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Cheers & Jeers

Misses the point

As usual, James V. Heidinger II misses the point ("Why Membership Matters," May/June 2006). The real question is whether a pastor has discretion to refuse membership to any sinner who professes faith in Jesus Christ, or whether there is a category of "special sins" that may disqualify a person from membership.

I think Heidinger is wrong about many things and some of his attitudes toward others constitutes sin, yet I could not refuse him membership in my church.

Jim Hopwood
Lansing UM Church
Lansing, Kansas

 

Irenic tone

My hat is off to you for publishing "Holiness Manifesto!"

 Its irenic tone puts it in quite a different class than most of your companionate articles e.g. "Straight Talk," "John Wesley and United Methodist Renewal," "The Emergence of Confessing Christians." The steering committee hits the bell when they write: "People in churches are tired of our petty lines of demarcation that artificially create compartments, denominations, and divisions. They are tired of building institutions. They long for a clear, articulate message that transcends institutionalism and in-fighting among followers of Jesus Christ." That certainly speaks for me. Give us more!

 Donald J. Cunningham
Alameda, California

Meatless gospel

One reason churches are going downhill is because seekers are looking for solid food for their souls, but churches (of all denominations) are only giving them a meatless, watered down gospel. It is a feel-good, let's not hurt anyone's feelings type of religion being dished out in our churches today.

In looking for a better method we have so watered down the message that we have essentially "thrown the baby out with the bath water." Many churches today do not sing the hymns which contain theological meat. Sermons are not much better. Some are worse.

Maybe I am old school, but my observation experience has been that churches that honor the Word of God, get honored by God. When Jesus said, "go and sin no more," he did not mean sin in thought and deed every day. Holiness is a way of life and churches that preach holiness as a lifestyle may not be big, but they get people into heaven.

I am acquainted with a well known organization that took the word "holiness" out of their statement of purpose and today they appear to me to be indistinguishable from any other "Christian" group. If you are truly of a holiness persuasion, it is impossible to be "all things to all people."

Ted Burkman
Via email

 

Power struggle

Through 30 years of ministry as a United Methodist pastor, the most difficult problems hindering the church have been power struggles. This struggle for control has caused more hard feelings, lost ministry opportunities, and time spent overcoming divisive forces, time that should have been spent reaching souls with the life-saving, life-transforming Good News.

Today, the struggle for power has become a divisive issue between the Judicial Council and the Council of Bishops over whether a local pastor has the right to exercise his or her pastoral authority and responsibility relative to accepting a person blatantly in violation with biblical standards into church membership.

As any counselor knows, there is the presenting issue and hidden under it is one or more real issues. In this case, I believe there are two very important issues: One is easy to detect, in that the bishops are complaining that their interpretation of polity and ecclesiology is being threatened. Every bishop experiences that threat whenever a member of an Annual Conference requests a Judicial Council review of said bishop's decision. That is why we have the Judicial Council. Not every decision by a bishop or a district superintendent is 100 percent accurate. Praise God for the wisdom of our founding fathers in limiting absolute ecclesiological authority!

There is a second, much deeper issue underlying the present conflict. The church is constantly struggling with the issue of homosexuality. The homosexual caucus is bound and determined to change the United Methodist position on homosexual practice, and it is well known that some of those within the College of Bishops support making changes to remove the label of sin from homosexuality. I'm convinced that the present conflict is one more attempt to pick and choose parts of the Discipline in order to blunt its authority. If a prohibition concerning accepting a blatantly practicing homosexual into church membership is accepted, the next step will be to remove the prohibition against homosexual pastors.

Underlying all of this is the ongoing push to lower the gospel standards to a place where sin is no longer called by its proper name. The premise being, if we no longer confront sin, then we will be seen as loving and tolerant and more inviting. The old argument that Jesus ate with sinners ignores the fact that he also confronted their sin by saying, "Go and sin no more!"

Bottom line? The true church will always face power struggles at all levels. Will we surrender our integrity and give in to the pressure? It isn't always comfortable to buck human authority, but I'm looking forward to hearing "well done" some day. What about you?

I read the letter from David Reynolds (May/June 2006). This letter underscores the issue about no longer recognizing the need to deal with sin properly. When Reynolds talks about unrepentant sinners and then states "there isn't any other kind of sinner," I am deeply concerned. There is no such thing as partial repentance; for we must renounce all sin known and unknown as we trust Christ's grace. Yes, we all fall and praise the Lord for grace, but that doesn't excuse us from committing deliberate sin, as when a homosexual refuses to acknowledge the practice as sinful and to act in repentance.

Richard E. Held
retired elder
Somerset, Kentucky

 

Need not apply

Thank you for Carolyn Elias' article, "Stifling Diversity" (May/June 2006). This is something that needs to be said a little louder and more often by UM conservative leaders. Everyone and everything is welcomed in the UM Church except evangelical Christians. Polls show that most United Methodists in the pews consider themselves conservative. Elias listed several hypocrisies; I would like to add one more: there are not many evangelical professors in our seminaries. We should remove the "Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors." statement from our advertisements. Or, (as Elias said) add, "Evangelicals need not apply."

Brad Farrow
Retired local pastor
Via email

 

Narrow gate

In his article, "The Council of Bishops and the counsel of liberalism" (March/April 2006), Paul Stallsworth identified one specific area-hospitality/inclusiveness-that has been at the fore of a debate in the United Methodist Church for a long time. While I know that God does not wish that any should perish (inclusiveness), I read Christ's instructions to the 70 to extend healing and ministry to some while "moving on" in the case of certain others.

While I know that God sent Jesus as a propitiation for all who will believe (conditional inclusiveness), I read Christ's forecast of the day when he will separate sheep from goats. These things need to square with themselves.

If the only Savior of the world instructed his disciples to discern/discriminate and he forecasts the day when he will discriminate-judge-or separate, how could we ever paint a picture of the perfect one who instructs his followers to discern or deny benefit to persons who are lost? But he did.

I appreciated your editorial addressing the knee-jerk reaction made by the bishops after the Judicial Council decisions of October 31, 2005 ("United Methodism's vows at risk," March/April 2006).

On another level, and sadly, doesn't the struggle really break down in this fashion: One side hired Madison Avenue to prepare an advertising campaign several years ago and they came up with "Open everything...." Never mind that Jesus had his disciples discriminate (sending out the 70) and Jesus told of how he will judge (discriminate). So one side is calling for fidelity to a television advertisement that does not square with Christ's teachings.

The other side is asking for scriptural fidelity. We recognize the advertisement as a "lure" to attract "fish." However, we know that some of Christ's "hard" sayings may be found too difficult for many. "But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" (Matthew 7:14). Some may walk out of United Methodist churches after studying the Scriptures because they do not want to release certain "things."

In a way, it is a silly matter. Bishops are calling for fidelity to a bogus television advertisement. Others are calling for scriptural fidelity.

Why wouldn't our bishops also call for scriptural fidelity? That should be a no-brainer.

 Phil Hannum
Via-email

 

Unrepented sin

I just read David Reynolds' email entitled "Vows at risk?" I would certainly agree that there are many areas of sinfulness in need of attention within our denomination and local churches.

Reynolds asks if James V. Heidinger has really read the vows lately. He reiterates Heidinger's rhetorical question, "Does anyone who wished to join, regardless of behavior, practice, or lifestyle, have an unquestioned right to be received into membership?" His response if I understand it correctly, can be stated simply as "unapologetically.yes." The Book of Worship requires that pastors ask that prospective members be baptized. Our baptismal vows, which precede the membership vows ask very specifically, "On behalf of the whole Church, I ask you: Do you renounce the spirital forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?"

At age 14, during an evangelistic meeting, I discovered that without Jesus I was lost for eternity. It became apparent to me, even then, that unless I accepted what Jesus had done for me, and that I repent and change the direction of my life, my sins would not be forgiven.

Nineteen years later at a holiness campmeeting, I was introduced to God's sanctifying grace. I now recognize that there was a progressive growth from the time of my justification. But on that particular day there was an instantaneous act of recognition that I needed Jesus to be not only my Savior, but the Lord of my life.

In the ensuing years, I have discovered that my experience is not unusual. In many ways it has been the tradition of the people called Methodist to proclaim that there are two distinct occurences and that both require repentance. A reasoned and logical examination of people's lives seems to indicate the validity of such an order in the salvation and sanctification of God's people.

I have come to believe that what has been commonly called John Wesley's "Order of Salvation" is biblical and sound. He has written, "Our main doctrines, which include all the rest, are three-that of repentance, of faith, and of holiness. The first of these we account, as it were, the porch of religion; the next, the door; and the third, religion itself" (Works, VIII, 472).

"That repentance or conviction of sin, which is always previous to faith, either in a higher or lower degree, as it pleases God, we describe in words to this effect: When men feel in themselves the heavy burden of sin, see damnation to be the reward of it, behold with the eye of their mind the horror of hell; they tremble, they quake, and are inwardly touched with sorrowfulness of heart and cannot but accuse themselves, and open their grief to Almighty God and call unto Him for mercy" (Works, VIII, 472).

In his sermon, "On Working Out Your Own Salvation" Wesley says, "Salvation begins with what is usually termed (and very properly) preventing grace; including the first wish to please God, the first dawn of light concerning his will, and the first slight transient conviction of having sinned against him. All these imply some tendency towards life; some degree of salvation; the beginning of deliverance from a blind, unfeeling heart, quite insensible of God and the things of God. Salvation is carried on by convincing grace, usually in Scripture termed repentance; which brings a larger measure of self-knowledge, and a farther deliverance from the heart of stone. Afterwards we experience the proper Christian salvation; whereby, 'through grace,' we are 'saved by faith' consisting of those two grand branches, justification and sanctification" (Works, VI, 509).

Reynolds writes, "Jesus recognized that the relationship between forgiveness and repentance is that forgiveness comes first!" In all of my 62 years, 50 of them in the church, I have never heard this before. I am hoping that Mr. Reynolds is making reference to the prevenient grace of God and the sacrifice which was made for us on the cross. But there still comes the time when we must recognize that unrepented sin separates us from the God and his church.

Ken Price
Hartville, Ohio



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