, any time prior to trial, Pastor Jones may choose to accept a just resolution or to withdraw (¶361.3) his clergy membership under charges.  However, if Pastor Jones does withdraw under charges, those charges would have to be addressed prior to him being restored as a member of the clergy.
The bishop then appoints a presiding officer (judge), another bishop, for the trial court. (¶2713.1-2)  The presiding officer appoints a secretary (¶2708.1) and out of a pool of 35 pastors a trial court (jury) of 13, plus two alternates, is selected. (¶2708.2-4)
The trial proceeds much like a secular trial would except that, as Christians, no oaths are required. (¶2710.3)  Nine of 13 votes are required to convict and seven of 13 votes are required to impose penalty. (¶2711.2-3)  The trial court finds Pastor Jones guilty of all counts and specifications and imposes the penalty of revocation of clergy credentials and termination of conference membership, the highest penalty a trial court can impose on a member of the clergy. (¶2711.3)
Pastor Jones has the right to appeal the decision of the trial court to the Jurisdictional Committee on Appeals (¶2716) and finally, to request a review by the Judicial Council. (¶2609.8)
The Judicial Council is the ‘Supreme Court” of the UMC and is made of nine members, both laity and clergy.  In addition to reviewing trial appeals, the Judicial Council determines the constitutionality (under UMC Constitution) of proposed legislation of General Conference, determines the legality of the actions of any part of the Church, reviews “decisions of law” made by bishops, and provides “declaratory decisions” when requested by any part of the Church. (¶¶2601. 2602, 2609, and 2610)
The system is complex, but in a church as large as ours, we need a complex system to ensure that we have accountability and support with fairness.
Pastor Brian