A Short History Of The Methodists... - Media Sabda Org

command. The preachers at last agreed to depart from that engagement which some of the elder
brethren had formerly entered into, and in the next printed minutes, that engagement was left out.
They had made the engagement of their own accord, and among themselves, and they believed
they had a right to depart therefrom, when they pleased, seeing it was not a contract made with Mr.
Wesley, or any other person, but an agreement among themselves. It was further argued, that Mr.
Wesley while in England, could not tell what man was qualified to govern us, as well as we could
who were present, and were to be governed. We believed also, that if Mr. Wesley was here himself,
he would be of the same opinion with us.
We then wrote a long and loving letter to Mr. Wesley, and requested him to come over to America
and visit his spiritual children.
This step of receding from the above engagement, was afterwards considered by some disaffected
persons, as improper. If there was any thing improper in the business, it was in entering into the
engagement, and not in departing from it.
In the course of this year Mr. Asbury reprinted the general minutes; but in a different form from
what they were before. The title of this pamphlet was as follows:
"A form of discipline for the ministers, preachers, and members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church in America; considered and approved at a conference held at Baltimore, in the state of
Maryland, on Monday the 27th day of December, 1784. In which the Reverend Thomas Coke, L. L.
D. and the Reverend Francis Asbury, presided. Arranged under proper heads, and methodized in a
more acceptable and easy manner."
In this discipline there were thirty-one sections, and sixty-three questions, with answers to them
all.
The third question in the second section, and the answer, read thus.
Q. Is there any other business to be done in conference?
A. The electing and ordaining of Bishops, Elders and Deacons.
This was the first time that our Superintendents ever gave themselves the title of Bishops in the
minutes. They changed the title themselves without the consent of the conference; and at the next
conference they asked the preachers if the word Bishop might stand in the minutes; seeing that it was
a scripture name, and the meaning of the word Bishop, was the same with that of Superintendents.
Some of the preachers opposed the alteration, and wished to retain the former title; but a majority
of the preachers agreed to let the word Bishop remain; and in the annual minutes for the next year
the first question is, "Who are the bishops of our church for the United States?"