How the United Methodist Church Handles Complaints

Ordained Ministry

What’s this “process” to which North Texas Conference officials kept referring during attempts to have a public discussion about the sexual harassment of a clergywoman?

The process – which is applied whenever a complaint is filed – is found in Paragraph 362 of the Book of Discipline, the collection of United Methodist policies. It’s known as “fair process,” and while it may be somewhat familiar to United Methodist clergy, it’s mostly a mystery to United Methodists in the pews. That’s because the workings of the process are shrouded in confidentiality, and revealing details of a complaint to those outside the process violates the procedure outlined in the Discipline.

As found in Paragraph 362, the complaint process consists of a set of complex and extended procedures whose goal is a “just resolution,” meaning that the aggrieved party and the accused person come to some reconciliation. The process usually is conducted behind closed doors unless the complaint involves crime, especially child abuse or sexual abuse. Those allegations are immediately reported to local law enforcement for investigation. The church may follow up with more process if no evidence of a crime is found, but some misbehavior still exists. However, in many cases, the church lets the matter drop if no criminal charges are filed.

In laypeople’s language, "fair process" generally works like this:

First, a written and signed complaint is submitted. Laypeople, as well as clergy, can be accused of what are known as “chargeable offenses,” listed in Discipline Paragraph 2702.1 for clergy, and in Paragraph 2702.3 for laypeople. For a complaint to have standing in the church process, it must be categorized as one of the chargeable offenses.

For clergy, the offenses are:

(a) immorality including but not limited to, not being celibate in singleness or not faithful in a heterosexual marriage;

(b) practices declared by The United Methodist Church to be incompatible with Christian teachings, including but not limited to: being a self-avowed practicing homosexual; or conducting ceremonies which celebrate homosexual unions; or performing same-sex wedding ceremonies;

(c) crime;

(d) disobedience to the order and discipline of The United Methodist Church;

(e) dissemination of doctrines contrary to the established standards of doctrine of The United Methodist Church;

(f) relationships and/or behavior that undermines the ministry of another pastor;

(g) child abuse;

(h) sexual abuse;

(i) sexual misconduct including the use or possession of pornography,

(j) harassment, including, but not limited to racial and/or sexual harassment;

(k) racial or gender discrimination; or

(l) malfeasance.

For United Methodist laypeople, the chargeable offenses are:

(a) immorality;

(b) crime;

(c) disobedience to the order and discipline of The United Methodist Church;

(d) dissemination of doctrines contrary to the established standards of doctrine of The United Methodist Church;

(e) sexual abuse;

(f) sexual misconduct;

(g) child abuse;

(h) harassment, including, but not limited to racial and/or sexual harassment;

(i) racial or gender discrimination;

(j) relationships and/or behaviors that undermine the ministry of persons serving within an appointment;

(k) fiscal malfeasance.

Once a complaint is properly filed, the resident bishop or his or her designee investigates. Bishops have 90 days from the complaint’s filing to examine its allegations. Clergy and laity who are accused of an offense are entitled to have an advocate accompany them to all meetings regarding the investigation. District superintendents are often asked initially to check out complaints to determine whether they're valid. In particular, Paragraph 362 states, “Special attention should be given to ensuring that cultural, racial, ethnic and gender contexts are valued throughout the process in terms of their understandings of fairness, justice, and restoration.”

A bishop can dismiss a complaint from the outset if he or she finds it invalid. If the complaint appears valid, there are several levels of response. Depending on the type and severity of the misbehavior, actions range from a “supervisory response” to a full-blown church trial, as has been the case in recent years regarding transgressions of United Methodism’s bans on homosexual practice, ordaining LGBTQ people, or conducting same-sex marriages.

A “supervisory response” resembles a personnel action in the secular world, where an employee gets reprimanded by a manager about his or her misbehavior, and sometimes is given additional training or closer supervision to correct inappropriate actions or attitudes. For United Methodist clergy, a supervisory response usually means working with a district superintendent, a counselor or a third-party mediator to repair their improper behavior. As with most secular personnel actions, complaints in the United Methodist Church are kept confidential, the idea being that correctable behaviors shouldn’t taint a clergyperson’s reputation.

However, it's that confidentiality that keeps people wondering whether, outside of a public church trial, The United Methodist Church does a sufficient job of policing itself to see that justice is done.

Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor and Founder of United Methodist Insight.