A Guide-Book in the Administration of the Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church

A Guide-Book In The Administration Of The Discipline Of The Methodist Episcopal Church is a practical manual authored by Osmon Cleander Baker. The work, originally issued in the 19th century, aims to assist junior preachers and church administrators in the correct discharge of their duties. It provides a concise, advisory overview of ecclesiastical governance, emphasizing the administration of church discipline rather than argumentative defenses of the church system. The volume surveys key topics including church membership, probation, withdrawal, and membership from other orthodox churches; the authority and duties of annual, district, and quarterly conferences; roles of presiding elders, ministers in charge, local preachers, exhorters, and leaders; and the processes surrounding certificates, love-feasts, and church trials. It also covers church property, trustees, pew rights, and ministerial support. The work is framed as a practical vade mecum for clergy and lay officers, reflecting 19th-century Methodist polity and its procedural intricacies.