The Washington herald., 1911-07-23
Attach. and Defense. of Methodist

PoIity.
Bishop Thomas B. Neeley, of New Or
leans, who for years has given study to
Methodist Church polity. has come to the
defense Of that polity in reply to attacks
now making by Methodist laymen. Some
laymen's associations, in the conference
held last spring. proposed radical changes
in Methodism. These propositions have
been sent to other associations, and
throughout Methodism North this fall it
is expected these changes will be heard
and recommended The fall conferences
begin about August.15, and the laymen's
associations meet at the same times and
places.
Methodist laynen charge failure to
Methodism in certain places, notably in
the large cities, Swing to defects in pol
ity. The propositions put forth contem-
plate laymen sitting as members Of the
annual conferences, as they now do IN the
quandrennial general conferences; lay
men as members Of the cabinets Of bish-
ops, which make appointments Of minis
ters; the districting Of bishops, making
each supreme in a diocese, after the
Episcopal or Catholic plans, and the null
tiplication of the number Of bishops, Sc
that each may be familiar with his own
field and stay sufficiently long in II to be
able to lead Methodism in that field con-
stantly and intelligently. Under the pres
ent Methodist plan bishops, now only
twelve in number, hold annual confer
ences in many parts Of the country, and
perhaps do not return within the year to
ascertain the suitability OF their appoint
ments Of ministers or the wisdom of
other decisions made in unfamiliar fields
and under hurried conditions.
In his defense of the present Methodist
polity Bishop Neeley begins with the
Rev. John Wesley, of London, in the
first half of the eighteenth century, and
follows the early Methodist organization
as it came to America and grew into the
Methodist Church. He points out to
Methodist laymen that the Methodist
system has three determining parts
correctional, supervisional, and constitu-
tional
''At the summit of the supervisional
system is the episcopate, which is not
a local or diocesan episoopate restricted
10 a particular section, but one of a gen.
eral character, so that a bishop might
be assigned service in any part of the
churches. This is an itinerant episco-
pacy, but the system provides for per-
manent and thorough local supervision
through a class of officers who used to
be called presiding elders, but now are
known as district superintendents. This
is the local episcopate experimenting
limited districts while the bishops super
wise the district officers, thus insuring a
very complete supervision, both local and
general.
ITO this supervisional system the over
whelming mass of laymen and ministers
are thoroughly loyal, and the system has
vindicated itself throughout many gen.
erations. Indeed, the church has been
most prosperous when.a where it has
been most completely and consistently
worked opt, and the greatest failures
have been where the graded system of
supervision has been allowed to fall into
iisuse in whole Or in part.
With a vigorous episcopacy and dis
!rict superintendency, the SYSTEM" con-
cludes Bishop Neeley, ''is as near perfect
as human institutions can be perfect
Certain needs now pleaded are the results
of the nonworking of the system
Methodist laymen declare that IL Meth
edism keeps in the lead in numbers in
Protestant. bodies it must readjust its
machinery. More than 5000 churches