The Methodist Quarterly Review
1877
ART. IV.-ENGLISH AND AMERICAN METHODISM CONTRASTED.
As an exposition of Christian doctrine, the Methodism of Great Britain and the United
States of America exactly coincides. Though separated, as we sometimes find them, by
oceans, mountains, rivers, lakes, and prairies, the pulpits of the two great Anglo-Saxon
families of Methodism invariably ring the same note. In each country the same triune God
is adored, the same terrible apostasy is lamented, and the same glorious provision of
divine mercy is offered for acceptance. In each country the distressed penitent is taught
to look for relief, not to any meritorious works that lie can perform or to any imaginary
treasury of merit that fellow-mortals have accumulated for him, not to any sacerdotal
efficacy lodged in certain officers of the Church, nor to any supposed virtue in the
penances or sacraments which the Church may have enjoined, but to the "Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world," and to him alone. In each country the
believer is encouraged to expect the witness of the Spirit to his adoption, and to strive
for a state of grace in which his character and experience will be mature and complete. In
each country he is comforted with the prospect of a future resurrection, and of a gracious
recognition and approved at the bar of infinite justice; and in each country lie is taught
to anticipate, if faithful unto death, the eternal felicities of a world of unmingled
purity, happiness, and glory.
But while these cardinal doctrines form the base of the theological structure of
Methodism on both sides of tile Atlantic, and are guarded with equal jealousy by each,
there seems to have been, at least in former years, a lack of flexibility on the part of
the Wesleyan Church in dealing with other views, some of which are not only outside of the
denominational standards, but which are regarded by other evangelical Churches as matters
which are open to further inquiry. Thus not many years have. passed since a Wesleyan
minister was expelled from the ministry for preaching what are understood as millenarian
tenets. Within a still briefer period another shared the same fate for expressing in
public the opinion that the offspring of sanctified parents partake of their moral purity;
and only two or three years ago another was dealt with in a similar way, because he
repudiated the class-meeting as a scriptural test of Church membership.
In each of these instances the accused parties displayed some pertinacity in the
defense of their opinions, which, whether it arose from the strength of their convictions,
or from carelessness as to their fate, certainly tended to accelerate their doom. A more
liberal spirit, however, is now rapidly gaining ground in the British Conference, and in a
few years these and similar acts of severity will be remembered with as little complacency
as Calvin must have reflected on the burning of Servetus.
Regarding Methodism as an ecclesiastical organization, the points of diversity
between the two branches are more numerous. In the machinery of Wesleyan Methodism the
class-meeting Occupies a very eminent place. It is the primary cell from which the
society, the circuit, the district, and the conference are evolved; it is the unit on
which the whole fiscal economy rests; and, as has been intimated, it is the sine qua
non of membership itself.[FOURTH SERIES, VOL. XXIX.-18]
The importance attached to class-meetings by Wesleyan Methodists may be accounted for
on historical grounds. Methodism was originally a society in the Church of England. It
consisted of members of that establishment who failed to find in its formal services, and
in the dry morality taught in its pulpits, that spiritual aliment which they required, and
hence, while retaining their connection with it, availed themselves of the evangelical
theology and devotional appliances provided by the Wesleys. By meeting in class such
persons not only participated in that communion of saints which Scripture enjoins as the
privilege and duty of believers, but afforded a sign that they concurred in the movement
which the two brothers originated. Hence the class-meeting eventually became the test of
membership-not in the Church, for many persons who disapproved of Methodism remained
members of the Church of England-but the test of membership in the Wesleyan society; and
though since then the relation which Methodism sustains to the Church of England has
undergone a great change, especially since the " High Church" principles began
to prevail in the latter, until Methodism shall openly renounce its association with it,
and take its legitimate position as a distinct Church, the Original test will probably
retain its original significance.
American Methodism, on the other hand, commenced its astonishing career unfettered by
tradition and unburdened by precedent. It adopted the class-meeting as a valuable means of
grace, but regarded attendance on other means of grace, such as the ministry of the word
and the sacrament, as of equal obligation.
In the ministry of Wesleyan Methodism, for reasons which will be afterward explained,
the pastoral feature is to a great extent lacking. In order to supply this deficiency as
far as possible, the preacher is expected to visit each class during the quarter, and
after having heard the religious experience of those who are present, to give to each a
ticket on which a pas sage of Scripture is printed, and on which the minister has written
his own name and that of the member to whom it is handed. These tickets are the Church
credentials of the holder. They secure admission to love-feasts, and similar social
meetings; and as a new ticket is issued every three mouths, the possession of the one for
the current quarter is a sufficient guarantee that the holder of it is a recognized member
of the body, in whatever part of the country he may happen to be. Though the distribution
of these tickets involves a good deal of extra labor on the part of the preacher, the plan
works well; and while objections have been raised against every other peculiar feature in
the economy of Methodism, no one has ever assailed the ticket system. It possesses at
least this advantage over the American method, that it requires every one who wishes to be
considered as a member to come in contact periodically with the minister and Church
members of the place where he then resides; and thus that anomalous state of things is
rendered impossible in which a person may absent himself from the means of grace, withhold
contributions for the support of the Gospel, and even live in a backsliding state, and yet
claim membership with the Church on the ground that he has somewhere in his keeping a
worn-out letter of dismissal, written mouths, or even years previously by some preacher of
a distant conference in a remote region in the United States.
The duties of the leaders' meeting of the Wesleyan Methodist Society so closely
resembles those which are discharged by the court of the same name in American Methodism,
as to require no further notice.
The quarterly meeting, or, as it would be called in this country, the Quarterly
Conference, is composed of the traveling preachers; the local preachers of three years'
standing; the circuit, society, chapel, and poor stewards; the trustees and class-leaders;
the superintendent preacher (or preacher in charge) taking the chair. At this meeting a
circuit steward is annually elected, whose duty it is to keep' the circuit accounts, to
provide a comfortable and well-furnished house for the minister, and to welcome him on his
arrival. He receives the moneys raised in the various societies, and pays the preacher the
stipend which the circuit has fixed upon at previous meetings as its allowance. In some
instances the receipts, when all accounted for, do not realize the sum agreed upon; but in
such cases the circuit steward usually advances the deficiency from his own private
resources, and such deficiency is regarded as a circuit debt. Gentlemen are usually
elected to the office of circuit steward whose circumstances enable them to make such
advances without inconvenience; but should such circuit debt, after being carried to the
following quarter, remain unliquidated, it is usual to assess the various societies in
proportion to the average amount they pay in; and should this also fail, recourse is bad
to public collections, tea-meetings, lectures, bazaars, or some other method of raising
money.
Such an officer as a circuit steward is not only considered honorable by the
incumbents, inasmuch as it is a manifestation of the respect and confidence of the
circuit, but is considered by the English preachers as exceedingly useful to themselves.
In him, that authority which in America is divided among the whole board of stewards is
centralized. Hence, the preacher on an English circuit is never exposed to the
mortification, after "calling a meeting of officials," of finding himself the
only one present. The circuit steward having authority during the interval between the
preceding and following quarterly meeting to meet all legitimate claims which may be made
upon the circuit, on arriving at a new field of labor he not only finds the lists of
names, residences of members, and times and places of preaching, which his predecessor has
left, but a "living epistle" in the person of the circuit steward, whose
explanations elucidate all circuit matters far more effectually than writing can do, and
whose hearty shake of the hand often helps to reconcile him to a field of labor which
would be equivalent to what in the West would be considered as a "grasshopper
district."
The division of circuits; the desirability of an additional preacher; the erection and
enlargement of new places of worship; the examination and approval of local preachers; the
examination of candidates for the ministry, and their recommendation to the district
meeting, (as it is there called,) are all duties of the quarterly meeting; and although
beyond its province, and severely censured by the stationing committee, many quarterly
meetings of late have been in the habit of selecting and inviting preachers for the
following year. This practice, which is becoming exceedingly prevalent, unless checked by
wise legislation is likely at no distant date to be the source of trouble and perplexity,
inasmuch as it is an assumption on the part of the laity of that liberty of choice which
both they and the ministers voluntarily surrender when they give the conference the power
of appointing preachers to their fields of labor. The admission of the laity into
conference, which seems likely to become a part of Wesleyan Methodist polity at no very
distant period, will tend to rectify this evil, or at least deprive it of its most
objectionable features.
The district meeting is second only to the Annual Conference in the power with
which it is intrusted. It consists of all the traveling preachers in the district, whether
on probation or in full connection. One day of the session, however, is open to circuit
stewards, when purely 'financial business is transacted. In the district meeting charges
against traveling preachers are examined and disposed of' applications for aid from
distressed chapels and schools are considered, candidates for the itinerancy are approved
or rejected, the numerical state of the several circuits ascertained and recorded, a
representative to sit with the chairman of the district on the stationing committee at the
following conference is elected, and a general examination is instituted respecting every
department of the work within the bounds of the district.
There are two officers in whose prudence and general ability the efficiency of the
district meeting mainly depend, namely, the chairman and secretary, both of whom are
elected at the previous conference by the preachers in the district after the list of
appointments has been finally read. It is the duty of the chairman to preside at district
meetings, and to exercise a general oversight and superintendence over the whole work
within the boundaries of his district; to attend quarterly meetings when invited to do so
by the superintendent preacher of such circuit; to provide supplies for vacant charges;
and should any emergency arise requiring the exercise of discipline in the interval
between the district meeting and conference, it is his duty to call a minor district
meeting, consisting of four ministers, two chosen by the accuser, and two by the accused,
to try a preacher; and if found guilty, to suspend him until the ensuing conference, if
deemed expedient.
It is the duty of the secretary of the district, as lie is technically called "the
financial secretary," to record the proceedings of the district committee; to obtain
the various statistics from each circuit, and to arrange and tabulate them in such a way
as to facilitate the business of the Annual Conference.
There are many advantages which Wesleyan Methodism derives from its district committee
meetings. The advantage which the preacher in full connection derives from them are
obvious. He thereby acquires a thorough acquaintance with the condition of every circuit
in the district, and with the experience thus acquired is able to discharge the duties
required of a minister more intelligently; he obtains an education which will qualify him
for the office of a chairman himself, should it be conferred upon him; and if
circumstances needing judicial investigation should occur, he can confidently expect that
in the hands of persons who are in the district, many of whom are acquainted with the
peculiarities of each point, a just and impartial verdict will be given. The advantage to
the people consists in its inexpensiveness, and in its freedom from prejudice or
partisanship. The chairman of the district, like the rest of his brethren, is appointed to
a charge, and from it he derives his support; the slight traveling expenses which may be
incurred by an occasional visit to another circuit being the only expense which the
circuit he visits is expected to defray. The advantage to the chairman of the district
himself consists in his being spared the toil and danger of constant traveling, and
unnecessary visits to charges whose condition is such as to need no such interference.
Considering that by the adoption of district meetings the General Conference has
manifested a desire to approximate to the English system; considering that the political
genius of the national government is in direct opposition to the centralization of power
in the hands of individuals; considering the great expense which the system of presiding
eldership entails upon the people; and considering the general dissatisfaction which
prevails in the Methodist Episcopal Church on the subject, the time may not be far distant
when the scaffolding of presiding eldership, which, however ornamental, adds no stability
to the structure, and was only designed to be of temporary value, will be removed, and
another appliance substituted bearing a close resemblance in its simplicity and
effectiveness to that which from an early period has been tested by the Wesleyan
Methodists of Great Britain.
The only court which remains to be noticed is the Annual Conference, the presiding
officer of which is elected by the assembled ministers at the commencement of its session.
his term of office is for one year, and his duties during the sittings of the conference
and during the following year correspond to those of the episcopacy in the American
Church, except that he is not expected to be always traveling, nor to interfere in any way
with the appointments of ministers. Furthermore, he is not relieved by his office from the
labors and responsibilities of circuit work. It is usual, however, to appoint with him an
extra preacher, (generally an unmarried man,) who acts as his secretary, and occupies his
pulpit in his absence, and whose salary is paid out of the Contingent Fund.
The election of the president is immediately followed by the election of a secretary,
who is permitted to select three or four assistants, and an equal number. of
letter-writers..
The general routine of business in the Annual Conferences of Wesleyan Methodism
resembles in every respect that of the Annual Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, except that in England, where General Conferences have not yet been adopted, the
Annual Conference is invested with legislative as well as administrative functions. New
regulations do not come into force, however, until they have been consented to by a
majority of the quarterly meetings held during the en-suing year.
The "Legal Hundred" of Wesleyan Methodism consists of one hundred ministers,
vacancies in whose number are filled up half by seniority and half by election. As all
ministers in full connection who have obtained leave to be present from the district
meetings have a right to vote in conference, the legal fiction is kept up merely to
fulfill the conditions of the "poll deed," on which the property of Methodism in
its places of worship rests, and to meet a possible contingency which might arise from
civil commotion, or from the prevalence of some terrible disease, when it might not be
prudent, or even practicable, for a larger number than a hundred ministers to meet in one
locality.
The "appointing power" of Wesleyan Methodism rests with the whole conference.
A stationing committee, consisting of the chairman of districts and the representatives
chosen at the district meetings, meet a week previous to conference and prepare a rough
draft of appointments, which is printed and circulated freely among the preachers and the
various circuits in the connection. During the sittings of the conference the committee is
prepared to receive suggestions which may be made on either side, and which frequently
lead to alterations in the list, after which it is read to the conference a second time.
The stationing committee still pursue their toil, and toward the close of the conference
the third reading takes place, after which no changes are made.
Complaints have been made in this country respecting the secrecy of presiding elders,
and the hardship inflicted by it on the ministers at their disposal. The experience of the
writer leads him to prefer the American system, supposing it to have such faults, which
have been greatly exaggerated, to the English plan. The cases in which genuine merit is
overlooked must, in the nature of things, be exceedingly rare. Of alt genius it may be
said that it "cannot be hid." And those in which it is suppressed and ignored
through prejudice, or any other ulterior motive, it is charitable to hope are still less
frequent. It is the interest of the appointing power to promote the welfare of Methodism
as a whole, including the district, the circuit, and the preacher; and if the preacher is
anxious that the right man should be in the right place, those who decide this matter are
influenced by an equal amount of anxiety in tile same direction. It has been observed that
in cases where private influence has been brought to bear on the decisions of tile cabinet
the results have not been so satisfactory either to the preacher or the charge concerned
as to encourage a frequent repetition of it. And though the finality involved in the
American mode of appointment may sometimes press rather heavily on the preacher, there are
serious evils which from time to tune arise in English Methodism from a lack of it.
Humiliating scenes have sometimes been witnessed in the English Conference when brethren
have occupied its time and appealed to its sympathies in pathetic and tearful requests for
better circuits on some purely personal grounds, and in cases where the incapacity of the
petitioner would render a favorable reception of his plea destructive to the interests of
the cause, all of which must have been exceedingly painful to the assembled brethren; and
it seems to be the least of two evils, if such disappointments are inevitable, that any
ebullition of feeling arising from it should be confined to the privacy of the domestic
hearth and the seclusion of the closet. Even if such appeals were partially successful,
and, in consequence of them, a slight modification were made in the appointment in
question, there would be room for the impression that a still more earnest appeal and a
more persistent effort would have resulted in a still greater boon; and thus, while
beginning by blaming his brethren, he would end by an equally futile condemnation of
himself. On the other hand, the American preacher, knowing that after the stations are
read off his destination is settled, soon settles down, and learns to look at the
brightest side of that which is beyond his power to alter.
In the ministry of the "old country" the Presbyterian order alone is
recognized, which is believed to include the diaconate and episcopacy. Junior preachers,
who are on probation and have not been ordained, sustain the same relations, and discharge
the same offices, as the deacons of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It is usual to appoint
two or more preachers to each circuit, one of whom is primus inter pares, and is
called the "superintendent." It is lie who prepares the circuit plan, and fixes
the times and places where his colleagues are to preach. Circuit business of every kind is
usually taken to him to be disposed of' or is reserved for the consideration of the
preachers' meeting, which is held weekly.
The charges of the English preachers are all circuits. Stations in the American sense
of the term are unknown. Strenuous efforts have been made recently, on two or three
successive conferences, by a body of trustees in London, whose chapel was at that time
burdened with a heavy debt, to create a station, of which a well-known and eloquent
preacher and lecturer was invited to become the pastor; but, though they made most
lucrative offers, the conference firmly declined to depart from their established usage.
By Wesleyans generally itinerancy is regarded as the glory of Methodism. By itinerancy
they mean not simply that provision in their ecclesiastical economy by which the residence
of the preacher in a particular locality is limited to a term of years, nor the fact that
his destination is in the hands of an appointing power rather than his own choice. They
understand by itinerancy the work of itinerating. They understand by itinerating the
perambulation of "the great iron wheel" in contradistinction to snugly squatting
at the hub. They understand by itinerancy in ecclesiastical science what the theory of
Galileo is in the science of astronomy-the theory which gives orbits to its luminaries
"forever moving as they shine," instead of that of Copernicus, which
limits them to one spot in the expanse of night. They conceive that any system which
confines a preacher all the year to one congregation, though it may be Congregationalism,
or Presbyterianism, or Episcopalianism, is not Methodism, and that when its ministers
cease to be traveling preachers, or "round preachers," as they have sometimes
been styled, they will have abandoned a feature in their work which, though regarded by
other sects as a singular eccentricity, is the only implement by which the world can be
"turned upside down."
Local preachers in England find their office to be no sinecure. Some arc employed every
Sunday, and some have nine or ten appointments during the quarter. In many circuits there
are only two or three traveling preachers, while there are a score or more of preaching
places to be visited, hence it would be impossible to fill the pulpits without lay
assistance. But the cooperation they meet with from this quarter is cordially rendered,
and as a whole very efficient
With respect to the amount and the reliableness of income, the Wesleyan preacher has a
great advantage over the ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Few preachers in
England receive a smaller allowance than £150, ($750.) If he has a family he receives an
additional sum of £10 for each boy, and £7 for each girl. Besides this amount, which is
considered as quarterage, his house rent, fuel, and medical expenses are paid for him; and
as each circuit not only provides a house, but a sufficient outfit of furniture, thus,
though constantly on the tramp, he is at least well cared for.
In the American Methodist Church, on the contrary, where a comprehensive and
connectional system of finance is wholly lacking, the greatest disparities exist. While
some preachers enjoy a larger income than the most favored Wesleyan preacher, the great
majority are poorly provided for, and many, it is feared, are in circumstances of great
need.
The following is a summary of the sums received for pastoral support by eighty-four
circuits in a conference which has been considered thriving and prosperous, omitting
contributions for the support of presiding elders
3 " 800 and less than $900.
6 " 700 " 800.
2 " 600 " 700.
4 " 500 " 600.
It may be objected that in consequence of the grasshopper "raid" the report
of the last year's income can scarcely be considered as affording a fair view of the
average receipts. The following table, therefore, is supplied, which covers the same
ground for the previous year
2 " 900 and less than $1,000..
4 " 800 " 900.
5 " 700 " 800.
3 " 600 " 700.
8 " 500 " 600.
18 paid $400 and less than $500.
14 " 300 " 400
16 " 200 " 300.
2 " 100 " 200.
2 less than $100.
Considering that in the whole conference referred to there are only thirty-four
parsonages, and that in fifty circuits out of the eighty-four who gave in their reports
there were fifty in which the preacher is required to pay house rent, and all other
expenses whatsoever out of his income, the preponderance of ministerial comfort
indubitably rest with the Wesleyan.
As a financial scheme, the chief source of supply in the Wesleyan Methodist
Society is found in the contributions of the members in the various classes ; the minimum
sum which each is expected to contribute being one penny per week, and one shilling per
quarter. Public collections are also made every three months at each preaching place, to
afford those an opportunity of contributing to the support of the ministry who, though
members of the congregation, are not members of the Society, and do not meet in class.
There are every year an increasing number of cases, too, in which chapels become free from
debt, and in such cases there is a surplus of income over expenses which is derived from
pew rents, which is also brought to the circuit board and assists in paying the salaries
of the preachers.
The Auxiliary Preachers and Widows' Fund was established for the purpose of
affording a means of subsistence to preachers who through sickness or infirmity were laid
aside from their work, and their widows at their death. It is supported by contributions
in the classes, each member being expected to pay at least sixpence annually for this
object. According to the last plan sanctioned by the district meetings and conferences,
supernumerary preachers receive annuities from this. fund in the following proportion :-
Those who have traveled 12 years are entitled to £15 annually.
" " 18 " 20 "
" " 24 " 25 "
" " 29 " 35 "
" " 34 " 40 "
" " above 39 " 50 "
Widows are entitled to the following sums, according to the years named above, namely:
£10, £12, £15, £16, £18, £20, £24.
The gross receipts for the year 1871 amounted to £17,138 7s.
The Contingent Fund is also maintained by subscriptions in the classes. From
this fund grants are made to circuits which would be unable otherwise to support a
preacher. The traveling expenses of preachers who are moved long distances; the purchase
of furniture for additional preachers' houses; the relief of special cases of affliction,
such as protracted sickness, funerals, etc. ; the support of supplies for circuits which
may become vacant during the year, are all paid from this useful fund. Its receipts during
the year 1871 were £25,787. 6s. 2d.
The chief features of diversity between English and American Methodism have now been
pointed out. It is right, however, to observe that such diversity does not affect the
prosperity of the common cause. Both can point to noble benevolent and educational
institutions which they have reared. Both are equally interested in the rising race, and
are putting forth strenuous effort to render Sabbath-schools more numerous and effective.
Both are equally zealous in propagating the Gospel by domestic and foreign missions. Both
are laboring to afford the rising ministry the advantage of instruction in theological
seminaries; and by the princely gifts' which from time to time are thrown into the
treasuries of the Churches by the self-defying devotion which the biographies of each
Church commemorates, by the fidelity and spiritual growth of the people who are brought
under their influence, and by the constant extension of the boundaries of the spiritual
Zion which is perceptible on both sides of the Atlantic, it is evident that the love of
Christ is the grand constraining principle in the hearts of each.
None are exempt from imperfection. But the instances are not rare in which what appears
to be imperfections are in reality adaptations of providence. So it is with Methodism.
Each branch has its own work, and God has conferred on each the implements most suitable
for its performance. There is work for the brother with the faultless coat and snowy neck
cloth and courteous bearing, who labors in a country where precedent exerts an enormous
sway, and where the limits of society are nicely marked and rigidly guarded; and in a
country out of whose mighty forests the seats of future empires are being hewed, and on
whose boundless prairies the homes of nations are being prepared, there is work for men
who, though comparatively careless of conventionalities, are laboring with a stout heart
and willing arm. But they have one creed, one object, one Saviour, one eternal home; and
by faith they may stretch their arms over the great deep, and grasp each other with the
grip of genuine sympathy and affection, for they are brothers in toil, brothers in
tribulation, and brothers in triumph.
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