The United Pentecostal Church
Judicial Procedure
Actions Involving General Officers

ARTICLE VII

JUDICIAL PROCEDURE ACTIONS INVOLVING GENERAL OFFICERS

Section 1. Resolution of a Grievance.

When a general officer is one of the ministers involved in a grievance, the procedures of Article III shall apply, with the following exceptions:

1. In implementing Section 2, the ministers on the arbitration panel shall not be members of the Executive Board.

2. In implementing Sections 3 and 4, an appeal of the decision of the arbitration panel shall be to the Executive Board, who shall take the place of the District Board and whose decision shall be final.

Section 2. Explanatory Note

Note: If at any point in the execution of the steps outlined in the following sections of this article the accused minister confesses in writing, the matter(s) to which he/she confessed shall be handled by a District Board Action under Article IV, except that:

• The Executive Board shall replace the District Board.

• There need be no District (Executive) Board Inquiry in that the accused minister has already confessed.

• Any appeal of the action taken shall be to the General Board instead of to the MAC.

Section 3. Investigation of a Complaint.

1. A complaint against any general officer except the General Superintendent shall be filed with the General Superintendent.

2. If a complaint is received against a general official, the disposition of that matter shall be handled to its completion under this article, even if the individual resigns his or her office.

3. The General Superintendent is encouraged to communicate and counsel privately with a general officer about whom any question has surfaced in an attempt to resolve the problem.

4. Upon the receipt of a complaint that does not have the required information (see Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 3, the General Superintendent shall inform the signatories of the need of further appropriate information to meet the requirements.

5. The General Superintendent shall notify the general officer that a complaint has been received, stating the nature of the complaint.

6. Within thirty (30) days of receiving the complaint, the General Superintendent shall appoint five (5) members of the General Board, excluding himself, to serve as an investigative committee. The General Superintendent shall appoint one of the committee members to serve as chair. The committee shall follow Article V, Sub-Article B, Section 6 and Article V, Sub-Article B, Section 7, Paragraphs 2, 3, 4, and 5. (See also Article I, Section 1, Paragraph 9.)

7. A complaint against the General Superintendent shall be filed with the General Secretary, who shall designate one of the Assistant General Superintendents to serve as the investigative officer. He shall follow the guidelines given for the General Superintendent in this section, Paragraphs 1-5. He shall select five (5) members of the Executive Board to serve as an investigative committee, which shall follow Article V, Sub-Article B, Section 6 and Article V, Sub-Article B, Section 7, Paragraphs 2, 3, 4, and 5. (See also Article I, Section 1, Paragraph 9.)

8. At the conclusion of the investigation, the committee shall take one of the following actions:

(a) Dismiss the complaint and notify the accused minister and the persons who initiated the complaint.

(b) Refer its findings to the Executive Board for a hearing.

Section 4. Hearing.

1. A hearing for general officers shall follow the procedure in Article V, Sub- Article C, with the changes as noted in this section.

2. The General Superintendent and the General Secretary shall take the place of the District Superintendent and District Secretary respectively, and the Executive Board shall take the place of the District Board.

3. In a hearing of a complaint against the General Superintendent, an Assistant General Superintendent shall take the place of the District Superintendent. Consequently, he shall take the place of the General Superintendent in this article when necessary.

4. In implementing Article V, Sub-Article C, Section 4, Paragraph 2, the charge or charges shall be given to the General Superintendent.

Section 5. Trial of a General Officer.

If the Executive Board refers the case to a trial, the procedure shall be the same as in Articles V, Sub-Article D and Article V, Sub-Article F, with the following changes.

1. The Executive Board shall take the place of the District Board, the General Superintendent shall take the place of the Regional Presiding Officer, and the General Secretary shall be the recording secretary.

2. The Executive Board shall select one member to present the evidence at the trial. This executive representative takes the place of the district representative.

3. The jury shall consist of nine (9) members with two (2) alternates selected from the General Board by a drawing conducted by the General Secretary. Someone who has formed an opinion on the case or who has a conflict of interest according to Article I, Section 1, Paragraph 9 shall not serve on the jury. Members of the Executive Board and the superintendent of the district of which the officer is a member shall not serve on the jury. (This paragraph takes the place of Article V, Sub-Article E.)

4. Only the General Superintendent, General Secretary, the jury and alternates, the accused officer and his or her counselors, and the executive representative and his counselors may attend the trial. A witness may attend the trial only while giving his or her testimony.

5. Counselors may be members of the Executive Board or General Board.

6. In the event the any member of this process becomes unruly, and after being warned by the General Superintendent persists in being unruly, the General Superintendent may dismiss him or her from the trial and recommend that the Executive Board take disciplinary action against him or her. One of the counselors for the Executive Board shall then present the evidence against the accused general officer.

7. A general officer who is found guilty may appeal the verdict or sentence in accordance with Article V, Sub-Article G, Sections 1 and 2, except that the appeal shall be made to the General Board.

Section 6. Notification.

1. Within thirty (30) days after the conclusion of the trial and appeal process, the General Secretary shall send a letter to the accused minister stating the verdict.

2. If the accused minister is found not guilty of all charges, the General Secretary shall upon his or her request send a copy of the letter to every UPCI credentialed minister in the district of the accused minister, as well as to every UPCI credentialed minister of the district(s) of the accuser(s), if different.


The above is part of the judicial procedure of the United Pentecostal Church International and is provided for informational purposes.

Page Added February 10, 2007 & Updated March 3, 2024


HOME / CONTACT / HOW DO I HELP? / OLD FEEDBACK / EXPERIENCES / UPC MEMBERS SPEAK / ARTICLES / BOOKS / ISSUES / LOIS' WRITINGS / ORGANIZATIONS / OTHER SITES /
WHY THIS SITE? / STATEMENT OF BELIEFS / WHAT IS SPIRITUAL ABUSE? / OPEN LETTER /
UPC BELIEFS / HISTORY OF UPC / APOSTOLIC CONGRESS / DEVOTIONALS/  SUPPORT GROUP/

Established
August 23, 1997
Copyright © 1997-present by Lois E. Gibson
Contents of this web site and all original works are copyright - All rights reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of the owner.

Shop at our Amazon store! This website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.