Polity, Practice, and the Mission of The United Methodist Church: 2006 Edition

by Thomas Edward Frank

"Commissioned by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry for use in United Methodist doctrine/polity/history courses." This in-depth analysis of the connection between United Methodist polity and theology addresses ways in which historical developments have shaped--and continue to shape--the organization of the church.This revised edition incorporates the actions of The United Methodist General Conference, 2004. The book discusses continuing reforms of the church's plan for baptism and church membership, as well as the emergence of deacon's orders and other changes to ordained ministry procedures. The text is now cross-referenced to the Book of Discipline, 2004, including the revised order of disciplinary chapters and paragraph numbering. Denominational statistics are updated, along with references to recent works on The United Methodist Church and American religious life.

Genres: Theology, Nonfiction, Reference, Religion, Church

361 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1997

Reviews

[Leighann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmmm...well, it was important to read. And yes, it will help me when those DCOM/BOOM interviews happen. But ughs. I'm glad this is over. I give it three stars for it's practicality, but I can't recommend this book unless you are really, really interested in the way United Methodism works. I could recommend you talking to a bunch of United Methodists and then if you still are interested, read this book.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frank provides significant amounts of information about the history and structure of the United Methodist Church. However, as it was updated in 2006, some information has changed since then. It also could have used one more edit for length.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Believe it or not, it is possible to explain the meaning and history behind 781 pages of United Methodist Church governance without making your reader want to transfer membership into another denomination. Frank unpacks the democratically episcopal structure and narrative middle-ground character of our polity in a way that helps the readers locate themselves in the story. Frank does not gloss over the less admirable parts of our history, and I also really appreciated the way he honestly examined Wesley as a practical theologian without mythologizing him.

Highly recommend for United Methodists who want to understand more about why and how we live out our mission as the expression of the local church.

[L.L. Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I debated how to rate this book. 3 or 4 stars. I've only been in the UMC for about 4 years. This book was read for a class I took on UMC polity, and it was very helpful and informative. Terms and phrases that were unclear or confusing to me make sense now. I like history and enjoyed learning more about John Wesley and how Methodism polity developed. On the other had, parts of the book were dry and technical. But then again, some subject matter is necessary to discuss, even though it is "boring." The author did a good job for such a book.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a textbook used in a United Methodist Lay Servant Class I was taking for re-certification for the Lay Preaching Program. It is a required course.For those unfamiliar with the United Methodist Denomination, it is well done,although it is out-of-date in certain areas. This is to be expected as church polity, practice and even mission changes. Still, it's very informative.