LAKELAND — "We are a connectional church and this presentation deals with the intricacies and challenges of a connectional system," said Bill Walker, chairperson and incoming director of the Florida Conference Council on Ministries, as he introduced the Connectional Process Team’s (CPT) report at the Dare to Share Jesus 1999 Florida Annual Conference Event.

Anna Gail Dixon Workman, a member of the 38-person team charged with "managing, guiding and promoting a transformational direction for the church," presented the report.

Workman, a lifelong member of the denomination and member of the North Carolina Annual Conference, described her presentation as a "launching pad for dialogue and discernment."

"This is a preliminary draft," she said. "I promise you it will change before it goes to General Conference."

While much of the controversy surrounding the CPT’s work has focused on its proposed restructuring of the global United Methodist Church, Workman said the CPT was "not a restructuring committee," and only one of the team’s 13 mandates dealt with structure. The team proposed 11 transformational directions for the church.

One of the primary recommendations of the CPT is to "place spiritual formation at the center of all we do," she said.

The CPT also recommends making the ministry of local congregations the central focus of the global church.

"The church must examine all its functions and structures and ask, ‘will this help us invite, disciple and nurture disciples of Jesus Christ through the local church?’ " Workman said. "The local church is the basic unit of ministry, and the annual conference should forge strong links of connection among congregations."

The report suggests that people in local congregations need to be freed up from maintaining a church structure and allowed to be in ministry. To accomplish this, the CPT recommends replacing church administrative bodies with one covenant council, at which everyone will be involved in setting the vision and mission for the local church.

The CPT also recommends that annual conferences serve as a central support structure and source for "fraternity, revival and polity" for local churches, while connecting them to general agencies, according to Workman. Annual conferences would also renew their covenant relationship with clergy, which would include a renegotiation of the guaranteed appointment and allow clergy more freedom to move into other ministries or careers.

Another recommendation called for a modification of the relationship between the annual conference and retired clergy. To maintain a balance between clergy and laity, Workman said the CPT recommends there be one lay representative for each retired clergy member at annual conference events and that retired clergy have a vote for four years after they retire.

Since one third of the central conferences in the United Methodist Church are outside the United States, Workman said the CPT recommends that General Conference be reformed into a 500-person Global Conference, which would be charged with creating a "global Book of Discipline…for United Methodists all over the world." Central Conferences, including the United States, would then "write a Book of Discipline for their local context."

The CPT is seeking input from United Methodists around the world and inviting delegates to contact the CPT with feedback and suggestions.