Maybe the WTS got some ideas from the Methodists?

onacruse

From the 676-page (!) The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church (1996)(pp. 130-2):

While primary responsibility and initiative rests with each professing member faithfully to perform the vows of the baptismal covenant that have been solemnly assumed, if the professed member should be neglectful of that responsibility, these procedures shall be followed:
(1) If a professed member residing in the community is negligent of the vows or is regularly absent from the worship of the church without valid reason, the pastor and the membership secretary shall report that professed member's name to the church council, which shall do all in its power to reenlist the professed member in the active fellowship of the church. It shall visit the professed member and make clear that, while the professed member's name is on the roll of a particular local church, one is a member of The United Methodist Church as a whole, and...the professed member is requested to do one of four things: (a) renew the vows and return to living in the community...of the church where the professed member's name is recorded, (b) request transfer to another United Methodist church where the professed member will return to living in the community...(c) arrange transfer to a particular church of another denomination, or (d) request withdrawal.
.....
(5) ...it is recommended that a roll of persons removed shall be maintained. It shall then become the responsibility of the church council to provide for the review of this roll at least once a year...After the review has been made, it is recommended that the pastor and/or the commission on evangelism contact those whose names appear on this roll...The names and addresses of those who have moved outside the local church's area should be sent to local churches in their new communities...

Except for 1.c., the similarities are remarkable.

My oh my, but there no end to "hunt down and pin to the wall" spirit of religiousity.

Craig

metatron

It isn't clear from this how strongly they feel about transfers to another denomination.

I see nothing that indicates they are fanatical, like the Watchtower.

metatron

RandomTask

I doubt they shun any who "withdraw" or even have an official system in place for doingso.

Good post, and very interesting similarities. As met and RT do point out, I am not sure how serious the Methodists really get about it, but nonetheless, the possiblity that the WTS borrows from their policy is intriguing.

NeonMadman

Almost every Christian church and denomination out there has a system for internal discipline of members who do not live according to the "rules," or who simply fade away and stop attending. Some churches even enforce them. I was talking with the pastor of the Baptist church I attend, and he told me that, a couple of times in his 30 years as a pastor, he has been in a situation where the church felt that it needed to withdraw fellowship from a member because of that member's lifestyle. The difference, of course, is that withdrawal of fellowship refers only to membership in and communion with the church, not to shunning in everyday life.

In the case of people who just stop attending, the usual practice is simply to drop their name from the membership rolls after a certain period of time has passed (contrary to what the JW's believe, that church members are kept on the rolls for life and beyond in order to inflate the numbers). Again, there is no shunning, and if the person comes back, he or she is more than welcome (though a new application for membership might be required in some churches).

I don't see anything bad or wrong in all of this. People who leave are not hunted down and summoned to judicial meetings, those who ask that their names be dropped from the rolls are not shunned, and even when someone is excluded from the church because of misconduct, there is no requirement for anyone to shun them. Such "disfellowshippings," if they occur, are carried out by a vote of the whole church after the case has been heard by the whole church, not by a few elders in a star-chamber meeting behind closed doors (In a similar way, new members must be approved by a vote of the whole church, after giving their testimony before the church). Afterward, the person who has been excluded from fellowship is no longer considered a member of the church - in other words, he or she is just like every other non-member out there - a "man of the nations," if you will.

I don't see anything wrong with a church (or, for that matter, any organization) having standards to which its members must conform. It's the unscriptural way that cults use such systems to abuse people that I find so objectionable.

onacruse

metatron, RandomTask, rocketman, and NeonMadman (what a combo, sounds like a collection of X-men ):

My interest in the quote was not that the Methodist church is exclusionary. In fact, they seem to be very ecumenical, as "arrange transfer to a particular church of another denomination" indicates. A passage from their heritage statement:

United Methodists share a common heritage with Christians of every age and nation.

And, from their Constitution:

The church is the community of all true believers under the Lordship of Christ.

What I found fascinating was that an apparently ecumenical group would be so concerned as to have such comprehensive and explicit instructions about membership book-keeping.

In a truly open worldwide Christian community of faith, what difference do member-rolls make?

Craig

refiners fire

Ona.

Methodism has been around a few hundred years. Theyve had time to mellow out. In a hundred more years I dont doubt the WT will be part of the mainstream. When Methodism started it was a howling, screeching revival peopled with collapsing, foaming at the mouth, hysterics.

Oddly enough, The Salvation Army started off in hysteria as well.

greven

If a professed member residing in the community is negligent of the vows or is regularly absent from the worship of the church without valid reason...

LOL sounds like school again!

Greven