Regionalization Series, Part 4: What does the proposed regionalization plan do -- and not do?

All articles in this series are available here.

The Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters has been working diligently since 2012 to develop a proposed structure for The United Methodist Church, worldwide, that builds connectional unity across the whole denomination while making room for customization in how the church lives out its mission in each region of the world, including the United States.

The legislation that the Standing Committee has brought to the upcoming session of the General Conference takes several steps toward that goal:

• It renames and realigns the existing central conferences as regional conferences so there is parity in naming and the elimination of a label (“central”) that reminds all too much of the previous history of a segregated Central Jurisdiction in the United States. The result will be eight regional conferences (the existing, renamed "central" conferences and the United States).
• It creates a regional conference for the United States, with powers parallel to that of the other regional conferences worldwide.
• It makes room for the possibility of jurisdictional conferences within regional conferences outside the United States. 
• It provides greater clarity about the power these regional conferences have to customize the denomination’s Book of Discipline as adopted by the General Conference for the sake of mission and ministry in their own areas.

What are regional conferences?

More than simply a new name for central conferences, regional conferences would have more explicit and clearly defined powers than their predecessors. Since one of the regions would be the United States, United Methodists there would have, for the first time, authority to adapt the Discipline in the same ways that every other regional conference would be able to do.

Regional conferences without jurisdictions would elect and assign the bishops for their episcopal areas. Regional conferences with jurisdictions would set the boundaries for the jurisdictions with them. The jurisdictions, in turn, would elect and assign the bishops to serve within the jurisdictional areas.  

How would persons be elected to regional conference?

Election to be a delegate to a regional conference would not change from how elections to existing bodies (General, central, and jurisdictional) conferences happen now. For the United States and other regional conferences that may in the future create jurisdictions within them, those elected as General Conference delegates and those elected as jurisdictional conference delegates would serve as the regional conference delegates. For regional conferences without jurisdictions, those elected as General Conference delegates and those elected as regional conference delegates would serve as regional conference delegates.

Also in continuity with current patterns, General Conference delegates would have voice and vote at the General Conference, with the jurisdictional/regional conference delegates acting as reserve delegates in order of election should one or more of the General Conference delegates be unable to serve on a temporary basis or at all. Then, at the regional conference, both those elected to the General Conference and those elected to the jurisdictional/regional conference would serve as delegates to the regional conference.  At the level of jurisdictional conferences, where these exist, the General Conference delegates from within that jurisdiction and the jurisdictional conference delegates within that jurisdiction would have voice and vote on matters relating to the work of the jurisdiction, including the election of bishops.

Who could approve adaptations to the Discipline?

Only the regional conferences, not the jurisdictional conferences or annual conferences within them, would have the authority to authorize adaptation of the Discipline for their regions. Regional conferences could also authorize annual conferences to propose, but not make, further adaptations. Annual conferences would bring their proposed adaptations to the regional conference for final action.

What could regional conferences customize?

The legislation submitted by the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters would grant new, specific authorization to regional conferences to take full responsibility for setting the following standards as part of its own regional Book of Discipline.

1. Criteria for ordained and licensed ministry:
Regional conferences would set the minimum qualifications and educational requirements to ordain, commission, and license clergy within their bounds. Annual conferences within each regional conference could include additional qualifications and educational requirements as well.  

2. Criteria for specialized lay ministries:
Regional conferences would also set the minimum qualifications and educational requirements for specialized lay ministries within their bounds.

3. Criteria for admission of and care for lay members:
Regional conferences could set their own criteria to determine whether persons qualify for professing membership in The United Methodist Church within their bounds, as well as set expected standards of character and conduct for persons to be continued as professing members.

4. Organization of the regional, annual, district, and charge conferences:
Regional conferences could create their own forms of organization for these bodies within their region and document them within their regional Book of Discipline. All such forms of organization must comply with the laws of the country or countries involved.

5. Hymnal and ritual:
Each regional conference could develop and publish its own hymnal and ritual, including its own rites for marriage and burial, for use within its bounds.

6. Judicial administration:
Each regional conference would establish its own judicial court to rule upon questions arising from new or adapted sections of the regional Discipline over time. It would also set its own rules and processes to implement its rules for the investigation and, if needed, trial of its clergy and laity when formal complaints are brought based on the chargeable offenses and penalties as adopted in its regional Book of Discipline.

All of these mark new or clarified responsibilities for regional conferences, as well as areas where they may make adaptations to the General Discipline. And all of these are proposed as part of a revised section of the constitution addressing regional conferences. Placing these responsibilities and rights to adapt within the constitution ensures that, if passed, they would be difficult to remove from the regional conferences.

What does the legislation not do?

While the legislation proposed to date goes a long way toward establishing a more sweeping and churchwide role for regional conferences, it does not entirely fulfill the promise of Paragraph 101 as originally adopted in 2012.

Paragraph 101 calls for a re-organized General Book of Discipline that applies worldwide. It would contain seven parts. The first five parts have been in place for a long time and are not revisable by regional conferences. They are as follows:

The existing Part VI, which comprises the rest of the current Book of Discipline, would be re-organized into a new Part VI and a new Part VII. The new Part VI would include all other matters that cannot be adapted by the regional conferences. The new Part VII would include all matters that could be adapted by the regional conferences.

The final article in this series will address how the Standing Committee will propose to continue that conversation over the coming quadrennium (2025-2028) and bring it to a more definitive conclusion with a fully revised Book of Discipline, as described in Paragraph 101, through the action of General Conferences yet to come.

Burton Edwards is director of Ask The UMC, the information service of United Methodist Communications.