G. General Regulations for Ordained Ministers and Commissioned or Licensed Ministers

1. Special Advice to Ministers

3093. John Wesley’s “Rules of a Helper” have perhaps never been excelled as counsel to ministers, whether young or old. These “Rules” are, in part, as follows:

(1) Be diligent. Never be unemployed a moment, never be triflingly employed, never while away time; spend no more time at any place than is strictly necessary.

(2) Be serious. Let your motto be, “Holiness unto the Lord.” Avoid all lightness, jesting, and foolish talking.

(3) Believe evil of no one without good evidence; unless you see it done, take heed how you credit it. Put the best construction on everything. The judge is always supposed to be on the prisoner’s side.

(4) Speak evil of no one, else your word especially would eat as doth a canker. Keep your thoughts within your own breast till you come to the person concerned.

(5) Tell every one under your care what you think wrong in his conduct and temper, and that lovingly and plainly as soon as may be: else it will fester in your heart. Make all haste to cast the fire out of your bosom.

(6) Avoid all affectation. A preacher of the gospel is the servant of all.

(7) Be ashamed of nothing but sin. Let your industry, as well as your humility, commend itself to all.

(8) Be punctual: do everything exactly at the time.

(9) Do not mend the rules, but keep them; not for wrath but for conscience’ sake.

(10) You have nothing to do but to save souls; therefore spend and be spent in this work; and go always not only to those that desire you, but to those who need you most.

2. Membership of Ministers

3097. Local Church Membership. Each Wesleyan minister, whether ordained, commissioned, or licensed, must be a member who meets the leadership qualifications (260-268; 558) of a local Wesleyan church (310). If serving as a pastor, membership is automatically transferred to the church of service (578:2). If serving in some capacity other than that of a pastor, the holding and transfer of local church membership shall occur in the same manner as a lay member. A commissioned or licensed minister must be a member of a local Wesleyan church within the district where appointed or licensed. An ordained minister may be a member of a local Wesleyan church outside the district where ministerial membership is held except when regulations governing a particular appointment or office prohibit such (578:2; 1258; 1278). In recognition of the undesigned but inherent potential to create divided loyalties or undermine the strengths of new pastoral leadership, ministers should be discouraged from remaining in the congregation or community immediately following pastoral service in that place. If a minister leaves a pastoral assignment to accept appointment to another service category or to begin retirement and, for such reason as a prior home purchase and/or no other Wesleyan church in the community, feels it necessary to retain membership and worship in the church where pastoral leadership was just terminated, it is recommended that said former pastor shall not accept appointment to the local board of administration (755).

3100. District Membership. An ordained or commissioned minister shall be a member of the district where appointed to service (3059:4), and each licensed minister a member of the district which issues the license (3015:3b; 3044:4; 3075:5). The ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister’s district membership shall be subject to the following regulations:

(1) If a minister desires to accept a pastoral call from a church within the bounds of another district, or if a minister not serving as a pastor desires to transfer ministerial membership to another district, the minister must first obtain the written permission of the General Superintendent and the district superintendent over the district into which transfer is desired (313:6; 1310:19; 3124). When such has been obtained, the minister shall ask the district superintendent for a letter of transfer (6440; 1310:26) to be sent directly to the district superintendent of the district into which transfer is desired (3055:3). The minister shall continue to be considered as a member of the former district until a reply has been received from the district to which application has been made stating that the minister has been duly enrolled as a member of the district conference (6450; 1310:26). To avoid dual listings, ministers receiving appointment by the receiving district conference prior to completion of enrollment shall be listed in that district conference journal as an ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister Pending Completion of District Transfer (1240:1:F; 1240:2:D; 1240:3:C).

(2) In an emergency, an ordained minister may serve as supply pastor of a church located within the bounds of a district other than the one in which ministerial membership is held (3260:1), provided that such an arrangement has the written approval of the superintendent of each district involved (1310:26), and does not continue beyond the next session of the district conference in which membership is held without the consent of the district conference.

(3) If a minister so requests, the district superintendent may grant a letter of standing (6460; 1310:26), which shall immediately terminate ministerial membership in The Wesleyan Church. Such a letter of standing shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance in the case of an ordained minister, or until the next session of the district conference from which withdrawn in the case of a commissioned or licensed minister (3124).

(4) If a minister joins another denomination or, in writing, declares withdrawal from the Church, said action shall immediately terminate ministerial membership in The Wesleyan Church (3124), upon recommendation of the district superintendent to the district board of administration.

(5) If a minister leaves for parts unknown or fails to submit the annual service report (1402; 3059:4c; 3089:3), the district board of administration may recommend and the district conference may order that the minister be declared withdrawn (3040; 3120; 3124).

(6) No letters of transfer or standing shall be granted to any minister by a district superintendent until satisfactory evidence is given by the applicant that no outstanding debts are unprovided for, and that the minister has honorably withdrawn from the contract for service with the church or district.

3. Reception of Ministers from Another Denomination

3104. Reception of a Minister from Another Denomination. An ordained minister from another denomination, or a minister from another denomination who has been ordained to deacon’s orders or who has been licensed or authorized in some manner equivalent to the commissioning or licensing of a Wesleyan minister by a district conference, may seek reception into The Wesleyan Church as an ordained minister or commissioned or licensed minister, as the case may justify (1233:34), according to the following procedure:

(1) The applicant shall complete a written application for transfer provided by the Executive Director of Communication and Administration office and present it, along with a valid letter of standing or photocopy of ministerial credentials and photocopies of transcripts or other records of ministerial training, to the district superintendent (1310:26), who shall research the applicant’s background, check references, and verify his or her current credential status and good standing.

(2) If favorable to the transfer, the district superintendent shall so recommend in writing and request approval by the General Superintendent with copies of the application, credentials, and educational records submitted by the applicant.

(3) If approval is granted by the General Superintendent, the applicant shall be examined by the district board of ministerial development relative to Christian experience, call, and qualifications for the ministry as given in 3000-3006 (3059:1; 3070:4), and to the nature of ordination, commission, or license.

(4) If the district board of ministerial development so recommends (1390:3), the district conference may appoint the applicant as an ordained minister in process of transfer (1180:27a; 1240:1:G; 3390; 3067), a commissioned minister in process of transfer (1240:2:E; 3059; 3391), or a licensed minister in process of transfer (1240:3:D; 3391), which relation shall continue for one year unless the district conference shall by vote extend it. While serving under this relation, the applicant is a nonvoting member of the district conference (1090:2-3), may serve as a supply pastor (3260), and shall seek to satisfy any requirements of the district board of ministerial development in ministerial training, particularly in Wesleyan doctrine, history, and polity. If at any time the district board of administration shall determine that it is not in the best interests of the district to continue the relationship, they may by majority vote terminate the relationship and any supply assignment, and thus dismiss the applicant from all ministerial relations to The Wesleyan Church. An ordained minister in the process of transfer shall have authority to administer the sacraments and perform marriages, while serving as a supply pastor (3260:2).

(5) If the year of service is satisfactory and all requirements in ministerial training have been met, the district board of ministerial development may recommend to the district conference that the applicant be recognized as an ordained minister or commissioned or licensed minister of The Wesleyan Church and be received as a ministerial member of the district (1390:3). If the transferring minister has not previously joined a local Wesleyan church within the district, this must be done prior to the vote by the district conference receiving the applicant as a ministerial member of the district. If an ordained minister in process of transfer faces extensive additional academic requirements, and age or other extenuating circumstances make it doubtful to the applicant and the district board of ministerial development that such requirements can be met, the district board of ministerial development may authorize the applicant to qualify for commissioned minister’s status and proceed accordingly (3059).

(6) When an ordained minister or commissioned minister has been received, a proper certificate validating the ordination or commission shall be signed and issued (6320). For the licensed minister, a license shall be issued (6260).

4. Minister and Marriage

3108. Any minister who enters into a marriage relationship contrary to the Scriptures and to those expositions of Scripture as set forth in the Guides to Helps and Holy Living (265:5-7; 410:5-6), after having been ordained, commissioned, or licensed, shall be dismissed from ministerial standing, provided that guilt shall be established in accord with the judicial processes (Gen. Bd. Policy on Ch. Disc. 5206-5212).

3111. In performing marriages, Wesleyan ministers shall not unite in marriage any person who is divorced, unless such divorce and remarriage is in keeping with the Scriptures and the Guides to Helps and Holy Living (265:5-7). In carrying out this duty, the minister shall be guided by the principles set forth in 410:6.

3112. In performing marriages, Wesleyan ministers shall not unite in marriage persons of the same gender.

5. Relationship to Other Ministers and Churches

3114. Each minister of The Wesleyan Church shall respect the rights of each other minister within the field of labor, and shall not interfere with the work of, nor influence anyone against any pastor, district official, or other minister of The Wesleyan Church (313:5). In the event of any such violation of ministerial ethics, the aggrieved person may file a complaint with the district superintendent (5004:2, 4; Gen. Bd. Policy on Ch. Disc. 5206).

3117. If a Wesleyan minister shall engage to serve another denomination, or an interdenominational or independent work, as a pastor or in some other regular capacity, except by permission of the district conference, or in the interim of its sessions, by permission of the district board of administration, the district board of administration may recommend and the district conference may order that the minister be declared withdrawn. If serving within the territory of a district other than the one to which the minister belongs, the minister must have not only the permission of the district in which membership is held, but also the permission of the district superintendent over the territory where labor is proposed (1310:26). An ordained minister serving outside The Wesleyan Church with the permission of the district in which membership is held shall be placed either on the appointed list in the category of interchurch service (3335) or special service (3345) or listed as an ordained minister without appointment (3380).

6. Reinstatement of Ministers

3120. If a licensed minister or ministerial student ceases to be licensed or is declared withdrawn from the district conference, and was neither under charges nor under discipline, the minister may at a later time again be recommended by the local church conference and qualify for and be granted a district license.

3124. An ordained minister or commissioned minister who has voluntarily filed credentials with the district superintendent (3059:3c; 3085:5), or who has taken a letter of standing and has not used the same within the prescribed time (3100:3), or who has been declared withdrawn when neither under charges nor under discipline (3059:4c; 3089:3; 3100:4; 3117; Gen. Bd. Policy on Ch. Disc. 5380), may be reinstated in the office of an ordained minister or commissioned minister in The Wesleyan Church, if such is approved by the district board of ministerial development and district board of administration of the district in which ministerial membership is sought and the district board of administration of the district in which credentials were previously held, and if such reinstatement is approved by the General Superintendent.