A year ago I attempted to read the Discipline and found it to be a difficult read. After reading, I was more baffled than before I began reading. Needless to say, my question went unanswered. Is there a "user friendly" version available. If not could this be taken into consideration.

My area of interest are guidelines for payment of dues for ministries and also Parliamentary Laws.

Would you please recommend a place to purchase The Discipline? Or if I can purchase on line, the website address?

I live in Pikesville, Maryland.

I appreciate your assistance.

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2000

Answers

Your question is about payment of a pastor's dues? What exactly is it that you want to know? Any pastor that' worth his/her salt tithes and gives no less thabn what he asks the membrship to do.

In the Methodist Church there are class dues whic provided the table comforts for the pastor and his/her family. Class leaders would collect class due each week which were reported to the minister in charge. Class ues have nothing to do with the minster's salary/.

Then you have a question about parlimentary proceedure. There's Robert Rules of Order which can be purchased at your local book store and again it can be viewed on the internet.

Busness meetings are to follow a certain routine of format, in an orderlyfashion.

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2000

Last I checked (and that was only a few weeks ago) you can not purchase items on line from the AME bookstore. I am sure some of the larger AME churches in Maryland have bookstores that would have a copy of the Discipline you could purchase. Otherwise you will need to contact:

AMEC Sunday School Union 500 8th Av. South Nashville TN 37203-4181

Note that the new 2000 edition will not be avalible until next spring.

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2000

The AMEC Sunday School Union has for sometime maintained an online catalogue, which is accessed by clicking the logo, found on the site: http://www.amecpublishing.com/ Ordering information is obtained through emailing the address found on that site. However, the Discipline, which is currently in use, will become null and void once the legislation passed at General Conference 2000 has been compiled and published. Therefore, one might consider waiting on the completion of that process to purchase the 2000-2004 Discipline instead of the current 1996-2000 one. Also, I think the thing that makes the Discipline sometimes difficult to read is that it is, in fact, a document of positive church law and is written to withstand any challenges, which might be encountered in any legal setting--either of church or state.

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2000

I agree with you that the discipline is not easy to comprehend. I believe it is written by our leadership for their understanding only. The leadership can use the book for their defenses because they know it was not meant for the laity of the connectional church. It really is a shame that the book we as ame's are suppose to go by is not "user friendly"

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2000

The discipline is a document that has been patched so much is the reason why it is so hard to read and understand. I have some "old" discipline (1972, etc.) that are eaiser to understand than the current discipline. An example of improper legislation that will become a part of the discipline was passed, I believe) at the last General Conference, MN-05. This legislation "requires" that all itinerant ministers be tithers. There are two problems with this legislation: (1) It is unenforceable - You can determine the tithe on the ministers salary, but how do you determine what the by-vocational minister earns? How do you determine what the minister's spouse earns? (2) In my opinion, this is not consistent with God's will: The Bible teaches us that the Lord loves a "cheerful" giver, not one who gives under duress. I tithe (and also make offerings) because I want to do so and am fully convinced that that is right and that God blesses those activities. As AME's, we must get back to our spiritual roots.

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2000