I'm Back....

After a long hiatus, we're off to the races.  I could be posting at a quick pace, but any help you can give is appreciated.  Question number 10:

10) Discuss your understanding of the primary characteristics of UM polity.

            On a larger level, the primary characteristic of United Methodist polity is connectionalism.  The connectional system in the church encompasses almost every other aspect of polity in the church.  We see this in the fact that every church, through the charge conference, is related to the annual conference, which relates to the jurisdictional and, finally, the general conference.  The episcopacy of the church, from the council of bishops down to the district superintendents, connects the local church to the larger church body.  Even local churches are required to have the district superintendent call a charge conference for major decisions being made.  In this way, it is assured that “no local church can make the decisions most important to its life in isolation from the whole Church as personified in the district superintendent, whose very presence n the presiding officer’s chair is a continuing reminder that each local church is a part of a larger whole” (Tuell 61). We are connected to each other, and that is something that defines our denomination.

            On the local church level, however, the defining characteristic might be the involvement of the laity in the guidance of the church.  While the pastor is “ultimately held responsible for what happens” in the church, we also see that “the actual policies and programs of the local church are made by democratically elected bodies and officials” (Tuell, 48, 60).  The governing bodies of the local church are guided by the pastor, but run by the laity.  This is a system that empowers the people of the church and involves them heavily in the life of the church, allowing those who are in the world on a daily basis a chance to shape the church to reach that very world.