440. Special Provisions--1. Pastors shall first obtain the written consent of the district superintendent before engaging for an evangelist any person who is not a conference-approved evangelist, a regular member of an annual conference, a local pastor, or a certified lay speaker in good standing in The United Methodist Church.
2. No pastor shall discontinue services in a local Church between sessions of the annual conference without the consent of the charge conference and the district superintendent.
3. No pastor shall arbitrarily organize a pastoral charge. (See 271 for the method of organizing a local Church.)
4. No clergy member or local pastor shall hold a religious service within the bounds of a pastoral charge other than the one to which appointed without the consent of the clergy member or local pastor in charge or the district superintendent. If that clergy member or local pastor does not refrain from such conduct, he/she shall then be liable to the provisions of 454.1 and 2623.
5. Ordained ministers of The United Methodist Church are charged to maintain all confidences inviolate, including confessional confidences.
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
1992 Book of Discipline: ¶ 440
1996 United Methodist General Conference