A Summary of the Changes in the Church Manual voted at the 
56th General Conference Session in Utrecht, the Netherlands, 
July 1995

	1. A change in the baptismal vows making it clear that the 
specific language in the Manual is to be used with baptismal 
candidates, and inserting the words "soul-winning" in the vow about 
witnessing.

	2. The phrase "member in good and regular standing" is being 
replaced with the phrase "member in regular standing" and this 
phrase is now defined (it did not used to be defined in the manual) as 
"not under church discipline."

	3. A new requirement regarding members who move -- the 
church holding their membership in the community they leave is to 
write to the new conference the person moves into and ask that a 
pastoral visit be made.

	4. A "company of believers" is defined for the first time as an 
early stage in church-planting and the local conference is given clear 
authority over these small groups instead of a local church acting as 
"mother church" for a new congregation. The elders in companies are 
to be appointed by the conference, not elected by the group.

	5. The term of office for local church officers is lengthened to 2 
years, although churches may stay with the previous 1-year term if 
they wish.

	6. A new section that defines the Ministerial Association as the 
department of the conference to provide training for local church 
elders -- this is about departmental turf issues in the ecclesiastical 
bureaucracy.

	7. New language that defines anointing services and child 
dedications as religious ceremonies that elders can conduct and do 
not require that a pastor preside.

	8. Specific language stating that an elder can conduct baptisms 
if he or she has permission from the conference president.

	9. A new section saying -- when a church officer is 
disfellowshipped and later readmitted to membership, they are not 
automatically reinstated as an officer at the same time.

	10. A new section that establishes an induction service for newly 
elected church officers which may be conducted by a pastor or elder.

	11. Proxy voting is prohibited in church board meetings and 
congregational business meetings.

	12. Language clarifying that when a pastor is fired by the 
conference that does not mean his or her church membership is 
terminated, and that when a former pastor who has been 
disfellowshipped is readmitted to church membership they do not 
automatically become clergy again.

	13. Clarification of the rules for referring the report of a 
nominating committee back to committee; a motion to refer is 
nondebatable and decided by majority vote.

	14. Insert language allow the first elder as well as the pastor to 
preside over the election of church delegates to conference 
constituency meeting.

	15. Clarification of the section on "censure" -- it can be for 1 to 
12 months and the censured member automatically returns to regular 
standing as a member unless additional action is voted at the end of 
the time, but does not automatically return to any church office held 
and lost at the time censure is voted.

	16. Clarification of the section on church business meetings 
where church discipline is voted -- (A) The church board must review 
the case before the meeting is held. (B) A local elder can preside at 
such a meeting only with the specific permission of the pastor or the 
conference president.

	17. Members cannot be disfellowshipped unless a personal visit 
is made by the pastor or some designated by the church board.

	18. A new requirement that when a disfellowshipped member is 
accepted back into membership, the congregation accepting them 
must contact the congregation from which they were dropped to 
ascertain the reason.

	19. A new definition of the time that must lapse between when a 
person is disfellowshipped and when they may be accepted back into 
membership -- a "period of time ... sufficient to demonstrate that the 
issues which led to the action to disfellowship have been resolved 
beyond reasonable doubt."

	20. A new section which states that "no church shall receive into 
membership a person who is under the censure of another church."

	21. Problems for which a local church may be expelled from the 
conference are defined as "apostasy, refusal to operate in harmony 
with the Church Manual, or rebellion against the conference ..." and 
the procedure is spelled out in detail for the first time -- (A) The 
decision to recommend expulsion and supporting reasons must be 
presented to the congregation in business session. (B) The 
congregation may accept the recommendation, or vote to eliminate 
the cause of the recommendation, or appeal to the union conference 
executive committee for arbitration. (C) The conference executive 
committee votes the final recommendation, and (D) a constituency 
meeting must vote the final enforcement of the decision.


Referred Back to Committee & Not Voted:

	1. A new section outlining the Family Ministries Department in 
the local church.

	2. A complete revision of the section on courtship and marriage.

	3. Amendments to the Divorce and Remarriage policy.