The Council of Bishops shall appoint a Committee on Theological Dialogue to inform the Church through the Council of Bishops on matters of doctrine and theology. The committee shall report to the council in an advisory capacity, and all decisions about the use of its work shall be made by the council.
a) The committee shall be composed of 24 persons chosen for their competence in reflecting on the doctrine of the Church and its contemporary theological task as follows: five active bishops, five persons with a Ph.D. (or equivalent) in a theological discipline, five clergy, five laity, and four at-large members. In determining the makeup of the committee, the council shall take care to make it as representative as possible of the whole Church.
b) The committee will meet twice a year, with the following responsibilities: (1) to assist the Council of Bishops in the tasks given to it in ¶¶ 514.2 and 527.2; and
(2) to assist the council in finding ways of fostering doctrinal reflection and theological dialogue at all levels of The United Methodist Church, thereby helping the Church recover and update our distinctive doctrinal heritage--catholic, evangelical, and reformed--and thereby enabling doctrinal reinvigoration for the sake of authentic renewal, fruitful evangelism, and ecumenical dialogue.
c) The agenda of the committee will be determined by the Council of Bishops, or in absence of direction from the council, by majority vote of the committee.
d) The committee will rely on its members for secretarial and support services. It will have no employed staff of its own.
Estimated annual budget for the committee is $40,000. This budget assumed two meetings a year held over a Saturday night to save travel expenses.
Travel $ 25,000
Housing 5,000
Food 5,000
Office and Misc. 5.000
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
Petition Text: 22385-MN-527.5-D$
1996 United Methodist General Conference