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UBIC Title

A New Section of the Discipline

Discipline of Church Bodies

The US National Conference, during its June 2001 meeting, adopted three new chapters dealing with church discipline. These replaced the previous section of the Discipline called "Law on Trials." These chapters spell out procedures to follow in handling church conflict and in dealing with cases requiring discipline. They are:

Chapter 44: Local Church Conflict Resolution.
Chapter 45: Discipline of Church Members.
Chapter 46: Discipline of Church Bodies.

Introduction

All organizational entities of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA, are expected to follow and uphold the standards set forth in the Discipline. When individuals and organizational entities disagree with those standards, the proper recourse is to submit proposals for change to the US National Conference. Non-compliance with the standards agreed upon by the broader church is not a valid option.

Offenses Requiring Church Discipline

Any local church, conference, or other body or agency of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA, may be subject to church discipline for any of these offenses:
  1. Disseminating or tolerating the teaching of doctrines contrary to the doctrines of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA, as stated in the Discipline.
  2. Disobeying the provisions of the Discipline, or tolerating such disobedience.
  3. Infringing on the rights of United Brethren members, as stated in the Discipline.
  4. Insubordination or willful refusal to recognize church authority, whether at the local, conference, or general church level.

Jurisdiction

1. Annual conferences are responsible for discipline involving the actions or decisions of:

  • Local churches in that conference.
  • Pastors and licensed ministers in the conference.
  • Camps, organizations, and other entities which report to the annual conference.

2. The US National Board is responsible for discipline involving the actions or decisions of:

  • Annual conferences.
  • Huntington College.
  • Leadership teams, officials, and other entities which report to the US National Board.
  • Churches, organizations, and United Brethren personnel not under the direct authority of an annual conference.

3. The US National Conference is responsible for discipline involving the actions or decisions of the US National board. During the year of the US National Conference, it shall have responsibility for areas normally under the jurisdiction of the US National Board.

Process of Discipline

1. Situations of a corporate nature which require discipline must be handled on an individual basis. The principles of conflict resolution outlined in chapter 37 should be followed as much as applicable. The persons involved in dealing with the situations will vary, depending on the levelŪlocal, conference, nationalŪand the specific bodies or persons involved. Therefore, it is impractical to outline specific procedures intended to a address all possible situation. Rather, the relevant governing body shall have discretion in how it proceeds.

2. Depending on the situation, such actions as the following might be appropriate:
  • Private rebuke of the group in question, or its leader(s), by a conference or national leader.
  • Rebuke of the group in question, or its leader(s), before two or three witnesses.
  • Rebuke before the appropriate governing body.
  • Removal of group members from their positions.
  • Disbanding of the group.