ASBURY FIRST MONDAY READER | NOVEMBER 10, 2025

CONTENTS: WHO DECIDES WHAT: THE BOOK OF DISCIPLINE

THOUGHTS ON A SNOWY MONDAY

Why We’re United Methodist: A Monday Reader Primer

Ever wonder what makes The United Methodist Church who we are? This six-part Monday Reader series offers a simple look at our roots, beliefs, and structure—from John Wesley’s first “methodical” movement to the way grace still shapes our life together today. Whether you’ve been United Methodist for decades or are just curious about what we stand for, these short reflections invite you to rediscover the heart of a church built on connection, grace, and doing good.

Part 3: Who Decides What: The Book of Discipline

If you’ve ever wondered how The United Methodist Church makes decisions—or who gets to decide them—you’re not alone. It can seem like a mystery wrapped in a meeting.


Unlike some churches where one leader sets all the rules, or others where every congregation votes independently, United Methodists follow a shared set of guidelines called The Book of Discipline. It’s part rulebook, part covenant, part constitution—and it tells the story of how we agree to live and serve together.


Why We Have It

From the beginning, Methodists have valued both freedom and order. John Wesley was famous for saying that discipline was essential for spiritual growth. Not “punishment,” but structure—a way of helping communities of faith stay focused on their mission.

So when the Methodist Episcopal Church organized in 1784, the delegates wrote down their beliefs, practices, and procedures. Every four years since, Methodists from around the world have gathered at General Conference to review, debate, and, when needed, revise those rules. That’s why the current version says “The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2024”—each edition reflects the ongoing story of our faith and life together.

What’s In It

The Book of Discipline contains:

• Our Constitution, which sets the basic structure of the Church.
• Our Doctrinal Standards, summarizing what we believe.
• Our Social Principles, offering guidance for living faithfully in the world.
• Our Administrative Rules, describing everything from how pastors are appointed to how property is held to how committees are formed.


It’s not light reading, but it represents something remarkable: a global community seeking to order its life in love and accountability.

Who Decides

At General Conference, half the delegates are clergy and half are laypeople—elected by their annual conferences. They meet every four years to worship, pray, and legislate. Decisions require majority votes and often involve careful debate, amendments, and compromise. The process can be slow, but it reflects one of our deepest values: that God’s Spirit can speak through the gathered body, not just through a few.

Why It Matters

The Book of Discipline isn’t meant to stifle creativity or faith; it’s meant to hold us together. It reminds us that being “United” means we live in covenant—with God and with one another. Every rule in it, at its best, exists so that the Church’s mission—to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world—can stay clear and strong.

We don’t always agree on everything within its pages. In fact, disagreement has always been part of our story. But the Discipline gives us a shared table at which to work things out, pray together, and keep moving forward. The Book of Discipline is how we order our common life—so that grace has structure and love has staying power.

It's Monday morning again at Asbury First, the start of a new week, and here in the city of Rochester, we've just received our first light dusting of snow. Like powdered sugar all over our green/brown lawns, dusted on late autumn leaves, lining the branches of trees... I'm reminded that the wheel has continued to turn, of the seasons, of our progress as a community, our comings and goings, successes and failures, lessons learned. 

Through the little lens of this moment I'm looking over the small but significant ways Asbury First has marched onward with the persistence and strength of this community. Looking out my window at 1050, I see the grounds that have continued to be maintained, the banner for this weekend's production of Anastasia, and braving the cold, yellow flowers of the newly revamped 1050 garden. I see the Columbarium is now fully installed, a project decades in the making, and in the library, new wooden signage over the entrance to the reading room, lovingly made by our very own Jim Connell, and the Community Garden begins its winter hibernation while the Community Outreach Center draws more and more into its warmth for the winter.

This first snow reminds us that change is constant, yet something endures. In the cold, we draw closer—to one another, to our purpose, to the values that anchor us. The season invites us inward, to reflection and renewal, even as we continue our work of reaching outward in service and love.


As we step into this week, into this season of preparation and anticipation, may we carry with us the resilience of those yellow flowers still blooming in the cold. May we be, like them, signs of persistent hope and beauty in a world that needs both. May we remember that every ending is also a beginning, every snowfall a blank page, every Monday morning a chance to begin again.


The wheel continues to turn. We turn with it, together, grateful for the ground beneath our feet and the community that walks beside us.