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tion urged against the report of the Commission of 1888 was that it contained too much. The prognostications now are that the opposition which the report of the Commission of 1896 will meet is that it does not contain enough. Especially is this liable to be the main criticism in view of the fact that the Commission was not only empowered to review the work of their predecessors, but to label what in their judgment now constitutes the organic law of the Church, and to make recommendations regarding any changes they deem feasible to be made therein; or, in the language of the resolution, "to report, first, a draft which shall set forth in well-defined terms and in logically arranged articles the existing organic law of the Methodist Episcopal Church; and, secondly, any modifications of said organic law which the new committee may recommend for adoption by the concurrent action of the General Conference and the members of the Annual Conferences." This task, as we have seen, the Commission has done, and, so far as it has gone, has done creditably. But it has not gone far enough to make what it presents an ideal, up-to-date Church charter, if adopted in its present form. Since, then, the report of 1888 was too extensive, and that of 1896 not comprehensive enough, we are led to inquire whether there is no via media, or golden mean. Can we not at this time, and at the close of this century, draft a Constitution for the government of the Church which shall contain all the essential features of such an important document, and give to the Church of the twentieth century a model of fundamental law? It is sincerely believed that we can; therefore we ought.

To accomplish this will doubtless require concession and cooperation. It will, moreover, necessitate more or less conformity to the various points of excellence to be found in the numerous constitutions of secular and ecclesiastical governments, and the incorporation of the newest and best methods of administration. Hence there seems to be no reason why, in its salient features, the corpus juris of the Church should not pattern after the most perfect of our State constitutions or, what perhaps is better still, that of the United States. Furthermore, in its arrangement it should be natural and logical, beginning with the unit and terminating with the aggregate.

This method is certainly more exact and scientific than that sometimes pursued which reverses the above order. These points of history and order being settled, we can now proceed the more easily and expeditiously to indicate what such an instrument ought to contain, that it may be lucid, effective, and comprehensive.

Let it be noted, then, that there exists at present no unanimity of opinion regarding the number of its principal divisions, or the titles that they shall bear. We feel the more free to suggest, therefore, that these be four in number, and that they be designated : (I) The Articles of Religion; (II) The General Rules; (III) The Local Church, How Constituted; (IV) The Church and Its Governing Bodies.

Of the first and second of these little needs to be said, except to observe in passing: (1) that these Articles and Rules have been part and parcel of the faith and practice of the people called Methodists from Wesley's time to the present; (2) that they have remained unaltered amid theological revisions and ecclesiastical mutations for more than a century; (3) that they have been, and still are, regarded by countless numbers of the members of the Church as being the foundations upon which the Church stands. We so consider them, and would not, therefore, willingly consent to the removal of these old landmarks of Methodism.

The third main division, "The Local Church, How Constituted," requires more elaboration. It is comparatively a new department, so far as specific provisions are concerned. The emphasis should be placed upon the definition and formation of a church, membership therein, organizations and officers, local powers, and connectional ties. Some such outline as here follows will suggest the character and scope of this chapter on the local church:

(a) Definition. A local church or society according to our economy is a congregation of devout men and women to whom the word of God is preached and the sacraments administered, according to Christ's ordinances, as set forth in the New Testament Scriptures and the Book of Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

(b) Formation. Whenever ten or more persons, who give evidence of being convicted of sin and desire to flee the wrath to come, can assemble together for divine worship, and will subscribe to the Articles of

Religion and the General Rules of the Methodist Episcopal Church, they shall be received on probation and form a class, from which, when ten or more, with or without additions from persons holding certificates of membership in our own or other evangelical Churches, shall be received into full connection by a minister of our Church, they may be organized into a local society by any of our preachers, with the concurrence of the presiding elder within the bounds of whose district the new society is to be formed.

(c) Houses of Worship. Whenever such a society shall feel able to erect a house of worship, it shall, before selecting the building lot, first consult the District Committee on Church Location (if there be no such committee, then the Annual Conference Committee on Church Location), shall seek to have sufficient money in hand to cover all expenses of erecting such edifice before beginning to build, and shall in every instance use our form of Deed of Settlement.

(d) Organizations. Sunday schools, Epworth and Junior Leagues, et al., may be formed in the local society as part of the same, by the preacher in charge. In so doing the provisions of the Discipline relating to the formation and government of all such bodies shall be observed.

(e) Officers. In the local society officers, such as trustees and stewards, shall be elected according to the law of the State or Church regulating the same. Also in the election, appointment, and recommendation of exhorters, local preachers, leaders, Sunday school and League superintendents the usages of the Church shall be conformed to and its legal requisitions fully met.

(f) Connectional Bonds. All societies thus formed and all bodies inhering therein, with all officers and members of the same, shall be regarded as part of the Methodist Episcopal Church at large, and have all the rights, privileges, and immunities guaranteed by the rules and regulations of said Church as more fully set forth in the chapters of the Discipline on these branches of government and in Chapter IV of this instrument on "The Church and Its Governing Bodies."

Some such chapter as the above should be incorporated into our new Constitution. If for no other reasons, at least for the reason that thus far in our economy there have been no legal formulas or directions given for and no unanimity of method practiced in the formation of the individual society and its subordinate organizations. Hence all sorts of ways and means have been employed, and much confusion and irregularity have resulted, with loss of prestige to the dignity of the Church and chagrin to her devoted pastors. And, further, because the individual member is the unit and the local church the nu

cleus from which the membership and the Church in general are made up. They lie at the basis of all government, and no Constitution can be justly considered complete which omits to provide for their reception and formation as local organizations and their corporate relations to the organic body.

The fourth main division, "The Church and Its Governing Bodies," should treat of the Leaders' and Stewards' Meeting, the Official Board, the Quarterly, District, Annual, and General Conferences and their powers:

(a) The Leaders' and Stewards' Meeting is mentioned first because it should be the primary body within the local society after its organization, having to do with the temporal and spiritual interests of the charge. Its powers are fully defined in ¶ 101 of the Discipline.* There seem to be no urgent reasons either for extending or limiting the same. Let it therefore be embodied in the organic law in its present form.

(b) The Official Board is a little larger body than the above, with larger powers. In a certain restricted sense it is the Quarterly Conference in permanent session. Its powers also are set forth in the Discipline, ¶ 102. It is accorded the second place in this outline because it comes naturally the next in order to the Leaders' and Stewards' Meeting, although logically it should follow and not precede the Quarterly Conference.

(c) The Quarterly Conference is at present the supreme body in the local society, and should be so continued. In addition to its present duties and prerogatives, as given in Discipline, ¶¶ 96-100, specific provision should be made for its formation in every pastoral charge, that it shall be composed of such persons as, from time to time, the General Conference may designate, and exercise such powers as said General Conference may confer; and, further, that all local church boards, bodies, and officers shall be subject to its authority.

(d) The District Conference should be next in order and power. It is a distinct advance and gain over the Quarterly Conference, and unifies and fosters the work of the different charges under its jurisdiction. When once inaugurated it is found indispensable. Its powers are fully defined in Disci

*The edition of the Discipline to which references are here made is that of 1896.

pline, ¶¶ 88–95. We regret that in the recommendations for the modification of the organic law the Commission omitted any reference to this body. It should be included in the final draft, and, if found feasible, granted even greater power than it now possesses.

(e) The Annual Conference, its composition and prerogatives, are specified in the Discipline, ¶¶ 69-85, and need no further amplification here. It should continue to consist of preachers only. It should claim and be granted more time than some of our presiding officers are disposed to grant, for the satisfactory completion of all legitimate business coming before it. If the bishops are so crowded with Conferences that they cannot allow an Annual Conference to "sit one week at least "—should the interests of the Conference require it— then elect more bishops.

We come now, by an easy gradation, to consider the manifold functions which should be exercised by the General Conference. Thus far has been briefly indicated under the different divisions, with here and there a passing observation, what the organic law should cover. It will be both pertinent and necessary to be a little more explicit from now on. The far-reaching influences and ramifications of this body demand it.

(f) The government of the Church, then, should be invested, as it now is, in the General Conference, which should consist of ministerial and lay delegates to be chosen as the General Conference shall specify from time to time, and which shall exercise the legislative, executive, and, with some qualifications or alterations, judicial functions. The sections of the law controlling this body should likewise make ample provision for the election of delegates, credentials, organization, right of challenge, sessions, presiding officers, voting, quorum, powers, limitations, and amendments. That this body should possess other grants of power than those it already has, according to the Discipline, TT 58-68, or the Commission's new draft, is obvious. And that there should be some means of making many of its operations more distinct and separate is equally patent. It is to be regretted that it both possesses and exercises the threefold office of government, namely, the legisla

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