Nathan Bangs · 4 of 28

Chapter 3. From the Death of Bishop Asbury to the Close of the General Conference of 1816. · Part 3

That those preachers who refuse to occupy the houses which may be provided for them on the stations and circuits where they are from time to time appointed, shall be allowed nothing for house-rent, nor receive anything more than their simple quarterage for themselves, wives, and children, and their traveling expenses. Nevertheless, this rule shall not apply to those preachers whose families are either established within the bounds of their circuits or stations, or are so situated that, in the judgment of the stewards, or the above-mentioned committee, it is not necessary for the benefit of the circuit to remove them.

That that part of the Discipline which relates to the temporal economy of our Church be so altered as to make the annual allowance of preachers one hundred dollars, and that of their wives and widows one hundred dollars.

That there be a committee appointed by the quarterly meeting conference of every circuit and station, consisting of members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, whose duty it shall be to make an estimate of the amount necessary to furnish fuel and table expenses of the family or families of the preachers stationed with them, and that the stewards shall provide, by such means as they shall devise, to meet such expenses, in money or otherwise; — provided that the quarterly allowance of the preachers shall first be paid by the stewards.

That there be a meeting in every district of one steward from each station and circuit, to be selected from among the stewards by the quarterly conference, whose duty it shall be, by and with the advice of the presiding elders who shall preside in such meeting, to take into consideration the general state of the district in regard to temporalities, and to furnish a house and provision for the presiding elders’ families, in conformity to the first and fourth resolutions of this report.

“In order more effectually to provide for the distressed traveling, superannuated, and supernumerary preachers, their wives, widows, and children, your committee earnestly recommend,

6. That each annual conference, in such way and manner as they may think proper, raise a fund for these purposes, according to the 6th article of the 5th section of the temporal economy of our Church.

“Thinking the Discipline sufficiently explicit on those points which relate to the Christian experience, practice, &c., of preachers, your committee deem it needless to add any thing on these subjects. But they beg leave to recommend,

7. That it be the duty of the bishop or bishops, or a committee which they may appoint in each annual conference, to point out a course of reading and study proper to be pursued by candidates for the ministry; and the presiding elders, whenever a person is presented as a candidate for the ministry, shall direct him to those studies which have been thus recommended. And before any such candidate shall be received into full connection, he shall give satisfactory evidence respecting his knowledge of those particular subjects which have been recommended to his consideration.”

The adoption of this report, it is believed, had a salutary influence upon the ministry and membership, by exciting a spirit of liberality, and leading to a more vigorous action in respect to acquiring a greater amount of ministerial qualification.

From that time forth a regular course of study has been prescribed by the bishops for those on trial in the annual conferences, to which the candidates must attend, and give satisfactory evidence of their attainments, especially in theological science, before they can be admitted into full membership as itinerant ministers. Though the course of study at first was very limited in some of the conferences, and the examinations comparatively superficial, it has been gradually enlarged and improved, so much so as to require a great compass of knowledge to be able to pass an approved examination. Still there is much wanting to give that thorough training which is most desirable for the full and profitable development of the mental powers, and their energetic application in the field of usefulness.

A committee of safety was also appointed, who reported that doctrines in some instances adverse to the standards of our Church were insinuating themselves among us — that the building churches with pews to rent or sell was gaining an ascendency in some places, and that the rules on dress and the manner of ministerial support were but negligently enforced: whereupon the following resolutions were adopted: —

Resolved by the delegates of the annual conferences in General Conference assembled, That the General Conference do earnestly recommend the superintendents to make the most careful inquiry in all the annual conferences, in order to ascertain whether any doctrines are embraced or preached contrary to our established Articles of Faith; and to use their influence to prevent the existence and circulation of all such doctrines.

Resolved, &c., That it be specially recommended to all the presiding elders and stationed and circuit preachers to take particular care that all our houses of worship be secured on the principles of our deed of settlement, in the form of Discipline.

Resolved, &c., That the manner of building houses of religious worship with pews is contrary to the rules of our economy, and inconsistent with the interests of our societies.

Resolved, &c., That it is the opinion of this conference that the practice of assessing and collecting taxes by civil law for the support of the ministers of the gospel is contrary to the temporal economy of our Church, and inconsistent with apostolic example; that it goes to impede the progress of experimental religion and destroy the itinerant plan. And the superintendents with all the annual conferences are hereby desired to take such measures as in their judgment will most effectually cure such an evil.

Resolved, &c., That the superintendents, together with all the presiding elders and assistant preachers, be, and hereby are, earnestly requested to carry into effect, in their several charges, our rules on dress, family worship, love-feasts, class and society meetings.

Resolved, &c., That no preacher having the charge of a circuit shall be allowed to divide or in any way to lessen the circuit, without the consent and advice of the presiding elder.

Resolved, &c., That it be, and hereby is, recommended to the bishops and presiding elders, in the general and particular oversight of their charges, to guard against such divisions and reductions of districts and circuits, as in their judgment may be inconsistent with the temporal and spiritual interests of our societies, and the preservation of the energies of our itinerant system.”

No part of this report was incorporated in the Discipline, but it was ordered that it should be recorded on the journals of the several annual conferences, and, so far as relates to the building of churches with slips to rent or sell, it has remained a dead letter in many parts of our work. The practice of renting pews at that time was limited to a few places, but it has since extended more and more through the eastern and some of the more northern conferences, the people pleading the necessity of the case for a departure in this respect from the primitive usage of Methodism.

It may be regretted that the state of society requires us to relinquish the mode of building churches with free seats; but as it is not pretended to be in itself sinful to rent or sell the seats, the expediency of the measure must he determined by the probable utility in any given place of resorting to this method of providing houses of worship. And when the question is put, “Shall we have such a house or none?” as is the case in many parts of our country, it is believed that hesitancy should be at an end, and that we should be guilty of a dereliction of duty were we to refuse to avail ourselves of this means to provide homes in which we may preach the gospel to sinners.

It is, however, admitted, that houses with free seats, when they can be built and paid for, and the people induced to occupy them, are to be preferred; but if otherwise, it appears like an inexcusable pertinacity in so cleaving to a usage not expressly enjoined in Scripture, as to refuse to preach the gospel and administer the ordinances in a house of worship merely because the seats are rented.

Sundry memorials from local preachers were presented to this General Conference, praying for an enlargement of their privileges: 1. To have a representation in the councils of the Church: 2. Be permitted a share in the administration of the discipline; and, 3. To stipulate with the people who might wish for their services for a certain amount of salary. The committee appointed to take these memorials into consideration reported as follows: —

“Your committee are of opinion that the first request is inconsistent with the constitution of the General Conference; — that the second is inexpedient; — that as to the third, provision is already made for the relief of local preachers in certain cases, and it is the opinion of the committee that this General Conference ought not to make any further provision, except as is hereinafter recommended.

“From an attentive inquiry into the state of the local preachers in all parts of our vast continent, we are happy to be able to say, that the great body of that very respectable and useful class of our brethren are, in our judgment, the firm friends and supporters of our doctrines, discipline, and Church government; and that by far the greater part of them would be much grieved at any radical changes in our present regulations. But upon examining those parts of our Discipline which respect local preachers, your committee beg leave to recommend the following amendments.”

On this recommendation the section relating to local preachers was so altered as to read as follows: —

“Before any person shall be licensed to preach as a local preacher among us, he shall bring a recommendation from the society or class of which he is a member, and be personally examined before the quarterly meeting conference by the presiding elder, or, in his absence, by the preacher having the charge, touching his acquaintance with the doctrines of our Church, to which he shall declare his assent, together with his gifts and grace for preaching; and if he be approved by the quarterly meeting conference in these respects, and they believe he will be generally acceptable and useful as a preacher, he shall then receive a license, signed by the presiding elder, or, in his absence, by the preacher having charge, which license it shall be the duty of such local preacher to have annually renewed.”

After a few other verbal alterations, the section provided as follows: —

“Whenever a local preacher shall remove from one circuit to another, he shall procure from the presiding elder of the district, or the preacher having the charge of the circuit, a certificate of his official standing in the Church at the time of his removal, without which he shall not be received as a local preacher in another place.”

The following item respecting the manner in which exhorters should receive authority to exercise their gifts was ordered to be inserted in the Discipline, and was so done accordingly. The preacher in charge, among other duties, was to have authority: —

“To license such persons as he may judge proper to officiate as exhorters in the Church, provided no person shall be licensed without the consent of a leaders’ meeting, or of the class of which he is a member, where no leaders’ meeting is held; and the exhorters so authorized shall be subject to the annual examination of character in the quarterly meeting conference, and have their license annually renewed by the presiding elder, or the preacher having the charge, if approved of by the quarterly meeting conference.”

That part of the Discipline which relates to circuit stewards was so amended as to make them responsible to the quarterly meeting conference “for the faithful performance of their duties.”

Hitherto it had been the duty of an annual conference, if it had any surplus money on hand after paying its own claimants, to send it to the next conference. This regulation was so altered at this conference as to make it the duty of the annual conference to “send such surplus forward to that conference they judge to be most necessitous.”

As the two bishops who had been elected and consecrated at this conference were men of families, and as no provision had been made in the Discipline for the support of such families, it was ordered that the “book agents, in conjunction with the book committee New York, be authorized to estimate the sum to defray the necessary expenses of the bishops’ families, for which they shall be authorized to draw on the editor and general book steward.”

Joshua Soule and Thomas Mason were elected book agents, and the conference renewed the order for the publication of the Methodist Magazine, in monthly numbers of forty octavo pages each, and required each annual conference to appoint a committee of three to receive and forward communications, and otherwise to furnish materials for the work. The Magazine, however, was not commenced till 1818, and the appointment of these committees answered no valuable purpose, as but little aid was afforded by them to the editors.

These include all the acts of this conference worthy of public record, or which went to affect the general administration. On the 24th of May the business closed by adjournment, to meet again in the city of Baltimore, May 1, 1820.