Tinney Chapel Today

DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT, REV. PAT BEGHTEL-MAHLE, photo above, discussed United Methodist Church polity, with emphasis on structure and operation of the local church, at Tinney Chapel UMC, Monday, April 25, in the Family Life Center Fellowship Hall. Today, after nearly a month of intensive attention to the requirements of her office, including 10 days of European travel, Rev. Beghtel-Mahle has completed her research on the challenging questions raised during the discussion period which followed her original address at Tinney Chapel. To read the questions, and her responses, scroll down to the section headed Questions and Answers. Photo: Paris-Sulphur Springs UMC District Office.


The United Methodist Way

The meeting began with prayer by Tinney Chapel UMC Pastor Duncan Graham, who then introduced Rev. Pat Beghtel-Mahle, Superintendent of the Paris-Sulphur Springs United Methodist Church (UMC) District. She came to our church this evening at the invitation of Pastor Graham, who had told her he wanted to know more about the structure and operation of the United Methodist Church, and that our congregation would also appreciate input from the District Superintendent (D.S.) on this complex topic.

The D.S. began with comments about all that is involved in being a member of a local United Methodist Church. “You are not just a member of Tinney Chapel UMC,” she emphasized. “You are also a member of the total United Methodist Church, which is a connectional church. As a member of this local church, you are connected to the world, beginning with your connection to the Paris-Sulphur Springs District.

“We have six Districts in the North Texas Conference (NTC),” explained the D.S. “If you were a member of a church in the Texas Conference, further south, you would be in a much larger Conference, geographically.

“The primary way the NTC connects with the local church starts with your local charge conference, which always brings me to your church,” added Rev. Beghtel-Mahle. “The charge conference is very important, and allows you to provide me with a profile of your church.

“The next link in the connectional system is our Annual Conference, to which your church always sends a representative,” said the D.S. “We always have an equal number of laity and clergy at Annual Conference, where the Conference ministry and budget are set, and the voice of the local church is heard.

“The next larger part of the UMC connectional system is the Jurisdiction, and we are in the Southwest Jurisdiction, which includes Texas, Nebraska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kansas and Missouri,” declared Rev. Beghtel-Mahle. “All UM churches in these states are part of the Southwest Jurisdiction. At Jurisdictional Conference, which meets every four years, the primary order of business is the election of UM Bishops.

“Then, to the next conference, which is General Conference, held every four years, and which always results in an updated version of the United Methodist Book of Discipline (BOD),” said the D.S. “The BOD is our guide, rule, law and our understanding of what God has called us to do: the goals we live by.”

At this point, the D.S. reminded us that her order of discussion had so far been to move from the little picture to the Big Picture, and she displayed hard-copy printouts from a website that she recommends to all United Methodists who want to get a visual handle on the denomination’s organizational structure:

http://media.umcom.org/umcorg/flash/connectional17_mp3_8kbps.swf

“But, tonight we are here to focus mainly on the local church,” added Rev. Beghtel-Mahle. “In every United Methodist church in the North Texas Conference, a Pastor is appointed by the Bishop and the Cabinet, which includes all six District Superintendents. Now, all this is really important, because it’s different from almost any other church. Your Pastor is sent to you, not hired by you. Ours is a send ministry, in which your Pastor is sent to you. It is not a call ministry. United Methodist polity is 100% different from just about any other church.

“The United Methodist Church ordains Pastors to ministry, and the goal is to send, or appoint, a Pastor whose gifts and graces are a good match for each local church congregation,” explained the D.S. “This is the most challenging part of the life of The Church that I have ever been concerned with, and I will concede that the system is not perfect, and we don’t always get it right. But, we do our best, with God’s help. Think about it: Marriage is ordained by God, too, and that doesn’t always work out either.

“Don’t forget that every Pastor, and every District Superintendent, is appointed one year at a time,” reminded Rev. Beghtel-Mahle. “This spring, we have been looking at Pastoral moves, and most of you already know that First UMC Winnsboro is getting a new Pastor this year.

Here, the D.S. emphasized that the remainder of her remarks would deal almost solely with the local church:

“The Pastor is in charge of the life of the congregation,” declared Rev. Beghtel-Mahle. “The Pastor is required by the BOD to help you: Not to say that you will do it this way, but rather to help you discern what to do to meet the needs of the congregation. The Pastor is not to make the decisions for your church, but is to be involved in the decision-making process.

“Your local church charge conference should be taken very seriously,” added the D.S. “I come down here, and you tell me what’s happening in your program of nurturing each other in Spiritual Growth. In turn, I represent you to the larger Church. Also, at your charge conference each fall, your Pastor’s salary is set for the coming year, from January to January, so you know what your budget is, and the Pastor knows how much he has to live on. The charge conference is also the time and place when apportionments are accepted by the local church.

“Your apportionments are used to pay for the ministry and missions we do with other UM churches,” explained Rev. Beghtel-Mahle. “Through apportionments and the connectional system, we can do things that no one church or conference can do by themselves. For instance, eight to twelve years ago, the United Methodist Church decided to start a university in Africa, and we voted to spend enough money to get it going in a direction that would ultimately have Africans teaching in it. Today, you help to pay for that University with your apportionments because the United Methodist Church had the foresight to see that it would make a difference there.

“At the most recent General Conference, we discussed the tragic problem of AIDS that is killing people of all kinds, worldwide, and creating numerous orphans,” added the D.S. “So the United Methodist Church voted to spend millions of dollars to start dealing with AIDS on a worldwide basis, and your apportionments help to pay for that.

“I should also mention that your apportionments help to pay for our UM Bishops,” she added.

“In the local church structure, the BOD gives details on how to run a church,” said Rev. Beghtel-Mahle. “Your church is run by either an administrative council or a church council: You get to choose. Overall, there’s a lot of leeway in running a local church. The BOD mandates only three committees: Lay Leadership (which used to be called the Nominations Committee), Pastor-Parish Relations (or Staff-Parish Relations), and Finance. All other committees are optional, but most churches choose to have a Board of Trustees, a Worship Committee, and committees on Children and Youth.

“The Lay Leader is a key person in the local church,” added the D.S. “You should think of him or her as the head lay person who sees the Big Picture along with the Pastor. Those two, the Pastor and the Lay Leader, look at the Big Picture. I can’t say how important the Lay Leader is to the local church when he or she functions well, and is involved in the Big Picture.

“The Pastor’s duties are defined in the BOD,” emphasized Rev. Beghtel-Mahle. “First, we are talking about an ordained Pastor, a process which takes one-tenth of the Pastor’s life, on average. A UM Pastor is usually an Elder or someone on the way to becoming an Elder in a two-step process of ordination. A Local Pastor serves as an Elder in the community when there is a shortage of UM Elders, as there still is now. The difference is that the Local Pastor does not have quite as much schooling, and does not have to go where he or she is sent, although if he or she does not, then he or she will no longer be a Local Pastor. An Elder will go whenever and wherever sent.

In elaborating on the duties of a United Methodist Pastor, the D.S. also quoted extensively from the 2004 BOD:

“The responsibilities of elders and licensed pastors are derived from the authority given in ordination. Elders have a four-fold ministry of Word, Sacrament, Order and Service within the connection and thus serve in the church and the world. Local pastors share with the elders the responsibilities and duties of a pastor for this four-fold ministry.

1. Word and ecclesial acts:

a) To preach the Word of God, lead in worship, read and teach the Scriptures, and engage the people in study and witness.

(1) To ensure faithful transmission of the Christian faith.

(2) To lead people in discipleship and evangelistic outreach that others might come to know Christ and to follow him.

b) To counsel persons with personal, ethical, or spiritual struggles.

c) To perform the ecclesial acts of marriage and burial.

(1) To perform the marriage ceremony after due counsel with the parties involved and in accordance with the laws of the state and the rules of The United Methodist Church. The decision to perform the ceremony shall be the right and responsibility of the pastor.

(2) To conduct funeral and memorial services and provide care and grief counseling.

d) To visit in the homes of the church and the community, especially among the sick, aged, imprisoned, and others in need.

e) To maintain all confidences inviolate, including confessional confidences except in the cases of suspected child abuse or neglect, or in cases where mandatory reporting is required by civil law.

2. Sacrament:

a) To administer the sacraments of baptism and the Supper of the Lord according to Christ's ordinance.

(1) To prepare the parents and sponsors before baptizing infants or children, and instruct them concerning the significance of baptism and their responsibilities for the Christian training of the baptized child.

(2) To encourage reaffirmation of the baptismal covenant and renewal of baptismal vows at different stages of life.

(3) To encourage people baptized in infancy or early childhood to make their profession of faith, after instruction, so that they might become professing members of the church.

(4) To explain the meaning of the Lord's Supper and to encourage regular participation as a means of grace to grow in faith and holiness.

(5) To select and train deacons and lay members to serve the consecrated communion elements.

b) To encourage the private and congregational use of the other means of grace.

3. Order:

a) To be the administrative officer of the local church and to assure that the organizational concerns of the congregation are adequately provided for.

(1) To give pastoral support, guidance, and training to the lay leadership, equipping them to fulfill the ministry to which they are called.

(2) To give oversight to the educational program of the church and encourage the use of United Methodist literature and media.

(3) To be responsible for organizational faithfulness, goal setting, planning and evaluation.

(4) To search out and counsel men and women for the ministry of deacons, elders, local pastors and other church related ministries.

b) To administer the temporal affairs of the church in their appointment, the annual conference, and the general church.

(1) To administer the provisions of the Discipline.

(2) To give an account of their pastoral ministries to the charge and annual conference according to the prescribed forms.

(3) To provide leadership for the funding ministry of the congregation.

(4) To promote faithful, financial stewardship and to encourage giving as a spiritual discipline.

(5) To lead the congregation in the fulfillment of its mission through full and faithful payment of all apportioned ministerial support, administrative, and benevolent funds.

(6) To care for all church records and local church financial obligations, and certify the accuracy of all financial, membership, and any other reports submitted by the local church to the annual conference for use in apportioning costs back to the church.

c) To participate in denominational and conference programs and training opportunities.

(1) To seek out opportunities for cooperative ministries with other United Methodist pastors and churches.

(2) To be willing to assume supervisory responsibilities within the connection.

d) To lead the congregation in racial and ethnic inclusiveness.

4. Service:

a) To embody the teachings of Jesus in servant ministries and servant leadership.

b) To give diligent pastoral leadership in ordering the life of the congregation for discipleship in the world.

c) To build the body of Christ as a caring and giving community, extending the ministry of Christ to the world.

d) To participate in community, ecumenical and inter-religious concerns and to encourage the people to become so involved and to pray and labor for the unity of the Christian community.”

At this point, Rev. Beghtel-Mahle ended her prepared remarks, and responded to questions from those present, an exchange which is reported below, and includes her subsequent research on some of those detailed questions. This follow-up was posted on Tuesday, May 24, 2005.

Questions & Answers

1. PPR (Staff/Parish Relations) Committee:

What is this committee supposed to do?

How does this committee function?

Who does this committee represent?

Who does this committee report to?

When the Pastor’s wife is the church’s Lay Member of Annual Conference, who replaces her on this committee?

Is the Lay Leader a full voting member of this committee?

What is this committee’s responsibility in times of trouble within the church?

In the event the committee notifies the DS of trouble, does the DS notify the whole church?

Is a decision of the DS binding?

“The PPR (Staff/Parish Relations) Committee shall meet at least quarterly, and be composed of not fewer than five nor more than nine members.

"In addition, the Lay Leader and a Lay Member of the Annual Conference shall be full voting members.

"In the event the church’s Lay Member of Annual Conference is the Pastor’s wife, she may be replaced by another Lay Member of Annual Conference if the church has more than one, as Tinney Chapel UMC does.

“No immediate family member of the Pastor may serve on this committee. Only one person from an immediate family residing in the same household may serve on this committee.

“The committee’s function is at least two-fold. It acts as a consultant to the DS about the ministry of the church, and whether the Pastor meets the congregation’s needs. According to the Discipline, vacancies on this committee can be elected at Administrative Council meetings, but I believe a Charge Conference would be ideal for that purpose.

“This committee deliberates in closed session, and in absolute confidence. It is the only church committee that is not fully open to any and all members who may want to attend its meetings. This committee may invite others to its deliberations, one at a time, to share special information, but those invited to do so must leave before the committee votes.

“It’s also the only church committee that does not report to the Administrative Council. It reports to me, the DS, on what it perceives is going on in the church, but at the same time, I will always have my own insight and information on any evaluation. This committee fills out and returns to me a church evaluation and profile form every year, and these documents give me a general idea of how the church is doing. In addition, under the Book of Discipline, this committee brings the Pastor’s salary directly to the Charge Conference, but it should coordinate that with the Finance Committee.

“This committee is the liaison between the Pastor and the church, and committee members should build up, encourage and support the Pastor. It should not be a forum for antagonism, criticism, charges or little turf wars. In fact, if you are asked to serve on this committee, and you can not support the Pastor, then you should not agree to serve on it. Being a Pastor is a tough, hard, lonely life.

“The PPR (Staff/Parish Relations) Committee is responsible for evaluating and hiring church staff, but would be well-advised to ask the Administrative Council to OK its choices. If the committee delegates any of its responsibility for interviewing and evaluating potential employees, the committee itself will still be held responsible for the people who are hired. In a church the size of Tinney Chapel, I suggest that this committee present its choices as recommendations to the Administrative Council.

“When there is trouble or a struggle in the church, this committee is caught in the middle. Members should listen, listen, listen to all who have something to say, including the Pastor. If, in the end, the committee cannot find a solution by tweaking, changing and compromising, then the committee should call the DS to sit with the committee and, hopefully, be of some help.

“No church wants to be in conflict, and no Pastor wants to be in conflict, but both church and Pastor should continue to care for each other even if the Pastor has messed up. Whether or not to notify the congregation of trouble, reported by the committee, is a judgment call by the DS. I always start with the PPR (Staff/Parish Relations) committee because the United Methodist Church functions much like the federal government: a representative democracy.

“However, in the final analysis, the DS speaks for the Bishop. Personally, as a DS, I’m not much of a demander. Rather, I prefer to offer suggestive guidelines. I see the church as a family, in constant dialog with all members, always communicating with each other.

“My goal is for us to work together, process, pray, discern, get everybody on board and try to uphold the Book of Discipline, which is a vow taken by every UMC Pastor. When a Pastor does not follow the Book of Discipline, then I mandate. We are further mandated to live under the most current, or 2004, Book of Discipline.”

2. The Finance Committee.

Is this committee supposed to do anything other than raise money and coordinate its use?

“Yes, the Finance Committee should emphasize that tithing is part of our spiritual journey. A Christian’s conversion is not complete until the pocketbook, along with the head and heart, is converted.”

3. The Committee on Lay Leadership. (Still often called the Nominating Committee.)

What is this committee supposed to do?

“This committee does some of the hardest work in the church by discerning who serves in all the church’s many roles. This calls for brutal honesty about who is suited for a job and why. It calls for discernment, prayer and confidentiality. Under the Book of Discipline, the Pastor is Chair of this committee.”

4. The Administrative Council.

How often should the Council meet?

Is the Pastor a voting member of the Council?

“The Council itself decides how often it meets, but it should meet at least quarterly. Council meetings should be announced at least 10 days in advance by all forms of communication. The Pastor is a voting member.”

5. A quorum.

What constitutes a quorum in the United Methodist Church?

“Whoever shows up is a quorum in all UMC organizations. This wise Book of Discipline rule discourages those who might otherwise be tempted to use absence as a threat or weapon. As it is, committees and councils are free to conduct business at any properly called meeting, no matter how few show up. This rule also explains why proxy votes are not allowed.”

6. The Board of Trustees.

What is the job of the Trustees?

Is the Pastor a member of the Board of Trustees?

Do the Trustees need Council approval before making changes to the church plant or property?

“The Trustees are responsible for all the church’s physical plant and property, inside and outside. They are also responsible, in coordination with the Finance Committee, for all endowments to the church. Like all other committees, the Board of Trustees is responsible to the Administrative Council, which must approve its actions. The Pastor is not a member of the Board of Trustees unless elected or invited.”

Can another Trustee be designated to represent the Trustee Chair as a voting member of the Administrative Council?

If so, is that designee obligated to vote the majority position of the Trustees even if the designee voted the minority position within the Board of Trustees?

In the absence of specific voting instructions to the designee, is the designee free to vote his conscience in the Administrative Council?

If an uninstructed designee votes his conscience in the scenario above, is his vote legal?

Is anyone justified in holding the designee up to criticism for voting his conscience?

What are the options of the Trustees under this scenario?

[Editor’s Note: Some personal details that were included in the six questions immediately above have been omitted in this report.]

“As I look at all the questions and concerns in this scenario, I do not think this can be solved by a ruling about the Book of Discipline or Roberts Rules of Order.

“I think this has the potential to be very hurtful. Therefore, the only way this can be handled is to compromise and decide that being together and loving each other, is far more important than what any space in the church is used for.

“Compromise will be the key, and perhaps processing the hurt and pain around this issue.”