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| What is the Book of Discipline?
The Book of Discipline (or simply the Discipline) is produced by The United Methodist Church every four years. It reflects any changes produced by the General Conference, so it appears after that event. You could call it a guidebook for our Church. It is about who we are, what we believe, and how our Church operates. The content in the Discipline can be grouped into 2 main categories: 1 - Background material - the history and theological foundation of The United Methodist Church 2 - Guidelines and rules - suggested and required information on how the Church is to be run at each level of its structure: local church, district, conference, jurisdictional, national, and international In addition, the standard table of contents at the beginning of the book organizes it into major sections, while the index at the back of the book has an alphabetical listing of topics and where they can be found. |
| Paragraphs, not page numbers
While the pages are numbered, when people refer to sections of the Discipline they most often use the paragraph numbers. So when you see ¶248.3a, that means to go to item 'a' under number '1' of paragraph 248. The table of contents (starting with part 4) and the index identify topics by their paragraph, not page number. |
Background Material
- this material can
be found online at umc.org (click on links)
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| Guidelines and Rules
After the background material, the rest of the Book of Discipline (over 80% of the entire book) consists of guidelines and rules in a section titled 'Organization and Administration.' Rules are those things that must be carried out and observed. Guidelines are merely suggestions. For example, it is a rule that the local church have an administrative body, but guidelines explain that it can be one of several forms (as long as it suits the required rules). • The first part of the 'Organization and Administration' is the one that is most commonly used in the local church. It describes how the local church is to be organized and operated. General Conference 1996 gave more flexibility to local church structure, but there are still some rules to follow and helpful guidelines. • The second section is of major importance to the clergy, since it deals with matters of ordained persons. • The next section is on the higher leadership of the church ... district superintendents and bishops. This is of importance at the district and conference levels. • The next two sections deal with Conferences ... from District to Annual to Jurisdictional to General. It also covers other areas such as Central Conferences and other Methodist Churches. • The sixth section is important to the local church (especially Trustees) because it deals with church property. • The final section is about Judicial Administration in the Church. While only a portion of the book directly addresses the local church and individual Christian concerns, it would be a good idea for all United Methodists to read as much of the Discipline as possible and to use it as a reference whenever a question arises about the Church. |
| Where is the Discipline?
The Discipline is produces every 4 years upon the completion of General Conference. The Discipline and proposed changes should appear at the General Conference website the year in which it is held. Each new edition will reflect any changes made by the General Conference. It can be purchased in book or electronic form from Cokesbury. Your pastor and/or church office should have a copy. It might be a good idea for all church leaders to obtain a copy and perhaps keep one or more on hand (in the church office or library) for reference purposes. Note: some parts of the Discipline are online and can be found through the links in the text above. |
| LINKS:
Relevant Books for Further Study:  •
The
Book of Discipline 2000
•
A
Brief Introduction to the Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church
(Set of 10)
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Links to Explore: •
Excerpts
from the Book of Discipline
•
General
Conference 2004
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