2016 Wesleyan Discipline:Under charges: Discipline, consequences of being under: For ministers

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313. The constitutional rights of ministers in The Wesleyan Church if not under discipline shall include the following:

(1) To preach the gospel and in the case of ordained ministers to administer baptism and the Lord’s Supper, to perform all parts of divine worship, and to solemnize the rite of matrimony.
(2) To be eligible, in the case of ordained ministers, for election to any office in the Church for which ordained ministers are eligible.
(3) To contract the pastoral relationship with local Wesleyan churches subject to the other provisions of this Constitution (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:313:6; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:323:1-2).
(4) To enjoy the use for religious meetings of the church building or buildings of the pastoral charge to which appointment has been made by the district conference.
(5) To serve the assigned pastoral charge without interference by unauthorized activities of another minister of The Wesleyan Church.
(6) To transfer in the manner prescribed by The Discipline from one district to another, subject to the approval of the district superintendent and the General Superintendent supervising the area which includes the district into which the transfer is sought.
(7) To have recourse, even if under discipline, to a proper court of jurisdiction in any matters involving complaint against the minister’s character or ministerial conduct and to appeal the decision of such court.

5052. After the official notice of the date, time and place of the hearing, together with a copy of the accusation and specifications, is delivered to the accused and until after judgment is rendered by the judicatory, the accused may be temporarily suspended from the exercise of any office by the official body having jurisdiction. 5115. Definition of Penalties. There shall be five degrees of discipline for the administration of discipline, as outlined in paragraph 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:5023. 5212. The administration of discipline to credentialed persons under the jurisdiction of the district (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:5200:1-3) shall be in accord with the following regulations:

(1) Indiscreet Conduct. Whenever a minister, ministerial student, or special worker has been charged with an offense alleging sexual immorality and is not found guilty of such actions but rather of imprudence or indiscreet conduct, the offender shall be subject to admonition, rebuke, suspension or removal, according to the seriousness of the offense. (See 1 Tim. 5:19–20.)
(2) Suspension. Whenever a minister shall be suspended from the ministry, or a ministerial student or special worker shall be suspended from such office, all credentials shall be surrendered to the custody of the district superintendent (cf. Disc. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1310:32). Whenever such a person shall furnish the district superintendent a written apology acknowledging guilt and pledging to correct the matter, and gives evidence that the offense has ceased and that the person is repentant, the district board of administration may end the suspension, reinstate the person, and authorize the return of all credentials. If the written apology and assurance are not forthcoming, and the accused does not exercise the right of appeal, the district board of administration shall declare that the said person has withdrawn from the district, and said person’s credentials shall be forwarded to the Executive Director of Communication and Administration (cf. Disc. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1233:40; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1310:32; GBP-2016 Wesleyan Discipline:5230).
(3) Sexual immorality. Whenever a minister, ministerial student or special worker shall have been convicted by a judicatory of such immoral acts as fornication, adultery or homosexual behavior, or has confessed to such acts to the official body having jurisdiction, the individual shall be removed from the ministry or from the office of a ministerial student or special worker, as the case may be (see 1 Cor. 5:1–13; 6:9–11). This shall not prohibit membership in a Wesleyan church when the guilty person repents and demonstrates a Christian life according to the standards of The Wesleyan Church. Anyone who has been removed for such an offense may be considered for restoration as provided for in 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:5230–5245.
(4) Removal (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:5023:4). A minister who has been removed from the ministry, or a ministerial student or special worker who has been removed from such office, shall immediately surrender all credentials to the district superintendent (cf. Disc. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1310:31; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3085:4; GBP-2016 Wesleyan Discipline:5230), shall cease to exercise any of the functions of the ministry, or of a commission or license, as the case may be, and shall not occupy any pulpit in The Wesleyan Church. Such a person’s compensation and benefits, or a comparable family living allowance, shall be determined by a plan mutually agreed upon by the local board of administration and the district superintendent. Whenever anyone who has been expelled from the ministry or a commission or license shall appeal, the discipline may be deferred with the exception that such a person shall be suspended from the exercise of any office or of any particular service while the appeal is pending (cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:5066).
(5) Dismissal (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:5023:5). In matters where the actions or the attitude of the removed person is especially grievous, the district board of administration has full power to dismiss the person from membership in The Wesleyan Church, and the involved local church, when officially informed of this action, shall so indicate in its membership records. If the district board of administration removes the person but does not choose to dismiss from membership, the district secretary shall notify the local board of administration of the accusations, findings, and discipline and leave the matter of membership to the local church.

5215. The administration of discipline to other persons under the jurisdiction of the district (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:5200:4–6) shall be in accord with the following regulations:

(1) A supply pastor or interim pastor who is a minister or a member of another denomination or who is a minister in process of transfer from another denomination is not subject to a hearing or appeal by The Wesleyan Church. Such a person may simply be removed from appointment by the district board of administration (Disc. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3104:4; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3260:5).
(2) A lay district officer or a lay member whose matter has been assumed by the district shall be subject to the judicial jurisdiction of the district.

5288. The General Board, the Board of Pensions, the Board of Directors of the Wesleyan Investment Foundation, the board of trustees of an educational or benevolent institution, and other such governing boards shall have full power and authority to discharge at their discretion any officer or employee thereof (with the exception of those in 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:5270:1–4 which shall be limited to the General Board) who shall be guilty of any immoral conduct or breach of trust, or who for any reason is unable, or who fails to perform the duties of their office, or for other misconduct which any of said boards may deem sufficient to warrant discharge. The action of such board in removing such officer or employee in the circumstances above set forth shall be final. Any governing board of a subsidiary corporation, or of any educational or benevolent institution, shall have the right to recommend the removal of any of its members to the General Board, which shall have power to sustain or reject such a recommendation (cf. Disc. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:1655:18, 40b). There is no appeal for removal from office.

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