1.Kanisa Lililozaliwa Mkutanoni1.A Church Born in Conference

John Wesley alikusanya wahubiri wake kwa mara ya kwanza London mnamo Juni 1744 ili kujadili cha kufundisha, jinsi ya kukifundisha, na jinsi ya kupanga kazi yao. Aliuita mkutano huo kwa urahisi “Mkutano” (the Conference), nao ulikutana kila mwaka kwa maisha yake yote yaliyobaki. Baada ya Vita vya Uhuru, makasisi wengi wa Kanisa la Uingereza walikuwa wameondoka Marekani mpya, na maelfu ya Wamethodisti hawakuwa na mtu wa kubatiza watoto wao wala kuwapa Meza ya Bwana. Mwaka 1784 Wesley aliwaweka wakfu wahubiri wake wawili, Richard Whatcoat na Thomas Vasey, na akamtenga Thomas Coke, ambaye tayari alikuwa kasisi wa Kianglikana, kuwa msimamizi (superintendent) wa Marekani. Coke alipofika, Francis Asbury alikataa kupokea ofisi ya msimamizi isipokuwa wahubiri wenzake wamchague. Kwa hiyo mkutano uliitwa. Ulifunguliwa Baltimore tarehe 24 Desemba 1784, na “Mkutano wa Krismasi” huu ukalipanga Kanisa la Methodisti la Kiaskofu. Tangu siku yake ya kwanza, basi, Umethodisti wa Marekani ulikuwa kanisa lililoamua mambo mkutanoni. Kufikia 1798 Nidhamu yake, kitabu cha mafundisho na utaratibu wa kanisa, ilikuwa imefikia toleo la kumi, na kwa matakwa ya Mkutano Mkuu maaskofu hao wawili walikuwa wameongeza maelezo ya ufafanuzi. Maelezo haya si sheria, kama Coke na Asbury wenyewe wanavyosema. Ni utetezi wa kichungaji wa mfumo huo.John Wesley first gathered his preachers in London in June 1744 to talk over what to teach, how to teach it, and how to order their work. He called the meeting simply “the Conference,” and it met every year for the rest of his life. After the Revolutionary War most Church of England clergy had left the new United States, and thousands of Methodists had no one to baptize their children or give them the Lord’s Supper. In 1784 Wesley ordained two of his preachers, Richard Whatcoat and Thomas Vasey, and set apart Thomas Coke, already an Anglican priest, as superintendent for America. When Coke arrived, Francis Asbury would not accept the office of superintendent unless his fellow preachers elected him. So a conference was called. It opened in Baltimore on 24 December 1784, and this “Christmas Conference” organized the Methodist Episcopal Church. From its first day, then, American Methodism was a church that decided things in conference. By 1798 its Discipline, the book of doctrine and church order, had reached a tenth edition, and at the desire of the General Conference the two bishops had added explanatory notes. The notes are not laws, as Coke and Asbury themselves say. They are a pastoral defence of the system.

2.Kile Ambacho Nidhamu Inaweka2.What the Discipline Lays Down

Sehemu hii inaanza kwa kanuni ya kiroho kabla ya yoyote ya kisheria. Shughuli zote zitafakariwe “kama mbele ya uwepo wa Mungu mwenyewe,” na kila mtu “aseme kwa uhuru lolote lililo moyoni mwake.” Kisha zinakuja kanuni. Mkutano Mkuu unaundwa na wahubiri wote wa mzunguko walio katika muungano kamili. Mikutano ya mwaka (yearly conferences), ambayo sasa tunaiita mikutano ya mwaka (annual conferences), huhudhuriwa na wahubiri hao hao na wale wanaokaribia kupokelewa katika muungano kamili. Maaskofu huweka nyakati za mikutano ya mwaka. Kila mkutano wa mwaka hupitia orodha maalumu ya maswali kumi na manane. Ni nani wanaokubaliwa kwa majaribio? Ni nani wanaobaki kwenye majaribio? Ni nani wanaopokelewa katika muungano kamili? Ni nani walio mashemasi na wazee? Ni nani walio chini ya kutulia (location), yaani, wameacha kusafiri kwa sababu ya udhaifu wa mwili au mambo ya familia? Ni nani walio wahubiri wasaidizi (supernumeraries), wahubiri waliochoka hata hawawezi kuhubiri daima lakini bado watafanya wawezavyo? Ni nani waliokufa mwaka huu? Kisha swali kuu: “Je! Wahubiri wote hawana lawama katika maisha na mwenendo?” Mengine huuliza wahubiri wamepangiwa wapi, ni wangapi walio katika jumuiya, na kilichotolewa kwa mfuko wa wahubiri waliochoka na wajane na yatima wao. Mkutano pia huchagua na kuwaweka wakfu wazee na mashemasi. Mikutano sita ya mwaka inatajwa: New England, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Virginia, South Carolina, na mkutano wa Magharibi kwa Kentucky na Tennessee. Maaskofu wanaweza kuongeza mingine mizunguko mipya inapoundwa, nao huchora mipaka ya wilaya.The section opens with a spiritual rule before any legal one. All business is to be considered “as in the immediate presence of God,” and every person is to “speak freely whatever is in his heart.” Then come the rules. The General Conference is composed of all the travelling preachers in full connection. The yearly conferences, which we now call annual conferences, are attended by the same preachers and by those about to be received into full connection. The bishops set the times of the yearly conferences. Each yearly conference works through a fixed list of eighteen questions. Who are admitted on trial? Who remain on trial? Who are received into full connection? Who are the deacons and the elders? Who are under a location, that is, have stopped travelling because of weakness of body or family concerns? Who are the supernumeraries, preachers so worn out that they cannot preach constantly but will still do what they can? Who have died this year? Then the key question: “Are all the preachers blameless in life and conversation?” Others ask where the preachers are stationed, how many are in society, and what has been given to the fund for worn-out preachers and their widows and orphans. The conference also elects and ordains elders and deacons. Six yearly conferences are named: New England, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Virginia, South Carolina, and a Western conference for Kentucky and Tennessee. The bishops may add more as new circuits are formed, and they draw the boundaries of the districts.

3.Kwa Nini “Mkutano,” na Kwa Nini Kila Miaka Minne?3.Why “Conference,” and Why Every Four Years?

Coke na Asbury huanza maelezo yao kwa kanuni ya jumla. Kila kundi kubwa la watu, la kiraia au la kidini, linahitaji idadi teule ya watu wenye mamlaka ya kutunga kanuni za kulitawala. Jina halina umuhimu mkubwa. Wesley alichagua neno Mkutano (Conference), nao wakaliendeleza, wakitambua kwamba linatokana na Maandiko. Paulo na Barnaba walipopanda kwenda Yerusalemu kwa swali la tohara (Matendo 15), Paulo baadaye alieleza kukutana huko na mitume na wazee kuwa mkutano (Wagalatia 2:6). Kwa nini kukutana kila miaka minne tu? Kwa sababu jumuiya zilitawanyika katika nchi yenye urefu wa takriban maili elfu moja mia nne na upana wa maili mia tano hadi mia nane. Kuwaita wahubiri wote mbali mara nyingi zaidi kungekuwa “hasara isiyoweza kurekebishwa” kwa makutaniko. Lakini baadhi ya shughuli haziwezi kungoja miaka minne: kukubali wahubiri, kuwaweka wakfu wazee na mashemasi, kuchunguza tabia, kumpangia kila mhubiri kituo, na kusimamia mfuko wa msaada. Mambo haya ni ya mikutano ya mwaka, inayoundwa na askofu, wazee wasimamizi, na wazee, mashemasi na wahubiri walio katika muungano kamili. Ni wahubiri walio kwenye majaribio tu hubaki nyuma, ili makundi yasiachwe bila kuhubiriwa.Coke and Asbury begin their notes with a general principle. Every large body of people, civil or religious, needs a select number with authority to make rules for its government. The name matters little. Wesley chose the word Conference, and they kept it, noting that it is scriptural. When Paul and Barnabas went up to Jerusalem over the question of circumcision (Acts 15), Paul later described the meeting with the apostles and elders as a conference (Galatians 2:6). Why meet only every four years? Because the societies were scattered over a country about fourteen hundred miles long and five to eight hundred miles wide. To call every preacher away more often would be an “irreparable loss” to the congregations. But some business cannot wait four years: admitting preachers, ordaining elders and deacons, examining characters, stationing every preacher, and managing the relief fund. These matters belong to the yearly conferences, made up of a bishop, the presiding elders, and the elders, deacons and preachers in full connection. Only the preachers on trial stay behind, so that the flocks are not left without preaching.

4.Kwa Nini Hakuna Wajumbe Kutoka Mizunguko?4.Why No Delegates from the Circuits?

Sehemu ya kuvutia zaidi ya maelezo inajibu swali ambalo Wamarekani wengi walikuwa tayari wakiliuliza katika jamhuri ya wawakilishi waliochaguliwa. Kwa nini wajumbe hawatumwi kutoka kila mzunguko kwenda kwenye mikutano? Coke na Asbury wanajibu kwamba ingeharibu “kabisa” mpango wa kuzunguka. Mjumbe angejali kwanza, kwa kawaida, mzunguko wake mwenyewe. Angejaribu kupata wahubiri hodari zaidi na wachangamfu zaidi kwa watu wake, huenda angemtolea mhubiri apendaye ofa za siri atulie kati yao, na akikata tamaa angeweza kurudi nyumbani kwa chuki na kuongoza kujitenga. Maaskofu wanaongeza tanbihi ya upole: hawakusudii kutoheshimu ndugu wa mahali, ambao wengi wao wanawazidi katika neema na hekima. Ni hali ya mwanadamu tu, na labda hata wajibu wa mtu, kuwaweka kwanza watu anaowawakilisha. “Huenda sisi nasi tungetenda vivyo hivyo,” wanakiri. Wahubiri wa mzunguko, kwa upande mwingine, hawajui wanapokutana watatumwa wapi baadaye, nao wako tayari kwenda popote kwa shughuli za Bwana wao. Kisha maelezo yanakusanya Maandiko ya huduma ya kuzunguka, kuanzia Yesu kuwatuma wale Kumi na Wawili na wale Sabini hadi Timotheo na Tito, ambao maaskofu wanawaita maaskofu wa kusafiri. Wakiwaheshimu wahudumu waliotulia, wanasisitiza kwamba mpango wa kuzunguka ndio “mpango wa kwanza na wa kitume,” nao hawatahatarisha kuuumiza kwa jambo lolote jipya.The most interesting part of the notes answers a question many Americans were already asking in a republic of elected representatives. Why not send delegates from each circuit to the conferences? Coke and Asbury answer that it would “utterly destroy” the itinerant plan. A delegate would naturally care first for his own circuit. He would try to win the ablest and liveliest preachers for his people, might make a favourite preacher secret offers to settle among them, and if disappointed might return home resentful and lead a separation. The bishops add a gracious footnote: they mean no disrespect to the local brethren, many of whom exceed them in grace and wisdom. It is simply human nature, and perhaps even a man’s duty, to put the people he represents first. “We should probably act in the same manner,” they admit. The travelling preachers, by contrast, do not know when they meet where they will be sent next, and they are willing to go anywhere on their Lord’s errands. The notes then gather texts for a travelling ministry, from Jesus sending out the Twelve and the Seventy to Timothy and Titus, whom the bishops call travelling bishops. While honouring settled ministers, they insist that the travelling plan is “the primitive and apostolic plan,” and they will not risk wounding it by any novelty.

5.Kusema Kwa Uhuru Mbele ya Mungu5.Speaking Freely in the Presence of God

Maaskofu wanatoa “mawaidha” machache, si sheria, kuhusu maana ya kila mtu kusema kwa uhuru, yaliyochukuliwa kutoka kumbukumbu za Mkutano wa Uingereza. Mpende kwa upole sifa ya kila ndugu, lakini kamwe usisamehe dhambi. Usiseme lolote mkutanoni isipokuwa lililo la lazima na linalohusu jambo. Ukishtakiwa, kumbuka kwamba “kumshtaki mwingine si kujisafisha,” yaani, kumshtaki mshtaki wako hakuthibitishi kwamba huna hatia. Jihadhari na kutovumilia unapopingwa; uwe wazi kushawishiwa. Shauri ni la Mungu, wala hahitaji mikono ya Uza kulishikilia sanduku lake (2 Samweli 6:6–7). Kushikilia jambo kwa sababu wewe ndiye uliyelileta kunaweza kuwa kujilisha mwenyewe tu, kwa hiyo “uwe na utulivu kabisa” wengi wakiamua kinyume chako. Usitumie hila wala hadaa kushinda jambo, wala usimdharau mpinzani. Epuka wepesi wote wa roho, ukikumbuka maneno “Wewe, Mungu, waniona.” Mwishowe, maelezo yanajivunia uchunguzi wa kila mwaka wa tabia ya kila mhubiri. John Fletcher, mshirika mtakatifu wa Wesley, aliutazama mara moja katika Mkutano wa Uingereza na akastaajabu. Maaskofu wanadai kwamba hakuna kanisa linaloangalia kwa ukali zaidi maadili, mafundisho na manufaa ya wahudumu wake. Mkutano, kwao, ni kwanza kabisa njia ya neema: wahubiri wakiwajibishana mbele ya Mungu.The bishops offer a few “hints,” not laws, on what it means for everyone to speak freely, drawn from the minutes of the British Conference. Be tender of the character of every brother, but never excuse sin. Say nothing in the conference but what is necessary and to the point. If you are accused, remember that “recrimination is no acquittance,” that is, accusing your accuser does not prove you innocent. Beware of impatience when contradicted; be open to conviction. The cause is God’s, and He does not need the hands of an Uzzah to hold up His ark (2 Samuel 6:6–7). Holding on to a point because you proposed it may only be feeding self, so “be quite easy” if the majority decides against you. Use no craft or guile to win a point, and never despise an opponent. Avoid all lightness of spirit, remembering the words “Thou, God, seest me.” Finally, the notes take pride in the yearly examination of every preacher’s character. John Fletcher, Wesley’s saintly ally, once watched it at the British Conference and was astonished. The bishops claim that no church watches more strictly over the morals, the doctrine and the usefulness of its ministers. Conference, for them, is first of all a means of grace: preachers holding one another accountable before God.

6.Yaliyokuja Baadaye6.What Came Later

Mfumo haukusimama. Mkutano Mkuu wa kwanza wa kawaida ulikutana mwaka 1792. Mwaka 1808 Mkutano Mkuu ukawa chombo cha wajumbe, kilichochaguliwa na mikutano ya mwaka, nao ukapitisha Kanuni za Vizuizi (Restrictive Rules), zinazolinda Hati za Dini, Kanuni za Jumla na usimamizi mkuu wa kuzunguka dhidi ya kubadilishwa kwa urahisi. Wanamageuzi waliotaka uwakilishi wa walei na uzee msimamizi wa kuchaguliwa waliondoka mwaka 1830 kuunda Kanisa la Methodisti la Kiprotestanti, lisilo na maaskofu. Kanisa la Methodisti la Kiaskofu, la Kusini, lilikubali wajumbe walei mwaka 1866, na kanisa la kaskazini mwaka 1872. Wakati huo huo, Mkutano Mkuu wa 1844 uligawanyika kwa sababu ya utumwa, hata kufikia enzi ya 1850 kulikuwa na makanisa mawili makubwa ya Kimethodisti ya kiaskofu, la Kaskazini na la Kusini. Yaliungana tena na Wamethodisti wa Kiprotestanti mwaka 1939 na kujiunga na Evangelical United Brethren mwaka 1968 kuunda The United Methodist Church, ambayo mikutano yake ya mwaka sasa inajumuisha walei wengi kama makasisi. Madhehebu ya Utakatifu kama Wesleyan Methodists (1843) na Free Methodists (1860) yalitoa walei sauti sawa tangu mwanzo. Kanisa la Nazarene, lililoungana huko Pilot Point, Texas, mwaka 1908, lilihifadhi kanuni ya mkutano kwa majina mengine. Mwongozo wake (Manual) unaweka mkusanyiko wa kila mwaka wa wilaya na Mkutano Mkuu (General Assembly) wa kila miaka minne wenye idadi sawa ya wajumbe wa kihudumu na wa walei.The system did not stand still. The first regular General Conference met in 1792. In 1808 the General Conference became a delegated body, elected by the annual conferences, and it adopted the Restrictive Rules, which protect the Articles of Religion, the General Rules and an itinerant general superintendency from easy change. Reformers who wanted lay representation and an elected presiding eldership left in 1830 to form the Methodist Protestant Church, which had no bishops. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, admitted lay delegates in 1866, and the northern church in 1872. Meanwhile the General Conference of 1844 divided over slavery, so that by the 1850 era there were two large episcopal Methodist churches, North and South. They reunited with the Methodist Protestants in 1939 and joined the Evangelical United Brethren in 1968 to form The United Methodist Church, whose annual conferences now include as many lay members as clergy. Holiness bodies such as the Wesleyan Methodists (1843) and the Free Methodists (1860) gave laity an equal voice from the start. The Church of the Nazarene, united at Pilot Point, Texas, in 1908, kept the conference principle under other names. Its Manual provides for an annual district assembly and a quadrennial General Assembly with equal numbers of ministerial and lay delegates.

7.Kile Mchungaji wa Kimethodisti au wa Kinazarene Anachochukua Kutoka Hapa Leo7.What a Methodist or Nazarene Pastor Takes from It Today

Mengi ya mashine ya 1798 yamebadilika, lakini roho yake bado inaunda kila mkutano wa mwaka wa Kimethodisti na kila mkusanyiko wa wilaya wa Kinazarene, huko Meksiko kama kwingineko. Kwanza, mkutano ni zoezi la kiroho kabla ya kuwa mkutano wa shughuli: tunaamua “kama mbele ya uwepo wa Mungu mwenyewe,” tukiombeana. Pili, mhudumu ni wa muungano, si wa kusanyiko lake tu. Swali si kamwe tu ni lipi jema kwa kanisa langu, bali ni lipi linalohudumia kazi nzima. Tatu, tabia hutangulia karama. Swali la kila mwaka kama kila mhubiri hana lawama bado linasimama nyuma ya mapitio ya makasisi katika mapokeo yote mawili, nalo ni zawadi, si tishio, kujulikana na kuchunguzwa na ndugu na dada. Nne, mawaidha ya mjadala ni shule ya unyenyekevu: sema yanayohitajika, kataa kuchezea, na uwe na amani unaposhindwa kwa kura. Wamethodisti wenyewe baadaye waliamua kwamba wajumbe walei huimarisha muungano, na Wakristo wa Presbiteri na wa makutaniko wamewapa watu sauti daima. Wasiwasi halisi wa Coke na Asbury ulikuwa kuzuia masilahi ya mahali yasivunje utume uliopaswa kusonga kama mwili mmoja.Much of the 1798 machinery has changed, but its spirit still shapes every Methodist annual conference and every Nazarene district assembly, in Mexico as elsewhere. First, conference is a spiritual exercise before it is a business meeting: we decide “as in the immediate presence of God,” with prayer for one another. Second, the minister belongs to a connection, not only to a congregation. The question is never only what is good for my church, but what serves the whole work. Third, character comes before gifts. The yearly question whether every preacher is blameless still stands behind the review of clergy in both traditions, and it is a gift, not a threat, to be known and examined by brothers and sisters. Fourth, the hints for debate are a school of humility: say what is needed, refuse manipulation, and be at peace when outvoted. Later Methodists themselves decided that lay delegates strengthen the connection, and Presbyterian and congregational Christians have always given the people a voice. Coke and Asbury’s real concern was to keep local interests from breaking a mission that had to move as one body.

8.Kuuchukua Moyoni8.Taking It to Heart

1.Kutoka Msimamizi hadi Askofu1.From Superintendent to Bishop

Mnamo Septemba 1784 John Wesley, bado kasisi wa Kanisa la Uingereza, alichukua hatua ambayo alikuwa ameipima kwa muda mrefu. Akiwa ameshawishika kutokana na usomaji wake wa kanisa la kwanza kwamba maaskofu na presbyteri awali walikuwa daraja moja, aliwaweka wakfu Richard Whatcoat na Thomas Vasey kuwa wazee wa Marekani na akamtenga Thomas Coke kuwa “msimamizi.” Aliwatuma pamoja na kitabu cha ibada, The Sunday Service of the Methodists, na seti iliyofupishwa ya Hati za Dini. Katika Mkutano wa Krismasi huko Baltimore, wahubiri walimchagua Coke na Francis Asbury kuwa wasimamizi wenza. Kwa siku tatu Asbury aliwekwa wakfu shemasi, kisha mzee, kisha akatengwa kuwa msimamizi, huku mchungaji wa German Reformed Philip Otterbein akijiunga katika kuwekewa mikono. Ndani ya miaka mitatu Kumbukumbu za Marekani zilikuwa zikitumia cheo askofu. Wesley alipinga vikali; alikuwa amewataka wasimamizi, si maaskofu. Lakini Wamarekani walihifadhi jina hilo, na maelezo tunayosoma hapa ni utetezi wao kwalo. Sababu kuu ya mpango huo wote ilikuwa ya kisakramenti. Wamethodisti walihitaji wahudumu waliowekwa wakfu wangeweza kubatiza na kutoa Meza ya Bwana, na kanisa lenye wahudumu waliowekwa wakfu lilihitaji mtu wa kuwaweka wakfu.In September 1784 John Wesley, still a priest of the Church of England, took a step he had long weighed. Convinced from his reading of the early church that bishops and presbyters were originally one order, he ordained Richard Whatcoat and Thomas Vasey as elders for America and set apart Thomas Coke as “superintendent.” He sent with them a service book, The Sunday Service of the Methodists, and an abridged set of Articles of Religion. At the Christmas Conference in Baltimore, the preachers elected Coke and Francis Asbury as joint superintendents. Over three days Asbury was ordained deacon, then elder, and then consecrated superintendent, with the German Reformed pastor Philip Otterbein joining in the laying on of hands. Within three years the American Minutes were using the title bishop. Wesley objected sharply; he had wanted superintendents, not bishops. But the Americans kept the name, and the notes we read here are their defence of it. The main reason for the whole arrangement was sacramental. Methodists needed ordained ministers who could baptize and give the Lord’s Supper, and a church with ordained ministers needed someone to ordain them.

2.Kile Ambacho Nidhamu Inaweka kwa Maaskofu2.What the Discipline Lays Down for Bishops

Askofu huundwa kwa uchaguzi wa Mkutano Mkuu na kuwekewa mikono na maaskofu watatu, au angalau askofu mmoja na wazee wawili. Kama hakuna askofu aliyebaki, Mkutano Mkuu ungemchagua mmoja na kuteua wazee wamweke wakfu. Wajibu wa askofu ni sita: kuongoza mikutano; kuweka uteuzi wa wahubiri; kati ya mikutano kubadilisha, kupokea au kusimamisha wahubiri kama hitaji linavyodai; kusafiri katika muungano kwa jumla; kusimamia shughuli za kiroho na za kidunia za jumuiya; na kuwaweka wakfu maaskofu, wazee na mashemasi. Anawajibika kwa Mkutano Mkuu, ambao waweza kumfukuza. Akishtakiwa kwa uovu wa maadili kati ya Mikutano Mikuu, wazee watatu wa mzunguko humchunguza. Wakiamini ana hatia, huita wazee wasimamizi wawili kutoka wilaya za jirani, kila mmoja akileta wahudumu wengine wawili, na hawa tisa huunda mkutano mdogo. Theluthi mbili yao wanaweza kumsimamisha askofu hadi Mkutano Mkuu ukutane. Askofu anayeacha kusafiri bila ridhaa ya mkutano hawezi kamwe tena kutumikia kazi yoyote ya kihudumu kati yao. Hatimaye, maelezo yanawaruhusu maaskofu kuwaweka wakfu wahubiri wa mahali kuwa mashemasi ikiwa jumuiya yao, wasimamizi wa mali wa mzunguko na wahudumu tisa watatia sahihi ushuhuda kwa ajili yao.A bishop is constituted by the election of the General Conference and the laying on of hands of three bishops, or at least of one bishop and two elders. If no bishop remained, the General Conference would elect one and appoint elders to ordain him. The bishop’s duties are six: to preside in the conferences; to fix the appointments of the preachers; between conferences to change, receive or suspend preachers as necessity requires; to travel through the connection at large; to oversee the spiritual and temporal business of the societies; and to ordain bishops, elders and deacons. He is answerable to the General Conference, which may expel him. If he is accused of immorality between General Conferences, three travelling elders examine him. If they believe him guilty, they call two presiding elders from neighbouring districts, each bringing two more ministers, and these nine form a small conference. Two-thirds of them may suspend the bishop until the General Conference meets. A bishop who stops travelling without the conference’s consent may never again exercise any ministerial function among them. Finally, a note allows the bishops to ordain local preachers as deacons if their society, the circuit stewards and nine ministers sign a testimonial for them.

3.Si Mamlaka ya Wesley: Utetezi wa Coke na Asbury3.Not Wesley’s Power: Coke and Asbury’s Defence

Maelezo kwanza yanasisitiza kwamba utaratibu wa kiaskofu haukuleta jambo jipya: Wesley mwenyewe alikuwa ameongoza, alipanga vituo vya wahubiri, alisafiri kwa jumla na kuweka wakfu. Lakini kisha yanaorodhesha njia ambazo maaskofu wa Marekani wanashikilia mamlaka kidogo zaidi kuliko Wesley. Kwanza, Wesley alikuwa na haki ya pekee ya kuteua wahubiri kwa kila mimbari ya Kimethodisti huko Uingereza. Huko Marekani majengo ni ya wadhamini, na haki ya uteuzi iko kwa Mkutano Mkuu, unaowakopesha maaskofu kwa sababu tu unawaamini. Wakionyesha udhalimu au upendeleo wakati wowote, ungeondolewa, na maaskofu wanaongeza, “nani angemhusudu mtu yeyote mamlaka hayo?” Kupanga vituo vya wahubiri ndiyo sehemu yenye maumivu zaidi ya kazi yao. Wanajua neema inayohitajika kwa mtu anayetumwa kwenye mzunguko ambamo jumuiya ni ndogo, safari ni ndefu na chakula ni kibaya. Pili, Wesley hakuwajibika kwa yeyote; maaskofu wa Marekani ni “chini kabisa” ya Mkutano Mkuu na wanaweza kuhukumiwa na mahakama ya tisa. Tatu, Wesley alisimamia fedha zote, ingawa alizitumia kwa kazi ya Mungu na akafa bila karibu kitu. Maaskofu wa Marekani hawasimamii fedha za umma. Mshahara wao ni dola sitini na nne kwa mwaka pamoja na gharama za kusafiri, na kwa hayo husafiri karibu maili elfu sita kwa mwaka. Maelezo yanaongeza vikwazo viwili zaidi. Maaskofu hawawezi kumweka wakfu yeyote ambaye mkutano haukumchagua kwanza. Na lazima waendelee kusafiri hadi Mkutano Mkuu utakapowatangaza wamechoka. Afadhali kuona utawala wa kiaskofu ukifutiliwa mbali, maelezo yanasema, kuliko kuona maaskofu wametulia katika mashamba yao. Heshima yake ya kweli iko katika kazi na ugumu, katika mito, mabwawa na usiku juu ya ardhi tupu. Kuhusu urithi wa kitume maelezo ni ya wazi. Yanauhesabu mnyororo usiokatika wa maaskofu kuwa “hadithi ya kubuni” (fable), nayo yanamtaja Jerome: huko Alexandria wazee wenyewe walimchagua na kumweka wakfu askofu wao kwa takriban miaka mia mbili. Wakristo wa Kikatoliki, wa Kiorthodoksi na wa Kianglikana wangejibu hili kwa njia tofauti sana, na mjadala umeendelea tangu wakati huo.The notes first insist that the episcopal form introduced nothing new: Wesley himself had presided, stationed the preachers, travelled at large and ordained. But they then list ways in which the American bishops hold far less power than Wesley did. First, Wesley had the sole right to name the preachers for every Methodist pulpit in Britain. In America the chapels belong to trustees, and the right of appointment rests with the General Conference, which lends it to the bishops only because it trusts them. If they ever showed tyranny or partiality, it would be taken away, and the bishops add, “who would envy any one the power?” Stationing preachers is the most painful part of their work. They know the grace it takes for a man sent to a circuit where the societies are small, the rides long and the food coarse. Second, Wesley answered to no one; the American bishops are “perfectly subject” to the General Conference and can be tried by a court of nine. Third, Wesley controlled all the funds, though he spent them on God’s work and died worth almost nothing. The American bishops control no public money. Their salary is sixty-four dollars a year plus travelling costs, and for that they ride about six thousand miles a year. The notes add two further limits. The bishops cannot ordain anyone the conference has not first elected. And they must keep travelling until the General Conference declares them worn out. Rather than see bishops settled on their plantations, the notes say, it would be better for the episcopacy to be blotted out. Its true dignity lies in labour and hardship, in rivers, swamps and nights on the bare ground. On the question of apostolic succession the notes are blunt. They regard an unbroken chain of bishops as a “fable,” and they cite Jerome: at Alexandria the elders themselves elected and consecrated their bishop for some two hundred years. Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican Christians would answer this very differently, and the debate has continued ever since.

4.Wazee Wasimamizi: Mawakala wa Maaskofu4.Presiding Elders: The Bishops’ Agents

Sehemu ya V inaeleza ofisi ya mzee msimamizi (presiding elder). Askofu huwachagua, huwapangia vituo na kuwabadilisha, na huenda akamwacha mmoja katika wilaya hiyo hiyo kwa zaidi ya miaka minne mfululizo. Mzee msimamizi husafiri katika wilaya yake; askofu asipokuwapo huchukua usimamizi wa wahudumu na wahubiri wote, hubadilisha, hupokea au husimamisha wahubiri, na huongoza mkutano. Huhudhuria mikutano ya robo mwaka, husikia malalamiko na rufaa, huona kwamba nidhamu inatekelezwa, na humjulisha askofu kwa barua. Maelezo yanaipata ofisi hiyo katika Maandiko, katika “waangalizi” wa Efeso (Matendo 20:28) na wazee “watawalao vema” (1 Timotheo 5:17). Ofisi ilikua hatua kwa hatua: mwaka 1784 wazee kumi na wawili waliwekwa juu ya kazi, Asbury na mikutano ya wilaya walipanua idadi na kutoa jina, na Mkutano Mkuu wa 1792 uliithibitisha. Faida zake, maaskofu wanahoji, ni nyingi. Mgeni huongoza kwa haki mikutano ya robo mwaka, ambapo mtu wa mahali anaweza kumpendelea jamaa au rafiki. Wahubiri vijana, wenye bidii lakini karama chache, wanaweza kuhamishwa baada ya miezi sita au hata mitatu. Nafasi zilizoachwa na kifo zinaweza kujazwa upesi. Na maaskofu wanaweza kujua hali ya kila wilaya. Mamlaka ya mzee msimamizi huzuiwa kwa njia tatu: Mkutano Mkuu waweza kumfukuza, askofu waweza kumsimamisha, na mkutano wake wa mwaka waweza kumhukumu. Tangu 1784, wanaongeza, uanachama ulikuwa umeongezeka kutoka takriban elfu kumi na nne hadi zaidi ya elfu hamsini na sita, mara nne ya ukubwa wake.Section V sets out the office of presiding elder. The bishop chooses, stations and changes them, and may leave one in the same district for no more than four years in a row. A presiding elder travels through his district; in the bishop’s absence he takes charge of all the ministers and preachers, changes, receives or suspends preachers, and presides in the conference. He attends the quarterly meetings, hears complaints and appeals, sees that the discipline is enforced, and keeps the bishop informed by letter. The notes find the office in Scripture, in the “overseers” of Ephesus (Acts 20:28) and the elders “that rule well” (1 Timothy 5:17). The office grew step by step: in 1784 twelve elders were set over the work, Asbury and the district conferences enlarged the number and gave the name, and the General Conference of 1792 confirmed it. Its advantages, the bishops argue, are many. An outsider presides impartially at quarterly meetings, where a local man might favour a relative or friend. Young preachers, zealous but with limited gifts, can be moved after six or even three months. Vacancies left by death can be filled quickly. And the bishops can know the state of every district. The presiding elder’s power is checked three ways: the General Conference may expel him, the bishop may suspend him, and his yearly conference may try him. Since 1784, they add, membership had grown from about fourteen thousand to more than fifty-six thousand, four times as large.

5.Wazee na Mashemasi5.Elders and Deacons

Mzee wa mzunguko huundwa kwa uchaguzi wa walio wengi wa mkutano wa mwaka na kuwekewa mikono na askofu na wazee waliopo. Wajibu wake ni kutoa ubatizo na Meza ya Bwana, kutimiza ndoa na kuongoza sehemu zote za ibada ya kimungu, na kutimiza kazi yote ya mhubiri wa mzunguko. Shemasi wa mzunguko huchaguliwa vivyo hivyo lakini huwekwa wakfu na askofu peke yake. Anaweza kubatiza na kutimiza ndoa mzee asipokuwapo na humsaidia mzee katika Meza ya Bwana. Lazima atumikie miaka miwili kama shemasi kabla ya kuchaguliwa mzee, isipokuwa katika nyanja za misheni. Maelezo yanajenga ushemasi katika Matendo 6. Kusudi la kwanza la wale saba lilikuwa kuwatunza wajane na wahitaji, lakini Stefano na Filipo pia walihubiri na kufanya maajabu, kwa hiyo mashemasi ni zaidi ya wahudumu wa mezani. Baba wa kwanza, wanaongeza, wanawaeleza mashemasi wakisaidia katika Meza ya Bwana na kupeleka mkate na divai vilivyowekwa wakfu kwa wagonjwa. Zaidi ya yote, ushemasi ni kipindi cha majaribio kwa uzee. Wakati mtu anapowekwa wakfu mzee amekwisha kujithibitisha kama mshiriki, kiongozi wa kikundi, mhimizaji, mhubiri wa mahali, mhubiri kwa majaribio kwa miaka miwili na shemasi kwa miaka miwili mingine.A travelling elder is constituted by the election of a majority of the yearly conference and the laying on of hands of a bishop and the elders present. His duty is to administer baptism and the Lord’s Supper, perform marriages and lead all parts of divine worship, and to do all the work of a travelling preacher. A travelling deacon is elected the same way but ordained by the bishop alone. He may baptize and marry in the elder’s absence and assists the elder at the Lord’s Supper. He must serve two years as deacon before he can be elected elder, except on mission fields. The notes ground the diaconate in Acts 6. The first purpose of the seven was care for widows and the needy, but Stephen and Philip also preached and worked wonders, so deacons are more than servers of tables. The early fathers, they add, describe deacons helping at the Lord’s Supper and carrying the consecrated bread and wine to the sick. Above all, the diaconate is a probation for eldership. By the time a man is ordained elder he has proved himself as a member, class leader, exhorter, local preacher, preacher on trial for two years and deacon for two more.

6.Yaliyokuja Baadaye6.What Came Later

Ofisi hizi zilidumu, lakini si bila mzozo. Katika miaka ya 1820 wanamageuzi walishinikiza wazee wasimamizi wachaguliwe badala ya kuteuliwa; waliposhindwa, wengi walijiunga na Kanisa la Methodisti la Kiprotestanti la 1830, lisilo na maaskofu. Mwaka 1844 Mkutano Mkuu ulimwomba Askofu James Andrew wa Georgia, ambaye alikuwa mmiliki wa watumwa kwa njia ya ndoa, aache kutumikia ofisi yake hadi ajiondoe katika utumwa. Mikutano ya kusini ilijitoa na kuunda Kanisa la Methodisti la Kiaskofu, la Kusini, mwaka 1845. Kupitia enzi ya 1850 makanisa hayo mawili yalibishana kama askofu ni afisa wa Mkutano Mkuu au tawi tofauti la utawala. Mwaka 1908 kanisa la kaskazini lilimbadilisha jina mzee msimamizi kuwa msimamizi wa wilaya. Katika The United Methodist Church maaskofu sasa huchaguliwa na mikutano ya kanda na hubaki wazee waliowekwa wakfu kwa ofisi, si washiriki wa daraja ya tatu; tangu 1996 shemasi amekuwa daraja ya kudumu yake mwenyewe. Kanisa la Nazarene lilichagua kutokuwa na maaskofu kabisa. Mwanzilishi wake, Phineas Bresee, alikuwa mzee msimamizi wa Kimethodisti, na Wanazarene walihifadhi usimamizi (superintendency) kwa jina hilo: wasimamizi wakuu wanaochaguliwa na Mkutano Mkuu (General Assembly), na wasimamizi wa wilaya wanaosimamia kila wilaya. Kanisa la Methodisti la Meksiko, linalojitegemea tangu 1930, huchagua maaskofu wake lenyewe.These offices proved durable, but not without conflict. In the 1820s reformers pressed for presiding elders to be elected rather than appointed; when they failed, many joined the Methodist Protestant Church of 1830, which had no bishops. In 1844 the General Conference asked Bishop James Andrew of Georgia, who had become a slaveholder through marriage, to stop exercising his office until he freed himself of slavery. The southern conferences withdrew and formed the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1845. Through the 1850 era the two churches argued over whether a bishop was an officer of the General Conference or a separate branch of government. In 1908 the northern church renamed the presiding elder the district superintendent. In The United Methodist Church bishops are now elected by regional conferences and remain elders consecrated to an office, not members of a third order; since 1996 the deacon has been a permanent order of its own. The Church of the Nazarene chose not to have bishops at all. Its founder, Phineas Bresee, had been a Methodist presiding elder, and the Nazarenes kept superintendency under that name: general superintendents elected by the General Assembly, and district superintendents who oversee each district. The Methodist Church of Mexico, independent since 1930, elects its own bishops.

7.Kile Mchungaji wa Kimethodisti au wa Kinazarene Anachochukua Kutoka Hapa Leo7.What a Methodist or Nazarene Pastor Takes from It Today

Cheo chochote kiwe, wazo la Kiwesley la usimamizi lina umbo wazi. Wasimamizi wapo kwa ajili ya utume, si kwa heshima. Mamlaka yao yanakopeshwa na kanisa na yanaweza kurudishwa. Heshima yao inapaswa kutokana na kazi, si utajiri wala sherehe. Mchungaji leo anaweza kujifunza kutokana na haya, awe anahudumu chini ya askofu au msimamizi wa wilaya. Waheshimu wale wanaokusimamia, kwa maana kazi yao ni ya upweke na maamuzi yao yanagusa hisia nyeti zaidi za watu wengine. Waombee. Na ukipewa usimamizi mwenyewe wakati wowote, kumbuka kipimo cha Coke na Asbury: safiri, sikiliza, beba mzigo, na utarajie kutoa hesabu. Sehemu hizi pia zinatukumbusha kwa nini kuwekwa wakfu kulikuwa na umuhimu mkubwa mwaka 1784. Wamethodisti walitaka sakramenti, na muundo mzima wa kiaskofu ulikua kutokana na hitaji hilo la kichungaji.Whatever the title, the Wesleyan idea of oversight has a clear shape. Superintendents exist for the mission, not for honour. Their authority is lent by the church and can be called back. Their dignity is meant to come from labour, not from wealth or ceremony. A pastor today can learn from this whether he serves under a bishop or a district superintendent. Respect those who oversee you, for their work is lonely and their decisions touch other people’s tenderest feelings. Pray for them. And if you are ever given oversight yourself, remember Coke and Asbury’s standard: travel, listen, carry the burden, and expect to give account. The sections also remind us why ordination mattered so much in 1784. Methodists wanted the sacraments, and the whole episcopal structure grew from that pastoral need.

8.Kuuchukua Moyoni8.Taking It to Heart

1.Huduma ya Mifuko ya Zini1.The Saddlebag Ministry

Mwaka 1798 Wamarekani wengi waliishi katika mashamba makubwa mbali na mji wowote. Jibu la Wamethodisti lilikuwa mpanda mzunguko: kijana, kwa kawaida asiye na ndoa, mwenye farasi, Biblia, kitabu cha nyimbo na mifuko ya zini ya vitabu vya kuuza. Mzunguko mkubwa ungeweza kuchukua majuma manne hadi sita kuuzunguka, na kuhubiri karibu kila siku katika vibanda, ghala, mahakama na hewani wazi. Mpandaji alikutana na vikundi, alitembelea wagonjwa, alibatiza alipokuwa amewekwa wakfu, na kuendelea. Asbury mwenyewe alipanda, kwa makadirio ya kawaida, takriban maili 270,000 katika miaka yake arobaini na mitano huko Marekani. Wapandaji wengi walichoka mapema, na idadi nzuri walikufa wachanga. Sehemu tunazosoma hapa ndizo kitabu cha kanuni za maisha hayo.In 1798 most Americans lived on farms and plantations far from any town. The Methodist answer was the circuit rider: a young, usually single man with a horse, a Bible, a hymnbook and saddlebags of books for sale. A large circuit could take four to six weeks to ride, with preaching nearly every day in cabins, barns, courthouses and the open air. The rider met the classes, visited the sick, baptized when he was ordained, and moved on. Asbury himself rode, by common estimate, some 270,000 miles in his forty-five years in America. Many riders wore out early, and a good number died young. The sections we read here are the rulebook for that life.

2.Wajibu wa Mhubiri na Kanuni Kumi na Mbili2.A Preacher’s Duty and the Twelve Rules

Mhubiri hupokelewa na mkutano wa mwaka, au kati ya mikutano na askofu au mzee msimamizi, na jina lake likiwa bado halijachapishwa katika Kumbukumbu lazima abebe leseni iliyoandikwa. Wajibu wake ni kuhubiri, kukutana na jumuiya, vikundi na vikundi vya karibu (bands), kutembelea wagonjwa, na kuhubiri asubuhi popote atakapopata wasikilizaji, saa kumi na moja alfajiri wakati wa kiangazi na saa kumi na mbili wakati wa baridi. Kisha zinakuja kanuni kumi na mbili, zilizochukuliwa kutoka kwa Wesley. “Kuwa na bidii. Usiwe kamwe bila shughuli.” Kuwa makini, kwa kauli mbiu “utakatifu kwa Bwana.” Zungumza kwa kiasi na wanawake, na usichukue hatua yoyote kuelekea ndoa bila kushauriana na ndugu zako. Usimwamini mtu yeyote kuwa mbaya bila ushahidi mzuri. Usimsemee mtu yeyote vibaya, na waambie walio chini ya utunzaji wako waziwazi na upesi unachodhani si sawa ndani yao. Epuka kujifanya, kwa maana “mhubiri wa injili ni mtumishi wa wote.” Usione haya kwa chochote ila dhambi. Kuwa na wakati sahihi, na “usirekebishe kanuni zetu, bali uzishike.” Kanuni ya kumi na moja inahitimisha: “Huna jambo la kufanya ila kuokoa roho,” kwa hiyo nenda si kwa wale wanaokutaka tu, bali kwa wale wanaokuhitaji zaidi. Maelezo ya Coke na Asbury yanaunga mkono kila kanuni kwa Maandiko. Kuhusu kuwa na wakati sahihi wao ni wakali. Mpango wa kuzunguka ungekuwa mbaya zaidi duniani bila hilo, kwa sababu mhubiri anayekatisha tamaa kusanyiko anaweza kuwafukuza roho mbali na maagizo ya Mungu. Miadi, ikishawekwa, inapaswa kushikwa kama ahadi iliyotolewa kwa Mungu.A preacher is received by the yearly conference, or between conferences by the bishop or presiding elder, and if his name is not yet printed in the Minutes he must carry a written licence. His duty is to preach, to meet the societies, classes and bands, to visit the sick, and to preach in the mornings wherever he can find hearers, at five o’clock in summer and six in winter. Then come twelve rules, taken over from Wesley. “Be diligent. Never be unemployed.” Be serious, with the motto “holiness to the Lord.” Converse sparingly with women, and take no step toward marriage without consulting your brethren. Believe evil of no one without good evidence. Speak evil of no one, and tell those under your care plainly and quickly what you think wrong in them. Avoid affectation, for “a preacher of the gospel is the servant of all.” Be ashamed of nothing but sin. Be punctual, and “do not mend our rules, but keep them.” Rule eleven sums it up: “You have nothing to do but to save souls,” so go not only to those who want you, but to those who want you most. Coke and Asbury’s notes support each rule with Scripture. On punctuality they are fierce. The itinerant plan would be the worst in the world without it, because a preacher who disappoints a congregation may drive souls away from the ordinances of God. An appointment, once fixed, is to be kept like an engagement made to God.

3.Maswali Wakati wa Kukubaliwa3.Questions at Admission

Mhubiri anapopendekezwa mkutanoni, mkutano hufunga na kuomba kisha humuuliza mfululizo wa maswali mbele ya wote. “Je! Unayo imani katika Kristo? Je! Unaendelea kuelekea ukamilifu?” Je! Unatarajia kufanywa mkamilifu katika upendo katika maisha haya, na je! Unaugua ukiutamani? Je! Umeazimia kujitoa kabisa kwa Mungu na kazi yake? Je! Unazijua kanuni za jumuiya na za vikundi vya karibu, nawe unazishika? “Je! Unahudhuria sakramenti daima?” Je! Umesoma mfumo wa nidhamu, nawe utaufuata? Je! Utatumia wakati wako wote katika kazi ya Mungu, ujitahidi kutosema kwa muda mrefu mno wala kwa sauti kubwa mno, kuwafundisha watoto kila mahali, kutembelea nyumba kwa nyumba, na kupendekeza kufunga kwa mafundisho na kwa kielelezo? Na mwisho, “Je! Una deni?” Akiwaridhisha, hupokelewa kama mtu wa majaribio na kupewa nakala ya Nidhamu, iliyoandikwa ahadi ya mkutano kufurahi kumpokea kama mfanyakazi mwenzao pindi atakapokuwa amethibitisha kikamilifu wito wake. Nidhamu inasisitiza kwamba “kuchukua kwa majaribio ni tofauti kabisa na kumkubali mhubiri.” Mtu aliye kwenye majaribio anaweza kuachwa bila kosa, la sivyo isingekuwa majaribio kamwe. Hakuna anayepokelewa bila pendekezo kutoka kwa mkutano wa robo mwaka wa mzunguko wake. Baada ya miaka miwili ya majaribio, akikubaliwa na mkutano na kuchunguzwa na rais wake, anaweza kupokelewa katika muungano kamili.When a preacher is proposed at conference, the conference fasts and prays and then asks him a series of questions before everyone. “Have you faith in Christ? Are you going on to perfection?” Do you expect to be made perfect in love in this life, and are you groaning after it? Are you resolved to devote yourself wholly to God and His work? Do you know the rules of the society and of the bands, and do you keep them? “Do you constantly attend the sacrament?” Have you read the form of discipline, and will you conform to it? Will you employ all your time in the work of God, try not to speak too long or too loud, instruct the children in every place, visit from house to house, and recommend fasting by precept and example? And last, “Are you in debt?” If he satisfies them, he is received as a probationer and given a copy of the Discipline, inscribed with the conference’s promise to rejoice to receive him as a fellow-labourer once he has made full proof of his calling. The Discipline insists that “taking on trial is entirely different from admitting a preacher.” A man on trial may be dropped without wrong, or it would be no trial at all. No one is received without a recommendation from his circuit’s quarterly meeting. After two years of probation, approved by the conference and examined by its president, he may be received into full connection.

4.Ngazi ya Huduma ya Kimethodisti4.The Ladder of Methodist Ministry

Maelezo yanaeleza njia nzima, yakiita jumuiya “vitalu vyetu vikuu au vyuo vikuu” kwa wahudumu. Kwanza mtafutaji hupendekezwa kwa mhubiri, au hukutana kikundini mara tatu au nne, na hupokea hati ya kukubaliwa. Baada ya miezi sita kwa majaribio hupokea tiketi na kuwa mshiriki kamili. Kutoka kwa washiriki huchaguliwa viongozi wa vikundi, ambao wanapaswa kuwa na uzoefu mkubwa katika mambo ya Mungu na kuwa na karama ya kulisha kundi. Kutoka kwa wale wanaoonyesha karama ya maombi na kuhimiza katika mikutano ya maombi hutoka wahimizaji. Kutoka kwa wahimizaji hutoka wahubiri wa mahali, wenye leseni kutoka kwa mzee msimamizi na mkutano wa robo mwaka, leseni inayofanywa upya kila mwaka. Kutoka kwa wahubiri wa mahali hutoka wahubiri wa mzunguko, kwa majaribio kwa miaka miwili, maadili yao, neema, karama na matunda yakichunguzwa katika kila mkutano. Maaskofu wanasisitiza jambo moja. Hakuna askofu, mzee msimamizi wala mkutano anayemchagua mhubiri hadi watu, kupitia viongozi na wasimamizi wao wa mali, wamependekeza kwanza. Wanamshukuru Mungu kwa mchakato huu mgumu na wanausifu, chini ya neema, kwa usafi wa huduma yao.The notes describe the whole path, calling the societies “our grand nurseries or universities” for ministers. First a seeker is recommended to the preacher, or meets in class three or four times, and receives a note of admission. After six months on trial he receives a ticket and becomes a full member. From the members are chosen the class leaders, who should be deeply experienced in divine things and have some gift for feeding the flock. From those who show a gift for prayer and exhortation in prayer meetings come the exhorters. From the exhorters come the local preachers, licensed by the presiding elder and the quarterly meeting, a licence renewed every year. From the local preachers come the travelling preachers, on trial for two years, their morals, grace, gifts and fruit examined at every conference. The bishops stress one point. No bishop, presiding elder or conference chooses a preacher until the people, through their leaders and stewards, first recommend him. They thank God for this demanding process and credit it, under grace, for the purity of their ministry.

5.Dola Sitini na Nne kwa Mwaka5.Sixty-Four Dollars a Year

Sehemu ya IX inaweka mshahara wa maaskofu, wazee, mashemasi na wahubiri sawa kwa dola sitini na nne kwa mwaka pamoja na gharama za kusafiri. Mke wa mhubiri aliyeoa ana madai sawa ya dola sitini na nne kama mhubiri, hata kama mzunguko hauwezi kuwalipa wote kikamilifu, fedha hugawanywa katika sehemu sawa na moja ni ya mke. Hakuna mhubiri anayeweza kuchukua kutoka mfuko wowote bila kwanza kutoa hesabu kamili ya fedha zote, nguo na zawadi alizopokea mwakani. Maelezo yanatetea kuwasaidia wahudumu kutokana na 1 Wakorintho 9 na Wagalatia 6, lakini yanafurahi kwamba wahubiri wa Kimethodisti hawawezi kuwa matajiri “isipokuwa katika neema.” Zawadi yao kwa watu si fedha na dhahabu bali tunda la Roho. “Wapenda dunia hii hawatadumu muda mrefu kuwa wahubiri wa mzunguko.” Wengi hawakupokea hata posho yao ndogo, maaskofu wanakiri, kwa kawaida kwa sababu ya umaskini wa watu.Section IX sets the salary of bishops, elders, deacons and preachers alike at sixty-four dollars a year plus travelling expenses. A married preacher’s wife has the same claim to sixty-four dollars as a preacher, so that if a circuit cannot pay everyone in full, the money is divided into equal shares and one belongs to the wife. No preacher may draw on any fund without first giving an exact account of all the money, clothes and presents he received in the year. The notes defend support of ministers from 1 Corinthians 9 and Galatians 6, but they rejoice that Methodist preachers cannot become rich “except in grace.” Their gift to the people is not silver and gold but the fruit of the Spirit. “The lovers of this world will not long continue travelling preachers.” Many did not even receive their small allowance, the bishops admit, usually because of the people’s poverty.

6.Mhubiri Msimamizi wa Mzunguko6.The Preacher in Charge of a Circuit

Sehemu ya X inaorodhesha wajibu wa mzee, shemasi au mhubiri mwenye usimamizi wa pekee wa mzunguko. Anaona kwamba wenzake wanatenda vema na hawapungukiwi kitu. Hufanya upya tiketi za washiriki kila robo mwaka, husimamia vikundi vya karibu, hukutana na wasimamizi wa mali na viongozi, huwateua na kuwabadilisha, na hupokea, hujaribu na hufukuza washiriki kulingana na Nidhamu. Hufanya ibada za kesha na karamu za mapendo, hupatia kila jumuiya vitabu, huhesabu washiriki kwa ajili ya mkutano na hukagua hesabu za wasimamizi wa mali. Maelekezo zaidi yanafuata: mwachie mrithi wako taarifa ya mzunguko; waweke waumini katika kikundi cha karibu mara tu wanapokuwa wanne; usiruhusu karamu ya mapendo kuzidi saa moja na nusu; mpe kila mshiriki anayehama cheti; soma kanuni katika kila jumuiya mara moja kwa robo mwaka. Washiriki wanapogombana kuhusu madeni, anapendekeza usuluhishi na washiriki wenzao, na yeyote anayekataa au kumshtaki ndugu kwanza anafukuzwa. Hupanga mikutano ya maombi, huona kwamba mfungo unafanyika Ijumaa kabla ya kila mkutano wa robo mwaka, na huwapa wahimizaji leseni. Maelezo yanaongeza joto kwa orodha hiyo. Anapaswa kuwaangalia wenzake “si kwa jicho la hakimu mkali,” bali kama kaka mkubwa mpole. Tiketi ya robo mwaka, iliyochapishwa na aya ya Maandiko, inampa sababu ya kuzungumza kwa karibu na kila mshiriki kuhusu roho yake. Kwa nini mhubiri, si kamati ya walei, apokee washiriki? Maaskofu wanasimulia habari za jumuiya moja huko Ulaya iliyoweka kukubaliwa mikononi mwa wazee walei na mashemasi walei. Waliwaweka mbali wenye dhambi walioamshwa hivi karibuni hadi wajithibitishe, na uamsho mkuu ukafa. Wahudumu, wanaongeza, tayari huamua nani anayeweza kubatizwa, sakramenti kuu ya kuingiza kanisani; hakika wanaweza kuamua ni nani watakayemchukua chini ya utunzaji wao.Section X lists the duties of the elder, deacon or preacher who has special charge of a circuit. He sees that his colleagues behave well and want nothing. He renews the members’ tickets every quarter, regulates the bands, meets the stewards and leaders, appoints and changes them, and receives, tries and expels members according to the Discipline. He holds watch-nights and love feasts, supplies every society with books, counts the members for the conference and checks the stewards’ accounts. Further directions follow: leave your successor an account of the circuit; put believers into a band as soon as there are four; let no love feast last more than an hour and a half; give every member who moves a certificate; read the rules in every society once a quarter. When members quarrel over debts, he is to recommend arbitration by fellow members, and anyone who refuses it or sues a brother first is expelled. He appoints prayer meetings, sees that a fast is kept on the Friday before each quarterly meeting, and licenses exhorters. The notes add warmth to the list. He is to watch over his colleagues “not with the eye of a severe judge,” but as a tender elder brother. The quarterly ticket, printed with a verse of Scripture, gives him a reason to speak closely with every member about the soul. Why should the preacher, not a lay committee, receive members? The bishops tell of a society in Europe that put admission into the hands of lay elders and deacons. They kept newly awakened sinners at a distance until they proved themselves, and a great revival died. Ministers, they add, already decide who may be baptized, the church’s great initiatory sacrament; surely they may decide whom to take under their care.

7.Yaliyokuja Baadaye7.What Came Later

Mfumo wa mizunguko ulipeleka Umethodisti hadi mipakani na kuufanya chombo kikubwa zaidi cha Kiprotestanti huko Marekani kufikia katikati ya karne ya kumi na tisa. Lakini miji ilipokua, makutaniko yalitaka wachungaji waliotulia. Kikomo cha uteuzi mahali pamoja kilipanda kutoka miaka miwili mwaka 1804 hadi mitatu mwaka 1864 na mitano mwaka 1888, na Kanisa la Methodisti la Kiaskofu liliondoa mwaka 1900. Kuanzia 1816 kanisa lilitoa kozi ya masomo kwa wahubiri, na seminari zilifuata baadaye katika karne hiyo. Katika Kanisa la Nazarene kusanyiko la mahali humwita mchungaji wake, kwa idhini ya msimamizi wa wilaya na mapitio ya mara kwa mara, mchanganyiko wa desturi ya kimuungano na ya makutaniko. Hata hivyo mengi ya 1798 yamenusurika. Wagombea wa United Methodist wa muungano kamili bado wanaulizwa kama wanaendelea kuelekea ukamilifu na kama wana madeni kiasi cha kuwatia aibu katika kazi yao. Wagombea wa Kinazarene na wa Kimethodisti kwa pamoja hupitia leseni ya mahali, uchunguzi wa wilaya au wa mkutano, na miaka ya huduma chini ya usimamizi kabla ya kuwekwa wakfu.The circuit system carried Methodism to the frontier and made it the largest Protestant body in the United States by the middle of the nineteenth century. But as towns grew, congregations wanted settled pastors. The limit on appointments to one place rose from two years in 1804 to three in 1864 and five in 1888, and the Methodist Episcopal Church removed it in 1900. From 1816 the church provided a course of study for preachers, and seminaries followed later in the century. In the Church of the Nazarene a local congregation calls its pastor, with the district superintendent’s approval and regular review, a blend of connectional and congregational practice. Yet much of 1798 survives. United Methodist candidates for full connection are still asked whether they are going on to perfection and whether they are in debt so as to embarrass them in their work. Nazarene and Methodist candidates alike pass through local licence, district or conference examination, and years of supervised ministry before ordination.

8.Kile Mchungaji wa Kimethodisti au wa Kinazarene Anachochukua Kutoka Hapa Leo8.What a Methodist or Nazarene Pastor Takes from It Today

Wachungaji wachache huko Jalisco hupanda mizunguko ya farasi, lakini wengi huhudumu makutaniko kadhaa, husafiri umbali mrefu na kuishi kwa msaada mdogo. Kanuni za 1798 bado zinawasemesha. Tumia wakati vizuri. Shika miadi kama ahadi zilizotolewa kwa Mungu. Waambie watu waziwazi na upesi badala ya kulea malalamiko. Weka hesabu wazi. Wajenge viongozi, kwa kuwa watu hupendekeza kabla mkutano haujachagua. Na pima huduma si kwa mahubiri mangapi unayohubiri bali kwa roho ngapi zinazoletwa kwa Mungu na kujengwa katika utakatifu. Maswali ya kukubaliwa yanabaki kuwa kujichunguza kwa kina kwa mhudumu yeyote, kanisa lake liwe lolote.Few pastors in Jalisco ride horseback circuits, but many serve several congregations, travel long distances and live on small support. The 1798 rules still speak to them. Use time well. Keep appointments as promises made to God. Speak to people plainly and quickly rather than nursing grievances. Keep accounts openly. Build up leaders, because the people recommend before the conference chooses. And measure ministry not by how many sermons you preach but by how many souls are brought to God and built up in holiness. The admission questions remain a searching self-examination for any minister, whatever his or her church.

9.Kuuchukua Moyoni9.Taking It to Heart

1.Kujaribu Wito: Neema, Karama na Matunda1.Testing a Call: Grace, Gifts and Fruit

Tutawajaribuje wale wanaosema wanaongozwa na Roho Mtakatifu kuhubiri? Sehemu ya XI inatoa alama tatu. Kwanza, neema: je! Wanamjua Mungu kama Mungu asamehe, wanayo upendo wa Mungu ukikaa ndani yao, hawatamani kitu ila Mungu, na wanaishi maisha matakatifu? Pili, karama: je! Wanayo akili wazi, yenye afya, hukumu sahihi katika mambo ya Mungu, wazo sahihi la wokovu kwa imani, na kiwango fulani cha usemi, hata wanasema kwa usahihi, kwa haraka na kwa wazi? Tatu, matunda: je! Wapo wanaoshawishika kweli kuhusu dhambi na kugeuka kwa Mungu kwa kuhubiri kwao? Pale alama zote tatu zinapokutana, Nidhamu inasema, tunaamini mtu huyo ameitwa na Mungu. Maelezo yanaongeza kwamba “vipaji vya kung’aa” na ufasaha mzuri ni upatu uvumao tu bila nguvu ya Roho Mtakatifu. Hata hivyo maaskofu hawadharau uwezo uliofunzwa, nao wanausifu mpango wa kuzunguka kwa kuzipatia kila jumuiya mhubiri ambaye karama zake zinafaa mahitaji yake.How shall we test those who say they are moved by the Holy Spirit to preach? Section XI gives three marks. First, grace: do they know God as a pardoning God, have the love of God abiding in them, desire nothing but God, and live holy lives? Second, gifts: do they have a clear, sound understanding, right judgment in the things of God, a just idea of salvation by faith, and some measure of utterance, so that they speak justly, readily and clearly? Third, fruit: are any truly convinced of sin and converted to God by their preaching? Where all three marks meet, the Discipline says, we believe that person is called of God. The notes add that “brilliant parts” and fine address are only tinkling cymbals without the power of the Holy Spirit. Yet the bishops do not despise trained ability, and they praise the itinerant plan for matching each society with a preacher whose gifts suit its needs.

2.Kuhubiri: Kuhakikisha, Kumtoa Kristo, Kualika, Kujenga2.Preaching: Convince, Offer Christ, Invite, Build Up

Sehemu ya XII inataja njia bora ya jumla ya kuhubiri: “Kuhakikisha: kumtoa Kristo: kualika: kujenga,” na kufanya kitu cha kila moja katika kila mahubiri. Njia yenye ufanisi zaidi ya kumhubiri Kristo ni kumhubiri katika ofisi zake zote na kutangaza sheria yake pamoja na injili yake, kwa waumini na wasioamini sawa, ukisisitiza utakatifu wa ndani na wa nje. Maelezo yanalijaza hili kwa uhai. Mhubiri lazima kwanza avunje udongo ambao haujalimwa, amwonyeshe mwenye dhambi hatari yake na kumfukuza kutoka kila kisingizio, ikiwa ni pamoja na kuamini maadili ya nje au sherehe. Kisha lazima awe mwana wa faraja, akionyesha damu ya upatanisho na utayari wa Kristo kuokoa sasa. Hapaswi kumpa aliyetubu anayetetemeka karamu tajiri “katika sahani zenye moto mno kuguswa.” Kisha lazima awalishe wana-kondoo na kondoo wa Kristo, akiwaonya waliohesabiwa haki hivi karibuni dhidi ya hila za Shetani na kuwaongoza waliokomaa kuelekea upendo kamilifu. Kristo apaswa kuonyeshwa kama nabii wa kufundisha, kuhani wa kupatanisha na mfalme wa kutawala ndani yetu. Utakatifu, wa ndani na wa nje, lazima uwe lengo la mhubiri.Section XII names the best general method of preaching: “To convince: to offer Christ: to invite: to build up,” and to do something of each in every sermon. The most effective way of preaching Christ is to preach Him in all His offices and to declare His law as well as His gospel, to believers and unbelievers alike, insisting on inward and outward holiness. The notes fill this out vividly. The preacher must first break up the fallow ground, showing the sinner his danger and driving him from every excuse, including trust in outward morality or ceremonies. Then he must become a son of consolation, setting forth the atoning blood and the willingness of Christ to save now. He must not offer the trembling mourner a rich feast “in dishes too hot to be touched.” Then he must feed Christ’s lambs and sheep, warning the newly justified against Satan’s wiles and leading the mature toward perfect love. Christ is to be held out as prophet to teach, priest to atone and king to reign in us. Holiness, inward and outward, must be the preacher’s aim.

3.Mawaidha Madogo na Mwaka wa Kikristo3.Smaller Advices and the Christian Year

Orodha ya “mawaidha madogo” inafuata. Usikatishe tamaa kusanyiko kamwe, na anza kwa wakati. Mtindo wako uwe wa makini, mzito na wa heshima. Lifae somo lako kwa wasikilizaji wako. Chagua andiko lililo wazi zaidi unaloweza, shikamana nalo, na uepuke jambo lolote la kipekee au la kujifanya katika ishara au usemi. Usichapishe kitu bila idhini ya mkutano au askofu. Usiombe kwa kawaida bila maandalizi kwa zaidi ya dakika nane au kumi. Mara nyingi soma na ueleze sehemu ya Maandiko, na wahubiri vijana mara nyingi wahimize bila kuchukua andiko. Tumia sikukuu kuu za mwaka wa Kikristo kwa kuhubiri. Maelezo yanaonya dhidi ya kufasiri kwa mafumbo (allegorizing), ambako mara chache hufundisha hukumu na mara chache zaidi huchangamsha moyo. Yanawahimiza wahubiri wasikimbilie kuchapisha, kwa kuwa shauri halidhalilishwi kamwe kuliko kwa utetezi dhaifu, na kanisa tayari limeheshimiwa na Wesley na Fletcher. Nayo yanatetea Krismasi, Ijumaa Kuu, Pasaka na Pentekoste: ikiwa mataifa huadhimisha ukombozi wao kila mwaka, je! Wakristo hawatashika sikukuu takatifu za kuzaliwa, kufa na kufufuka kwa Bwana wao?A list of “smaller advices” follows. Never disappoint a congregation, and begin on time. Let your manner be serious, weighty and solemn. Suit your subject to your audience. Choose the plainest text you can, keep to it, and avoid anything awkward or affected in gesture or speech. Print nothing without the approval of the conference or a bishop. Do not usually pray extempore for more than eight or ten minutes. Often read and explain a portion of Scripture, and let young preachers often exhort without taking a text. Use the great festivals of the Christian year for preaching. The notes warn against allegorizing, which seldom informs the judgment and still more seldom warms the heart. They urge preachers not to rush into print, since a cause is never more disgraced than by a feeble defence, and the church has already been honoured with a Wesley and a Fletcher. And they defend Christmas, Good Friday, Easter and Pentecost: if nations celebrate their liberation every year, shall Christians not keep holy festivals for the birth, death and resurrection of their Lord?

4.Njia za Neema4.The Means of Grace

Sehemu ya XIII inauliza mhubiri anafaa vipi kwa usimamizi wake: kwa kutembea karibu na Mungu, kuwa na kazi yake moyoni sana, na kuelewa na kupenda nidhamu. “Je! Tunaangaliana vya kutosha?” Jibu ni la unyofu: “Hatufanyi hivyo.” Wahubiri wanapaswa kuulizana: Je! Unatembea karibu na Mungu? Unaamka saa ngapi? Je! Unashika nyakati zako za asubuhi na jioni za kujitenga? Kisha njia za neema zinagawanywa katika aina mbili. Njia zilizoagizwa, zilizoamriwa na Kristo, ni maombi (ya faragha, ya familia na ya hadharani), kuchunguza Maandiko kwa kusoma, kutafakari na kusikia, Meza ya Bwana, kufunga, na mazungumzo ya Kikristo (Christian conference), yaani mazungumzo yanayotoa neema. Kuhusu Meza swali ni rahisi tu, “Je! Unaitumia kila nafasi?” Njia za busara ni mazoea ya hekima ambayo kanisa limeyaona yenye msaada: kanuni za kukua katika neema kama Mkristo, kutokosa kikundi wala kikundi cha karibu kama Mmethodisti, na kukutana na kila jumuiya kama mhubiri. Njia nyingine, inaongeza, haziwezi kamwe kutumiwa bila matunda: kukesha, kujikana nafsi, kuchukua msalaba, na kutenda katika uwepo wa Mungu. Wesley mwenyewe alikuwa amewahimiza Wamethodisti kupokea Ushirika mara nyingi wawezavyo, katika mahubiri yake “Wajibu wa Ushirika wa Daima.” Katika kanisa changa la Marekani, hata hivyo, wazee walikuwa wachache, na katika mizunguko mingi Meza ya Bwana ilitolewa tu mzee alipokuja, mara nyingi katika mkutano wa robo mwaka.Section XIII asks how a preacher is fitted for his charge: by walking closely with God, having His work greatly at heart, and understanding and loving discipline. “Do we sufficiently watch over each other?” The answer is honest: “We do not.” Preachers should ask one another: Do you walk closely with God? At what hour do you rise? Do you keep your morning and evening times of retirement? Then the means of grace are divided into two kinds. The instituted means, commanded by Christ, are prayer (private, family and public), searching the Scriptures by reading, meditating and hearing, the Lord’s Supper, fasting, and Christian conference, meaning conversation that ministers grace. Of the Supper the question is simply, “Do you use this at every opportunity?” The prudential means are wise practices the church has found helpful: rules for growing in grace as a Christian, never missing class or band as a Methodist, and meeting every society as a preacher. Some means, it adds, can never be used without fruit: watching, self-denial, taking up the cross, and practising the presence of God. Wesley himself had urged Methodists to receive Communion as often as they could, in his sermon “The Duty of Constant Communion.” In the young American church, however, elders were few, and on many circuits the Lord’s Supper was given only when an elder came round, often at the quarterly meeting.

5.Kuunda Jumuiya na Kutembelea Nyumba kwa Nyumba5.Forming Societies and Visiting from House to House

Sehemu ya XIV inauliza kama Wamethodisti wanapaswa kuhubiri katika mahali pengi iwezekanavyo bila kuunda jumuiya. “Hata kidogo.” Walikuwa wamejaribu hivyo, na “mbegu zote zimeanguka njiani.” Kuhubiri lazima kuongoze kwa ushirika na nidhamu. Wahubiri wanapaswa kwenda mahali penye wasikilizaji wengi wa hiari na matunda mengi, na kutuma wafanyakazi zaidi pale Mungu anapomwaga Roho wake. Sehemu ya XV kisha inataka mafundisho katika nyumba za watu. Dini ya kibinafsi ni ya juujuu mno kati yetu, inakiri, na dini ya familia inakosekana. Inapendekeza mpango wa Richard Baxter wa kutembelea kichungaji katika Gildas Salvianus yake, inayojulikana zaidi kama The Reformed Pastor, na inaorodhesha vikwazo alivyovitaja: uzito wa moyo, tabia ya kupendeza watu, aibu ya kijinga, udhaifu wa imani na ukosefu wa ustadi. Kwa pingamizi kwamba kutembelea hakuachi muda wa kujifunza, jibu ni: “Kupata maarifa ni jambo jema; lakini kuokoa roho ni bora zaidi.” Sehemu hiyo pia inawaambia wahubiri wahubiri dhidi ya kuvunja sabato, kusema vibaya, mavazi ya gharama na madeni ya kutojali, kuwafukuza washiriki wanaofanya biashara ya bidhaa za magendo au kupokea rushwa kwa kura zao, na kuchunguza hesabu za washiriki wanaoshindwa katika biashara. Maelezo yanaongeza neno kwa maskini. Katika mashamba mhubiri hawezi kutembelea familia nyingi zenye starehe kwa siku, lakini anaweza kutembelea nyingi za maskini, wala hapaswi kuruhusu umaskini wao au uchafu kumzuia kwenda.Section XIV asks whether Methodists should preach in as many places as possible without forming societies. “By no means.” They had tried it, and “all the seed has fallen by the wayside.” Preaching must lead to fellowship and discipline. Preachers should go where there are most willing hearers and most fruit, and send more labourers where God pours out His Spirit. Section XV then calls for instruction in people’s homes. Personal religion is too superficial among us, it confesses, and family religion is wanting. It recommends Richard Baxter’s plan of pastoral visiting in his Gildas Salvianus, better known as The Reformed Pastor, and lists the hindrances he named: dullness, a man-pleasing temper, foolish bashfulness, weakness of faith and lack of skill. To the objection that visiting leaves no time for study, it answers: “Gaining knowledge is a good thing; but saving souls is a better.” The section also tells preachers to preach against sabbath-breaking, evil-speaking, costly dress and careless debt, to expel members who trade in smuggled goods or take bribes for their votes, and to examine the accounts of members who fail in business. The notes add a word for the poor. On the plantations a preacher cannot visit many comfortable families in a day, but he can visit many poor ones, and he must not let their poverty or untidiness keep him away.

6.Watoto, Kujifunza na Umoja6.Children, Study and Union

Sehemu ya XVI inageukia watoto. Mahali ambapo watoto kumi wa washiriki wanaweza kukusanywa, kutana nao kwa saa moja kila juma, wafundishe maagizo ya kanisa, ongea nao nyumbani, waombee, na hubiri waziwazi juu ya elimu. Kwa kisingizio “Sina karama ya hili,” jibu ni kuomba kwa bidii kwa ajili ya karama hiyo. Maelezo yanahimiza shule za Jumapili kwa watoto wa maskini na kupendekeza katekisimu ya Maandiko ya kanisa. Sehemu ya XVII inawashauri wahubiri kuamka saa kumi alfajiri ikiwezekana, kutumia saa za asubuhi mapema na jioni katika maombi na Maandiko, na kusoma “vitabu vyenye manufaa zaidi” kwa saa kadhaa kwa siku. Kwa nini watu wetu hawako bora zaidi? Hasa kwa sababu “sisi hatuna ujuzi zaidi na utakatifu zaidi.” Kwa yule asemaye hana ladha ya kusoma, jibu ni la moja kwa moja: “Jipatie ladha kwa kutumia, au rudi kwenye ajira yako ya zamani.” Sehemu ya XVIII inafunga sura kwa kanuni saba za umoja kati ya wahubiri: kushawishika juu ya ulazima wake, kuombeana na kusemezana kwa uhuru, kutotengana kamwe bila maombi, kutodharau karama za wengine, kutosema kwa wepesi juu ya wenzako, kutetea sifa ya mwenzako, na kupendelea kuheshimiana.Section XVI turns to children. Where ten children of members can be gathered, meet them for an hour every week, teach them the church’s instructions, talk with them at home, pray for them, and preach expressly on education. To the excuse “I have no gift for this,” the answer is to pray earnestly for the gift. The notes urge Sunday schools for the children of the poor and recommend the church’s Scripture catechism. Section XVII advises preachers to rise at four if possible, to spend early morning and evening hours in prayer and Scripture, and to read “the most useful books” for several hours a day. Why are our people not better? Chiefly because “we are not more knowing and more holy.” To the man who says he has no taste for reading, the reply is blunt: “Contract a taste for it by use, or return to your former employment.” Section XVIII closes the chapter with seven rules for union among preachers: be convinced of its necessity, pray for and speak freely to each other, never part without prayer, never despise each other’s gifts, never speak lightly of each other, defend each other’s character, and prefer one another in honour.

7.Yaliyokuja Baadaye7.What Came Later

Sehemu hizi ziliumba vizazi vya wahubiri. Shule ya Jumapili ikawa mojawapo ya kazi kuu za Umethodisti; Kanisa la Methodisti la Kiaskofu liliunda Muungano wake wa Shule za Jumapili mwaka 1827. Wito wa kuhubiri utakatifu ulichukuliwa na uamsho wa utakatifu wa karne ya kumi na tisa na makanisa yaliyozaliwa nao, ikiwa ni pamoja na Kanisa la Nazarene, ambalo wahubiri wake bado wanashikilia utakaso kamili katikati ya ujumbe wao. Sakramenti nazo zilikua. Wazee walipoongezeka, Wamethodisti walipokea Meza ya Bwana mara kwa mara zaidi, na kuanzia mwishoni mwa karne ya kumi na tisa makanisa mengi ya Kimethodisti na ya Utakatifu yalitumia maji ya zabibu yasiyochachushwa; daktari wa meno wa Kimethodisti, Thomas Welch, aliyatayarisha kwa mara ya kwanza kwa Ushirika mwaka 1869. Mwongozo wa Kinazarene unahifadhi sakramenti mbili, ubatizo na Meza ya Bwana, kama njia za neema. Unaruhusu ubatizo kwa kunyunyiza, kumwaga au kuzamisha, kulingana na uchaguzi wa mgombea, na unaruhusu ubatizo wa watoto wadogo au kuwatoa wakfu, kama wazazi wanavyopenda.These sections shaped generations of preachers. The Sunday school became one of Methodism’s great works; the Methodist Episcopal Church formed its Sunday School Union in 1827. The call to preach holiness was taken up by the nineteenth-century holiness revival and by the churches it produced, including the Church of the Nazarene, whose preachers still hold entire sanctification at the centre of their message. The sacraments developed too. As elders multiplied, Methodists received the Lord’s Supper more regularly, and from the late nineteenth century most Methodist and Holiness churches used unfermented grape juice; a Methodist dentist, Thomas Welch, first prepared it for Communion in 1869. The Nazarene Manual keeps two sacraments, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, as means of grace. It allows baptism by sprinkling, pouring or immersion, according to the candidate’s choice, and permits the baptism of young children or their dedication, as the parents prefer.

8.Kile Mchungaji wa Kimethodisti au wa Kinazarene Anachochukua Kutoka Hapa Leo8.What a Methodist or Nazarene Pastor Takes from It Today

Mchungaji anaweza kutumia sehemu hizi kama kujichunguza kwa kawaida. Je! Bado ninaonyesha neema, karama na matunda? Je! Mahubiri yangu yanahakikisha, yanamtoa Kristo, yanaalika na kujenga, au nimeridhika na moja kati ya manne? Je! Ninatumia njia zote za neema, hasa Meza ya Bwana “kila nafasi,” nami nawaongoza watu wangu kwazo? Je! Walioongoka wangu wanapata kikundi au kikundi kidogo, au mbegu yangu inaanguka njiani? Je! Ninatembelea nyumba, kufundisha watoto na kusoma kwa uzito? Na je! Ninasema vema kuhusu wahudumu wenzangu? Hakuna kati ya haya lililopitwa na wakati. Ni umbo tu la kazi ya kichungaji ya uaminifu.A pastor can use these sections as a regular self-examination. Do I still show grace, gifts and fruit? Do my sermons convince, offer Christ, invite and build up, or have I settled for one of the four? Am I using all the means of grace, especially the Lord’s Supper “at every opportunity,” and am I leading my people to them? Do my converts find a class or small group, or does my seed fall by the wayside? Do I visit homes, teach children and read seriously? And do I speak well of my fellow ministers? None of this is old-fashioned. It is simply the shape of faithful pastoral work.

9.Kuuchukua Moyoni9.Taking It to Heart

1.Chimbuko la Jumuiya Iliyoungana1.The Rise of the United Society

Sura inaanza kwa hadithi. Mwishoni mwa mwaka 1739 watu wanane au kumi walimwendea Wesley huko London, walioshawishika sana kuhusu dhambi na kutamani ukombozi, wakimwomba aombe pamoja nao na kuwashauri jinsi ya “kukimbia ghadhabu ijayo.” Aliweka mkutano wa kila juma Alhamisi jioni, na idadi yao ikaongezeka kila siku. Huu ulikuwa mwanzo wa Jumuiya Iliyoungana. Jumuiya ya namna hiyo, Kanuni zinasema, ni kundi “lenye umbo la utauwa na linalotafuta nguvu yake,” lililoungana ili kuomba pamoja, kupokea neno la kuhimiza, na kuangaliana kwa upendo, ili wasaidiane kuutimiza wokovu wao. Ili kuona kama kila mshiriki kweli anafanya hivyo, kila jumuiya iligawanywa katika vikundi vya watu kumi na wawili hivi, kulingana na mahali wanapoishi. Mkutano wa kikundi ulianza Bristol mwaka 1742, washiriki walipopangwa kukusanya senti moja kwa juma kwa deni la kanisa, na wakusanyaji upesi wakagundua kwamba wanatunza roho pamoja na fedha. Kiongozi wa kikundi anapaswa kumwona kila mshiriki angalau mara moja kwa juma, kuuliza roho zao zinastawije, kushauri, kukemea, kufariji au kuhimiza kama inavyohitajika, na kupokea kile walicho tayari kutoa kwa wahubiri, kanisa na maskini.The chapter opens with a story. Late in 1739 eight or ten people came to Wesley in London, deeply convinced of sin and longing for redemption, and asked him to pray with them and advise them how to “flee from the wrath to come.” He set a weekly meeting on Thursday evenings, and their number grew daily. This was the beginning of the United Society. Such a society, the Rules say, is a company “having the form and seeking the power of godliness,” united to pray together, to receive the word of exhortation, and to watch over one another in love, so that they may help each other work out their salvation. To see whether each member was really doing so, every society was divided into classes of about twelve, according to where they lived. The class meeting had begun in Bristol in 1742, when members were organized to collect a penny a week toward a chapel debt, and the collectors soon found they were caring for souls as well as money. The class leader is to see each member at least once a week, to ask how their souls prosper, to advise, reprove, comfort or exhort as needed, and to receive what they are willing to give for the preachers, the church and the poor.

2.Sharti Moja na Kanuni Tatu2.One Condition and Three Rules

Sharti moja tu linahitajika kwa kukubaliwa: “tamaa ya kukimbia ghadhabu ijayo, na kuokolewa kutoka dhambi zao.” Lakini mahali tamaa hiyo ni ya kweli, itajionyesha kwa njia tatu. Kwanza, kwa kutofanya madhara na kuepuka uovu wa kila namna: kulitaja jina la Mungu bure, kuitia unajisi siku ya Bwana, ulevi, kununua au kuuza wanadamu kuwatia utumwani, kupigana na kugombana, ndugu kumshtaki ndugu mahakamani, kufanya biashara ya bidhaa za magendo, riba isiyo halali, kuwasema vibaya mahakimu au wahudumu, kuvaa dhahabu na mavazi ya gharama, burudani ambazo haziwezi kutumiwa kwa jina la Bwana Yesu, ulaini na kujipendeza kusiko na lazima, kujiwekea hazina duniani, na kukopa bila uwezekano wa kulipa. Pili, kwa kutenda mema ya kila namna iwezekanavyo, kadiri iwezekanavyo kwa watu wote: kuwalisha wenye njaa, kuwavika walio uchi, kuwatembelea wagonjwa na wafungwa, kufundisha na kuhimiza wengine, kutenda kwa bidii na kuishi kwa kiasi, na kuchukua lawama ya Kristo. Tatu, kwa kuhudhuria maagizo yote ya Mungu: ibada ya hadharani, huduma ya neno, Meza ya Bwana, maombi ya familia na ya faragha, kuchunguza Maandiko, na kufunga au kujizuia. Wale wanaovunja kanuni hizi kwa mazoea wataonywa na kuvumiliwa “kwa kipindi,” lakini wasipotubu, hawana tena nafasi kati yetu. Maelezo yanaziita Kanuni labda mfumo kamili zaidi wa maadili ya Kikristo, kwa ukubwa wake, ulioandikwa na mwandishi asiyevuviwa. Kuhusu kusema vibaya wananukuu Askofu Beveridge: sema juu ya maovu ya watu kwa nyuso zao tu, na juu ya fadhila zao nyuma ya migongo yao tu.Only one condition is required for admission: “a desire to flee from the wrath to come, and to be saved from their sins.” But where that desire is real, it will show itself in three ways. First, by doing no harm and avoiding evil of every kind: taking God’s name in vain, profaning the Lord’s day, drunkenness, buying or selling human beings to enslave them, fighting and quarrelling, brother going to law with brother, dealing in smuggled goods, unlawful interest, speaking evil of magistrates or ministers, wearing gold and costly apparel, diversions that cannot be used in the name of the Lord Jesus, softness and needless self-indulgence, laying up treasure on earth, and borrowing without a probability of paying. Second, by doing good of every possible sort, as far as possible to all people: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and prisoners, instructing and exhorting others, practising diligence and frugality, and bearing the reproach of Christ. Third, by attending upon all the ordinances of God: public worship, the ministry of the word, the Supper of the Lord, family and private prayer, searching the Scriptures, and fasting or abstinence. Those who habitually break these rules will be admonished and borne with “for a season,” but if they do not repent, they have no more place among us. The notes call the Rules perhaps the most complete system of Christian ethics for its size ever written by an uninspired author. On evil-speaking they quote Bishop Beveridge: speak of people’s vices only to their faces, and of their virtues only behind their backs.

3.Kanuni Dhidi ya Utumwa3.The Rule Against Slavery

Kanuni dhidi ya kununua na kuuza “wanaume, wanawake, au watoto, kwa nia ya kuwafanya watumwa” ni uimarishaji wa Kimarekani wa maneno ya awali ya Wesley, na maelezo ni makali. Utumwa ni “uhalifu wenye pande nyingi,” unaopingana na roho yote ya injili, ukilisha kiburi na udhalimu na kuzaa tamaa na ukatili. Yananukuu Matendo 17:26, kwamba Mungu ameumba kila taifa kwa damu moja, na 1 Timotheo 1:10 dhidi ya “wanyang’anyi wa watu.” Tanbihi inawakemea wamiliki wa watumwa wanaowazuia wale wanaowatia utumwani wasisikie injili. Wesley mwenyewe alikuwa ameandika Thoughts upon Slavery mwaka 1774, na Mkutano wa Krismasi ulikuwa umejaribu kuwataka washiriki kuwaachilia watumwa wao. Unyofu unataka kuongeza yaliyofuata. Likikabiliwa na upinzani Kusini, kanisa lilipunguza kanuni zake tena na tena, na utumwa hatimaye uligawanya Kanisa la Methodisti la Kiaskofu mwaka 1844. Wamethodisti Weusi wengi walikuwa tayari wameunda makanisa yao wenyewe, kama African Methodist Episcopal Church. Msomaji wa leo anapaswa kuuheshimu uwazi wa maelezo haya na kuhuzunika kwamba kanisa halikushikamana nayo.The rule against buying and selling “men, women, or children, with an intention to enslave them” is an American strengthening of Wesley’s original wording, and the notes are forceful. Slavery is “a complicated crime,” opposed to the whole spirit of the gospel, feeding pride and tyranny and producing lust and cruelty. They cite Acts 17:26, that God has made of one blood all nations, and 1 Timothy 1:10 against “men-stealers.” A footnote rebukes slaveholders who keep the people they enslave from hearing the gospel. Wesley himself had written Thoughts upon Slavery in 1774, and the Christmas Conference had tried to require members to free their slaves. Honesty requires adding what followed. Facing resistance in the South, the church softened its rules again and again, and slavery finally divided the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1844. Many Black Methodists had already formed their own churches, such as the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Today’s reader should honour the clarity of these notes and grieve that the church did not keep to them.

4.Mkutano wa Kikundi na Viongozi Wake4.The Class Meeting and Its Leaders

Sehemu ya II inafanya mkutano wa kikundi ufanye kazi. Kila kiongozi anapaswa kuchunguzwa angalau mara moja kila robo mwaka kuhusu jinsi anavyokutana na kikundi chake. Anapaswa kuuliza si tu kila mtu anashika kanuni za nje vipi, bali jinsi anavyokua katika kumjua na kumpenda Mungu. Viongozi wasiofaa wanapaswa kubadilishwa. Tiketi hutolewa tu kwa wale wanaopendekezwa na kiongozi baada ya miezi sita kwa majaribio, na kanuni husomwa kwa wageni katika mkutano wao wa kwanza. Washiriki wanaopuuza kikundi chao kwa makusudi na mara kwa mara wanapaswa kutembelewa, kuonywa na, wasipoboresha, kutengwa, kwa maelezo kwamba hii ni “kwa kuvunja kanuni zetu za nidhamu, na si kwa mwenendo mbaya wa kimaadili.” Maelezo yanawaita viongozi “mishipa ya jumuiya yetu,” ambao uamsho huinuka au kuanguka juu yao. Maaskofu wanasisitiza kwamba kinachojalisha ni “jambo lenyewe,” ushirika wa Kikristo, si jina la mkutano, nao wanakubali kwa furaha kwamba Mungu huzikiri namna nyingine za ushirika pia.Section II makes the class meeting work. Each leader is to be examined at least once a quarter on how he meets his class. He is to ask not only how each person keeps the outward rules, but how he or she grows in the knowledge and love of God. Improper leaders are to be changed. Tickets are given only to those recommended by a leader after six months on trial, and the rules are read to newcomers at their first meeting. Members who wilfully and repeatedly neglect their class are to be visited, warned and, if they do not amend, excluded, with the explanation that this is “for a breach of our rules of discipline, and not for immoral conduct.” The notes call the leaders “the sinews of our society,” on whom revivals rise or fall. The bishops insist that what matters is “the thing itself,” Christian fellowship, not the name of the meeting, and they gladly allow that God owns other forms of fellowship too.

5.Vikundi vya Karibu, Jumuiya Teule na Karamu za Mapendo5.Bands, Select Societies and Love Feasts

Vikundi vya karibu (bands) vilikuwa makundi madogo ya waumini, wanaume na wanawake wakikutana kando, waliotaka unyofu wa kina zaidi. Katika kila mkutano maswali manne yaliulizwa: Ni dhambi gani zinazojulikana ulizotenda tangu mkutano wetu uliopita? Ni majaribu gani umekutana nayo? Ulikombolewaje? Umefikiri, kusema au kutenda nini ambacho una shaka kama ni dhambi au la? Maelekezo ya tarehe 25 Desemba 1744 yanawaomba washiriki wa vikundi hivyo wasinunue wala kuuza chochote siku ya Bwana, wasionje pombe kali isipokuwa daktari ameagiza, wawe “wa neno moja” katika kununua na kuuza, wasimtaje mtu yeyote kosa lake nyuma ya mgongo wake, wasivae mapambo yasiyo ya lazima, watoe sadaka na kukemea dhambi kwa upendo, wahudhurie kanisa na meza ya Bwana, na wafunge kila Ijumaa. Maelezo yanaieleza jumuiya yote kama “hospitali ya kiroho.” Vikundi vya karibu vilikuwa jumuiya ya waumini ndani yake, “familia ndogo za upendo,” na maelezo yanasisitiza kwamba hii si kuungama kwa sikio kwa kuhani wala msamaha wa kikuhani. Ndani ya vikundi vya karibu jumuiya teule ilikusanya wale waliofurahia au waliotafuta upendo kamilifu. Wageni walikubaliwa mara kwa mara tu katika mikutano ya jumuiya na karamu za mapendo, milo rahisi ya mkate na maji pamoja na shuhuda.The bands were small groups of believers, men and women meeting separately, who wanted deeper honesty. At every meeting four questions were asked: What known sins have you committed since our last meeting? What temptations have you met? How were you delivered? What have you thought, said or done of which you doubt whether it be sin or not? Directions dated 25 December 1744 ask band members to buy and sell nothing on the Lord’s day, to taste no spirituous liquor unless a physician prescribes it, to be “at a word” in buying and selling, to mention no one’s fault behind his back, to wear no needless ornaments, to give alms and reprove sin in love, to attend church and the Lord’s table, and to fast every Friday. The notes describe the whole society as “a spiritual hospital.” The bands were a society of believers within it, “little families of love,” and the notes stress that this is not auricular confession to a priest or priestly absolution. Within the bands a select society gathered those who enjoyed or were seeking perfect love. Strangers were admitted only now and then to society meetings and love feasts, simple meals of bread and water with testimony.

6.Wasimamizi wa Mali, Ndoa na Mavazi6.Stewards, Marriage and Dress

Wasimamizi wa mali (stewards), walioteuliwa na mhubiri msimamizi baada ya kushauriana na mkutano wa robo mwaka au viongozi, walisimamia mambo ya kidunia ya kila mzunguko na jumuiya. Kuhusu ndoa, Nidhamu inahuzunika kwamba washiriki wengi walikuwa wameoa au kuolewa na watu “wasioamshwa” na kuzuiwa maisha yao yote. Wahubiri wanapaswa kutekeleza tahadhari ya Paulo dhidi ya “kuwekwa nira pamoja na wasioamini” (2 Wakorintho 6:14), na wale wanaooana na watu kama hao wanafukuzwa. Maelezo yanaeleza kwamba washiriki wanaweza kuoa nje ya jumuiya, mradi mwenzi wao ana umbo la utauwa na anatafuta nguvu yake. Kuhusu mavazi kanuni ni thabiti: hakuna tiketi kwa wavaaji wa mapambo yasiyo ya lazima, na wahubiri wanaotembelea vikundi wanapaswa kuwa “wapole sana, lakini wakali sana.” Lengo, maelezo yanasema, ni kuinua watu watakatifu, waliosulubiwa kwa ulimwengu. Kanuni hizi zinaonyesha karne yao wenyewe, na makanisa ya baadaye ya Kimethodisti na ya Utakatifu yaliyatumia kwa njia tofauti sana.Stewards, appointed by the preacher in charge after consulting the quarterly meeting or the leaders, managed the temporal affairs of each circuit and society. On marriage, the Discipline grieves that many members had married “unawakened” persons and been hindered for life. Preachers are to enforce Paul’s caution against being “unequally yoked” (2 Corinthians 6:14), and those who marry such persons are to be expelled. The note explains that members may marry outside the society, provided the spouse has the form and is seeking the power of godliness. On dress the rule is firm: no tickets for those wearing superfluous ornaments, and preachers visiting classes are to be “very mild, but very strict.” The aim, the notes say, is to raise a holy people, crucified to the world. These rules reflect their own century, and later Methodist and Holiness churches applied them very differently.

7.Kuhukumiwa, Kukemewa na Kurudishwa7.Trial, Reproof and Restoration

Sehemu ya VIII inaeleza nidhamu. Mshiriki aliyeshtakiwa hujaribiwa mbele ya jumuiya, au idadi teule ya jumuiya, huku mhudumu akiwapo, mshtaki na mshtakiwa uso kwa uso. Akionekana na hatia ya uhalifu ambao Biblia inasema waziwazi unatenga na ufalme wa Mungu, anafukuzwa. Makosa madogo, kama kupuuza wajibu, kutokuwa na busara, tabia za dhambi au kutotii utaratibu wa kanisa, yanafuata mfano wa Mathayo 18: kwanza kukemewa kwa faragha na mhubiri au kiongozi, kisha ziara na rafiki mmoja au wawili waaminifu, kisha jumuiya. Mtu yeyote aliyetengwa anaweza kukata rufaa kwa mkutano wa robo mwaka ujao. Hakuna aliyefukuzwa anayeweza kushiriki tena katika jumuiya wala sakramenti bila “majuto, kuungama, na kujaribiwa ipasavyo.” Maelezo yanahoji kwa urefu kutokana na Mathayo 18, 1 Wakorintho 5 na barua kwa makanisa katika Ufunuo kwamba hukumu ni ya mhudumu, huku rufaa ikiwa ulinzi dhidi ya makosa ya wahubiri vijana. Makanisa ya makutaniko husoma vifungu hivyo hivyo kama vinavyotoa hukumu hiyo kwa kanisa zima, na mtazamo huo tofauti unabaki.Section VIII sets out discipline. An accused member is tried before the society, or a select number of it, with a minister present, accuser and accused face to face. If found guilty of a crime the Bible plainly says excludes from the kingdom of God, he is expelled. Lesser faults, such as neglect of duty, imprudence, sinful tempers or disobedience to church order, follow the pattern of Matthew 18: first private reproof by a preacher or leader, then a visit with one or two faithful friends, then the society. Anyone excluded may appeal to the next quarterly meeting. No one expelled may share in the society or the sacraments again without “contrition, confession, and proper trial.” The notes argue at length from Matthew 18, 1 Corinthians 5 and the letters to the churches in Revelation that judgment belongs to the minister, with the appeal as a safeguard against young preachers’ mistakes. Congregational churches read the same passages as giving that judgment to the whole church, and that disagreement remains.

8.Yaliyokuja Baadaye, na Kile Mchungaji Anachochukua Kutoka Humo8.What Came Later, and What a Pastor Takes from It

Kanuni za Jumla zinabaki katika Kitabu cha Nidhamu cha The United Methodist Church, zikilindwa na Kanuni ya Kizuizi. Hata hivyo, kufikia mwishoni mwa karne ya kumi na tisa kuhudhuria kikundi hakukulazimishwa tena kama sharti la uanachama. Kanisa la Nazarene lilichapisha Kanuni za Jumla zilizoigwa kwa karibu na zile za Wesley katika Mwongozo wake wa 1908, ambazo baadaye ziliumbwa upya kama Agano lake la Tabia ya Kikristo. Leo makutaniko mengi huko Meksiko na kwingineko yanagundua tena makundi madogo yanayouliza swali la Wesley: roho yako inastawije? Mchungaji anaweza kuchukua mafunzo matatu kutoka katika sura hii. Uanachama unapaswa kumaanisha kitu, na sharti lake ni tamaa ya kweli ya wokovu inayoonyeshwa maishani. Kila muumini anahitaji duara dogo la watu wanaomwangalia kwa upendo. Na nidhamu inapaswa kuwa ya subira na ya kurejesha, ikilenga daima kumrudisha ndugu au dada.The General Rules remain in The United Methodist Church’s Book of Discipline, protected by a Restrictive Rule. Yet by the late nineteenth century class attendance was no longer enforced as a condition of membership. The Church of the Nazarene printed General Rules closely modelled on Wesley’s in its 1908 Manual, later reshaped as its Covenant of Christian Character. Today many congregations in Mexico and elsewhere are rediscovering small groups that ask Wesley’s question: how does your soul prosper? A pastor can take three lessons from this chapter. Membership should mean something, and its condition is a real desire for salvation shown in life. Every believer needs a small circle of people who watch over him or her in love. And discipline should be patient and restorative, aimed always at winning back the brother or sister.

9.Kuuchukua Moyoni9.Taking It to Heart